"I have nothing to say against the beautiful Estella," he replied, with affected gallantry. "No doubt this little affair can be amicably settled later on. Sherwood was directly under my care, and I must see him safely back to prison. I may take the privilege of calling again this evening, or to-morrow morning." He looked at Captain Nocolo meaningly, and bowed himself out. The captain hesitated, then followed him, and thus the entire party moved away, leaving Estella and her father alone. "We have had strange doings here, Estella, since I went away," said the father, as he began to pace the floor uneasily, while she, sick at heart over Howard's recapture, sank down on a hassock, and buried her face in her hands. "Strange doings indeed! I never fancied that a daughter of mine would be so disloyal!" "I am not disloyal, papa," she returned, when she could trust herself to speak. "I did what I thought was right." "To assist Sherwood to escape was a crime, and----" "In my opinion, it was not a crime," she interrupted. "He was to be shot as a spy!" "That is the fate of all spies in time of war." "He is no spy, I repeat. More than that, it is only Lieutenant Mazenas' bitter hatred of Howard that would send him to his death." And acting on the impulse of the moment, Estella narrated her whole story, from beginning to end, telling how she had first met Howard on the steamer, and of all that had happened since. Still pacing the floor uneasily, the old general drank in every word, but not once did his stern eyes seek his daughter's fair face, now wet with tears. "I can see very readily that your sojourn in the United States has done you no good," he began, when she had finished. "Your head has been filled with erroneous notions, both of a personal and of a political nature. You imagine that the people of Cuba should do as they please, and that every young lady should be allowed to do as she pleases. Now this is all wrong, and the sooner you realize it the better it will be for you. I do not approve of Captain Nocolo's actions toward you, and he shall either beg your pardon or feel the point of my sword. But he likes his wine, and mayhap he was slightly under the influence of stimulants at the time; therefore, I believe that he will make due amends." The general paused, and she gave a low sob. "But your actions against Lieutenant Mazenas, your future husband, are far from being in accord with my desires." "My future husband!--I will never marry that man!" It was a cry direct from Estella's heart. "In this matter I shall insist upon full obedience, and there's an end of it!" he exclaimed. "I am not so dull that I cannot see through your doings. You would wed this adventurous American. But let me tell you, once for all, that will never be. I will stretch him dead at my feet before I will allow him to claim your hand in marriage, even should he escape death at the hands of the authorities!"