CHAPTER XIV.--_Of Miscellaneous Incidents._
"What do you think of the opera--are you enjoying it much?" asked Mr.Selden, by way of opening conversation, having turned his chair to faceMercedes.
"I am enjoying the novelty of the thing, but I don't know what I shallthink of the opera. I suppose I shall like it better when I understandit. Thus far it is to me only a very puzzling maze of hastily utteredFrench, imperfectly heard and mixed with music, all of which is ratherunintelligible to me, so unprepared to judge of it as I am," saidMercedes, smiling, watching to see the effect that her candid avowal ofignorance would have upon such a "_muscadin_" and well traveled youngman.
"Ah! you never saw the opera before to-night!"
"Not the French opera. I was at two matinees of the Italian opera aboutfive years ago, when I left my San Francisco school. Mamma thought I wastoo young to go out at night, and since then I have been living at the_rancho_."
"Yes, yes; Mr. Mechlin said you had not been in San Francisco since youwere twelve months old."
"Twelve months?"
A laugh immediately behind him, made Mr. Selden turn quickly around. Hemet the eyes of Mr. Robert Gunther, who had taken the chair next to him,and made no secret of being amused at Mr. Selden's mistake.
"What are you laughing at?" Mr. Selden asked, sharply.
"I suppose Mr. Gunther thinks that girls must grow very quickly inCalifornia if I was twelve months old five years ago."
Mr. Selden could not escape now the raillery of his friends. Each onehad something to say on the subject of Mr. Selden's ideas of the wondersof California, until the bell rung for the curtain to rise for thesecond act.
They all arose to go. George said: "Will not some of you remain? thereis room for two or three more."
"If I am not going to crowd you, I shall accept your kind invitation andhide about here," said Robert Gunther, taking a chair behind Elvira.
"Bob Gunther is always such a good boy that I always like to follow hisexample; so, with your kind permission, Mr. Darrell, I shall sit herebehind you. Keep your chair," said Mr. Selden, refusing to change seatswith Clarence.
But Mercedes saw that this arrangement was not as satisfactory as mightbe, so she moved her chair, and making room for Clarence on her left,told Mr. Selden to push his chair further to the front, on her right.This was a more desirable distribution, and it pleased Clarence better,for she would turn her face to him on looking at the stage. Still, therewas that odious little fellow with his red mutton chops sitting so nearher, that he wanted to pitch him out of the box. Mercedes watched for anopportunity to say to him:
"You look unhappy; have I done anything to displease you?"
"No, never!" he quickly answered, but did not dare to look at her.Presently he added: "It is too painful to think that only for one daymore I can see you, then we must part, and--and others will be withyou."
"Could you not go with us as far as the Yosemite?"
Clarence turned quickly to look at her, and her eyes had that sweet,loving expression which, to him, was always irresistible, entrancing. Hehad never seen it in any other eyes, and in hers only very seldom.
"Oh! if you will only let me."
"Let you! Your pleasure is the only thing to consult."
"Then I know what I shall do."
----
Neither Mr. Selden nor Mr. Gunther could sleep that night. Those littlegolden curls over the blue eyes floated in a hazy mist and music intantalizing recurrence until dawn.
"Did you make a satisfactory bargain?" George asked Clarence nextmorning, when the ladies had gone to church.
"Yes, as far as we can see at present. I am to send an expert to look atthe mines to-morrow, and on his report will decide what to do. But I amin a quandary now about one thing. Have you positively decided to leaveto-morrow at seven A.M.?"
"If we don't oversleep ourselves," was George's reply. "But thatdepends. Why do you ask? If by waiting a few days we can have yourcompany further on, we will wait, of course. The girls are enjoyingthemselves very much, and will be glad to wait for you."
"Thanks, thanks," said Clarence, warmly. "Yes, I would like to go as faras the Yosemite with you; but as I would like to have one final talkwith the miners to-morrow before I pay them any money, I would be muchobliged if you could wait until Tuesday morning."
"Most willingly, my dear fellow, particularly as these senoritas are notin a hurry to leave fascinating San Francisco."
"We have not driven anywhere around the city, and Miss Mercedes wishesto see more of San Francisco," said Clarence, "as she has not seen itsince she was _twelve months old_."
"Poor Selden; those fellows will never cease laughing at his mistake,"George said.
After mass, our travelers went immediately to luncheon. At their tablewere already seated the six New Yorkers, but four chairs were carefullyturned, in token of being reserved. Clarence sat next to Mercedes, butSelden was opposite, and anxiously expected the moment when she wouldlift her veil. He dreaded to be disenchanted by finding her to be lessbeautiful in daylight, but such was not the case. She appeared to himeven prettier, seeing better the lovely dark blue of her eyes. He lookedat her in silence, saying to himself mentally: "She is exquisite; am Igoing to love her hopelessly!" And he looked at Clarence with a pang ofjealousy, for he could not deny to himself that he was handsome, yes,beautiful as an Apollo, and very manly.
