"My friend, Judge Key, who is present, is a most able lawyer," I replied, "and you can consult with him if you wish advice; but first let me show you your true position. Your real name, Don José Gomez, was given you in Brazil, where it is remembered only to be cursed; Don Juan Sanchez was your name in Peru, and your crimes there are also well known; as Don José Michel, there are serious charges against you in San Francisco; Don Pedro Michel is badly wanted in Quito, where he would probably be shot, as they treat criminals there rather unceremoniously; and Don José Arias would undoubtedly be transported for life if the London detectives should discover his present hiding place, to say nothing of a lively interest which the French _gens d'armes_ take in the same person. All of these people are now informed that the person whom they wish to find is living in Gloster as Don Pedro P. L. de Morito, and they are at this moment hastening agents here to arrest him. By chance, the Peruvian authorities are the first to arrive, and they have, therefore, the happy privilege of making the arrest. Now, as you are probably aware, the Minister will have some difficulty in obtaining an order from Washington authorizing me to send you to Peru, for want of an extradition treaty; but while you are under arrest here, we can easily get warrants from either California, England, or France, and then you can take your choice between being shot by vigilantes in California, transported to Van Dieman's Land by England, or sent to work in the galleys by France. This is your present situation, and I am perfectly indifferent which course you prefer. If you decide to go with the Peruvian Minister, you must agree to do so voluntarily, until you are placed on board the Peruvian vessel, and you must make an assignment of all your money and property here to reimburse the people whom you have swindled by the sale of fictitious diamond-fields. If you are willing to comply with these conditions, you will sign all the necessary papers at once, and you will leave for New York to-night, before the English extradition writ arrives; if you refuse these conditions, I shall hold you until that writ, or one from California, arrives."