While they waited they had an opportunity of hearing several instructive matters freely mentioned. One of these was the way of avoiding the payment of taxes, and how to fight the cases in the courts. The gentlemen who discussed the subject evidently understood it and were waiting to have an audience. Their talk suggested a very sad train of thoughts to Don Mariano, as he heard that the railroad people did not mean to pay taxes, and would resist the law. He thought how those millionaires would pay no taxes, and defy the law openly and fight to the bitter end, whilst he was not only obliged to pay taxes upon a too highly appraised property, but must also pay taxes for the land occupied by the squatter and on the improvements thereon! As a necessary sequence to such unjust, unreasonable, inhuman taxation, Don Mariano had been obliged to mortgage his rancho to raise funds to pay the taxes of the squatters. With the yearly sales of his cattle he had always been able to pay his own taxes as well as those of his unwelcome neighbors, but as his cattle were now lost, his only resource was his land. Not yet having the patent, he could not sell to advantage at all. He must therefore mortgage.
“If I were a railroad prince, I suppose I would not be forced to pay taxes for the squatters on my land,” said Don Mariano to his friends, smiling sadly to hear how the taxes on railroad property were to be fought.
“If you were a railroad prince, you would not pay your own taxes, much less those of the squatters,” said Mr. Holman.
“I think you ought not to hesitate to use the money that Clarence paid for your cattle. If they ran away, it was not your fault,” Mr. Mechlin said.
“No, not my fault, but my misfortune; a misfortune which I have no right to put on Clarence's shoulders. I did not deliver the cattle; I don't take the pay. I am going to mortgage my land, but I can't avoid it,” Don Mariano replied.
“It is certainly a very hard case to have to mortgage your property to pay taxes for the squatters,” observed Mr. Holman.
“If these railroad men will only let us have the Texas Pacific all will be right, but if not, then the work of ruining me begun by the squatters will be finished by the millionaires—if they kill our railroad,” said Don Mariano sadly, adding: “Our legislators then will complete their work. Our legislators began my ruin; our legislators will end it.”
CHAPTER XXXIII.—San Diego's Sentence is Irrevocable.
After waiting in the reception room for nearly two hours, Don Mariano and his two friends were at last ushered into the presence of ex-Governor Stanford. He was so well hid behind his high desk, that looking around the empty room, Mr. Holman observed:
“Well, I hope this is not to be a second stage of waiting.”