He could not help doing so.

That naive avowal from the one whom he considered his chief enemy tickled his fancy.

And presently Menocal, catching the humour of it, himself began to smile.
"I shouldn't be surprised if we have had a misconception of each other," Lee stated.
"Ah, _cielos!_ That is nothing less than the truth.

What a pity, too, my young friend, that we could not have found it out earlier.

Our affair, perhaps--we might have reached a satisfactory agreement.