The provincial Excellency assumed a weary superiority, tilting his chair
far back near an open window in the true Costaguana manner. The military
band happened to be braying operatic selections on the plaza just then,
and twice he raised his hand imperatively for silence in order to listen
to a favourite passage.

"Exquisite, delicious!" he murmured; while Charles Gould waited,
standing by with inscrutable patience. "Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor! I am
passionate for music. It transports me. Ha! the divine--ha!--Mozart. Si!
divine . . . What is it you were saying?"

Of course, rumours had reached him already of the newcomer's intentions.
Besides, he had received an official warning from Sta. Marta. His manner
was intended simply to conceal his curiosity and impress his visitor.
But after he had locked up something valuable in the drawer of a large
writing-desk in a distant part of the room, he became very affable, and
walked back to his chair smartly.

"If you intend to build villages and assemble a population near the
mine, you shall require a decree of the Minister of the Interior for
that," he suggested in a business-like manner.

"I have already sent a memorial," said Charles Gould, steadily, "and I
reckon now confidently upon your Excellency's favourable conclusions."

The Excellency was a man of many moods. With the receipt of the money
a great mellowness had descended upon his simple soul. Unexpectedly he
fetched a deep sigh.