“What is it, Juan?” asked the Governor, as he led Miss Hinckley close to his chair. “What has frightened you?”
“Tell me,” said Juan, gasping for breath, “tell me, do you know that the person who calls himself Doctor Jones, is not a man?”
“Who is she?” asked the Governor, with a smile.
“The big woman who has given me so many frights—I mean Señorita Marriet Motuble,” said Juan.
“It is a fact,” replied Guillermo Gonzales.
“Do Señor Julio Murillo and Miss Motuble speak any language but English?” asked Juan.
“Julio speaks the Spanish fluently. He is, you know, of purely Mexican origin, like myself,” said Governor Lehumada. “But while I have never studied it in my present existence, a complete knowledge of it came to me after I used ‘Memory Fluid.’ Also, Julio had a similar experience. Tell us, man, what caused your great fright,” concluded the Governor.
“You had no sooner left the room, your Honor, than Doctor Jones turned to me and asked if I understood Spanish. I said no. Doctor Jones seemed pleased that I did not, and said: ‘You are behind the times, Juan. You are a full-blooded Mexican. Take “Memory Fluid,” that great “Liquid from the Sun’s Rays,” discovered by one of your own countrymen, a blue-blooded Mexican, and you will remember how to speak the language of your ancient forefathers.’ I had a small bottle of ‘Memory Fluid’ in my pocket—your Honor will pardon me for taking it without asking your permission—I wished to become a subject without the knowledge of anyone.”
The Governor replied: “You were justified, Juan, in taking the fluid. Your desire to become a subject is sufficient excuse. Continue.”
“Doctor Jones immediately began talking Spanish to Señor Julio. I put the vial containing ‘Memory Fluid’ to my lips, and while I was hesitating about taking it, I inhaled it freely, and before I was hardly aware of my act I drank the liquid. Almost instantly I felt as though I were someone else. Then a voice seemed to say: ‘It is yourself and you remember.’ Then I heard Doctor Jones say in Spanish to Señor Julio: ‘It is no use in trying to fool you, friend Julio; no use in the least. Ha! ha! That is a good joke on me.’ To which Señor Julio replied: ‘I knew when your card was brought in, that you were disguised as Doctor Jones. Also this fellow whom you introduced as Francis Maynard, is in disguise. He is the “Plunger from Kansas.” Ah, Señorita Motuble, your little tricks are known not only to myself, but to Governor Lehumada and Señor Guillermo Gonzales.’ The ‘Plunger from Kansas’ jumped from his seat, grabbed for his hat, and cried: ‘Señorita, I must make tracks out of here.’ Señorita Motuble laughingly cried: ‘The cat is out of the bag, my friend, so we will face the music!’ Señor Julio looked at the Plunger, and said: ‘Be seated, sir. No harm can be done you. You are beyond the pale of civil law. There is no law, civil law, I mean, in the United States of America, that can cause a man to be arrested and punished for crimes committed in a life gone by. There will be a law some day to that effect, and you, my friend, will be the main instrument in making the law.’ Marriet Motuble arose, walked the floor, her thumbs thrust into a pocket on either side of her mannish jacket, and fairly screamed with laughter: ‘Friend Julio, I knew I would be the means of making the Plunger as famous in this life as he was one hundred and fifty years ago, by stealing; or, to be more in line with the popular phraseology of the time, as he was by manipulating successfully the sale of cattle, which he had mortgaged as many as six times without lifting any one of the mortgages. This is a great world, and to use the slang of the nineteenth century, I will add that the Plunger always gets there, even if it is on “the home stretch.”’ The Plunger smiled, and said: ‘I am uneasy. Your words do not give me the assurance I would like to have. The mental torture I have undergone for three existences is enough punishment, without the clutches of the law being thrust upon me. I desire to make a written confession of my misdeeds, refund the money I took from my credulous friends, and call it quits.’ ‘It will be a glorious day when that comes to pass, for the scientists who discovered how to extract liquid from the sun’s rays will prove to the world the use to which their “Memory Fluid” can be put,’ said Señor Julio. Señorita Motuble patted the Plunger on the shoulder, and said: ‘That is correct, sonny. Go up to the mourner’s bench and confess your sins. Friend Julio, let me go after Rev. J. T. Note. Pleading with sinners at the mourner’s bench when they are on the eve of being converted, is not in your line. And the reverend gentleman is in his glory when making a convert.’”