The sight of two horsemen redoubled his speed, and when he reached us, he could scarcely gasp, in his astonishment and want of breath:
"You, Bourdelaine! You here! Glad to see you, caro mio. Welcome! We scarcely expected so agreeable a surprise. What can we do for you, captain? Will you try a glass of rum?"
I spurred my horse toward Polidoro, and, with a sudden blow breaking the glass and bottle he held, said briefly and sternly:
"Your sword, lieutenant!"
Polidoro turned pale, and, recoiling a couple of paces, said in a husky voice:
"My sword! Was it to demand my sword that you came from Mora, you and your countryman Brocard?"
"We come to decimate you. The colonel has ordered it."
And I dismounted, placing myself in their power, to prove to the mutineers the fixedness of my resolve to carry out my orders or die in the attempt.
The idea seemed, however, to excite their mirth.