Led Astray

Compared with Austria, which wanted to quell the storm of public opinion, the Colombian government could afford even less delay. The Panama region was still in Austrian hands; if they did not recover it quickly, they might never get it back.

Although the Austrian Government had made a promise, it was only a promise. Whether it would ultimately be honored was still up to them.

These days, the great powers had very low bottom lines, and breaking treaties was commonplace. If the Vienna Government later refused to acknowledge the agreement, the Colombian government had no strength to make them continue honoring their promise.

It was not as though there were no precedents for such things. If it really happened, there was little the Colombian government could do beyond lodging a few verbal protests.

After receiving the Austrian envoy's diplomatic note requesting negotiations, President Raphael Núñez could no longer concern himself with anything else and personally took the field.

This was no time to avoid suspicion. If he failed to recover the Panama region, his presidency would be over. No amount of shifting responsibility could save him.

Both sides wanted to quickly settle the dispute and put an end to this less-than-pleasant "misunderstanding," so naturally they participated actively in the negotiations.

Even the United Kingdom's cheering from the sidelines was useless. The disparity in strength between the two sides was too vast; the Colombian government had no capital to stand tough.

President Raphael Núñez wanted to secure greater benefits at the negotiating table, but he feared even more that if things dragged on too long, something might change within the Vienna Government.

After all, international reputation was only valuable if one still had it. If it had already been ruined and could not be restored in the short term, then it