“I should have to make careful calculation; he might come within a mile or two, but remember that the modern world has not yet produced the peer of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, nor do I see any signs that she is likely to do so. Have you been figuring on a comparison yourself?”
“I am too modest to claim to stand on the same plane with either of your great heroes, but reflection convinces me that I have been selected by heaven to be the successor of General Simon Bolivar.”
“Inasmuch as to when?” said the Major gravely.
“I beg pardon; I do not understand your question, Major.”
“I wait for you to explain your meaning: what is your ambition?”
“It is to form a grand confederation of South American states; as you know, our continent is divided into no end of petty republics. Why should they not unite into one powerful, resistless whole?”
“The only obstacle is themselves; each country is so jealous of every other that it prefers to fight rather than to fuse. Zalapata and Atlamalco are illustrations; they are continually quarreling and at war over trifles that would shame a couple of schoolboys.”
“All that is ended; henceforth General Yozarro and I are brothers, and the two republics will join hands in the path of progress. Our example will be quickly followed by Venezuela, by Colombia, by Ecuador, by Bolivia, by Brazil and all the states down to and including Patagonia. Will not that be the grandest confederation the world ever saw?”
“Undoubtedly—when it is formed. Is the conception your own, General?”