o walked beside me on the waters, make clear
to me what I am to do. I am old, but I pray Thee to let me live to see
Thine enemies perish, to see those who love Thee reunited once more,
happy, at home. If, in Thy wisdom, even as Thou sent forth David
against Goliath, Thou hast sent this child against Thine enemies, make
that clear to me. His speech is foolish, but his heart seems filled
with pity. What he would do, I would do. But the way is very dark. If
I serve this boy, may I serve Thee? Teach me!"

Outside the Consulate, Roddy found his convoy, the guide, waiting for
him, and, to allay the suspicion of that person, gave him a cable to
put on the wire for McKildrick. It read: "No trace of freight; it may
come next steamer; will wait."

He returned to the agent of the line and told him he now believed the
freight had been left behind in New York and that he would remain in
Willemstad until the arrival of the next steamer, which was due in
three days.

At the hotel he found Peter anxiously awaiting him. Having locked
themselves in the room the two conspirators sat down to talk things
over. From what had escaped the Consul, Roddy pointed out certain
facts that seemed evident: Alvarez had not paid the Forrester
Construction Company, or, in a word, his father, for the work already
completed in the last two years. His father, in order to obtain his
money, was interested in some scheme to get rid of Alvarez and in his
place put some one who would abide by the terms of the original
concession. This some one might be Rojas, and then, again, might not.
As Peter suggested, the Construction Company might prefer to back a
candidate for president, who, while he might not be so welcome to the
Venezuelans, would be more amenable to the wishes of the F. C. C. It
also would probably prefer to assist a man younger than Rojas, one
more easily controlled, perhaps one less scrupulously honest. It also
seemed likely that if, by revolution, the men of the Construction
Company intended to put in the field a candidate of their own, they
would choose one with whom they could consult daily, not one who,
while he might once have been a popular idol, had for the last two
years been buried from the sight of man, and with whom it now was
impossible to communicate.

The longer they discussed the matter the more sure they became that
Rojas could not be the man for whom the Construction Company was
plotting.

"If Rojas isn't the choice of the F.