Garavel paused in his heavy strides across the room.
"Eh? How so? Gertrudis will not marry this Anthony."
"Perhaps she loves him."
"Love is a fancy, a something seen through a distant haze, an illusion which vanishes with the sun. In a month, a year, she will have forgotten; but with me it is different. This is my life's climax; there will be no other. I am a Garavel; I have looked into the future and I cannot turn back. I think also of Panama herself. There are great issues at stake."
"But how will you handle Anthony?"
Garavel looked at her blankly. "He is in my way. He is ended! Is not that all?"
"I am glad you are practical; so many of you Latin-Americans are absurdly romantic."
"And why should I not be practical? I am a business man. I love but two things, madame—no, three: my daughter, my success, and—my country. By this course I will serve all three."
"Since you take this view of it, I am sure that with Ramon's help we can dissuade Don Anibal from his course. The General is sensible, and doesn't want a fight any more than you do. If your daughter will consent—"
"My dear lady, give yourself no uneasiness. She does not know the meaning of rebellion. If necessary—but there is not the slightest question. It is done."