notions of
generosity.

"Well," continued Aunt Maria, "my niece, who is a true woman and
magnanimous, wanted to give up half. But that is too much, Mr. Coronado.
You see money" (here she commenced on something which she had
read)--"money is not the same thing in our hands that it is in yours. When
a man has a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, he puts it into business
and doubles it, trebles it, and so on. But a woman can't do that; she is
trammelled and hampered by the prejudices of this male world; she has to
leave her money at small interest. If it doubles once in her life, she is
lucky. So, you see, one half given to Garcia would be, practically
speaking, much more than half," concluded Aunt Maria, looking triumphantly
through her argument at Coronado.

The Mexican assented; he always assented to whatever she advanced; he did
so because he considered her a fool and incapable of reasoning. Moreover,
he was not anxious to see half of this estate drop into the hands of
Garcia, believing that whatever Clara kept for herself would shortly be
his own by right of marriage.

"You are the greatest woman of our times," he said, stepping backward a
pace or two and surveying her as if she were a cathedral. "I should never
have thought of those ideas. You ought to be a legislator and reform our
laws."

"I never had a doubt that you would agree with me, Mr. Coronado," returned
the gratified Aunt Maria. "Well, so does Clara; at least I trust so," she
hesitated. "Now as to the sum which our good Garcia should receive. I have
settled upon thirty thousand dollars. In his hands, you know, it would
soon be a hundred and fifty thousand; that is to say, practically
speaking, it would be half the estate."

"Certainly," bowed Coronado, meanwhile thinking, "You old ass!" "And my
little cousin is of your opinion, I trust?" he added.

"Well--not quite--as yet," candidly admitted Aunt Maria. "But she is
coming to it. I have no sort of doubt that she will end there."

So Coronado had learned nothing as yet of Clara's opinions. As he
sauntered away to find Garcia, he queried whether he had best torment him
with this unauthorized babble of Mrs. Stanley. On the whole, yes; it might
bring him down to reasonable terms; the rapacious old man was expecting
too large a slice of the dead Munoz. So he told his tale, giving it out as
something which could be depended on, but increasing the thirty thousand
dollars to fifty thousand, on his own re