New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-07-29

lalllNg INTO inns new 2falt trap.
Hatch snapped his fingers. Nov
you are coming to the milk in thu
%coconut." he raped out. THAT i.
exactly what we're assuming. YOl
are going to let 90. nee for all, Nor
cross. You are not going to fight US
in the courts, and neither are you go
ing to harass us vi of existence will
short cars, Oyer-charges, and the thou
sand and one petty prosecutions thai
you railroad buccaneers make use OF
to line your own pockets"
but If we refuse to lie down and
let you walk over us and our patrons
what then?' the boss inquired.
That brought the explosion. Hatch's
eyes blazed and he smacked fist into
palm.
"Then we'll knife you, and We'll dc
it 10 a velvet finish! After so long
a time, we've got you where you can't
side-step. Norcross."
The boss refused to be panic
stricken; or, anyhow. he looked that
way.
"We have heard that kind of talk
many times in the past" he said. "The
way TO make it effective is to produce
the goods"
That's just what we're here to do ~
snapped the Red Tower president vim
dietlvely. "YOu, and the Big Fellows
In New York, want Il lot of the state
railroad laws repealed or amended.
If you can't get that string united,
You can't gamble any more with your
stock. Well and good. You came
here six months e and set out to
manufacture public sentiment in favor
of the railroad. You ran up your
'public-be-pleased' flag and beat the
tom-tOm and blew the hewgag until
you got a lot of dolts and chuckle-
heads and easy marks to believe that
you really meant It,"
"Well, 20 on"
with all this humbug and hula
balloO you still couldn't be quite GER
tain that you had made your point I;
that your measures would carry
through the incoming legislature.
After the primaries YOU counted noses
among the candidates and found 1t
was going to be II tight squeak-a
ID tight squeak. Then you did what
You railroad people always do; you
slipped out quietly and bought a few
men-just to be on the safe side"
So 1t was sprung at last. Hatch
was accusing us Of the one thing that
we hadn't done; that the boss knew
we hadn't done.
I'm afraid you'll have to try again.
Mr.. Hatch" he said, with a sour little
smile. Then he added: Anybody can
make charges, you know"
Hatch jumped to his feet and he
was almost foaming at the mouth.
Fright there is where we've got
you - he shouted. "You were too eau
tious to put one Of your W men In
the field, 50 you sent outside for your
briber. He was a stranger, and he
men to buy. Dedmon, here, was out
of a job-thanks to you and your
meddllng-and the steering stunt Of
fered good pay. Do you want any
more?"
The boss shook his head.
ut is a matter of complete indiffer-
ence to me. | don't know in the least
what you are talking about, and yOull
pardon me, I hope, if ] say that 1t
doesn't greatly interest me-"
by heavens-Tll make it interest
you, The easy-mark candidates were
found and bought and paid for-and
maybe they'll stay bought. and maybe
they won't. But that isn't the point.
For a little more money-my money,
this time-each of these men has made
affidavit to the fact that railroad
money was offered him. They don't
say whether or not they accepted II,
mind you, and that doesn't cut any
They have sworn that the
money was rendered. That lets them
out and lets you In. You don't believe
it? I'll show you" and Hatch whipped
a list of names from his pocket and
Ii upon the boss desk. go
to those men and ask them; IL you
to carry 1t that far. They'll tell
you"
/ could see that the boss barely
glanced at the list. The glib story
Of the bribery was like the bite of
a slipping crane-hitch-slow to take
hold. So far as w were concerned,
Of course, the charge fell fiat; and
upon any other hypothesis II was
blankly Incredible, unbelievable, alb
surd.
''The afidavits themselves would be
much more convincing" I heard the
boss say, though v e then l should
to have reasonable proof hat
they were genuine"
Hatch was sitting down again and
his grin showed his teeth unpleas-
antly.
"Do you think for a minute that I'd
bring the papers here and trust them
your handsg" he raped put insult
Ingly. mot much, But we've got
Them all right, as you'll find out II you
balk and force us to use them"
At this point I could see that some
thing In the persistent assurance of
he man was getting under the boss
skin and giving him a cold chill. What
II 1t were not the colossal bluff 1t had
cooked like In the beginning? What
Il -. Like a blaze of lightning out
Of a clear sky a possible explanation
hit me under the fifth rib. and I guess
{ hit the boss at about the same in
slant. What II President Dunton and
he New York stockholders. believ-
ng as they did that nothing but legis-
alive favor would give them their
capital In the depressed stock.
rad cut in and done this thing with
,ut consulting us?