The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-09-02

"The city council hns already grant,
cd the N. 9. o. temporary fran
chise." he confessed.
Pennington sprang furiously to his
feet. Dammit" he snarled. why did
you do that without consulting met"
Didn't know you were remotely In
terested." Now that the ice was bro
ken, Poundstone felt relieved and was
prepared to defend his act vigorously.
"And we did not commit ourselves ir-
revocably." he continued. "The tenn
porar: franchise win expire In twen-
ty.eIght dnys--and in that time the
N. G. o. cannct even get started"
"Have you any understanding as to
an extension Of that temporary fran
ciiise. In case the N c. q. desires it?"
swell. yes--not In writing. however.
I gave ogllvy to understand that II he
was not ready In thirty days, an ex-
tension could readily be arranged"
ANY witnesses7"
II nm not such n foot, sir" Pound
stone declared with asperity. "I had
notlon-I might as well admit 1t
that you would have serious objection
to having your tracks cut by n jump
crossing at y and Water streets" And
for no reason In life except to Justify
himself and inculcate In Pennington
nm impression that the latter was deal
Ing with crafty and fnr-seeing
mayor. Poundstone smiled boldly and
knowingly. He leaned back nonchal-
nntly and blew smoke nt the ceiling.
"You oily rascal" Pennington soillo-
quIzed you're n smarter man than I
thought. You're trying TO play both
ends against the midd.a." He recalled
the report OF his private detective and
the Incident OF Ogilvy's visit TO
young Henry Poundstone's Office with
smai leather bag; he was more
than ever convinced that this bag had
contained the brlbe, In gold coin.
which had hecn productive OF TINT
temporary franosh!re and the verbal
understanding for its possible extern
sion.
"Ogilvy did business with you
through your son Henry" he chal-
lenbed. Poundstone started violently.
"How much did Henry get out &C ar
Pennington continued brutally.
1.-TWO hundred and fifty dollars ~
tniner. and not cent more" Pound
stone protested virtuously-and truth
fully.
you're not so good business man
as ] gave you credit for being" the
Colonel retorted mirthfully. Two hun
dred and fifty dollarsl oh, Lord
PouDdstone. you're funny. Upon my
word you're scream" And The Colo
mel gave himself up to a sincerely
hearty laugh. You call II a retainer"
he continued presently. but . grand
jury might call It something else. How
ever" he went on after a slight pause.
you're not in politics for your health |;
so let's get down to brass tacks. How
much do you want to deny the N. c. o.
not only an extension Of that tenn
porary franchise but also permanent
franchise when they apply for III"
Poundstone rose with great dignity.
Colonel Pennington. SIR" he said.
"you insult me-"
"Slt down. You've been insulted
that way before now. Shall we say
one thousand dollars per each for your
three good counci.men and true. and
for yourself that sedan of my niece'sI
It's good car. imagine II Will please
Mrs. p. immensely and grant you sur
cease from sorrow. OF course / will
not give II to you. I'll sell 1t to you
Hva hupIrab Invrp t,pnp tho eI,yinu ~
the agreement, and In lieu of the cash
will take over that jitney Mrs.
Poundstone finds SO distasteful. Then
! will employ your son, Henry, as the
attorney for the Laguna Grnnde Lum-
ber company and give him a retainer
OF twenty-five hundred dollars for one
year. ! will leave II TO you TO get this
twenty-five hundred dollars from
Henry and pay my niece cash for the
car. Doesn't that strike you as n pen
fectly safe and sane propositlonf"
Had vista Of paradise opened up
before Poundstone, he could not have
been more thrilled. He had been abso-
lutely honest In his plea to Mrs.
Poundstone that he could not afford a
thlrty-two- hundreds ed-and-fifty-dollars So
dan, much as he longed to oblige her
and gain greatly-to-be-deslred peace.
And now the price was dangling before
his eyes, so TO speak. At any rate II
was parked in the porte-cochere not
fifty feet distantl
ITo BE CoNTINUEDJ
Cloth for Hard Wear