"If you wish, but I do not think you will."
The hearer let his eyes flit questioningly to Mrs. Cortlandt's face to find her smiling at him.
"Believe me, dear lady," he said, "I suspected that there were grave reasons for this interview, but as yet I am at sea. I am not a politician, you know. I shall have no voice in our political affairs."
"Of course we know that, Senor Garavel, and of course there are grave reasons why we wished to talk with you. As Stephen has said, General Alfarez cannot be President—"
"Madame," he said, coldly, "Panama is a republic. The voice of the people is supreme."
"Down in your heart do you really think so?" She was still smiling at him. "No! The United States is supreme."
"Ah! That day will come, perhaps—I have said so; I look forward to it as the best solution, but—"
"The day has come."
"Even so, Alfarez is an honorable man, a strong man, and the wealthiest man in our country. He is a politician—"
"But he is not a friend of our country."