"Senor Hunter," Don Andres began suddenly, "have you decided what
you will do? Your mine in the mountains--it will be foolish to return
there while the hands of the Vigilantes are reaching out to clutch
you; do you not think so? More of the tale I have heard from Valencia,
who returned with Manuel. Those men who died at the hand of your
friend--and died justly, I am convinced--had friends who would give
much for close sight of you both."
"I know; I told Jack we'd have to keep away from town or the mine for
a while. He wanted to go right back and finish up the fight!" Dade
grinned at the absurdity. "I sat down hard on that proposition."
Not that phrase, exactly, did he use. One may be pardoned a free
translation, since, though he spoke in excellent Spanish, he did not
twist his sentences like a native, and he was not averse to making
use of certain idioms quite as striking in their way as our own
Americanisms.
Don Andres rolled a cigarette and smoked it thoughtfully. "You were
wise. Also, I bear in mind your statement that you could not long be
content to remain my guest. Terribly independent and energetic are
you Americanos." He smoked through another pause, while Dade's puzzled
glance dwelt secretly upon his face and tried to read what lay in his
mind. It seemed to him that the don was working his way carefully up
to a polite hint that the visit might be agreeably terminated; and his
uneasy thoughts went to the girl.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107