“She gets the country, monsieur.”
“I see. You mean, for example, that there is a favourable tariff for British goods?”
“No, monsieur; it is the same for all.”
“Well, then, she gives the contracts to Britishers?”
“Precisely, monsieur.”
“For example, the railroad that they are building right through the country, the one that runs alongside the river, that would be a valuable contract for the British?”
Monsieur Fardet was an honest man, if an imaginative one.
“It is a French company, monsieur, which holds the railway contract,” said he.
The American was puzzled.
“They don’t seem to get much for their trouble,” said he. “Still, of course, there must be some indirect pull somewhere. For example, Egypt no doubt has to pay and keep all those red-coats in Cairo.”
“Egypt, monsieur! No, they are paid by England.”
“Well, I suppose they know their own busi-
