"On behalf of the lady of the island--" he began.
"Or shall we say her cousin?" I interrupted.
"Which you will," he answered, as though it were not worth while to
wear the mask any longer. "On behalf, then, of my Lord Constantine, I
am to offer you safe passage to your boat, and a return of the money
you have paid."
"How's he going to pay that?"
"He will pay it in a year, and give you security meanwhile."
"And the condition is that I give up the island?" I asked; and I began
to think that perhaps I owed it to my companions to acquiesce in this
proposal, however distasteful it might be to me.
"Yes," said Vlacho; "and there is one other small condition, which
will not trouble you."
"And what's that? You're rich in conditions."
"You are lucky to be offered any. It is that you mind your own
business."
"I came here for the purpose," I observed.
"And that you undertake, for yourself and your companions, on your
word of honor, to speak not a word of what has passed in the island,
or of the affairs of the Lord Constantine."
"And if I won't give my word?"
"The yacht is in our hands; Demetri and Spiro are our men; there will
be no ship here for two months."
The fellow paused, smiling at me. I took the liberty of ending his
period for him.
"And there is," I said, returning the smile, "as we know by now, a
particularly sudden and fatal form of fever in the island.
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