Part 16 (1/2)
”Tell me what we have to do, David. I am a little lame in law matters.”
”Do? We have to appear in Judge MacFarlane's court to-morrow afternoon prepared to show that this thing is only a hold-up with a blank cartridge.
Hawk meant to take a snap judgment. He counted on throwing the whole thing up against Hunnicott, knowing perfectly well that a little local attorney at a way-station couldn't begin to secure the necessary affidavits.”
Loring paused with one end of his collar flying loose.
”Let me understand,” he said. ”Do we have to disprove these charges by affidavits?”
”Certainly; that is the proper rejoinder--the only one, in fact,” said Kent; then, as a great doubt laid hold of him and shook him: ”You don't mean to say there is any doubt about our ability to do it?”
”Oh, no; I suppose not, if it comes to a show-down. But I was thinking of your man Hunnicott. Doesn't it occur to you that he is in just about as good a fix to secure those affidavits in Gaston as we are here, David?”
”Good Lord! Do you mean that we have to send to Boston for our ammunition?”
”Haven't we? Don't you see how nicely the thing is timed? Ten days later our Trans-Western reorganization would be complete, and we could swear our own officers on the spot. These people know what they are about.”
Kent was walking the floor again, but now the strength of the man was coming uppermost.
”Never mind: we'll wire Boston, and then we'll do what we can here. Could you get me to Gaston on a special engine in three hours?”
”Yes.”
”Then we have till eleven o'clock to-morrow to prepare. I'll be ready by that time.”
”David, you are a brick when it comes to the in-fighting,” said the general manager; and then he finished b.u.t.toning his collar.
X
WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CLERGY
At ten forty-eight on the Sat.u.r.day morning Kent was standing with the general manager on the Union Station track platform beside the engine which was to make the flying run to Gaston.
Nine hours of sharp work lay between the hurried conference in Loring's bedroom and the drive to the station at a quarter before eleven. Boston had been wired; divers and sundry friends of the railway company had been interviewed; some few affidavits had been secured; and now they were waiting to give Boston its last chance, with a clerk hanging over the operator in the station telegraph office to catch the first word of encouragement.
”If the Advisory Board doesn't send us something pretty solid, I'm going into this thing lame,” said Kent, dubiously. ”Of course, what Boston can send us will be only corroborative; unfortunately we can't wire affidavits. But it will help. What we have secured here lacks directness.”
”Necessarily,” said Loring. ”But I'm banking on the Board. If we don't get the ammunition before you have to start, I can wire it to you at Gaston.
That gives us three hours more to go and come on.”
”Yes; and if it comes to the worst--if the decision be unfavorable--it can only embarra.s.s us temporarily. This is merely the preliminary hearing, and nothing permanent can be established until we have had a hearing on the merits, and we can go armed to that, at all events.”
The general manager was looking at his watch, and he shut the case with a snap.
”Don't you let it come to that, as long as you have a leg to stand on, David,” he said impressively. ”An interregnum of ten days might make it exceedingly difficult for us to prove anything.” Then, as the telegraph office watcher came to the door and shook his head as a sign that Boston was still silent: ”Your time is up. Off with you, and don't let Oleson scare you when he gets 219 in motion. He is a good runner, and you have a clear track.”
Kent clambered to the footplate of the smart eight-wheeler.
”Can you make it by two o'clock?” he asked, when the engineer, a big-boned, blue-eyed Norwegian, dropped the reversing lever into the corner for the start.