Next to Selden sat Robert Gunther, making almost the same mentalobservations, and resolving to try and win her in spite of allobstacles.
Luncheon was much enjoyed by all excepting Mr. Selden, who seemed to getmore and more nervous as he sat there trying not to look at Mercedes asmuch as he wished.
The Gunther brothers were very brilliant conversationalists, and so wasGeorge, who was in his element in the company of such polished gentlemenas were now before him. On leaving the table, Mr. Charles Gunther beggedElvira's permission to pay their respects, asking if it would suit herconvenience for them to call that evening after dinner, to which shegracefully assented, and all walked towards the parlor.
"Shall we go to the Cliff House this afternoon?" George asked his wife.
"You may, but Mercedes and I are going to vespers," she replied, andsoon after the two sisters retired to their rooms.
As all of the gentlemen walked down to the reading room, Selden said:"And how in thunder are we going to kill time this afternoon untildinner? It will be intensely stupid here."
"I thought we all were going to drive to the Cliff," Bob Gunther said,maliciously. "Perhaps you would rather go to church."
"You judge others by yourself," Selden retorted.
"I believe I do. But our sudden access of religion, I fear, would not beappreciated. My dear fellow, our piety, like that of his satanicmajesty, would be distrusted. It would edify no one, only make usridiculous. Let us go to the Cliff."
And to the Cliff all went, but the drive was not much enjoyed. Bob andSelden were quarrelsome, and all the others laughed at them, which endedby making them surly. Selden ridiculed the San Franciscans for theirstupid Cliff House, while all sat in arm-chairs on the broad veranda andlooked at the Pacific Ocean, and Pacific sea lions, and Pacific rocks,and thought them all equally monotonous. To watch the ugly sea beastsawkwardly dragging their unwieldly hulks up the rocks, there to spreadthemselves in the sun, was not a very exhilarating spectacle for younggentlemen who desired to see other kinds of lions. Sunday not being thefashionable day for San Franciscans to drive to the Cliff, the NewYorkers concluded that the elite would not be seen that afternoon andreturned to the hotel.
After dinner several lady friends, who had received Elvira's weddingcards and had seen her and Mercedes at church that morning, called.
The cards of the New Yorkers, also, were brought, and they followedimmediately. Elvira presented them very gracefully, while George watchedwith delighted attention the perfect ease and natural elegance withwhich she did the honors as hostess.
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nbsp; Robert Gunther and Arthur Selden seated themselves in a corner, on theright of Mercedes' chair, but Clarence held his place on the end of thesofa, very near her.
About ten o'clock, Mr. Charles Gunther said to them:
"Much as it pains me to tear myself away, young men, it must be done,for we have made _a first call_ of nearly two hours' duration."
"It has not seemed to us nearly so long," Mercedes said.
"It was no more than two minutes," Bob Gunther added.
"How you exaggerate," Mr. Selden exclaimed.
"Ask him how long it has seemed to him," Bob suggested.
"I would not dare. He thinks you exaggerate, that is enough," repliedMercedes.
Selden gave her a look of tender reproach, and a savage one at Bob, ashe bowed, leaving the room.
By nine o'clock Monday morning Clarence had received the certificates ofassay he had ordered on Saturday afternoon. It seemed to him that theremust be a mistake somewhere about the rock, for these assays gave even ahigher percentage than those shown him by the miners. He went toHubert's office and found Fred already there waiting for him.
"Look here, Hubert, are you sure that these men did not bring us thisrich rock from some other mine? The assays are very high. One goes ashigh as $2000 per ton."
"They might have selected the specimens, but I can vouch for their beingfrom the same ledge, for I know the rock. I can also vouch for thehonesty of the men, for I know them well; besides, what would be thegood of telling a falsehood that would be found out the minute theexpert got there? Their reputation is worth more to them than the fivehundred dollars that you will pay now," was Hubert's reply.
"They are good men. I have known them for years, and have had themworking with me," Fred added.
"Then let us finish this business now, for I go out of town to-morrowmorning," Clarence said, and in half an hour he had explained his viewsand wishes and made his contract with Fred Haverly, the terms of whichhad been already mentioned on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Theminers now came and the contract with them, also, was made andacknowledged in due form.
By twelve o'clock that day Clarence had dispatched his business with theminers and with Fred Haverly, reserving until he returned instructionsregarding his Alameda farm.
In the afternoon all drove to the Cliff House. The ugly sea lions didnot seem so clumsy to Mr. Selden, as Mercedes laughed, amused to seetheir ungainly efforts at locomotion, and as she pronounced the PacificOcean to be grand and the wild surf dashing madly against the impassiverocks very impressive, Mr. Selden was of the same way of thinking, andfound the sea lions rather graceful and dignified, the black rocks moreinteresting than they had been the day before.
