He began working himself into a passion, and his face did look wicked.
He was tall and lean and very good looking, and he clenched his fists,
and jerked his arms about, and began cursing everyone—Captain Lester,
the Admiral, Mr. Hoffman, himself, and Mr. Hobbs.
"How are they? How’s Sally?" I asked; but he didn’t seem to hear the
first time, and raved about his cursed bad luck. Presently I asked
again.
"I wish to heavens I’d never set eyes on either of them."
"Why don’t you send them back to us?" I asked.
"Send ’em back? I daren’t; my life isn’t worth an hour’s purchase now,
and they’d never let me. They’d kill them first, and me too. I don’t
run this show—not really; it’s run by some of those Chinese
mandarins—two or three of those who’ve just been in here. They think
that as long as Hobbs and his daughter are in their hands they can get
theer ransom, and that your old fool bull dog of a Skipper don’t dare
touch them. They want me to marry the girl—to make it more certain."
"We thought that you were trying to marry her," I said stupidly.
"That’s nothing to do with it—nothing to do with you," he jerked out
very fiercely.
"If your fool Captain will run his head up against us, I shall have to
marry her to save her life and mine too."
"That’s what those fat, oily-looking beasts want to do, and want me to
do; and those other bloodthirsty rascals want to cut their throats and
have done with them, say they’ve only brought us trouble, and wish to
get back to their old established pirate business," he added, sneering.
"I’ve got them in the only strong walled house in the town, and I’ve got
a hundred of my best men to guard them, but I can’t trust ’em."
"If I’m caught I hang," he began shouting—I really thought that he’d
forgotten me—"and if she knows that it will save my life, I believe she
will marry me. If things go wrong I go, and directly I go, you all
go—Hobbs and all of you, and the poor girl too" (he clenched his hands
across his forehead). "We’ve the scum of the Yangste here. They’d cut
my throat for a cent if I left off being useful to them, and they’ll cut
all your throats for pure devilment."
He sank down on a chair and stared in front of him.