Aladdin & Co.: A Romance of Yankee Magic

the business men of your town will still throw things our way, as they have your way--tonnage I mean--there might be a tendency to divide it up more than when your own people were working for the trade. And the next five years will be different anyhow." "Do you remember," said I, "how skeptical you were as to the past five?" "I acknowledge it," said he, laughing. "The fact is I didn't give you credit for being as big men as you are. But even a big man, or a big town, can reach only as high as it can. But we can't settle that question. I shouldn't expect a Lattimore boomer ever to adopt my view of it. I shall give this matter some attention to-day, and while I feel sure we are too far apart ever to come together, come in in the morning, and we will look at it again." "I hope we may come together," said I, rising; "we built the line to bring you into Lattimore, and we want to keep you there. It has made our town, and we prize the connection highly." "Ah, yes," he answered, countering. "Well, we are spread out a good deal now, you know; and some of our directors look with suspicion upon your sudden growth, and would not feel sorry to withdraw. I don't agree with 'em, you know, but I must defer to others sometimes. Good-morning." I passed the evening with Carson at the theatre, and supped with him afterward. He gave me every opportunity to indulge in champagne, and evinced a desire to know all about business conditions in Lattimore, and the affairs of the L. & G. W. I suspected that the former fact had some connection with the latter. I went to my hotel, however, in my usual state of ebriety, while Mr. Carson had attained a degree of friendliness toward me bordering on affection, as a direct result of setting the pace in the consumption of wine. I listened patiently to his complaints of Halliday's ungratefulness toward him in not giving him the General Managership of one of the associated roads; but when he began to confide to me the various pathological conditions of his family, including Mrs. Carson, I drew the line, and broke up the party. I retired, feeling a little resentful toward Carson. His device seemed rather cheap to try on a full-grown man. Yet his entertainment had been undeniably good. Next morning I was admitted to the presence of the great man with less than half an hour's delay. He turned to me, and plunged at once into the midst of the subject. Evidently some old misunderstanding of the question came up in his mind by association of ideas, as a rejected paper will be drawn with its related files from a pigeon-hole. "That terminal charge," said he, "has not counted for much against the success of your road, yet; but the contract provides for increasing rentals, and it is already too much. The trackage and depots aren't worth it. It will be a millstone about your necks!" "Well," said I, "you can understand the reason for making the rentals high. We had to show revenue for the Belt Line system in order to float the bonds, but the rentals become of no consequence when once you own both properties--and that's our proposal to you." "Oh, yes!" said he, and at once changed the subject. This was the only instance, in all my observation of him, in which he forgot anything, or failed correctly to see the very core of the situation. I felt somehow elated at being for a moment his superior in any respect. We began discussing rates and tonnage, and he sent for his freight expert again. I took from my pocket some letters and telegrams and made computations on the backs of them. Some of these figures he wanted to keep for further reference. "Please let me have those figures until this afternoon," said he. "I must ask you to excuse me now. At two I'll give the matter another half-hour. Come back, Mr. Barslow, prepared to name a reasonable sum, and I will accept or reject, and finish the matter." I left the envelopes on his desk and went out. At the hotel I sat down to think out my program and began arranging things for my departure. Was it the 11th or the 12th that Mr. Halliday was to return? I would look at his message. I turned over all my telegrams, but it was gone. Then I thought. That was the telegram I had left with Pendleton! Would he suspect that I had left it as a trick, and resent the act? No, this was scarcely likely, for he himself had asked for it. Suddenly the construction of which it was susceptible flashed into my mind. "With slight modifications contract submitted as to L. & G. W. and Belt Line matter will be executed. HALLIDAY." I was feverish until two o'clock; for I could not guess the effect of this telegram, should it be read by Pendleton. I found him impassive and keen-eyed, and I waited longer than usual for that aquiline swoop of his, as he turned in his revolving chair. I felt sure then that he had not read the message. I think differently now. "Well, Mr. Barslow," said he smilingly, "how far down in the millions are we to-day?" "Mr. Pendleton," I replied, steady as to tone, but with a quiver in my legs, "I can say nothing less than an even two millions." "It's too much," said he cheerfully, and my heart sank, "but I like Lattimore, and you men who live there, and I want to stay in the town. I'll have the legal department prepare a contract covering the whole matter of transfers and future relations, and providing for the price you mention. You can submit it to your people, and in a short time I shall be in Chicago, and, if convenient to you, we can meet there and close the transaction. As a matter of form, I shall submit it to our directors; but you may consider it settled, I think." "One of our number," said I, as calmly as if a two-million-dollar transaction were common at Lattimore, "can meet you in Chicago at any time. When will this contract be drawn?" "Call to-morrow morning--say