The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-01
CHAPTER XVII.


~ T was on this same Monday morn
ing, day of preparations for polit-
H icaI battles, that Mr.. Richard
Gantry, answering a telephone
call on the long distance line, hastily
closed his desk and left his Office to
make his way by quiet side streets to
the Railway club garage. Kittredge's
car was in it's place over one of the
pits, and the chauffeur was polishing
the brass.
"Get her in commission in about
three shakes of a dead lambs tail.
Haberstro,'' said the traffic manager
briefly. 1--WE got to go somewhere in
a hurry. Do you want an order from
your boss ?''
The chauffeur shook his head. mo;
guess it's all right, if you say so, Mr..
Gantry,'' he replied. And a little later
he had taken on his supply of gaso-
line and the motor was whirring mer-
rily under the hood.
"Where to?" he asked when Gantry
climbed to the mechanicians seat be-
side him.
''Out of town to the north by the
Quietest streets you can find. Then
take the Quaretaro county road. We
are due at C1increst inn just about
fifteen minutes sooner than we can
get there"
No more than a quarter of an hour
was consumed before the car had
wound its way to the summit of the
mesa and was wheeling to a halt be
fore the entrance of a small summer
tesort hotel perched among the pines
ut the edge. of the canyon cliff. There
were no guests on the hotel verandas,
| and Gantry knew that the inns sea-
L -mVS-,
Yet he sprang from the car and went
In as if he expected to find the place
open and occupied.
1t was open, and in the coy guests
writing room at one of the tables
drawn up before a cheerful wood fire
sat the vice president of the Trans
continental seemingly in solitary state
But in the room beyond a battery of
te1egra oh instruments clicked busily,
and a close observer would have re-
marked that the small table before
the fire was fitted with a row of cleo
trio call buttons
CIiffcrest inn, deserted of guests,
had been transformed into the hidden
headquarters in the field of the com
mander in chief.
..WeIl!'' said the great man, looking
up quickly when Gantry entered. ffYou
| Whose car is that?'
"It is Kittredge's," said the traffic
man.
Better tell him to get one that will
make time,'' was the impatient COM
ment. Then: ''Sit down and bring the
! situation up to date, and talk fast.
Time is precious today"
! Gantry drew up a chair and gave
J hasty resume of the political situation.
Everything had been done that could
! be done, and so far as the traffic man
! ager knew the railroad forces were
| ready to meet the issue at the polls.
| At one point, and only one, the de-
! fenses were weak. ITS that Gryson
! deal,'' he explained. "It has been rath-
er awkwardly handled, and if Evan
| B1ount should happen to stumble upon
it any time during the day I shouldn't
/ like to answer for the consequences"
"You ought to have made sure by
! getting him safely out of the way"
/ was the rasping comment of the great
man. you are just common bunglers
you and Kittredge-both of you.''
! Gantry's gest1re was of humorous
! despair
! There's a limit, Mr.. Mcvickar. We
couldn't very well garrote him and
carry him off to dungeon. We have
/ tried every way we could to muzzle
him. So far as I know, he hasn't been
doing anything incendiary since you
were here last week, but had to put
/ one across on him about the equalizing
of the freight rates"
'What did you do?' snapped the vice
president.
81 mailed him what purported to be
a carbon copy of the legal notice of
reduction. He doesn't know yet that
he has the only copy-that the notice
| hasn't been posted in our stations, as
the law directs. I'm hoping that he
won't find it out until after tomorrow,
when it won't make any especial diff
| ference"
| Mr.. McVfckar frowned again.
'Your expedients have all been pref
ty crude Gantry. You seem to per-
sistentIy forget that you are dealing
with a mighty sharp, shrewd young
lawyer; that the chances are ten to
one that young BIount discovered your
| pious fraud at once. Go back to the
city and think up some scheme that
will keep him busy today, too busy to
smell out the facts in the Gryson
matter
Gantry got up and stood with his
! back to the fire
I'm all in, Mr.. McVickar, and that's
the humiliating fact There isn't an
other idea left in me-" he confessed
despafringiy. Cant you help us out
| little, Mr. McVickar?"
Being thus put face to face with the
| inventive test, the vice president did
not hesitate a moment
''Of course he grated, eff 1 have to
do your thinking for you. Go back