Paul's hand
moved to the butt of the pistol in his belt, but the intentions of the
West Indian were not hostile.
"Thou hast conquered," he said to Henry in his queer thee- and
thou-English. "Thou art not only the taller and the larger, but also the
stronger and the more skillful. It is the first time that Alonzo Menocal
was ever picked up, carried across a room, and put down in his chair, as a
mother puts her baby to bed."
He put out his hand in quite an American fashion, and Henry shook it, glad
that the man was good-natured. More applause greeted this act of
friendship by the two and, taking advantage of it, the five went out,
accompanied by Lieutenant Bernal, all in great good humor.
Night was coming on, and they felt that it was time to return to "The
Galleon." A man was already lighting the smoking oil lamps that hung from
the wooden arms of the posts, and from one of the forts a sentinel was
calling the hour.
New Orleans looked better under the softening hue of the twilight. Many of
the asperities that go as a matter of course with newness were hidden, but
the smells remained.
"Wish I could sleep in the woods to-night, with nuthin' but trees runnin'
away at least ten miles in every direction," said Long Jim.
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