“More than we thought. You know that much of the management has been left in the hands of Vaca Alonzo and his brother, Silvester. While the work was being developed they both devoted themselves to it tirelessly, then I noticed a change in Silvester, he seemed less open and responsive. He is the older man. One or two others in the company mentioned several slight discrepancies, so we started a quiet investigation. We found that they are maneuvering to gain control of the business. Several outsiders have been admitted, one at a time, unobtrusively, and these men have been making an effort to increase their stock. You understand the sort of thing that can be—as you say in the United States—put over, when the heads of an organization are not alert?”
“Yes, indeed,” Mr. Austin answered.
“Well, you are here, two other men will arrive later, one is already on his way from Lima. At the regular meeting tonight we will out-vote them, and under the circumstances I am in favor of changing officers, giving the Alonzos less influence. It is good that you arrived so promptly for we had planned to seek an adjournment tonight, but that will not be necessary. We can conclude the matter immediately, and it is possible that we can rid ourselves of the undesirable element.”
“I am certainly in favor of that,” Mr. Austin declared. “Now, I should like to ask you something. Are the Alonzos very widely connected?”
“Why yes, they are, I should say. They have interests in several enterprises. That is one reason why we wanted them to join with us. While they were not what you would call enormously wealthy, they have been very successful in the past two years. May I ask why you inquire?”
“Your letter by air mail reached me in good time and we started within the week, as you know. We have made the trip in excellent time and as far as we can tell you, only our immediate families were aware we were coming here to Cuzco. I did not even send you a message because it occurred to me that someone might investigate your mail.”
“When I did not hear from you, I felt positive that you were coming,” De Castro smiled.
“That’s what I expected you to do. Texas, our part of it, has been under a blanket of snow for several weeks, so we have seen little of our neighbors, and I doubt if any of them know that we are not at home,” Mr. Austin explained carefully.
“Yes, it is well to be cautious; there is much at stake.”
“To shorten the story, one attempt was made on my life, possibly two, but the one came very nearly being accomplished. I wondered if the Alonzos are sufficiently powerful to have an organization which could be responsible for those attempts.”