Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/176

162 colors, advanced toward the general, their hands heavy with floral crowns. One of them made a little speech, while Garcia continued curling his mustache and showing his teeth. The speech over, he gallantly bent down and took all the crowns, passing them over his arm. Then he lifted a hand to command silence.

"Long live Liberty!" he shouted. A hurricane of cheers arose. Again he lifted up the crown-charged arm, and again there was silence. He told them the program of the new Government. "Liberty for all, except for evil-doers! With such a program, is there any need for parliaments?" "No! No! No!" roared the crowd deliriously. "Long live Garcia! Death to Veintemilla! Muera! Muera! Muera el lagron de salitre! (Death to the saltpetre thief!)," for Veintemilla was popularly supposed to have largely profited by some recent concessions.

Garcia was an orator, and, wishing to show it once again, told in a few words the history of the campaign that had ended in the rout of the "saltpetre thieves" on the Cuzco plains. To be seen and heard by all, he stood erect in his stirrups.

Then an incredible thing happened. The powers above actually dared spoil this splendid fête—it began to rain! There was a general rush for