"
"It will require very little money," said Cortlandt. "I have been
from David to Darien, from Bocas to Colon and I know the public
sentiment."
"Speaking of David," his wife added; "it was you who first
projected the railroad to that point, Senor Garavel."
"Yes, I saw that it was needed. It would make Panama," he said,
simply.
"Under your administration it can be built. Mr. Cortlandt can
assure you of our government's earnest co-operation. That would
not be the case if General Alfarez were elected. Perhaps the
Colombian boundary can be settled. There also our influence might
avail. Those two steps forward would make the name of Garavel as
famous in Panama as it is in Guatemala."
"Those are important issues for any loyal Panamanian," he
admitted.
"And you love your daughter--you say your life is, hers. Your
honor would be hers also. Senorita Garavel would have no cause to
regret her father's presidency."
"Oh, it is useless to argue," smiled the Spaniard. "I am weak. I
am human. I am also patriotic, and I realize that our little
country must look to your great one for its stimulus. Our life
must be moulded after yours. For years I have dreamed of a
railroad to David, which would some day form a link in the great
system that will join the three Americas.
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