Blood. "I have been clear enough, I think. What do you
say?"

Don Esteban moistened his parched lips, and with the back of his hand
mopped the anguish-sweat from his brow. His eyes gazed wildly a moment
upon the shoulders of his father, as if beseeching guidance. But his
father remained silent. Something like a sob escaped the boy.

"I... I accept," he answered at last, and swung to the Spaniards. "And
you--you will accept too," he insisted passionately. "For Don Diego's
sake and for your own--for all our sakes. If you do not, this man will
butcher us all without mercy."

Since he yielded, and their leader himself counselled no resistance,
why should they encompass their own destruction by a gesture of futile
heroism? They answered without much hesitation that they would do as was
required of them.

Blood turned, and advanced to Don Diego.

"I am sorry to inconvenience you in this fashion, but..." For a second
he checked and frowned as his eyes intently observed the prisoner. Then,
after that scarcely perceptible pause, he continued, "but I do not think
that you have anything beyond this inconvenience to apprehend, and you
may depend upon me to shorten it as far as possible." Don Diego made him
no answer.

Peter Blood waited a moment, observing him; then he bowed and stepped
back.

CHAPTER XII. DON PEDRO SANGRE

The Cinco Llagas and the Encarnacion, after a proper exchange of
signals, lay hove to within a quarter of a mile of each other, and
across the intervening space of gently heaving, sunlit waters sped a
boat from the former, manned by six Spanish seamen and bearing in her
stern sheets Don Esteban de Espinosa and Captain Peter Blood.

She also bore two treasure-chests containing fifty thousand pieces of
eight. Gold has at all times been considered the best of testimonies of
good faith, and Blood was determined that in all respects appearances
should be entirely on his side. His followers had accounted this
a supererogation of pretence. But Blood's will in the matter had
prevailed. He carried further a bulky package addressed to a grande
of Spain, heavily sealed with the arms of Espinosa--another piece of
evidence hastily manufactured in the cabin of the Cinco Llagas--and he
was spending these last moments in completing his instructions to his
young companion.

Don Esteban expressed his last lingering uneasiness:

"But if you should betray yourself?" he cried.

"It will be unfortunate for ever