“How’s that?”
“Frank must go back to Mexico. It’s absolutely necessary, he says, to have a hand in the building of that railroad which will open up the country in which lies his San Pablo Mine. He has heard some things of late that make him uneasy. You know there’s always a chance for trouble over any large investment in Mexico. There are rumors that another syndicate wishes to build a railroad through exactly the same territory, and that powerful influence is being brought to bear on the Mexican government by this rival concern. I am almost sorry Frank has not sought a market for his Sonora Mine. Now that Bart has no mining interests, he is at liberty to go into any business he chooses, and he may remain in the East.”
“We have talked that over, Inza,” said Elsie. “Already Bart has told me about this trouble Frank may have, and I have urged him to stand by Frank until it is settled. Instead of remaining in the East, Bart will return to Mexico when Frank goes.”
“Oh, Elsie!” exclaimed Inza; “I know how keenly you must feel the sacrifice! You had planned something entirely different, and now——”
“And now I am ready to put my plans and hopes aside for a time. Bart knows how much he owes to Frank, and he is anxious to stand by him. If I were to ask it, he would not go back to Mexico; but I have urged him to do so.”
“Just like you, Elsie!” declared Inza. “Frank may not start for some time yet. He will have considerable work in New York with the capitalists who are going to push that railroad through. You know he has a number of maps and plans of the country through which the railroad will pass. True, a survey has been made, but Frank knows that country better than the engineers who made the survey. This he has demonstrated to the capitalists, and there’s to be a meeting in New York some time next week. It’s impossible to say how soon after that meeting he will be obliged to leave for Mexico.”
“Don’t you fear to have him go down there into that wild country, Inza?”
“No, I don’t fear,” was the immediate answer. “I have absolute confidence in Frank.”
“But the Mexicans are so treacherous. They often strike at an enemy’s back.”
“That’s true of a certain class of Mexicans, Elsie. There are several classes of people in Mexico, you know. For instance, there are the native Indians, then the Creoles of Spanish descent or Mexican birth. Then there are the Spaniards born in Europe, and, finally, the half-breeds, or cross between the Mexicans and Indians. These half-breeds are the treacherous ones, Elsie. They are called Mestizos. They are the enemies to be watched and avoided.”