"Boy, boy, have you no sympathy with me? Think of the suffering I have passed through! You should pity me."
"What are you trying to do now?" asked Frank, quietly.
"I am trying to raise some money to ransom my son."
"But I thought you did raise money?"
"So I did, but not enough."
"Finish the story."
"Well, when I received that letter I immediately hastened to this land of bandits and half-breeds. I did not have three thousand dollars, but I hoped that what I had would be enough to soften Pacheco's heart—to save my poor boy."
"And you failed?"
The old man groaned again.
"My boy is still in Pacheco's power, and I have not a dollar left in all the world! Failed—miserably failed!"