damned one of your pirates
hanging at the end of ropes over the edges of the various fancy
balconies and other trimmings which adorn this palace. It will be
going clean against my principles to arrange that kind of obituary
dangle for you, Captain. I may have some trouble soothing my
conscience afterwards. But I expect that can be managed. You may call
me inconsistent and you may be right. But I'm not a hide-bound
doctrinnaire. There are circumstances under which the loftier
emanations of humanitarian principle kind of flicker out. The shooting
of Smith is a circumstance of that sort. Your treatment of the
American flag is another."

Gorman tells me that he suspected Donovan of attempting a gigantic
bluff. He admired the way he did it, but he did not think he could
possibly succeed. Donovan did not, so far as Gorman could see, hold in
his hand a single card worth putting down on the table. Smith stood,
cool and apparently uninterested, between the two sailors who had
arrested him. Konrad Karl was lighting and throwing away cigarette
after cigarette. The Queen had grown pale at the mention of the
shooting of Smith; but she kept her eyes fixed on her father. She did
not understand what he was doing, but she had great confidence in him.
Von Moll stared at Donovan with an insolent sneer.

"You threaten," he said, "you think that your American
Republic----Pah! what is America? You have no army. Your navy is no
good. What can you do?"

"You're taking me up wrong again," said Donovan. "I'm not reckoning on
America just now. The hanging will be done by the crew of the English
ship that I'm expecting to see in this harbour. Not to-day, maybe, or
to-morrow, but some time before the end of this darned war."

King Konrad Karl threw away another cigarette.

"Alas and damn!" he said, "by this time there are no longer any
English ships."

Gorman was watching von Moll closely. At the mention of an English
ship the man's eyes flickered suddenly. For an instant his face
changed. A shadow of uneasiness appeared on it. But this passed at
once, and the look of insolence took its place. Donovan was also
watching.

"There may be one or two left," he said. "I don't say the one that
turns up here will be a first-class battle cruiser; but I guess the
men on her will be up to the little job of hanging you, Captain. And
they'll come. Sure. And you'll be here, just waiting for them."

"I shall be gone," said von Moll. "Not that I fear yo