"Shut the door!" The man obeyed.

"Now, then," said Lee, with a broad, gratified smile, laying down his
whip and pistol within reach, and comfortably settling the pillows
behind his back, "we'll have a quiet confab. A sort of old-fashioned
talk, eh? You're not looking well, Manuel. You're drinking too much
again. It spoils your complexion."

"Let me go, captain," pleaded the man, emboldened by the good-humored
voice, but not near enough to notice a peculiar light in the speaker's
eye.

"You've only just come, Manuel; and at considerable trouble, too. Well,
what have you got to say? What's all this about? What are you doing
here?"

The captured man shuffled his feet nervously, and only uttered an uneasy
laugh of coarse discomfiture.

"I see. You're bashful. Well, I'll help you along. Come! You knew that
Hale was away and these women were here without a man to help them. You
thought you'd find some money here, and have your own way generally,
eh?"

The tone of Lee's voice inspired him to confidence; unfortunately, it
inspired him with familiarity also.

"I reckoned I had the right to a little fun on my own account, cap.
I reckoned ez one gentleman in the profession wouldn't interfere with