With tense fingers, Raul emptied and filled his pipe; his eyes took in the smooth, familiar bowl and stem. Neither man spoke and the chatter of servants crossed the room; a child called: "Run, Lupe, run." "You may as well get it into your head that I didn't send Pedro after you." "You sent him after Farias." "I wanted to involve those Jesuits. I hate those bastards. I wanted to work up a little trouble ... we've always had difficulties with the del Valle people." He sounded extremely tired; a flip of his fingers sent his cigarette somersaulting across the tiles. Raul saw himself in his father's mirror; he shut his eyes and bit his pipe stem.... In Guadalajara, his father had said: "I sometimes see him...." "You think in terms of morals," Fernando went on. "We don't live in a moral age. Do you believe Díaz is a moral president? Surely, at your age, Raul, you're not that blind! You're not moral yourself--if we come to that. I've never been moral but you, well, you seem to feel you're God himself!" Raul wished he could forget the decayed face, the glaring eyes. "I don't like what you've said." Fernando chortled. "You and your Lucienne don't like a lot of things, I gather. She hides in her flowers and you hide in her lap." Raul jabbed his pipestem at Fernando. "You hired Pedro; he's been your private assassin; get rid of him." Fernando's lips collapsed. His eyes slapped shut. House noises filled the room. "Let me say this," said Raul, pipe in both hands, eyes on the smoke that trailed from its bowl. "Maybe I'm as corrupt as you say. But I happen to love Lucienne, if that makes any difference. I've been promiscuous.... We've all played with hacienda girls. But you have played with lives. You've let people starve for a whim. You've had them kicked and whipped and killed. You've stopped our school. You let Esperito fake entries in the account books. That's corruption." "You should be able to name things," growled Fernando, his hands under the sheet, the sheet under his chin. "I'm sure you learned everything when you were in Europe, all the pros and cons." "The record here at Petaca speaks for itself. I know how many men you've had killed." "Many men have killed and not been held to account. Every general kills." "That kind of reasoning makes nothing right." "Do you know how dangerous these times are?" asked Fernando. "Do you?" "I can only guess. Perhaps it will take only a spark." "A spark to touch off a conflagration," said Don Fernando, one eyebrow going up. "You mean a revolution?" asked Raul. "That." "I doubt if it will be revolution. It won't get that bad. If it gets that bad, we'll be put back a hundred years. A revolution will cost us that much." "You sound prophetic," laughed Fernando. "I'm going to help," Raul said. "I don't want to lose Petaca, whatever happens," said Fernando, feeling the land to be his only friend.