e course of
uncertain events had become an engineer. It was a year or two after he had
attained this position that he had been required to haul a special train
from Torreon to Piedras Negras. The General Manager of the Mexican
International Railroad was on that train, and he took occasion to talk to
the engineer. The result pleased him mightily. In his engine clothes
Harboro looked every inch a man. There was something clean and level about
his personality which couldn't have been hid under a _sarape_. He stood
shoulder to shoulder with the General Manager, making the latter look like
a manikin, and talked about his work and the condition of the road and the
rolling stock. He talked easily and listened intelligently. He was grave
in an easy fashion. He took no liberties, cracked no jokes.

The General Manager got the idea that the big fellow would be a good man
to stand shoulder to shoulder with in larger events than a special trip.

When he got back to headquarters he made a casual inquiry or two, and
discovered that Harboro wrote an exceptionally good hand, and that he
spelled correctly. He assumed that he was an educated man--though this
impression may have been largely due to the fact that Harboro was keenly
interested in a great variety of things, and had a good memory.

The General Manager waited for certain wheels to turn, and then he sent
for Harboro and offered him a position as chief clerk in one of the
headquarter departments.

Harboro accepted the position, and said "Thank you," and proved to be
uncommonly competent.

The people of Piedras Negras took a liking to him; the women wanted to get
acquainted with him. He was invited to places, and he accepted the
invitations without either belittling or magnifying their importance. He
got on rather well from the beginning.

The social affairs of Piedras Negras were sometimes on a fairly large
scale. The General Manager had his winter residence there--a meticulously
cultivated demain which lay like a blue spot in a cloudy sky. There were
grass and palms and, immediately beyond, the vast desert. At night (on
occasion) there were Chinese lanterns to add their cheerful note to pretty
revelries, while the stars lay low and big over all the desert expanse.
The General Manager's wife had prominent social affiliations, and she used
to bring winter guests from the north and east--from Chicago and New York
and Boston. There were balls and musicales, and a fine place fo