“You shall see as many princes and princesses as you like. We Americans are princes, all of us. We are the equals of princes. As for the Pope, I would not take one step to make his acquaintance, unless he met me half way; but if you like to see him, we'll get an introduction easily. Perhaps he might invite us to dinner. If he does, I hope it won't be on Friday, as fish don't agree with me.”
“Does he ever invite people to dinner?”
“Distinguished people, of course.”
The Hornblowers sailed for Europe before Roper returned from his stumping tour. He was detained at Los Angeles, where he had been beaten so badly in a bar-room brawl that he was obliged to keep in bed for several days. The Colonel then wisely slipped off for Europe, to hob-nob with royal people and take dinner with the Pope, perhaps.
Mrs. Hornblower conjectured rightly. Roper's disgrace was condoned by San Diego, because he was under the patronage of Judge Lawlack, and in San Diego everybody has a law suit.
But has the Judge no moral responsibility in this? Has he the right to impose upon the community a man so self-debased and noxious? If the Judge were to withdraw his support Peter would collapse like a pricked gas-bag, to be swept off into the gutter. But the Judge is the genii, “the Slave of the Ring” and his power keeps the little gas-bag afloat, soaring as high as it is in the nature of little gas-bags to soar. The Judge keeping in his hand the check-string, kindly preventing him from going to destruction.
With characteristic coarseness, amounting to inhumanity, Peter Roper and Gasbang decided to throw down their masks, and reveal their fraud in “jumping” Mr. Mechlin's house. They came to this decision about ten days after Mr. Mechlin's death.
Gabriel had returned that same day from San Francisco, where he had accompanied the remains of his father-in-law, and deposited them in a vault to await until Mrs. Mechlin should be able to travel, when she, with all the family, would go East.
Mr. Lawrence Mechlin had also arrived. He started from New York on the day of his brother's death, two hours after receiving George's telegram conveying the terrible news. He reached San Francisco on the night before the steamer for San Diego sailed. Thus he and George came together.
The Deputy Sheriff presented himself to announce to Mrs. Mechlin that her furniture left at her country house had been taken out by order of Peter Roper, and put on the road about two miles from the house. As Mrs. Mechlin was too ill to see any one, excepting the members of her family, the Sheriff made his statement to George, in the presence of his uncle and Gabriel, just arrived.