"It seems to me, Miguel, that you ought not to be in too great a hurry
to do this or look on the dark side; you won't get ahead any that way."
"What makes you say that?" retorted the brigadier's son, halting.
"You would get nothing by taking it to court."
"Why so?"
"Because the general has no fortune: all that he has is in his wife's
name."
Miguel's eyes flamed with anger.
"The villain!" he muttered under his breath; and then added: "I shall be
convinced that you are as vile as he."
"Miguel, for God's sake!"
"That is what I have said. Take it as you like. I am glad that it looks
worse for him."
Mendoza had no wish nor courage to reply. He let him continue his
walking up and down, in the hope that his anger would calm down, and in
this he showed how well he knew his man. In fact, in a few minutes he
shrugged his shoulders, paused near the bed, and throwing his hands on
Mendoza's shoulders with a loving gesture, he said, laughing:--
"I have been unfair. I had forgotten that you were too much of a rough
diamond to be a villain."
Mendoza was not annoyed by this singular apology.
"You are so quick-tempered, Miguel, that when one least thinks about it,
you 'leave a man without the blood in his veins.'"
"It would be worse to leave one without any money."
"Man alive! you haven't lost it yet. I have no doubt that the matter
will be settled all right."
"Do you know what plan Eguiburu proposed to me?"
"No; what?"
"That I should also guarantee the twelve thousand duros which he had
furnished besides, and then he will wait."
Mendoza made no reply. Both remained lost in thought.
"That does not seem to me such a bad plan," said the former, at length.
"I tell you frankly that at present it is impossible to get the thirty
thousand duros from the general; I know his affairs well, and am certain
that he is not in a situation to pay down this amount. But if it does
not come from his private pocket, it may be got from the public
treasury. I have it on good authority that the government has already
voted some money (though not any such sum as this), to be spent on
newspapers, and credited to the secret funds of the Ministry of the
Government. The point here is to get influence enough for the minister
to get hold of it."
"I suppose that the general will use all his."
"Of course. And I will do what I can. But the general is not in Madrid,
and you know as well as I do that these delicate transactions cannot be
managed through correspondence, or arranged in this way, ever. We must
be always on the track, worry the minister with visits, speak to all his
friends, so as to keep it before his attention, and, if it were
possible, threaten him with some summons to the Cortes concerning some
delicate affair which he would not like to have made public."
"_Caramba!_ Perico, you have made great advances in short time. You
understand wire-pulling to the last detail."
"How so?"
"Man alive! certainly; for it is not this way that it is explained and
defined to us by the treatises."
Mendoza shrugged his shoulders, at the same time pressing his lips into
a sign of disdain.
"Well, then you want to bring the general back to Madrid?" added
Miguel.
"That is impossible."
"Then what shall we do?"
Mendoza meditated.
"If you had been elected deputy, the thing would be much easier. In that
case we should be two to ask the minister, who, looking out for his
future interests, would be much more careful not to go counter to
us...."
"But as I am not a deputy!"