Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-05-16
THE
CRAFTERS |
BY
FRAN CTS Lynn DE
Copyright. 1904. by The Bobbs-Merrill Co.,
CHATTER XIV.-CoNrINtED.

opened the thin quarto at the map of,
the United States. There were heavy
black lines, linked in with pen, trac
ihg cat the various ramifcations of q
great. railway system. The nucleus OF
the system lay in the middle west, but
there was a growing network of the
black lines reaching out toward the
Pacific. And connecting the trans
Mississippi network with the western
was. q broad red line paralleling the
ans-Western railway
She smiled at his sudden start of
comprehension.
do you begin to suspect things?"
she asked.
He nodded his head.
You ought to be man. If you
were, J should never give you mo-
ments peace until you consented TO
take q partnership with me. It's as
plain as day, now
rs it? Then l wish you would
make it appear SO to me. I am not
half as subtle as you give me credit
for being"
Yet you worked this out
That was easy enough; after had
seen Mrs Brentwood's letter. and
yours from Mr. Hunnicott The Plant
agould people want your railroad, and.
the receivership is a part of plan for
acquiring it. But why is Maj. Guilford
spending so much money for improve
ments?"
His reasons are not far to seek
now that you have shown me where
to look. His instructions are to run
the stock down so that the Planta.
gould can buy it in. Cut rates and
big expenditures will do that-have
done it. On the other hand, It is
the road Shall be turned over whole
as to its property values-there is to
be no wrecking in the general accept
'ance Of the word. The Plantagould
doesn't want a picked skeleton.
Miss Portals eyes narrowed.
ITS .skillful bit of engineering
isn't it?" she said You'd admire it
as artistic work yourself if your point
of view were not so hopelessly per-
sonal"
You don't know half the artistic
an these different ends that are being
conserved, the gang is taking care of
its surplus heelers on. the pay-rolls of
the company. More than that. it is
making immense political capital for
itself Everybody knows what the
policy of the road was under the old
regime: --:All the tariff the traffic will
stand But now a Bucks man has
hold Of it. and liberality is the word
Every mar in Trans Western territory
is swearing by Bucks and Guilford.
All. my dear friend. his excellency
the governor is a truly.g man.
She. nodded.
I've heen trying to impress you
with that fact all along. The mistake
YOU made was in not joining his party
early in the campaign, David"
But Kent was following out his own
j. line of thought and putting it in words
d. as it came.
Think of the brain work it took to
bring all those things into line. There
was no hitch, no slip. and nothing
was overlooked. They picked their
time. and it was moment when we
were absolutely helpless. had filed
=, our charter but our local organiza-
.tion was still incomplete. They had
'.their judge, and, the needful case in
his court, pending and ready for use
at the precise moment They had
Hawk on the ground. armed and
equipped: and they knew that unless
a miracle ,fntervened they world have
nobody but an unprepared local attor-
uey TO obstrIct them"
It's that all2" she asked.
No. The finest bit of sculpture is
Oh the capstone of the pyramid. Since
We have had no hearing OF the merits
Guilford Is only Temporary receiver
subject to discharge il the allegation:
in Hawks amended petition are no
sustained. After >the major has sui
ficIently smashed the stock, Judg,
MacFarlane will come back, the hear
,, ing on the merits will be given. W
shall doubtless make our point. an,
the road will revert to the stock
holders But by that time enough o
the stock will have changed hands o.
the wreck price to put the Pianta
gould people safely in the saddle. an
the freezeout will be fact accom-
Nished"