indicated by the
President. The latter had perhaps been in too great a hurry with his
heavy guns, for his hint of violence had rather stirred than allayed
Jones' apprehensions. If there were nothing to conceal, why should his
Excellency not stick at murder to hide it? However, I explained to him
the considerations of high policy, dictating inviolable secrecy,
and justifying a somewhat arbitrary way of dealing with a trusted
official; and the marked graciousness with which Jones was received
when he met the President at the ministry of finance on current
business went far to obliterate his unpleasant recollections. I
further bound him to my fortunes by obtaining for him a rise of salary
from the directors, "in consequence of the favorable report of his
conduct received from Mr. Martin."

Peaceful as matters seemed, I was not altogether at ease. To begin
with the new loan did not apparently at all improve the financial
position of Aureataland. Desolation still reigned on the scene of the
harbor works; there was the usual difficulty in paying salaries
and meeting current expenditure. The President did not invite my
confidence as to the disposal of his funds; indeed before long I was
alarmed to see a growing coldness in his manner, which I considered
at once ungrateful and menacing; and when the half-year came round he
firmly refused to disburse more than half the amount of interest due
on the second loan, thus forcing me to make an inroad on my reserve
of forty-five thousand dollars. He gave me many good reasons for this
course of conduct, dwelling chiefly on the necessary unproductiveness
of public works in their early stages, and confidently promising full
payment with arrears next time. Nevertheless, I began to see that I
must face the possibility of a continual drain on resources that I had
fondly hoped would be available for my own purposes for a considerable
time at least. Thus one thing and another contributed to open a breach
between his Excellency and myself, and, although I never ceased to
feel his charm as a private companion, my distrust of him as a ruler,
and, I may add, as a fellow-conspirator, steadily deepened.

Other influences were at this time--for we have now reached the
beginning of 1883--at work in the same direction. Rich in the
possession of my "bonus," I had plunged even more freely than before
into the gayeties of Whittingham, and where I was welcome before, I
was now a doubly honored guest. I h