lous—or pitiable—in his futile and ineffective pride, owed him an immense sum of money, which, a little at a time, he had taken without interest, without notes or other formality, with hardly even spoken thanks, as one accepts a cigarette. Yet the Colonel's generous heart was eager for justification as to his reason for refusing in this further need.
"It is nothing, nothing!" disclaimed Don Vincente. "But I am grieved to hear that you, too, are the victim of these heartless bankers. Perhaps I may in my turn be of assistance"
"They are not dealing with their own money—I can see that," the Colonel said, in defence of his friend, "but it does not make it the easier for us, amigo. A bad year is coming; a serious year."
They parted with formal expressions in the ceremonious Spanish style; and went their respective ways. The Spaniard, for the first time, had had brought home to him the seriousness of a situation that had been for years preparing. Colonel Peyton for the first time had found himself without ready money.
He, too, had been summoned to the little back office in the bank, where he had passed through a series of very uncomfortable conferences. Oliver Mills had several sheets of figures, which he insisted on discussing. The figures had to do with Corona del Monte, the number of cattle it supported, the natural increase, the proportion of beef animals, the average of market prices, the average gross expenditures for some years, and a whole lot of statistics concerning dry years and compound interest and such things. It was appallingly cold blooded and accurate, and seemed to show that Corona del Monte was rapidly sinking to perdition. In vain the Colonel had pointed out that these things could not be so, for the simple reason that he had always plenty of money, and the money must have come from somewhere. Mills proceeded to show him whence it had come; and that was disconcerting, for a lot of it, it seemed, would have to go back.
"So you see, Richard," he ended, kindly, "it really is necessary to take some thought and plan to the future. You have a wonderful piece of property there, a very rich piece of property. It ought to pay you big money, instead of being a burden, which it actually is. All it needs is a retrenchment until you get it on
