Page:The plumed serpent - 1926.djvu/44

 the Virgin of Guadalupe was standing tiptoe on their chins.

And what do you expect? The telephone is a dummy. It isn’t connected with anywhere. Isn’t that rich? But it’s Mexico.”

The moment’s fatal pause followed this funny story.

“Oh but!" said Kate, "it’s wicked! It wicked. I’m sure the Indians would be all right, if they were left alone.”

“Well,” said Mrs Norris. “Mexico isn’t like any other place in the world.”

But she spoke with fear and despair in her voice.

“They seem to to betray everything," said Kate. "They seem to  criminals and ghastly things. They seem to want the ugly things. They seem to the ugly things to come up to the top. All the foulness that lies at the bottom, they want to stir up to the top. They seem to enjoy it. To enjoy making everything fouler. Isn’t it curious!"

"It is curious,’” said Mrs Norris.

"But that’s what it is,” said the Judge. "They want to turn the country into one big crime. They don’t like anything else. They don’t like honesty and decency and cleanliness. They want to foster lies and crime. What they call liberty here is just freedom to commit crime. That’s what Labour means, that’s what they all mean. Free crime, nothing else.”

"I wonder all the foreigners don’t go away,” said Kate.

"They have their occupations here," snapped the Judge.

“And the good people all going away. They have nearly all gone, those that have anything left to go to,” said Mrs Norris. “Some of us, who have our property here, and who have made our lives here, and who know the country, we stay out of a kind of tenacity. But we know it’s hopeless. The more it changes, the worse it is.—Ah, here is Don Ramon and Don Cipriano. So pleased to see you. Let me introduce you.”

Don Ramon Carrasco was a tall, big, handsome man who gave the effect of bigness. He was middle aged, with a large black moustache and large, rather haughty eyes under straight brows. The General was in civilian clothes, looking very small beside the other man, and very smartly built, almost cocky.