"Then I shall have you arrested," was the quick reply.
"For what?"
"For the theft of my mummy."
Hervey laughed raucously.
"I guess the law can't worry me about that after thirty years,
and in a low-down country like Peru. Your Government has shifted
fifty times since I looted the corpse."
This was quite true, and there was absolutely no chance of the
skipper being brought to book. Don Pedro looked rather
disconsolate, and his gaze dropped under the glare of Hervey's
eyes, which seemed unfair, seeing that the Don was as good as the
captain was evil.
"You can't expect me to condone the theft," he muttered.
"I reckon I don't expect anything," retorted Hervey coolly "I
looted the corpse, I don't deny, and--"
"After my father had treated you like a son," said Don Pedro
bitterly. "You were homeless and friendless, and my father took
you in, only to find that you robbed him of his most precious
possession."
The skipper had the grace to blush, and shifted uneasily in his
chair.
"You can't say truer than that," he grumbled, averting his eyes.
"I guess I'm a bad lot all through. But a friend of mine wanted
the corpse, and offered me a heap of dollars to see the business
through.
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