Mrs Armytage and her daughter saw that he was in earnest, and prepared to obey. A shot which whistled close over the quarter showed the wisdom of his order.
“Oh, but my father—my father! will he not come?” exclaimed the daughter of the marquis in the most bitter anguish.
“Your father will do as he thinks fit, Donna Julia,” said the captain. “I only exert my influence where ladies are concerned. Spain is at present united to England. He cannot be called on to fight.”
“And you, Captain Alvarez, you are a Spaniard. Why unite with the enemies of Spain?”
“Spain disinherited me,” he answered, turning away. “But, ladies, hasten below, there is no time to be lost.”
Another shot came whistling by, and cut short all further conversation.
The captain now ordered a couple of long brass guns to be run out aft to return the compliment the English were paying him. They were served well, and the nearer the enemy approached, the more effective they became. At length a shot struck the taffrail, and glancing along the bulwarks, sent the splinters flying about the deck. The marquis turned pale.
“It is my duty to go and look after the safety of my daughter,” he observed, diving rapidly below.
“I am not a belligerent, and if I am wounded I cannot attend to the spiritual affaire of the dying,” said Father Mendez, following his patron.
“It matters little what becomes of me, since all my worldly possessions are on board the craft those scoundrels are carrying off,” remarked Don Tacon, as he sulkily walked the deck.