s nothing less than a
fortune to be made in the San Antonio Valley, Mr. Delcasar.

"And the lands in the valley can be acquired. Some of the small owners
will sell outright. Furthermore, they are all frequently in need of money,
especially during dry years when the crops are not good. By advancing
loans judiciously, and taking land as security, title can often be
acquired.{~HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS~} I daresay you are not wholly unfamiliar with the method.

"This work, Mr. Delcasar, requires large capital, which I can command. It
also requires certain things which you have in an unusual degree. You are
of Spanish descent, you speak the language fluently. You have political
and family prestige among the natives. All of this will be of great
service in persuading the natives to sell, and in getting the necessary
information about land titles, which, as you know, requires much research
in old Spanish Church records and much interviewing of the natives
themselves.

"In the actual making of purchases, my name need not appear. In fact, I
think it is very desirable that it should not appear. But understand that
I will furnish absolutely all of the capital for the enterprise. I am
offering you, Mr. Delcasar, an opportunity to make a fortune without
investing a cent, and I feel that I can count upon your acceptance."

At the close of this discourse, Ramon felt like a surf-bather who has been
overwhelmed by a great and sudden wave and comes up gasping for breath and
struggling for a foothold. Never had he heard anything so brilliantly
plausible, for never before had he come into contact with a good mind in
full action. Yet he regained his balance in a moment. He was accustomed to
act by intuition, not by logic, and his intuition was all against
accepting MacDougall's offer. He was not deceived by the Scotchman's show
of friendship and beneficence; he himself had an aptitude for pretence,
and he understood it better than he would have understood sincerity. He
knew that whether he formed this partnership or not, there was sure to be
a struggle between him and MacDougall for the dominance of the San Antonio
Valley. And his instinct was to stand free and fight; not to come to
grips, MacDougall was a stronger man than he. The one advantage which he
had--his influence over the natives--he must keep in his own hands, and not
let his adversary turn it against him.

He took his cigar out of his mouth, looked at it a moment, and cleared his