THE MEXICAN FRONTIER.
The conversation lasted an hour or more, and by the time it ended the boys almost felt that they were already in the land of the Aztecs. Their dreams through the night were of ancient temples and modern palaces, Aztec and Spanish warriors, snowy mountains and palm-covered plains, mines of silver and other metals, fortresses, cathedrals, haciendas and hovels, and of many races and tribes of men that dwell in the land they were about to see. Fred declared in the morning that he had dreamed of Montezuma and Maximilian walking arm in arm, and Frank professed to have had a similar vision concerning Cortez and General Scott.
For the next few days the youths had no spare time on their hands, and when the start was made for the proposed journey they were well prepared for it both mentally and materially. They had followed Doctor Bronson's directions as to their outfit of clothing and other things, had procured the books which he named, and, as we have already seen, had made a vigorous overhauling of their Spanish grammars and phrase-books.
SCENE ON THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
From New York there are several routes westward, as our readers are pretty well aware, and the youths were a little puzzled to know which one would be chosen. The mystery was solved by the Doctor on the day before their departure. He announced that they would go to St. Louis by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and from there to the frontier of Mexico by the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific lines. "And now," said he, "I will leave you to choose the route to the capital city, and you need not decide until we reach St. Louis."
The Doctor's suggestion compelled a study of the maps and a careful reading of the guide-books and other literature pertaining to the journey. The result of their study may be summed up as follows from an entry which Frank made in his note-book: