“You will pardon me if I ask for proof?”
“Certainly. Choose the name of any one of them you like and send for him. You are at liberty to ask him whether he is pledged to us.”
The governor drew a pencil-mark through a name. O’Halloran clapped his hands and Rodrigo came into the room.
“Rodrigo, the governor desires you to carry a message to Colonel Onate. He is writing it now. You will give Colonel Onate my compliments and ask him to make as much haste as is convenient.”
Megales signed and sealed the note he was writing and handed it to O’Halloran, who in turn passed it to Rodrigo.
“Colonel Onate should be here in fifteen minutes at the farthest. May I in the meantime offer you a glass of wine, Dictator O’Halloran?” At the Irishman’s smile, the Mexican governor hastened to add, misunderstanding him purposely: “Perhaps I assume too much in taking the part of host here. May I ask whether you will be governor in person or by deputy, señor?”
“You do me too much honor, excellency. Neither in person nor by deputy, I fear. And, as for the glass of wine—with all my heart. Good liquor is always in order, whether for a funeral or a marriage.”
“Or an abdication, you might add. I drink to a successful reign, Señor Dictator: Le roi est mort; vive le roi!”
The Irishman filled a second glass. “And I drink to Governor Megales, a brave man. May the cards fall better for him next time he plays.”
The governor bowed ironically. “A brave man certainly, and you might add: ‘Who loses his stake without striking one honest blow for it.’”