'
'You shall have it in black and white, out of my Cuban note-book,'
replied the other, unlocking a drawer in the official table; 'I always
take notes of anything worth recording, on the spot. A man is a fool who
trusts to memory, where personal character is at stake. Montesma is as
well known at Havana as the Morro Fort or the Tacon Theatre. I have
heard stories enough about him to fill a big volume; but all the facts
recorded there'--striking the morocco cover of the note-book--'have been
thoroughly sifted; I can vouch for them.'
He looked at the index, found the page, and handed the book to Lord
Hartfield.
'Read for yourself,' he said, quietly.
Lord Hartfield read three or four pages of plain statement as to various
adventures by sea and land in which Gomez de Montesma had figured, and
the reputation which he bore in Cuba and on the Main.
'You can vouch for this?' he said at last, after a long silence.
'For every syllable.'
'The story of his marriage?'
'Gospel truth: I knew the lady.'
'And the rest?'
'All true.
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