"Oh? Is there a revolution, then, in the state of Bonista?"

"None that I know of," Honda rejoined. "Don Luis, I am from the national capital. I represent the government of the Republic of Mexico, and I have considerable power in this state. I am solely in command, at present, of all the national troops within this state. These army officers will a.s.sure you that I hold a national commission to investigate affairs even in this remote state of Bonista. I could show you my credentials from the national government, if it were worth while."

"Then will you be good enough, Senor Honda, to tell me what you wish here."

"Don Luis, I am here because I believe this to be one of the central points in the investigation that I am about to hold. I will come to the point at once. You have sold your mining property here.

One of my first acts will be to make sure that you do not draw the proceeds of the sale from any Mexican bank until after the national government is satisfied."

"That is a high-handed proceeding, Senor Honda!" cried Montez, a deadly glitter in his eyes.

"It is such a proceeding as a national government may take at need," replied Senor Honda, calmly. "Of course, Don Luis, if your conduct in selling the mine is found to be blameless, then you will soon be able to use your money in any way that you please.

But, first of all, the government must be satisfied."

"Have you any further questions that you wish to ask me at present?"

Montez demanded, suddenly.

Though he had kept himself rather calm up to the present, the rascal felt that he must soon vent the spite and hate welling up within him, or explode from the pent-up force of his own emotions.

The late mine owner, though he could not penetrate the mysteries of the present situation, was now sure that Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton must be in some way behind it. No matter what happened to him afterwards, Don Luis was now furiously bent on getting the young engineers off on the lonely mountain trail where Gato and his comrades were lying in wait for the two young Americans.

"I shall have no more questions for you, for the present," Senor Honda replied. "Just now I wish to have some conversation with these Americans."

"Then come, senores," cried Don Luis, with forced gayety, as he thrust a hand under the arms of Tom and Harry. "Come, we will have our ride and our talk. We will be back here in half an hour and then we shall hear this affair through. Come!"

Tom Reade threw off the fellow's arm, exclaiming, warningly:

"If you touch me again, you snake in the gra.s.s, I'll reduce you to powder with a fist that's fairly aching to hit you!"

The vehemence of Tom's declaration made every one within hearing gasp with astonishment.

"What does this mean, Reade?" gasped President Haynes, looking thunderstruck.

"It means, sir," reported Tom, wheeling about, "that this fellow, Montez, threatened us with death if we did not sign a glaringly false report concerning _El Sombrero_ Mine. We were also to be killed if we did not stand by our report to the fullest degree after you and your friends arrived."

"Then _El Sombrero_ Mine is worthless?" cried Mr. Haynes, his face turning a ghastly white.

"As far as I know, sir, or as far as Hazelton knows," Tom Reade made prompt answer. "_El Sombrero_ isn't worth the cost even of filling up the shaft."

"And you, Reade--and you, Hazelton--the men we trusted implicitly--you stood by and saw us robbed!"

CHAPTER XXIV

CONCLUSION

"I don't blame you for being angry," Tom answered, quickly. "However, you may safely go a bit slow on the idea that we stood by to see you robbed, merely to save our lives. We had tried to escape from here. We even sent out two letters by secret messengers, these letters to be mailed at points distant from here. The letters would have told our friends in the United States what was up.

But, in some way of his own, Don Luis managed to catch the messengers and get hold of the letters."

"Then," added Harry Hazelton, "we thought we were doomed if we didn't yield to Don Luis's commands. Even at that, we were prepared to accept death sooner than sell ourselves out. Death would have been the cheapest way out of the sc.r.a.pe. But at last we found a way of helping Don Luis in the way he wanted, and of getting square with the rascal at the same time. Tell them what I mean, Tom."

"Why, it was like this," said Tom, seating himself on the railing of the porch, and facing the a.s.semblage. "Harry and I began to roam all over this property, as though to kill time. Out in Nevada, as it happens, we two and a friend of ours own a mine that seemed almost worthless. Almost by accident we discovered that we were working the mine just a little off from the real vein. Now, we didn't find that _El Sombrero_ was being worked off the vein.

What we did find was in that big strip of forest over to the east of _El Sombrero_--"

Tom turned, for an instant, to point to the forest that he meant.

