"
Philip Hardin, looking through half-closed eyes at Valois, decides
to follow closely this dashing adventurer. He will go far.
"Valois," he slowly says, "you have seen these native land-barons
at the Convention. A few came in to join us. The rest are hostile
and bitter. They can never stand before us. The whole truth is, the
Mexican must go! We stopped the war a little too soon here. They
are now protected by the treaty, but we will litigate them out of
all their grants. Keep your eye on Lagunitas. It may come into the
market. Gold will be the fool's beacon here for some time. These
great valleys will yet be the real wealth of the new State. Land is
the rock of the wealth to come. Get land, my boy!" he cries, with
the lordly planter's instinct.
Valois admires the cold self-confidence of the sardonic Hardin.
He opens his heart. He leans upon the resolute Mississippian.
It takes little to make Maxime joyfully accept Philip Hardin's
invitation to share his office. They will follow the fortunes of
the city by the Golden Gates.
On riding down the Visitacion valley their eyes are greeted with
the sight of the first ocean steamers. A thousand new-comers throng
the streets.
Maxime finds a home in the abode of Hardin.
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