Tim was forced to wait a few minutes before he could obtain an interview with the commandant of the field. When he finally entered Captain Talbot’s office, he received a cordial greeting.
“I understand you want permission to cross the border and hope to get pictures of Lopez and his rebel camp,” said the commandant.
“That’s right,” said Tim, “and I’ll appreciate all the advice and help you can give me.”
“Then my advice is don’t go,” replied Captain Talbot. “General Lopez is a thoroughly capable military man but his chances of success are slim. Even now he has been driven into the mountains of Sonora and only his air force of a dozen planes has saved him. He may have to make a break for the international border almost any day and he doesn’t want his picture broadcast. As it is now, I haven’t any idea what he looks like for we have no photographs. But if you succeed in your mission he will be recognized instantly at any border post.”
“Do you think the revolution Lopez has started is justified?” asked Tim.
“No, I don’t,” said Captain Talbot, emphasizing every word. “I’ve been on the border for ten years now and I know Lopez is nothing more than a bandit, and not a very high class one at that. He’s using the revolution as a guise to rob banks, loot towns and generally blackmail all of the business interests in the territory which he controls. It’s simply banditry on a wholesale scale and when he gets his pockets filled, he’ll slide across the border and leave his subordinates to face the federal firing squads.”
“Nice sort of a fellow, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” said the military man. “Nice when you have him in front of you where you can watch him every minute.”
“I’ve been assigned to get pictures of Lopez and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Tim. “It looks like I may be helping a lot of poor fellows if I do get those pictures and spread Lopez’ likeness all over the front pages.”
“I don’t envy you the task. You’re putting your head in the lion’s mouth and you’ll be so far down in Sonora that we won’t be able to help you. If you were only ten or twelve miles across the border, we might help for we stretch the boundary once in a while when our people get in trouble,” said Captain Talbot while a slight smile played around the corners of his mouth.