CHAPTER XXIII.
"Will you be so kind as to come here ?" Mr.Menocal inquired of Bryant.
It was an afternoon in late January, and the banker, bundled in a great overcoat and numerous rugs, had reined his team to a halt at the spot where he found the engineer.

The air was cutting.

Steam in sharp jets came from the nostrils of his pair of bays, as from those of the horses straining at the plows and scrapers in the stretch of partially excavated canal near by.
Lee went forward to the buggy, slapping his gloved hands together to quicken their circulation.
"What do you want of me, Mr.Menocal ?" he asked.

"You're picking a frosty day to look at the scenery." "Well, there's a matter that's been troubling my mind for some time and I decided to let it go no longer.

We have our differences, Mr.
Bryant, but I wouldn't wish you to believe me responsible for a number of annoyances to which you've been put.