Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/121



, Dick, wandering through Callao until the time came to call for Maria-Teresa, was strolling up the Calle de Lima. He had just come from the Darsena docks, where the harbor engineers had been giving him news the reverse of cheerful. In the present condition of the country, they said, any venture in the deserted gold-mines of the Cuzco was hopeless.

The last two days had brought news of fighting from the other end of the country. Or, at all events, cartridges were being used up, even if there was no attendant damage. Everybody had thought Garcia feasting at Arequipa, but the pretender had evaded his enemies and attacked the Republican forces between Sicuani and the Cuzco. It was even rumored that Cuzco itself had fallen into his hands.

Were all this true, the outlook for Dick's affairs was bad. His company, thanks to the influence of the Marquis de la Torre, had obtained a concession from President Veintemilla. This would not be worth the paper it was written on if Garcia proved victorious. Super-active by nature, the young engineer could not endure the 107