"
So back to Maracaybo, back to his own handsome house in which
Captain Blood had established his quarters, came the Deputy-Governor
with the Admiral's answer. And because he had been shamed into a
show of spirit by the Admiral's own stout courage in adversity, he
delivered it as truculently as the Admiral could have desired. "And
is it like that?" said Captain Blood with a quiet smile, though the
heart of him sank at this failure of his bluster. "Well, well, it's
a pity now that the Admiral's so headstrong. It was that way he
lost his fleet, which was his own to lose. This pleasant city of
Maracaybo isn't. So no doubt he'll lose it with fewer misgivings.
I am sorry. Waste, like bloodshed, is a thing abhorrent to me. But
there ye are! I'll have the faggots to the place in the morning,
and maybe when he sees the blaze to-morrow night he'll begin to
believe that Peter Blood is a man of his word. Ye may go, Don
Francisco."
The Deputy-Governor went out with dragging feet, followed by
guards, his momentary truculence utterly spent.
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