The Advocate and news., 1898-01-12


"Our positions have been 80 difficult,
Miss Cullen, that / don't think we either
Of US are quite responsible for our ac-
tions.
She said nothing, and, after a pause,
l continued:
II hope you'll think as leniently Of
my conduct as you can, for / can't tell
you how grieved / am to have psined
You"
Cullen joined us at this point, and
knowing that every moment we remain
ed would be distressing to his sister
said we would start up the trail.
hadn't the heart to offer to help her
mount, and after Frederic has put her
up we fell into single file behind Hance,
Lord Rallies coming last.
AS soon as we were started | took q
look at the three letters They were all
addressed to Theodore e. Camp, Esq,
Ash Forks, A. T., one Of the directors
Of the K. and A. and also Of the Great
Southern. For the first time things be-
gan to clear up to me- When the trail
broadened enough to permit it, pushed
my mule up alongside Of Cullen and
asked:
"The letters contain proxies for the
X. and A. election next friday"
He nodded his head "The Missouri
Western and the Great Southern are
fighting for CONTROL" " he explained,
"and we should have won but for three
blocks Of eastern stock that had prom
lsed their proxies to the G. s. Rather
than lose the fight we arranged to learn
when those proxies were mailed-that
was what kept me behind-and then to
hold up the train that carried them. "
"Was it worth the risk?" / asked.
''If we had succeeded, yes. Ny father
had put more than was safe into Mis-
souri, Western and into California Cen
tral. The G. S. wants control to end the
traffic agreements, and that means bank
ruptcy to my father. +"
/ nodded, seeing it all as clear as day
and hardly blaming the Cullens for
what they had done, for any one who
has had dealings with the G. s. is driv-
en- to pretty desperate methods to keep
from being crushed And when one is
fighting an antagonist that won't regard
the law, or rather one that, through
control Of legislatures and judges, makes
the law to suit its needs, the temptation
is strong to use the same weapons one
self.
"The toughest part of IL is" Fred
went ON, "that we thought we had the
whole thing hands down. and that was
what made my father go in so deep.
Only the death of one Of the M. W. di-
rectors, who held 5000 shares Of K. and
A., got us in this hole, for the G. s.
put up a relative to contest the will,
and SO delayed the obtaining Of letters
of administration, blocking his execu-
tors from giving @ proxy. 1t was as
mean a trick as ever was played"
''The G. s. is a tough customer to
fight" / said, and / asked, "Why didn't
you burn the letters?" really wishing
they had done so.
1--WE feared duplicate proxies might
get through in time and thought that
by keeping these we might cook up
question as to which were legal, and
then by injunction prevent the use of
either"
"And those Englishrnen," asked
"sre they realp"
"Oh, certainly" he said "They
were visiting my brother and thought
the whole thing great larks." Then lie
told me how the thing had been done
They had sent Miss Cullen to my car so
as to get me out of the way, though she
hadn't known it. Then he and his
brother got off the train at the last stop,
with the guns and masks, and concealed
themselves on the platform Of the mail
car. Here they had been joined by the