and half out of his
head. He drank all the water I gave him, but he hadn't much to say for
himself. I walked back to the governor.

"'He asks for a bullet in his head before we go,' I said. I wasn't at
all pleased.

"'Oh, that's out of the question altogether,' says the governor.

"He was right there. Only four shots left, and ninety miles of wild
coast to put behind us before coming to the first place where you could
expect to buy revolver cartridges.

"'Anyhow,' I tells him, 'he wants to be killed some way or other, as a
favour.'

"And then I go on setting up the boat's mast. I didn't care much for the
notion of butchering a man bound hand and foot and fastened by the neck
besides. I had a knife then--the honourable Antonio's knife; and that
knife is this knife.

"Ricardo gave his leg a resounding slap.

"First spoil in my new life," he went on with harsh joviality. "The
dodge of carrying it down there I learned later. I carried it stuck in
my belt that day. No, I hadn't much stomach for the job; but when you
work with a gentleman of the real right sort you may depend on your
feelings being seen through your skin. Says the governor suddenly:

"'It may even be looked upon as his right'--you hear a gentleman
speaking there?--'but what do you think of taking him with us in the
boat?'

"And the governor starts arguing that the beggar would be useful in
working our way along the coast. We could get rid of him before coming
to the first place that was a little civilized. I didn't want much
talking over. Out I scrambled from the boat.

"'Ay, but will he be manageable, sir?'

"'Oh, yes. He's daunted. Go on, cut him loose--I take the
responsibility.'

"'Right you are, sir.'

"He sees me come along smartly with his brother's knife in my hand--I
wasn't thinking how it looked from his side of the fence, you know--and
jiminy, it nearly killed him! He stared like a crazed bullock and began
to sweat and twitch all over, something amazing. I was so surprised,
that I stopped to look at him. The drops were pouring over his eyebrows,
down his beard, off his nose--and he gurgled. Then it struck me that he
couldn't see what was in my mind. By favour or by right he didn't like
to die when it came to it; not in that way, anyhow. When I stepped round
to get at the lashing, he let out a sort of soft bellow. Thought I was
going to stick him from behind, I guess. I cut all the turns with one
slash, and he went over on his sid