"I sized you up," he cried, "as a man of the finest perceptions. I was
wrong. You don't appreciate Monica! Dangerous! You might as well say
God's sunshine is dangerous, or a beautiful flower is dangerous."
Everett shook his head at the other man reproachfully:
"Did you ever hear of a sunstroke?" he demanded. "Don't you know if
you smell certain beautiful flowers you die? Can't you grasp any other
kind of danger than being run down by a trolley-car? Is the danger of
losing one's peace of mind nothing, of being unfaithful to duty,
nothing! Is--"
Garland raised his arms.
"Don't shoot!" he begged. "I apologize. You do appreciate Monica. You
have your consul's permission to walk with her again."
The next day young Professor Peabody called and presented his letters.
He was a forceful young man to whom the delays of diplomacy did not
appeal, and one apparently accustomed to riding off whatever came in
his way. He seemed to consider any one who opposed him, or who even
disagreed with his conclusions, as offering a personal affront. With
indignation he launched into his grievance.
"These people," he declared, "are dogs in the manger, and Ward is the
worst of the lot. He knows no more of archaeology than a congressman.
The man's a faker! He showed me a spear-head of obsidian and called it
flint; and he said the Aztecs borrowed from the Mayas, and that the
Toltecs were a myth. And he got the Aztec solar calendar mixed with
the Ahau. He's as ignorant as that."
"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Everett.
"You may laugh," protested the professor, "but the ruins of Cobre hold
secrets the students of two continents are trying to solve. They hide
the history of a lost race, and I submit it's not proper one man should
keep that knowledge from the world, certainly not for a few gold
armlets!"
Everett raised his eyes.
"What makes you say that?"' he demanded.
"I've been kicking my heels in this town for a month," Peabody told
him, "and I've talked to the people here, and to the Harvard expedition
at Copan, and everybody tells me this fellow has found treasure." The
archaeologist exclaimed with indignation: "What's gold," he snorted,
"compared to the discovery of a lost race?"
"I applaud your point of view," Everett assured him. "I am to see the
President tomorrow, and I will lay the matter before him. I'll ask him
to give you a look in."
To urge his treaty of extradition was the reason for the audience with
the President, and with all the courtesy that a bad case demanded
Mendoza protested against it. He pointed out that governments entered
into treaties only when the ensuing benefits were mutual. For Amapala
in a treaty of extradition he saw no benefit. Amapala was not so far
"advanced" as to produce defaulting bank presidents, get-rich-quick
promoters, counterfeiters, and thieving cashiers. Her fugitives were
revolutionists who had fought and lost, and every one was glad to have
them go, and no one wanted them back.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account