Brandon of the Engineers

By and by she tried, not to make excuses for Brandon, but to understand

his point of view, and was forced to admit that it was not unreasonable.

Her father now and then allowed, or perhaps encouraged, his guests to

play for high stakes, and she had hated to see the evening gatherings of

extravagant young men at their house in England. Indeed, she had eagerly

welcomed the change when he had offered to take her abroad because

business necessitated his leaving the country. Things had been better at

Santa Brigida, but after a time the card playing had begun again. The men

who now came to their house were, however, of a different type from the

rather dissipated youths she had previously met. They were quieter and

more reserved; men of experience who had known adventure. Still, she

disliked their coming and had sometimes felt she must escape from a life

that filled her with repugnance. The trouble was that she did not know

where to find a refuge and could not force herself to leave her father,

who had treated her with good-humored indulgence.

Then she began to wonder what was the business that had brought him to

Santa Brigida. He did not talk about it, but she was sure it was not

gambling, as Brandon thought. No doubt he won some money from his

friends, but it could not be much and he must lose at times. She must

look for another explanation and it was hard to find. Men who did not

play cards came to the house in the daytime and occasionally late at

night, and Kenwardine, who wrote a good many letters, now and then went

away down the coast. There was a mystery about his occupation that

puzzled and vaguely alarmed her, and she could turn to nobody for advice.

She had refused her aunt's offer of a home and knew it would not be

renewed. They had cast her off and done with her. Getting up presently

with a troubled sigh, she went to her room.

In the meantime, Jake stayed in the patio with the others. A thin, dark

Spaniard, who spoke English well, and two Americans occupied the other

side of the table; a fat German sat nearly opposite the Spaniard and next

to Jake. The heat made them languid and nobody wanted to play cards,

although there was a pack on the table. This happened oftener than

Brandon thought.

"It's a depressing night and an enervating country," Kenwardine remarked.

"I wonder why we stay here as we do, since we're apt to leave it as poor

as when we came. The people are an unstable lot, and when you've spent

your time and energy developing what you hope is a profitable scheme,

some change of policy or leaders suddenly cuts it short."