“How soon will that happy event transpire?”
“In about sixty days we hope to be ready to strike, Mr. Webster.”
“We are recruiting our men secretly,” Ricardo explained. “Our base is back in the hills beyond San Miguel de Padua. I'm going up there to-morrow.”
“I was going up to San Miguel de Padua in a day or two myself, Rick, but I'll be hanged if I know what to do now. I'm beginning to worry—and that's a new experience with me.”
Colonel Caraveo cleared his throat. “I understand from Ricardo that you and another American are interested in a mining concession, Mr. Webster.”
Webster nodded.
Al-*~
“Is this a private landholder, or did your friend secure it from the Sarros government?”
“From the government. We pay ten per cent, royalty, on a ninety-nine-year lease, and that's all I know about it. I have never seen the property, and my object in coming was to examine it and, if satisfied, finance the project.”
“If you will return to your hotel, my dear sir,” Colonel Caraveo suggested, “and remain there until noon to-morrow, I feel confident I can guarantee you immunity from attack thereafter. I have a plan to influence my associates in the Intelligence Office.”