"O count! You are going too far."
"On my soul, general, such things can only be witnessed in Mexico."
"My dear count, you are mistaken. No one is seeking to injure you, on the contrary."
"Still, up to the present, you, one of the largest shareholders in the company, whose interests are at stake, you in a word, who, owing to the influence you possess, should have helped us in the most effective manner, have only employed that power to impede our movements and injure us in every way."
"O count! What terms you are employing."
"Good Heavens, general, excuse me! But it is time for all these absurd annoyances to cease, and for me to be allowed to proceed to the mines. All this has lasted too long."
The general appeared to reflect for a moment.
"Come, frankly," he said at last; "did you not understand why I acted toward you in that way?"
"I swear it."
"That is strange. Pardon me in your turn, count; but I had a very different opinion of you."