y had on was white linen drawers rolled
up on their thighs. Not a word they said to each other. Antonio was
down on his thick hams, busy rubbing a knife on a flat stone; Pedro was
leaning against a small tree and passing his thumb along the edge of his
blade. I got away quieter than a mouse, you bet."

"I didn't say anything to the boss then. He was leaning on his elbow
on his rug, and didn't seem to want to be spoken to. He's like
that--sometimes that familiar you might think he would eat out of your
hand, and at others he would snub you sharper than a devil--but always
quiet. Perfect gentleman, I tell you. I didn't bother him, then; but
I wasn't likely to forget them two fellows, so businesslike with their
knives. At that time we had only one revolver between us two--the
governor's six-shooter, but loaded only in five chambers; and we had no
more cartridges. He had left the box behind in a drawer in his cabin.
Awkward! I had nothing but an old clasp-knife--no good at all for
anything serious.

"In the evening we four sat round a bit of fire outside the
sleeping-shed, eating broiled fish off plantain leaves, with roast yams
for bread--the usual thing. The governor and I were on one side, and
these two beauties cross-legged on the other, grunting a word or two
to each other, now and then, hardly human speech at all, and their eyes
down, fast on the ground. For the last three days we couldn't get them
to look us in the face. Presently I began to talk to the boss quietly,
just as I am talking to you now, careless like, and I told him all I had
observed. He goes on picking up pieces of fish and putting them into his
mouth as calm as anything. It's a pleasure to have anything to do with a
gentleman. Never looked across at them once.

"'And now,' says I, yawning on purpose, 'we've got to stand watch at
night, turn about, and keep our eyes skinned all day, too, and mind we
don't get jumped upon suddenly.'

"'It's perfectly intolerable,' says the governor. 'And you with no
weapon of any sort!'

"'I mean to stick pretty close to you, sir, from this on, if you don't
mind,' says I.

"He just nods the least bit, wipes his fingers on the plantain leaf,
puts his hand behind his back, as if to help himself to rise from the
ground, snatches his revolver from under his jacket and plugs a bullet
plumb centre into Mr. Antonio's chest. See what it is to have to do with
a gentleman. No confounded fuss, and things done out of hand. B