"You will remember, Mr. Haynes, that we had Don Luis include that forest tract in the t.i.tle of the _El Sombrero_ purchase. That forest is really a jungle. One has the greatest time forcing his way through it. When you open it up on a big scale you'll have to send hundreds of men in there with machetes to chop paths through and clear off the tangled brush. We spent days in that jungle, at first because we had nothing better to do. Mr. Haynes, and gentlemen, if we know anything about mining, then that forest land is worth an immense fortune in the minerals it will yield.

You paid two and a half millions of dollars for the entire property.

That great forest stretch, in our opinion as engineers, is worth as much and perhaps more than that."

"That's right!" leered Don Luis. "Jest with them, Senor Reade, to your heart's content."

"I'm telling these countrymen of mine the truth, fellow," retorted Tom Reade, casting a look of withering scorn at Don Luis Montez.

"Had you been square and decent with us, we would have told you of the mineral wealth in yonder forest. As it is, we've punished your conduct by beating you at your own game."

"If I believed you, Senor Reade--" began Don Luis, bending his head low as he thrust it forward and gazed piercingly at Tom's face.

"I don't care anything about your believing me," retorted Tom.

"But Harry and I will prove to these real men every word that we've been saying."

"You have robbed me!" hissed Don Luis, now believing.

His hand flew to a rear pocket. He drew a pistol. But two soldiers had crept up behind Montez at a sign from Senor Honda. Now, one of the barefooted soldados struck the weapon down. It clattered on the porch, and the other soldier picked it up.

There was a struggle between Don Luis and the soldiers. Two other soldiers came to their aid, and--Click! snap! Montez was securely handcuffed.

"Take them off!" screamed Montez, paling like one about to die.

"Senor Honda, this is an outrage, and you shall--"

"Peace, fellow! Hold your tongue!" ordered Honda. "Do you not understand? You are a prisoner, nor are you ever likely to be much better off than that. A complaint of the treatment of these Americans, Reade and Hazelton, was forwarded to our government by the American minister in Mexico City. The complaint mentioned that the governor of Bonista was a confederate of yours in more than one underhanded bit of business. On account of the urgings of the American minister to this country, I was despatched here to investigate, and with authority to arrest the governor of Bonista, if necessary, and any other rogues."

"That's a lie!" snarled Don Luis. "How could the American minister learn what was going on in this country? These mountains of Bonista have never told my secrets."

"They did, for this one time," Tom broke in, gleefully. "And I can tell you how it happened. Harry, do you remember the day that Nicolas was gone so long that you were uneasy about him?

Well, I knew where Nicolas was, for I had sent him off. He thought he had found a messenger who would have more success in getting our letters mailed than had fallen to the lot of the messengers with our first two letters. Nicolas's messenger, from to-day's developments, must have got through. While I was sending one letter I thought it as well to send two. One letter was to our home offices, directing that the matter contained in my letter be taken on the jump to the government at Washington. The other letter, Mr. Haynes, was directed to you, sir, for I did not then know that you were one of the Americans expected here. I thought, Mr. Haynes, that your active hustling with the Washington government might help in rushing matters. For some unknown reason, my letter to our offices must have gotten through before the letter did that was sent to Arizona. Your private secretary, Mr. Haynes, must have opened my letter addressed to you. He realized that he could not with safety to us send you more than the telegraphic code warning to keep out of the deal. I never told Hazelton, until just now, in the presence of you all, that I had ordered Nicolas to send off more letters by a messenger whom Nicolas felt that he could trust. But you remember the day well enough, Harry?"

"I do," nodded Hazelton. "I was fussing about the long absence of Nicolas just before you turned up with that stranger whom we nursed."

"And speaking of strangers," muttered Reade, glancing off down the driveway, "there's the identical stranger, at this moment talking with the soldiers halted by the gate."

Almost as though he had heard himself called the stranger glanced up at the group on the porch, then came forward. He walked briskly, despite his lean, wasted frame.

"How? So this fellow is in irons?" queried the stranger, halting as he saw the handcuffs on Don Luis's wrists. "Justice is sometimes very tardy, though in this instance she has not failed. Handcuffs become this felon; they are his natural jewelry!"

"Then you know Don Luis?" questioned Tom, after an instant's silence.

"I should know Don Luis well," boasted the stranger, drawing himself up proudly. "Also I know this fellow!"