ree had fallen and the
rest saw me, they threw up the sponge."

"And the colonel?"

"He fought well. He killed two of my fellows; then a lot of them flung
themselves on him and disarmed him."

"And you killed him in cold blood?"

The President smiled slightly.

"Six men fell in that affair--five besides the colonel. Does it strike
you that you, in fact, killed the five to enable you to run away with
the girl you loved?"

It hadn't struck me in that light, but it was quite irrelevant.

"But for your scheme I should have come back without a blow," he
continued; "but then I should have shot McGregor just the same."

"Because he led the revolt?"

"Because," said the President, "he has been a traitor from the
beginning even to the end--because he tried to rob me of all I held
dear in the world. If you like," he added, with a shrug, "because he
stood between me and my will. So I went up to him and told him his
hour was come, and I shot him through the head. He died like a man,
Martin; I will say that."

I could not pretend to regret the dead man. Indeed, I had been
near doing the same deed myself. But I shrank before this calm
ruthlessness.

Another long pause followed. Then the President said:

"I am sorry for all this, Martin--sorry you and I came to blows."

"You played me false about the money," I said bitterly.

"Yes, yes," he answered gently; "I don't blame you. You were bound to
me by no ties. Of course you saw my plan?"

"I supposed your Excellency meant to keep the money and throw me
over."

"Not altogether," he said. "Of course I was bound to have the money.
But it was the other thing, you know. As far as the money went I would
have taken care you came to no harm."

"What was it, then?"

"I thought you understood all along," he said, with some surprise. "I
saw you were my rival with Christina, and my game was to drive you out
of the country by making the place too hot for you."

"She told me you didn't suspect about me and her till quite the end."

"Did she?" he answered, with a smile. "I must be getting clever to
deceive two such wide-awake, young people. Of course I saw it all
along. But you had more grit than I thought. I've never been so nearly
done by any man as by you."

"But for luck you would have been," said I.

"Yes, but I count luck as one of my resources," he replied.

"Well, what are you going to do now?"

He took no notice, but went on.

"You played too high. It was al