"If you shouted in the hearing of every man in Neopalia, what would they do?" he asked, scornfully.
"Well, I should hope," I returned, "that they'd hang Constantine to the tallest tree you've got here."
"They would do this," he said, with a nod; and he began to sing softly the chant I had heard the night before.
I was disgusted at his savagery, but I said coolly:
"And the lady?"
"The lady believes what she is told, and will do as her cousin bids her. Is she not his affianced wife?"
"The deuce she is!" I cried in amazement, fixing a keen scrutiny on Vlacho's face. The face told me nothing.
"Certainly," he said, gently. "And they will rule the island together."
"Will they, though?" said I. I was becoming rather annoyed. "There are one or two obstacles in the way of that. First, it's my island."
He shrugged his shoulders again. "That," he seemed to say, "is not worth answering." But I had a second shot in the locker for him, and I let him have it for what it was worth. I knew it might be worth nothing, but I tried it.