I always like to remember him as I saw him then, in that gorgeous
uniform, riding away under the great palms of the Plaza, with the
tropical sunshine touching his white hair, and flashing upon the
sabres of the body-guard, and the people running from every side of
the square to cheer him.

Two hours later, when I had finished my "paper" work and was setting
forth on my daily round, Miller came galloping up to the barracks and
flung himself out of the saddle. He nodded to Lowell, and pulled me
roughly to one side.

"The talk with Fiske," he whispered, "ended in the deuce of a row.
Fiske behaved like a mule. He told Laguerre that the original charter
of the company had been tampered with, and that the one Laguerre
submitted to him was a fake copy. And he ended by asking Laguerre to
name his price to leave them alone."

"And Laguerre?"

"Well, what do you suppose," Miller returned, scornfully. "The General
just looked at him, and then picked up a pen, and began to write, and
said to the orderly, 'Show him out.'

"'What's that?' Fiske said. And Laguerre answered: 'Merely a figure of
speech; what I really meant was "Put him out," or "throw him out!" You
are an offensive and foolish old man. I, the President of this
country, received you and conferred with you as one gentleman with
another, and you tried to insult me. You are either extremely
ignorant, or extremely dishonest, and I shall treat with you no
longer. Instead, I shall at once seize every piece of property