It was of course a lie; and it made Clif's blood boil. The Spanish vessel had deceived them and tried to capture them by stealth. The men of the Spanish boat's crew had been shot while trying to hold up the American.
But Clif had expected that Ignacio would tell such a tale, and so he was not surprised. The offense with which the lad found himself charged was a terrible one, and he realized that he could be hanged for it.
Yet what was he to do?
"I fear," he said to the Spaniard, "that it will do me little good to deny this story."
"That is true," said the other, promptly.
And his cruel eyes gleamed as he watched the prisoner.
"Do you deny the shooting?" he demanded.
"No," said Clif, "I do not."
"You find it easier to say that the men pretended to be Americans."
"I find it easier because it is truer," was the cadet's answer.