Part 40 (2/2)

He's as selfish as the devil for all that suave, cordial way of his.

Right from the first his idea has been to make a big personal hit. And he figured out he could do it easier with Joe Powers back of him than against him. James K. is the smoothest fraud on the Pacific Coast.

But Jeff--why, every hair of his head is straight. He's one out of a million, believe me.”

”You've said it,” Chunn agreed.

Rogers smiled across at them. ”He's left a lot of good friends behind him anyhow. But it's strange he could drop off the earth without a soul knowing about it.”

”The men who murdered him know about it,” Rawson answered significantly.

Captain Chunn shook his head. ”No, that boy will turn up yet.”

”But not in time to save us. We're licked. There's not one chance in a million for us. That's the discouraging feature of it, to be sold out after we had won our fight.”

Rawson agreed with Hardy. ”Yes, we're licked. Even if Jeff were to show up, with all these stories against him, we wouldn't be able to stem the tide now.”

”Mister Raw-w-son--Mister Raw-w-son.” The singsong voice of a bellhop echoed through the rotunda.

Captain Chunn's walking stick flagged the lad and brought him sliding across the polished floor.

”Telegram for Mr. Rawson.”

The big politician ripped it open and ran his eyes rapidly over the yellow slip. From his lips burst a sudden oath of surprise.

”By Jupiter, the miracle's happened. Jeff is alive and on his way here.

He's sent me a wireless from out at sea somewhere.”

”What!” Captain Chunn let out a whoop of joy.

”Listen here.” Rawson read aloud his message. ”'Shanghaied on schooner _Nancy Hanks_. Escaped at Honolulu. Back in Verden to-night. Keep up the fight.'”

”Didn't I say Jeff was alive? Didn't I say he would come back and beat those robbers yet?” the owner of the _World_ demanded.

”Don't get excited. It may be a fake.” This from Hardy, who was almost as much moved himself.

”Fake nothing! We'll go down to the telegraph office and make sure it's 0. K. Won't this make a bully story for the _World_ 'Shanghaied' in big letters across the top, and underneath a red hot roast of the old city hall gang's methods of trying to defeat the will of the people.” Rawson laughed aloud as his imagination pictured the story.

The old soldier's eyes gleamed. ”I'll run twice as many copies as usual.

We'll plaster the state with them, calling for ma.s.s meetings everywhere to insist on the legislature pa.s.sing our bill.”

”Go easy, gentlemen,” advised Rogers. ”If it's true we hold a trump card, but we want to play it mighty carefully so as to make it carry as much dynamite as possible.”

The company could give no information more definite than that the message had come from the _Bellingham,_ which was still a couple of hundred miles out at sea.

In view of the value of the news from a strategic slant his friends succeeded in keeping the lid on Captain Chunn's enthusiasm until the party was safe aboard a fast yacht steaming out of the harbor to meet the _Bellingham._ The old Confederate's first impulse had been to run an extra immediately, but he was argued out of it.

”We don't want to go off half c.o.c.ked. We've got a beautiful comeback if we play it right. That is, if Jeff's got any proof. But we better wait and let Jeff run the newspaper end of it, Captain.”

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