The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-24

/ AoN 10 hION you IL 90 what you
Mason,s voice was suddenly angry,
low, cutting.
Iompkins ignored the question.
i repeat" he said, eoOlIy, that II
you want my county TO leave Williams
and the Interstate railroad and come
over to the trolleys, that is my price -
Will compromise on fifteen hundred
dollars" said Mason, angrily.
Two - thousand - dollarsl" said
! Tompkins. He took out his watch.
| When he looked UP Mason stood be-
! lore him, his face flushed, an angry
| look in his ewes.
I will pay it, Tompkins," he said
sternly, because I've got to. But
want you to know that 1 consider ii
pure and simple blackmail. 1 will not
state my opinion of you. But l want
II understood that there is to be nu
monkey business. You understand"
Tompbins nodded as Mason opened
the door.
Il understand" he said.
When he had shut the door he
walked to the window of his room and
| stood there for a moment looking out
into the city below. where the lights
twinkled in the streets Then he smiled
and took out his watch. It was g
I O'Clock. He still had time to see Will
ilams and ask his price, and then.
| He smiled again, shrewdly
He entered the hotel Of the Boss with
| a l1ght-hearted step. He stopped a hall
boy in the brilliantly lighted corridor of
i the hotel. sent his card up to Williams
room and walked into the smoking rom,
| where he lit a cigar and sat down, with
| a shrewd, exultant look coming into his
eyes. to wait for the Boss
When he had waited a quarter of an
| hour and no answer came, he sent I'D
another card But Williams was still
busy
And a half hour later. with an i'm
/ patient order to the bellboy, he tried
again
And still the Boss did not reply.
| He was angry now He sat down at
the broad writing table and drew a
piece Of the hotel paper toward him. He
/ had long ago lost any early feeling that
he might have had that this sort of
thing was dishonest. What if il was?
Lots of other members of the house
were doing it all the time. 1t was only
the Sunday school people, the members
with the idea that the public had any
rights outside of paying the bills, that
neglected their opportunities. He would
show Williams that he was something
after all. Until now he had been con-
tent to take little ten-dollar bills from
young attorneys and ffty-dollar checks
llOln DlS OOIpOfdllOnS, ana Ol6-nun-
dred-dollar bills from Williams him.
self, for few paltry votes IN the house
on minor matters. That was ike boys
pay now-like building sand houses in
kindergarten
He wrote two curt sentences on the
hotel paper and sent it I'D by a bell
boy to Williams room.
Now he'd see if Williams could afford
to ignore him that way, whether he
could Ii
even If he was Boss of the Lobby and
had bought him and his county for $500
BE went across the city, angry, to
his own hotel He passed Mason COM
ing out of the hotel corridor as he en-
tered and nodded at him, smiling
Then he seEt for his county members,
calling them by the beliboy, one by one,
and told each of them that Mason, for
the trolley road. was willing to give
them s50 for their votes If they would
leave Williams. and that he wanted
tlgcm to take it. And when the last one
of them had shaken his hand and said
he would and gone out and shut the
door. Tcmpkins leaned back in his easy
chair, With his feet on his ttble. and lit
another cigar. and smiled again. He
would give Williams a day to meet his
price-and then
It vas drizzling rain when Tomp-
kins woke. late the next morning. and
walked up through the wet streets TO
the Capitol. He had taken the step
pitted himself against Williams, done
what few members of the house had
ever dared alone TO do. And now II
was UP TO the Boss. He held his head
back on his shoulders and laughed
eomplaeently as he thought of it, If
Williams sent for him that day he
would have to nut his bid at a figure
he kad never paid before. He had seen
his county, knew what they We're going
to do. Twenty of them. whom Will
liams had counted on. were to vote
the next day for Mason. He laughed
again cOmplacently.
The house was in session as he en-
tered the less5y, but he only glanced
the doors as he went to his !
customary seat in the corridor. He |
would give the Boss until the next |
morning.
A member from another county hur-
ried through the lobby in front of him |
eyes followed him absentiy |
A group of men were standing in front /
of him. One of them went up to the 1
house door, looked in, said something /
20 the others, who walked rapidly !
away in opposite directions A news
paper man whom Tompkfns knew /
rushed by him, paid in hand, calling
to member down the COR
rid0r.
Tompkins wondered what the I'M
usual interest was about His eyes
were on the staircase, where every
minute he expected to see Williams.
silk hat in hand
A member from his own county came
1ut of the house. looking up and down
The corridor. When he saw him he
sanse over hurriedly-
what are you going to dor he
4 sixci.
.tDo-about xyhat?. said TompkIns
a hcs1z. the bil-hotiee bill No 2q-l