me. The consular agent here is a man named Quay, and he and I have
been in the commission business together. About three months ago, when
Laguerre was organizing his command at Bluefields, Garcia, who is the
leader of the revolutionary party, sent word down here to Quay to go
North for him and buy two machine guns and invoice 'em to me at the
consulate. Quay left on the next steamer and appointed me acting
consul, but except for his saying so I've no more real authority to
act as consul than you have. The plan was that when Laguerre captured
this port he would pick up the guns and carry them on to Garcia.
Laguerre was at Bluefields, but couldn't get into the game for lack of
a boat. So when the Nancy Miller touched there he and his crowd
boarded her just like a lot of old-fashioned pirates and turned the
passengers out on the wharf. Then they put a gun at the head of the
engineer and ordered him to take them back to Porto Cortez. But when
they reached here the guns hadn't arrived from New Orleans. And so,
after a bit of a fight on landing, Laguerre pushed on without them to
join Garcia. He left instructions with me to bring him word when they
arrived. He's in hiding up there in the mountains, waiting to hear
from me now. They ought to have come this steamer day on the Panama
along with you, but, as you know, they didn't. I never thought they
would. I knew the Isthmian Line people wouldn't carry 'em. They've got
to beat Garcia, and until this row is over they won't even carry a
mail-bag for fear he might capture it."

"Is that because General Laguerre seized one of their steamers?" I
asked.

"No, it's an old fight," said Aiken, "and Laguerre's stealing the
Nancy Miller was only a part of it. The fight began between Garcia and
the Isthmian Line when Garcia became president. He tried to collect