``Well, they're rather common down here,'' continued the Consul, ``but this one ought to interest you especially, Miss Langham, because it is a woman who is at the head of it.Madame Alvarez, you know, was the Countess Manueleta Hernandez before her marriage.She belongs to one of the oldest families in Spain.Alvarez married her in Madrid, when he was Minister there, and when he returned to run for President, she came with him.She's a tremendously ambitious woman, and they do say she wants to convert the republic into a monarchy, and make her husband King, or, more properly speaking, make herself Queen.Of course that's absurd, but she is supposed to be plotting to turn Olancho into a sort of dependency of Spain, as it was long ago, and that's why she is so unpopular.''
``Indeed?'' interrupted Miss Langham, ``I did not know that she was unpopular.''
``Oh, rather.Why, her party is called the Royalist Party already, and only a week before you came the Liberals plastered the city with denunciatory placards against her, calling on the people to drive her out of the country.''
``What cowards--to fight a woman!'' exclaimed Miss Langham.
``Well, she began it first, you see,'' said the Consul.
``Who is the leader of the fight against her?'' asked King.
``General Mendoza; he is commander-in-chief and has the greater part of the army with him, but the other candidate, old General Rojas, is the popular choice and the best of the three.
He is Vice-President now, and if the people were ever given a fair chance to vote for the man they want, he would unquestionably be the next President.The mass of the people are sick of revolutions.They've had enough of them, but they will have to go through another before long, and if it turns against Dr.Alvarez, I'm afraid Mr.Langham will have hard work to hold these mines.You see, Mendoza has already threatened to seize the whole plant and turn it into a Government monopoly.''
``And if the other one, General Rojas, gets into power, will he seize the mines, too?''
``No, he is honest, strange to relate,'' laughed Weimer, ``but he won't get in.Alvarez will make himself dictator, or Mendoza will make himself President.That's why Clay treats the soldiers here so well.He thinks he may need them against Mendoza.You may be turning your saluting-gun on the city yet, Commodore,'' he added, smiling, ``or, what is more likely, you'll need the yacht to take Miss Langham and the rest of the family out of the country.''