acou,--I
remember the name perfectly well,--and I was told at Havana, by one who
ought to know, that Morillo had given it out among his friends that he
would pay one thousand dollars to anyone who should bring Courtenay to
him alive. And that is not all, either. You know what Morillo is; he
has declared a feud against this miserable, meddlesome Englishman, and
not only will he gladly pay a thousand dollars for the privilege of
wreaking his vengeance upon him, but the man who delivers your friend
Courtenay into his hands will be free to sail the seas without
molestation from Morillo as long as he lives. What think you of that,
Captain Lemaitre?"

"Is this true?" demanded Lemaitre. "Ay," answered Francois, "as true as
that you and I are sitting here in this cabin."

"Why did you not tell me of this before, Francois, my friend?" asked
Lemaitre, in a wheedling tone.

"Why did I not tell you before?" echoed Francois. "Ask rather why I
tell you now, and I will answer that it is because I am such a fool that
I cannot keep a good thing to myself when I have it. Sac-r-r-re! what
need was there for me to make you as wise as myself, eh? However, I am
not going to let you have this choice little bit of information for
nothing. I have told you how to make a clear five hundred dollars over
and above what you could have earned without the information I have been
idiot enough to give you, and you must pay me half the amount; do you
understand?"

"Ay, I understand," answered Lemaitre, with a sudden return to his
former sneering, aggressive manner; "but I should like to know--just for
the satisfaction of my curiosity--how you propose to compel me to pay
you that two hundred and fifty dollars that you talk about."

"Why, easily enough," snarled Francois, with sudden fury, as he realised
that Lemaitre intended to evade the extortion if he could. "If you do
not pay me immediately after receiving the reward from Morillo, I will
denounce you to him. I will say that you intended to have yielded up
your prisoner to the British, in order that you might curry favour with
them and secure immunity from capture by them; and that you would never
have given him up to Morillo at all but for my threats. And I suppose
you know what that will mean for you, eh?"

"Oh, so that is what you would do, is it, my friend?" returned Lemaitre,
with a harsh laugh. "Well, well, it will be time enough for you to
threaten when I refuse to pay you the