“That is, if he wants to restock it. He was talking with George and me last night, and he said if the Texas Pacific is built, he will have all his land surveyed to sell it in farming lots, and will not put cattle in it. But if the railroad is not built, then the best use he can make of the rancho will be to make it a cattle rancho again, after the squatters go away,” Gabriel said, adding that he must be going to join his father. He then went into the hall to go to the court-yard, where his saddled horse and his vaquero waited for him. Clarence and George followed to bid him good-by. Clarence said:
“I wrote to Hubert about procuring for you a place at a bank, to get broken into the banking business, and he replied that he can, and will get you a place. Would you like to try it, now that you will have less to do here, when there will be no cattle at the rancho? I am going to write and telegraph to Hubert to-day—or he might be down in to-morrow's steamer—so that I can tell him about what time you might go up.”
“I think you had better go about the time Clarence and Mercedes get married, as they will immediately go to their house in San Francisco,” George suggested.
“Yes, I think that will be the best time,” Gabriel said.
“Very well; I'll write to Hubert that we will be up by the 20th of this month,” Clarence said.
“Gabriel can take his place on the 1st of October. That will do splendidly, as Lizzie and Mercedes will be together,” George said.
“But we must live in the hope that we will all come down to make our homes here,” Gabriel added.
“Of course. That is understood,” Clarence replied.
“Though at times I feel discouraged, still, I can't well see how the Texas Pacific is to be defeated permanently. That would be too outrageous. Let us hope that by next year our banking scheme will be carried out,” George said.
“I hope so, and as I have made more money than I had when we first talked about it we can put in more capital. We can, if you advise it, put in a whole million now,” Clarence said.