Even
adjoining Arizona and New Mexico begin to fill up. The conspirators
know the South is handicapped in the irrepressible conflict unless
some diversion is made in the West. They must secure for the
states of the Southern Republic their aliquot share of the varied
treasures of the West. The rich spoil of an unholy war.
Far-seeing and wise is the pupil of Calhoun and Slidell. He is the
coadjutor of the subtle Gwin. Hardin feeds the flame of Maxime
Valois' ardor. The business friendship of the men continues unabated.
They need each other. With rare delicacy, Valois never refers to
the blood-bought "beauty of the El Dorado." Her graceful form never
throws its shadow over the threshold of the luxurious home of the
lawyer. On rare visits to the residence of his friend, Valois'
quick eye notes the evidence of a reigning divinity. A piano and
a guitar, a scarf here, a few womanly treasures there, are indications
of a "manage a deux." They prove to Maxime that the Egeria of this
intellectual king lingers near her victim. He is still under her
mystic spell. Breasting the tide of litigation in the United States
and State courts, popular and ardent, the Louisianian thrives. He
rises into independent manhood.
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