Then I made him step out alongside me, and was so angry with myself for being so soft-hearted that I prodded him in the back when he wouldn't go fast enough.
But the miserable brute, with his bleeding stumps, was nearly dead with fright and could hardly put one foot in front of another, so at last I swung him up in front of me, and took him into San Fernando like that, riding up to the Cuartel de Infanteria, where a 'red-cross' flag was flying, and handing him over to the people there, trying to explain that he was a prisoner.
My Christopher! the look he gave me when I went away!
I left my horse at the barracks, walked down to the shore, stood on that jetty, and waved my arms about till one of the Hector's signalmen spotted me, and the skiff was sent in to take me off.
I had just time to change into uniform, and get a bit of grub in the gun-room, before the 'Forlorn Hope,' who'd kept the 'Forenoon' watch and wanted his lunch, sent down an indignant message to know when I was going to relieve him, so up I went, buckling on my sword-belt, and tramped up and down the quarterdeck for four hours. I'm certain that I could never have stopped awake had not Cousin Bob, the 'Angel,' and young Marchant walked alongside me and made me tell them all that had happened ashore.
When I went down below again, I showed the black A.D.C.'s sword to Navarro, and told him, as well as I could, all that had happened. He was very depressed, chiefly because he was so fond of old Zorilla, but didn't seem to worry in the least about the black A.D.C., and made me keep the sword.
He shrugged his shoulders when I told him about not killing that little ex-policeman, and said, 'Till he die he always make revenge,' which made me think myself more of an ass than ever for not having killed him when I had the chance.
CHAPTER XI
San Fernando attacked from the Sea
Written by Captain Grattan, R.N.