A Little Business Romance of the Banana Truale
hill d cl i nrco Oli; r :im E t c. O tO
AIr. I'ranzoni denied any benefits from the
contemplation of a road. lie was author-
ized, however, to offer a contribution of five
hundred to the contemplators.
Did Sefior Ortiz understand Mr. Franznni
to mean five hundred ihousalul. !
li'v no means. Five hundred psos/,s. And
in silver: not gold.
"iour offer insults nmy government," said
Selior Ortiz, rising indignantly.
"Then," cried Mr. Franzoni. in a warning
voice, "we will change it!"
The offer was never changed. Mr. Fran-
zoni Iust have meant something else.
,o, \when the fifteenth day of May arrived
the signs were that the presidential advent
wouhl noit he celebrated 11 unlimited re-
jnicing.
Although the rainy season was long over,
the day seemed to hark back to reeking
February. A fine drizzle of rain fell all dur-
ing the forenoon. A narrow gauge railroad
rus froim Puerto Rev to within ten miles
of Sin Mateo. The train conveying the
execiive party rolled into the summer capi-
t:1l l :t speed of fifteen miles an hoem at
four in the afternoon. Colonel Hocas, with
a regiment of the regular army, and Captain
Cruz, with his famous troop of one hundred
light horse "El C'iento Iluilaldo," thile Presi-
dent's personal escort, had marched down
by easy stages rrom San Mateo, arriving the
previous afternoon.
President 'arilla was a little, elderly 11man,
grizzly beard:led, with a considerable ratio of
Indian blood revealed in his cinanoll conl-
plexion. As he was assisted into his car-
riage, his sharp, beady eyves glanced around
for the expected demonstration of l' nniw,
but he faced a stolid, unnthlusen array of
curious citizens. Sightseers the ('Costarl-
guans are by birth al habit, and they
turned out to the last able-bodied unit to
witness the scene, but they maintained an
accusive silence. They crowded the streets
to the very wheel ruts, they covered the
red tile roofs to the eaves, but there w;as
never a "Viva!"'' among them. No wreaths
of palm and lemon branches or gorgeous
strings of paper roses hung from the Iwin-
dows and balconies as was the custom.
There was an apathy, a du1ll, dissenting, dis-
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