"I dare not," he said. "The captain's last words were to deliver them safely."
"But think of the money, Jose! Think of the money!"
Ignacio fairly ground his teeth with rage over the delay; he was like a wild man.
"Por dios," he cried, "how can you hesitate? It is the chance of your lifetime—of your lifetime!"
The five unfortunate prisoners had not all of them understood those words, but they had no doubt of their meaning. And they lay watching Ignacio feverishly.
It was as if they had been charmed by a serpent, their eyes followed his every motion. They realized that at any moment the cunning villain might leap at them.
But the sergeant, though wavering, still shook his head.
"The men will tell," he objected.
"Here is another hundred for them!" gasped Ignacio. "It is all I have. Por dios, what more?"
There was at least half a minute of agony after that while the man upon whom everything depended wrestled with that temptation. It was a great one, and Clif felt a cold perspiration breaking out all over him as he sat and watched.