Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1916-02-10
SIXTH EPISODE
The Railroad Monopoly
BY JAMES OPPENHEIM.
Author of ''The Beloved and
Songs For the New Age"
AOM LARNIGAN's victory over
the textile trust and the trag-
il dafoat off tho nlans Auors

~ 0SlcdG VI Iu0 plduS Ayers
had made for his destruction
encouraged him vastly, but not more
than did the discovery that he was
not, after all, friendless and alone In
his fight.
Ben Travers, his old friend of the
Alaskan mining camps, had come back
into his life, and Ben had millions and
the will, as well as the power, to help
Tom. Harry Stevens, too, the young
newspaper man who had enlisted in
Bruce's war against the grafters. had
sought Tom out and promised his aid.
Tom gripped the hands Of his friends
in turn after he and Ben Travers dis
cussed the latest warning to drop in
vestigating the railroad monopoly.
We'll, l can't make you quit" he
said, land / don't mind saying that 1
am mighty glad because l can't.
There are no two men / would rather
have with me in fight, and it looks
as though we have real fight ahead
of us now. Bruce seems to think that
we ought to look into the railroad
monopoly that Charles Rockford has
created
Stevens nodded.
.'I'll drop down to Wall street and
see what can find on the financial
end. I know that any reporter on the
street would do anything asked him.
Then you and Ben can follow up Rock
ford personally. Have you looked into
his movements at all?''
Boston from New Hartford this after
noon, just his private car and an en-
CINE. If I could only get on that spe-
cial!'
"Goody' echoed Ben. .Tn go with
your
Tom secuted around now, afraid to
ask questions too openly, until he
found out which engineer was to be
in charge of President Rockford's spe-
cial that afternoon on the run to Bos-
ton. He left Ben to watch him and
went to call on Rockford. AS he eX-
pected, he was unable to see the head
of the railroad. But he managed to
drop note addressed to Rockford and
containing warning that he had bet
"That will prepare him. he said.
He'll know who / am when he sees
me-"
I've been talking little with our
man." said Ben. II think we can land
him all right. He says he'd rather
work in a glue factory than here He
seems to be sore on the whole works,
from Rockford down."
And Tom, when he in turn talked to
the engineer, found that Ben had not
exaggerated. He listened to the mans
complaints for time and then decid-
ed to make a proposition to him.
"Look here" he said. 81 can show
you / know how to run an engine, and
my friend here knows all about firing
It's worth $500 to me to be in your cab
this afternoon when that special goes
out. How about it?
The engineer agreed.
Somehow it did not occur to either
of them to distrust the engineer or tc
suspect him. And yet, no sooner
were they out of sight than he made
his way as fast as he could to Presi
dent Rockford's office, told of the
bride and OF what he had done
Stanford Stone was with Rockford
when the engineer made his report.
He leaned over and spoke con
fdentially to Rockford, who grew a
little white as he listened, but nod
ded finally.
Albright" he said, "Ill do it, I'll
stay back here, but they'll think I'm
aboard-well, !. will serve them
right! You can trust Dunn?"