"It is always well, Captain, to divine the trend of the wind before
weather vanes give information to all who care to look for it."
"Yes?" replied Dan, not comprehending.
"Yes. Those playthings, strategically placed at the capital, will
insure an era of Government integrity for some time to come; and that
will be very good; for the kind of integrity existing there is much to
my liking. Vasquez is restless; Sanches is uneasy; but there will be
no radical action for some time to come. When it does--well, Captain,
I have taken the liberty to store some pieces of ordnance below--they
appear as household furniture in the manifest of cargo. I consider
them qualified to maintain all sorts of Government integrity."
"No doubt," smiled Dan; "if you have any one down there to handle them."
"I have a very large office staff in Domingo City, unusually large. I
did not hire the men for their penmanship, nor for their ability as
clerks, either." Here Mr. Howland raised his eyebrows slightly, and
Dan, taking his cue, raised his eyebrows too.
And so the _Tampico_ sailed peacefully south-ward. The April sun
softened the air, the sea was like glass, and by the time the steamship
had picked up the Southern Cross, the little company had been tried in
the balance of propinquity and found not wanting.
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