Сердца трех / Hearts of Three

’

�Whereabouts on the mainland was this?’ Henry demanded, with a tenseness which Francis, chuckling his reminiscence of the misadventure, did not notice.

�Down’ toward the other end of Chiriqui Lagoon,’ he replied. �It was the stamping ground of the Solano family, I learned; and they are a red peppery family, as I found out. But I haven’t told you all. Listen. First she dragged me into the vegetation and insulted my mustache; next she chased me to the boat with a drawn revolver; and then she wanted to know why I didn’t kiss her.

Can you beat that?’

�And did you?’ Henry demanded, his hand unconsciously clinching by his side.

�What could a poor stranger in a strange land do? It was some armful of pretty girl—’

The next fraction of a second Francis had sprung to his feet and blocked before his jaw a crushing blow of Henry’s fist.

�I… I beg your pardon,’ Henry mumbled, and slumped down on the ancient sea chest. I’m a fool, I know, but I’ll be hanged if I can stand for—’

�There you go again,’ Francis interrupted resentfully.

�As crazy as everybody else in this crazy country. One moment you bandage up my cracked head, and the next moment you want to knock that same head clean of me. As bad as the girl taking turns at kissing me and shoving a gun into my midriff.’

�That’s right, fire away, I deserve it,’ Henry admitted ruefully, but involuntarily began to fire up as he continued with: �Confound you, that was Leoncia.

’

�What if it was Leoncia? Or Mercedes? Or Dolores? Can’t a fellow kiss a pretty girl at a revolver’s point without having his head knocked off by the next ruffian he meets in dirty canvas pants on a notorious sand-heap of an island?’

�When the pretty girl is engaged to marry the ruffian in the dirty canvas pants.’

�You don’t mean to tell me,’ the other broke in excitedly.

�It isn’t particularly amusing to said ruffian to be told that his sweetheart has been kissing a ruffian she never saw before from off a disreputable Jamaica nigger’s schooner,’ Henry completed his sentence.

�And she took me for you,’ Francis mused, glimpsing the situation. �I don’t blame you for losing your temper, though you must admit it’s a nasty one. Wanted to cut off my ears yesterday, didn’t you?’

�Yours is just as nasty, Francis, my boy.