‘Prisoner, attention! His excellency the President has permitted Senor Steinbaum to visit you.’
The ‘prisoner’ was lying on his back on a plank bed, with his hands tucked beneath his head to obtain some measure of protection from the roll of rough fiber matting which formed a pillow. He did not pay the slightest heed to the half-caste Spanish jailer’s gruff command. But the visitor’s name stirred him. He turned his head, apparently to make sure that he was not being deceived, and rose on an elbow.
‘ Hello, Steinbaum!’ he said in English. ‘What’s the swindle? Excuse this terseness, but I have to die in an hour, or even less, if a sunbeam hasn’t misled me.’
‘There’s no swindle this time, Mr. Maseden, ‘ came the guttural answer. ‘I’m sorry I cannot help you, but I want you to do a good turn for a lady.’
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