at ten. Show them in," this last to his clerk, "Good-morning, Mr. Barslow." One doesn't get as hilarious over a victory won alone as when he goes over the ramparts touching elbows with his charging fellows. The hurrah is a collective interjection. So I went in a sober frame of mind and telegraphed Jim and Alice of my success, cautioning my wife to say nothing about it. Then I wandered about New York, contrasting my way of rejoicing with the demonstration when we three had financed the Lattimore & Great Western bonds. I went to a vaudeville show and afterward walked miles and miles through the mysteries of the night in that wilderness. I was unutterably alone. The strain of my solitary mission in the great city was telling upon me. "Telegram for you, Mr. Barslow," said the night clerk, as I applied for my key. It was a long message from Jim, and in cipher. I slowly deciphered it, my initial anxiety growing, as I progressed, to an agony. "Come home at once," it read. "Cornish deserting. Must take care of the hound's interest somehow. Threatens litigation. A hold-up, but he has the drop. Am in doubt whether to shoot him now or later. Stop at Chicago, and bring Harper. Bring him, understand? Unless Pendleton deal is made, this means worse things than we ever dreamed of; but don't wait. Leave Pendleton for later, and come home. If I follow my inclinations, you will find me in jail for murder. ELKINS." All night I sat, turning this over in my mind. Was it ruin, or would my success here carry us through? Without a moment's sleep I ate my breakfast, braced myself with coffee, engaged a berth for the return journey, and promptly presented myself at Pendleton's office at ten. Wearily we went over the precious contract, and I took my copy and left. All that day I rode in a sort of trance, in which I could see before my eyes the forms of the hosts of those whom Jim had called "the captives below decks," whose fortunes were dependent upon whether we striving, foolish, scheming, passionate men went to the wall. A hundred times I read in Jim's telegram the acuteness of our crisis; and a sense of our danger swept dauntingly over my spirit. A hundred times I wished that I might awake and find that the whole thing--Aladdin and his ring, the palaces, gnomes, genies, and all--could pass away like a tale that is told, and leave me back in the rusty little town where it found me. I slept heavily that night, and was very much much more myself when I went to see Harper in Chicago. He had received a message from Jim, and was ready to go. He also had one for me, sent in his care, and just arrived. "You have saved the fight," said the message; "your success came just as they were counting nine on us. With what you have done we can beat the game yet. Bring Harper, and come on." Harper, cool and collected, big and blonde, with a hail-fellow-well-met manner which spoke eloquently of the West, was a great comfort to me. He made light of the trouble. "Cornish is no fool," said he, "and he isn't going to saw off the limb he stands on." I tried to take this view of it; but I knew, as he did not, the real source of the enmity between Elkins and Cornish, and my fears returned. Business differences might be smoothed over; but with two such men, the quarrel of rivals in love meant nothing but the end of things between them. CHAPTER XXIII. The "Dutchman's Mill" and What It Ground. We sat in conclave about the table. I saw by the lined faces of Elkins and Hinckley that I had come back to a closely-beleaguered camp, where heavy watching had robbed the couch of sleep, and care pressed down the spirit. I had returned successful, but not to receive a triumph: rather, Harper and myself constituted a relief force, thrown in by stratagem, too weak to raise the siege, but bearing glad tidings of strong succor on the way. It was our first full meeting without Cornish; and Harper sat in his place. He was unruffled and buoyant in manner, in spite of the stock in the Grain Belt Trust Company which he held, and the loans placed with his insurance company by Mr. Hinckley. "I believe," said he, "that we are here to consider a communication from Mr. Cornish. It seems that we ought to hear the letter." "I'll read it in a minute," said Jim, "but first let me say that this grows out of a talk between Mr. Cornish and myself. Hinckley and Barslow know that there have been differences between us here for some time." "Quite natural," said Harper; "according to all the experience-tables, you ought to have had a fight somewhere in the crowd long before this." "Mr. Cornish," went on Mr. Elkins, "has favored the policy of converting our holdings into cash, and letting the obligations we have floated stand solely on the assets by which they are secured. The rest of us have foreseen such rapid liquidation, as a certain result of such a policy, that not only would our town receive a blow from which it could never recover, but the investment world would suffer in the collapse." "I should say so," said Harper; "we'll have to look closely to the suicide clause in our policies held in New England, if that takes place!" "Well," said Jim, continuing, "last Tuesday the matter came to an issue between us, and some plain talk was indulged in; perhaps the language was a little strong on my part, and Mr. Cornish considered himself aggrieved, and said, among other things, that he, for one, would not submit to extinguishment, and he would show me that I could not go on in opposition to his wishes." "What did you say to that?" asked Hinckley. "I informed him," said Jim, "that I was from Missouri, or words to that effect; and that my own impression was, the majority of the stock in our concerns would control. My present view is that he's showing me." A ghost of a smile went round at this, and Jim began reading Cornish's letter.