Alvarez was as still as if struck by lightning. His great
plan known to this man, this man who feared not even torture, or death,
or the world to come! He shrank visibly both mentally and physically, but
then his courage came back under the spur of dreadful necessity.
"A priest can take great liberties," he said. "Sometimes I think it
scarcely fair that you of the Book may denounce us of the sword and that
we may say nothing in return, although we may be right and you may be
wrong. It is sufficient now for me to tell you that I do not know what you
are talking about. I, the Governor General! Any man may dream of that! I
have done so, and I have no doubt that many others have done the same. I
favor, too, an alliance with England, as do nearly all the Spanish
officers in Louisiana, but I am a faithful servant of His Majesty, the
King, and though I may hold my opinions, I know of no plot, either against
Bernardo Galvez or to make a war upon Kaintock."
"I have heard you, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, "but it is for
your actions to prove the truth of your words. See to it, also, that there
is no further cruelty practised against these men from Kaintock."
"They are my prisoners," replied Alvarez, "and I mean to hold them.
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