_ CHAPTER XXXV
The question for the moment took away the breath of the American. He looked into the crimson, flabby countenance and wondered if the man was in earnest. He was. By great effort, Major Starland held back the laugh tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Well," said he, pulling himself together and speaking slowly, "perhaps you come, say within a thousand miles of each. I don't see how the distance can be shortened."
"That depends upon the place you give others," blandly observed the Dictator, who accepted the rating as a compliment; "where do you place General Bolivar?"
"I should have to make careful calculation; he might come within a mile or two, but remember that the modern world has not yet produced the peer of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, nor do I see any signs that she is likely to do so. Have you been figuring on a comparison yourself?"
"I am too modest to claim to stand on the same plane with either of your great heroes, but reflection convinces me that I have been selected by heaven to be the successor of General Simon Bolivar."
"Inasmuch as to when?" said the Major gravely.
"I beg pardon; I do not understand your question, Major."
"I wait for you to explain _your_ meaning: what is your ambition?"
"It is to form a grand confederation of South American states; as you know, our continent is divided into no end of petty republics. Why should they not unite into one powerful, resistless whole?"
"The only obstacle is themselves; each country is so jealous of every other that it prefers to fight rather than to fuse. Zalapata and Atlamalco are illustrations; they are continually quarreling and at war over trifles that would shame a couple of schoolboys."
"All that is ended; henceforth General Yozarro and I are brothers, and the two republics will join hands in the path of progress. Our example will be quickly followed by Venezuela, by Colombia, by Ecuador, by Bolivia, by Brazil and all the states down to and including Patagonia. Will not that be the grandest confederation the world ever saw?"
"Undoubtedly--when it is formed. Is the conception your own, General?"
"It is; it has been forming in my mind for weeks and months; more than once I was in despair, and not until last evening did the splendor of the scheme burst upon me in all its fulness."
"You are dreaming what others dreamed before you, but the only one who made a fair start toward its realization was Simon Bolivar, and he died disappointed and brokenhearted. I suppose the first step will be to send ambassadors, or whatever you choose to call them, to the different republics of South America, proposing a meeting of representatives to consider the great scheme?"
"That will be the first step. It will take some time for a full exchange of views, and a committee will be named from each government to draw up the plan for confederation."
"Your scheme contemplates that this union shall be a republic, like my own country?"
"No other form can flourish in the clear sunlight of liberty of South America."
"Not the least important step, after the plan has been formulated, will be the choice of the Chief Magistrate; who should he be?"
The American knew what was coming, but the enjoyment of prodding the bulky ignoramus was none the less exquisite.
"The thoughts of all would naturally turn to the man who originated the grand scheme; they would feel profound gratitude, and inquire whether he is competent to carry out the plan and make the dream a realization; an immense majority will insist that the responsibility and honor shall go to him."
"And in that case you would be the man?"
The little head wabbled forward on the short neck.
"There can be no forecasting the whims of the public; the hero of today is the traitor of tomorrow, and vice versa; suppose some one other than you should be fixed upon; suppose General Yozarro should be called to the head of the confederation?"
The crimson countenance became more crimson; the breaths shifted to pants, and the tiny eyes twinkled with a sinister light.
"Impossible! Such an outrage can never be."
"Let us assume that it does come about; it is best, you know, to consider all sides of an important question."
"I would never consent! I would withdraw from the union! I would shatter the whole scheme, if I were treated with such shameless ingratitude."
"You forget that each republic would bring forth its own particular crop of favorite sons, and you would stand no more chance of selection than I. You declare yourself warmly in favor of the confederation; which do you place the higher,--the beneficent scheme itself or your own ambition?"
"It is not ambition, sir, but simple justice that I demand _and will have_!"
"Do you consider yourself the only man on the South American continent qualified to be the president of such a union?"
"By no means; there are plenty beside me, but none with such paramount claims to the honor."
"Admitting this, our own Washington or Lincoln, or any one of our leaders, was ready at all times to lay down his office for the good of his country; that, and only that spirit, is true patriotism; I don't believe there are ten native men between Nicaragua and the Straits of Magellan, who have ever experienced the feeling. Your strongest republics refuse to pay their just debts, and when England, Germany and some of the European Powers try to compel them to be honest, they bellow over the Monroe Doctrine and are ready to fight the United States because she won't come down and help them play the defaulter.
"No, General; the first step toward the success of your scheme is an impossible one; that is, the reconstruction and making over of the _genus_ South American. When somewhere a so-called republic is set up, and a President elected for a term strictly defined by its Constitution, the President refuses to go out of office at the close of that term and starts a revolution. Several others with a similar ambition do the same, and there you have the normal republic in this part of the world. Atlamalco, Zalapata and most of your governments are simply world's nuisances."
"Your statements, sir, are not only false but insulting; I have more faith in my patriotic countrymen than you, for I know them better; they are brave, unselfish, long suffering----"
General Bambos had progressed thus far in his speech, when he emitted a rasping shriek, clapped his hand behind him and made so tremendous a leap that his crown bumped against the ceiling of the cabin. At the same time, the tenor of his remarks abruptly changed, and he danced and rubbed with pain. One of the pestilent "fire ants" of his country had managed to snuggle among the crevices of the lounge, and its nip was like that of a red hot pair of pincers. _