The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-10-07
CHAPTER XIV.-lContinued.l

The hands of his watch were point
ing to o'clock the following morning
when Tom made his way through the
throng in the Grand Central station
and found a cab The sailing hour OF
the Baltic was 10, and he picked his
cabman accordingly.
II shall want you for couple OF
hours, and it's double fare if you don't
miss. 271 Broadway, first" was his
fillip for the driver; and he was speed
lily rafting away to the downtown
address.
The taking of the cab was his hrst
mistake, and he discovered it before
he had gone very far. Time was pre-
cious, and the horse, pushed to the po-
lice limit, was too slow. Tom signaled
his Irishman.
Get me over to the Elevated, and
then go to Madison Square and walt
for me-" he ordered; and by THIS
change of conveyance he obtained his
mail and won back to the Fifth Ave-
nue. Hotel by late breakfast time.
From that on, luck was with him.
The Farleys, father and son, were IN
the lobby of the hotel, waiting for the
others to come down to the cafe break
fast. Tom saw them, confronted them,
and went at things very concisely.
81 have come all the way from Boston
to ask for few minutes of your time,
Mr.. Farley" he said to the president.
Twill you give it to me now?"
Surely" was the genial reply, aud
the promoter signed to his son and
drew apart with the importunate one
WELL go on, my boy; what can l do
for you at this last American moment?
some message from your good faith
err &
"No," said Tom, shortly; 'it's from
me, individually. You know in what
shape you have left things at home;
they've got to be stood on their feet
before you go aboard the Baltic"
whats this-what's this? Why, my
dear young man! what can you posi-
bly, mean ?"-this in buttered tones OF
the gentlest expostulation.
Il mean just about what 1 say. You
have smashed Chiawassee Consolidat-
ed, and now you are going off to leave
my father to hold the bag. Or, rather.
should say, you are taking the bag
with YOU"
Why, Thomas-you must be losing
your mind! Youve-you've been
studying too hard; that's 1.-THE term
work up there in Boston has been too
much for YOU"
"Cut it out, Mr.. Farley" said Tom,
savagely, all the Gordon fighting blood
singing in his veins. you've got a
thing to do, and it is going to be done
before you leave America. Will you
talk straight business, or not?"
"And if 1 decline to discuss business
matters with a rude school boy?" ne
animated mildly.
"Then it will be rather the worse for
you," was the defiant rejoinder.. Act
ing for my father and the minority
stockholders, shall try to have you
and your son held in America, pending
an expert examination of the COM
panys affairs
It was a long shot with a thousand
chances of missing. If there was any
thing criminal in the Farley admins
tration, the evidences were doubtless
well buried. But Tom was looking
deep into the shifty blue eyes of his
antagonist when he fired, and he saw
that he had not wholly missed. None
the less, the president attempted to
carry it off lightly.
What do you think of this, Vim
cent?" he said, turning to his son.
Here is Tom Gordon-our Tom-talk-
ing wildly about investigations and a.
rests, and don't know what all. Shall
we give him his breakfast and send
him back to SCHOOL,"
Tom cut in quickly before Vincent
could make a reply.
eff volr'rp SnarrjpO to IN Tina it'a
no use, Mr.. Farley. 1 mean what say,
and I'm dead in earnest" Then he
tried another long shot: Il tell you
right now we've had this thing cooked
.and primed ever since we found out
what you and Vincent meant to do. You
must turn over the control of Chiawas-
see Consolidated. legally and formally,
to my father before you go aboard the
Baltic, or-you don't go aboard!"
'Let me understand" said the treas
urer, cutting in. Are you accusing us
OF crime?"
''You will find out what the accusa-
ton is, later on said Tom, taking vet
another cartridge from the long-range
box. What want now is a plain,
straightforward yes or no, If either AZ
you is capable of saying it."
Lie pICSlAC1I IOOh Ills SON aside.
do you suppose Dyckman has been
talking too much?" he asked, hurriedlv
Vincent shook his head
you can't tell It looks !
little rocky. OF course, we had a RICH,
to do as we pleased with our own. hi,
we don't want to have an unfriendly
construction put on things"
But they can't do anything." nro.
tested the president why, I'd be per.
fectly willing to turn over my priyat,
papers, If they were asked fort"
Yes, of course. But there would b,
misconstruction. There il that con,
tract with the combination, for exam
pie; we had right to manipulat,
things so we'd have to close down, an,
It might not transpire that we mad
money by doing it. But, on the othe
nand, 1t might leak out, and there'd b
no end Of row. Then there Is anoth
tning: there is somebody behind thi
VINO Is bigger than the old soldier .
tnls young football tough. IT'S to
nicely timed"
BUT You wouldn't turn the propert