Harper said nothing, but when he turned and flung himself into the chair
his eyes were eloquent, and there was for almost an hour a tense silence
in the room. It seemed interminable to Appleby, but at last there was a
tramp of feet outside, and they rose simultaneously, Harper flushed and
Appleby a trifle gray in face. Then there were footsteps on the
stairway, and Morales came in with two or three files of cazadores
behind him. He glanced at the two men, and his face grew a trifle
harder, while a little vindictive sparkle crept into his eyes. Still,
his voice was coldly even.
"I had the honor of making you a proposal last night, Senor Appleby," he
said.
Appleby nodded. "I am sorry that I found I could not entertain it," he
said.
Morales let his hand fall on the hilt of his sword. "Then there is only
one course open to me. I place these men in your custody, sergeant, and
until you hand them over in the guardroom at Santa Marta you will be
answerable for them."
The sergeant made a little sign, two men moved forward, and in another
minute Appleby and Harper went down the stairway and saw a section of
cazadores waiting in the patio.