He was swindled
outrageously by men who stand high in the community to-day. But you,
Miss Maxwell, with your knowledge of Spanish and your other
acquirements, should do better here than in Europe, provided, that is,
you mean to earn your own living."
"I am proud to hear you speak well of my father," she said. "And I am
well aware that he was badly treated in business. I fear, too, that
his advocacy of the rights of the Indians brought him into disfavor.
Of all his possessions the only remnant left to me is a barren
mountain, with a slice of fertile valley, in the Quillota district. It
yields me the magnificent revenue of two hundred dollars per annum."
"How in the world did he come to own land there?"
"It was a gift from the Naquilla tribe. He defeated an attempt made to
oust them by a big land company. The company has since asked me to
sell the property, and offered me a fair price, too, as the cultivable
land is a very small strip, but it would be almost like betraying the
cause for which he fought, would it not?"
"Yes, indeed," agreed the doctor, though his heart and not his head
dictated the reply.
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