The gayeties of San Francisco made time slip away magically, and a weekpassed in receptions, drives and yacht sailing, in honor of Elvira,seemed very short indeed. But now another week had begun, and thejourney eastward must be resumed.
Our travelers took an early breakfast on Tuesday morning, and by seveno'clock they left the hotel. Half an hour later, they were on theOakland boat, crossing San Francisco Bay on their way to New York.
"There is plenty of room here for all the navies of the world," Georgeobserved, looking at the harbor.
"Yes, I believe the bay is forty miles across," replied Clarence. "Forall intents and purposes at present, however, San Diego Bay is as goodas this."
"Yes, I only wish we had commerce enough for ships to be crowded there."
"If Colonel Scott succeeds in constructing his railroad, there is nodoubt that San Diego will be a large city in a few years."
"I believe that, but the question is, will Colonel Scott succeed?"
"I think he will, but he has a hard crowd to fight."
Clarence mused a little, then, changing his position so as to faceGeorge, said:
"I have had an idea in my head, a sort of project, I want to talk to youabout. Of course, its practicability, I fear, will entirely depend uponthe building of the Texas Pacific Railroad; for if San Diego is not tohave population, my plan will be impracticable. It is this: The twobanks in San Diego, I don't think, have a paid-up capital of more than ahundred thousand dollars. I think we could establish a bank of two orthree hundred thousand dollars that would be a paying institution. Iheard you say that you thought you would like to come to California, soas to be near your family. That gave me the idea of starting a bank. Youcould be the president and manager, and I would furnish as much of thecapital as suited you."
"Your idea is splendid, nothing could suit me better; but I suppose wewill have to see whether we are to have a railroad or not."
"Yes, that is the sole and unavoidable condition."
"I suppose we will know next winter, and if it be decided that the TexasPacific is to be built, I will immediately accept your proposition, andput in some money with you."
"I can take half, or a third of the stock, and put in some money for DonGabriel and Victoriano; and Everett can come in, too. You can easilyinstruct Don Gabriel in the banking business."
"He would make a good cashier; he is a good bookkeeper already. I thinkI could put in twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars."
"If you put in twenty-five thousand, I will put in that much for each ofthe others, Don Gabriel, Tano and Retty, and one hundred thousand formyself, or will put in thirty thousand for Don Gabriel and ninety-fivethousand for myself."
"You ought to be the president."
"No, I want you and Don Gabriel to have the entire management. You cantake in Tano and Retty, if you like, if they prove themselves efficient;but as for myself, I want to be free to attend to those mines (if theyare worth working) and take care of my Alameda farm. Don't you thinkthat two hundred thousand will be enough to start? I can put in more, ifnecessary, by selling some of my United States bonds. I have sevenhundred and fifty thousand in United States securities, which I canconvert into money at any time."
"Two hundred thousand is more than enough. We can increase the capital,if we wish, afterward. I am glad you are so well fixed in governmentsecurities."
"I could have had a round million if I had not sold my stock too soon;but my father kept talking to me so much against dealing in miningstocks, that I ordered Hubert Haverly to sell all I had. Fortunately heheld on for a few days to my Crown Point, and sold for nine hundredthousand dollars. I was sorry enough to have lost a million for being soobedient a son, and when in that mood I promised Hubert I would notinterfere again, but let him manage my stocks as he thought best. Sincethen he has done very well, so that now I have seven hundred and fiftythousand in United States bonds, my farm, for which Hubert paid ninetythousand, some town lots in San Francisco, and about one hundred andsixty thousand dollars in bank, besides the interest on my bonds, whichI have not drawn for over a year."
"Why, that makes you worth over a million."
"Yes, but if I had kept my Crown Point for a few days longer I couldhave sold for a million and a half. However, I think the Arizona mineswill reward my filial obedience," added he, smiling, "and if we canstart that bank I shall be satisfied. I think it is a pity that such menas Don Mariano and his sons do not have some other better-payingbusiness than cattle-raising. It used to pay well, but I fear it neverwill again, while such absurdities as the '_No-Fence Laws_' are allowedto exist."
"Yes, I heard Don Mariano say to my father: 'I am sure I am to belegislated into a _rancheria_, as there is no poor-house in San Diego toput me into,' he said it smiling, but his smile was very sad. However,when the appeal is dismissed and he is rid of squatters, he willrecuperate, provided, of course, there be a Texas Pacific to make SanDiego lands valuable. Without it the prospect is gloomy indeed, I maywell say dead."
"That's it; it all depends upon that railroad, I am sorry to say, whenwe are so powerless to counteract hostile influences."
"We must hope and wait."