on th' shares; an' I guess Rayburn'll be glad t' go along as clown. He'd
make a good clown, Rayburn would. You see, we're both of us out of work,
an' both lookin' for a job."

"What do you mean by being out of work?" I asked, when I had shaken
hands with them. "What's become of the railroad?"

"Oh, th' railroad's got into one of its periodical bust-ups," Young
answered. "A row among the bondholders, an' construction stopped, an'
working expenses reduced, an' pretty much all hands bounced, from th'
president down. I guess Rayburn an' I can stand th' racket, though, if
th' company can. I've been wantin' t' get out of this d----d Greaser
country for a good while, an' I guess now I've got my chance. I must
say, though, I wish it had come a little less sudden, for I haven't
anything in particular in sight over in God's country, an' Rayburn
hasn't either. So if you want to start your circus we're ready for you
right away. Where did you get that boy-an'-donkey outfit from, anyway?
They're just daisies, both of 'em an' no mistake!"

"I don't know that you can count on me for a clown, Professor," Rayburn
said, "but I might go along as door-keeper, or something of that sort.
But I don't believe that Young and I will need to go into the circus
business. We are out of work, that's a fact; but the company has done
the square thing by us--paid us up in full to the end of next month and
fitted us out with passes to St. Louis. We're all right. Young is
heading straight for home, but I rather think that I'll take a turn
around the country and see what the civilized parts of it look like.
Ever since I came down here, nearly, I've been at work in the wilds. I
want to see some of the old temples and things too. You can put me up to
that, Professor. Where's a good ruin to begin on?"

From the moment that I laid eyes on these two men, as I came into the
court-yard, my mind was made up that I would do my best to induce them
to join with Fray Antonio and me in our search for the hidden city; and
I had listened very gladly to what they told me, for it showed me that I
should not have to ask them to abandon profitable work in order to join
in our doubtful enterprise. So we talked lightly about the circus and
other indifferent matters for a while; and then we had a lively supper
together at La Soledad (which always seemed to me a very original name
for a restaurant), and then I brought them to my room to smoke their
cigars.

It was while t