"Hang it; they are Americans, I believe."
"But what sort of Americans? Are they Gringos or Gachupinos?"
"I did not inquire into such details; to me all Americans are alike; and provided they are attacked, I ask for nothing more."
"That is possible, old father," the girl answered, with a little pout; "but I make a grand difference between them."
"I do not exactly see the use of it."
"I am free to think as I please, I suppose," she interrupted him, as she stamped her foot impatiently.
"Yes, my child, yes—do not be angry, I entreat you."
"Very good; but pay attention to what I am going to tell you. Red Cedar is a man on whom I do not put the slightest trust. He is ever accustomed to pursue a gloomy object, which escapes his partners; they only serve him as a cat's paw in all his undertakings; and he abandons them unblushingly so soon as they are of no further use to him. The affair Red Cedar proposes to you is magnificent at the first glance; but, on reflecting, far from offering us profits, it may bring a multitude of annoyances on us, and bring us into a wasp's nest, whence we cannot emerge."
"Then, your opinion is to decline?"
"I do not say that; but I wish to know what you intend doing, and what our chances of success are?"