Page:Frank Stockton--Adventures of Captain Horn.djvu/327

ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HORN and their special conversation ceased. That night they met again.

"What are you going to do about this?" asked Nunez. "We can't keep on supporting that negro."

"What is to be done?" asked the other, his sharp eyes fixed upon his companion's face.

"Would it pay to go over to Rio and meet that brig when she arrives there? If we could get on board and have a talk with her captain, he might be willing to act handsomely when he found out we know something about him and his ship. And if he won't do that, we might give information, and have his vessel held until the authorities in California can be communicated with. Then I should say we ought to make something."

"I don't think much of that plan," said Cardatas. "I don't believe she's going to touch at Rio. If she's afraid to go into port here, why shouldn't she be afraid to go into port there? No. It would be stupid for us to go to Rio and sit down and wait for her."

"Then," answered the other, a little angrily, "what can be done?"

"We can go after her," said Cardatas.

The other sneered. "That would be more stupid than the other," said he. "She left here four days ago, and we could never catch up with her, even if we could find such a pin-point of a vessel on the great Pacific."

Cardatas laughed. "You don't know much about navigation," said he, "but that's not to be expected. With a good sailing-vessel I could go after her, and overhaul her somewhere in the Straits of Magellan. 313