Part 32 (1/2)
”I plugged that d.a.m.n pie-face!”
Nathan Perry, the practical young man sitting in the Fourth ward delegation, heard the Judge and nudged Morty Sands. Morty Sands's sporting blood rose in him. ”The pup,” he whispered to Nate. ”He's taking a shot at Laura.”
The crowd gradually grew calm. There being no further discussion, Captain Morton put the motion of Joseph Calvin to let the majority of the convention name all delegates to the superior conventions. The roar of ayes overwhelmed the blat of noes. It was clear that the Calvin motion had carried. The Doctor was defeated. But before the chair announced the vote the pompadour of the little man rose quickly as he stood in the middle aisle and asked in his piping treble for a vote by wards and precincts.
In the moment of silence that followed the Doctor's suggestion, Nathan Perry's face, which gradually had been growing stony and hard, cracked in a mean smile as he leaned over to Morty and whispered:
”Morty, can you stand for that--that d.a.m.ned hound's snap at Laura Van?
By grabby I can't--I won't!”
”Well, let's raise h.e.l.l, Nate--I'm with you. I owe him nothing,” said the guileless and amiable Morty.
Judge Van Dorn rose grandly and with great elegance of diction agreed with the Doctor's ”excellent suggestion.” So tickets were pa.s.sed about containing the words yes and no, and hats were pa.s.sed down delegation lines and the delegates put the ballots in the hats and the chairmen of delegations appointed tellers and so the ballots were counted. When the Fourth ward balloting was finished, Judge Van Dorn looked puzzled. He was three votes short of unanimity. His vanity was p.r.i.c.ked. He believed he had a solid delegation and proposed to have it. When in the roll call the Fourth ward delegation was reached (it was the fourth precinct on the secretary's roll) the Judge, as chairman of the Fourth warders, rose, blandly and complacently, and announced: ”Ward Four casts twenty-five votes 'yes' and three votes 'no.' I demand a poll of the delegation.”
George Brotherton rose when the clerk of the convention called the roll and voted a weak, husky 'no' and sat down sheepishly under the Judge's glare.
Down the list came the clerk reading the names of delegates. Finally he called ”Mortimer Sands,” and the young man rose, smiling and calm, and looking the Judge fairly in the eye cried, ”I vote no!”
Then pandemonium broke loose. The convention was bedlam. The friends of the Judge were confounded. They did not know what it meant.
The clerk called Nathan Perry.
”No,” he cried as he looked maliciously into the Judge's beady eyes.
Then there was no doubt. For the relations of Wright & Perry were so close to Daniel Sands that no one could mistake the meaning of young Perry's vote, and then had not the whole town read of the ”showers” for Anne Sands? Those who opposed the Judge were whispering that the old spider had turned against the Judge. Men who were under obligations to the Traders' Bank were puzzled but not in doubt. There was a general buzzing among the delegations. The desertion of Mortimer Sands and Nathan Perry was one of those wholly unexpected events that sometimes make panics in politics. The Judge could see that in one or two cases delegations were balloting again. ”Fifth ward,” called the clerk.
”Fifth ward not ready,” replied the chairman.
”Hanc.o.c.k towns.h.i.+p, Soldier precinct,” called the clerk.
”Soldier precinct not ready,” answered the chairman.
The next precinct cast its vote No, and the next precinct cast its vote 7 yes and 10 no and a poll was demanded and the vote was a tie. The power of the name of Sands in Greeley county was working like a yeast.
”Well, boys,” whispered Mr. Brotherton to Morty as two towns.h.i.+ps were pa.s.sed while they were reballoting, ”Well, boys--you sure have played h.e.l.l.” He was mopping his red brow, and to a look of inquiry from Morty Mr. Brotherton explained: ”You've beaten the Judge. They all think that it's your father's idea to knife him, and the foremen of the mines who are running these county delegations and the South Harvey contingent are changing their votes--that's how!”
In another instant Morty Sands was on his feet. He stood on a seat above the crowd, a slim, keen-faced, oldish figure. When he called upon the chairman a hush fell over the crowd. When he began to speak he could feel the eyes of the crowd boring into him. ”I wish to state,” he said hesitatingly, then his courage came, ”that my vote against this resolution, was due entirely to the inferential endors.e.m.e.nt of Judge Thomas Van Dorn,” this time the anti-Van Dorn roar was overwhelming, deafening, ”that the resolution contained.”
Another roar, it seemed to the Judge as from a pit of beasts, greeted this period. ”But I also wish to make it clear,” continued the young man, ”that in this position I am representing only my own views. I have not been instructed by my father how to cast this ballot. For you know as well as I how he would vote.” The roar from the anti-Van Dorn crowd came back again, stronger than ever. The convention had put its own interpretation upon his words. They knew he was merely making it plainer that the old spider had caught Judge Van Dorn in the web, and for some reason was sucking out his vitals. Morty sat down with the sense of duty well done, and again Mr. Brotherton leaned over and whispered, ”Well, you did a good job--you put the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs on right--h.e.l.lo, we're going to vote again.” Again the young man jumped to his feet and cried amid the noise, which sank almost instantly as they saw who was trying to speak: ”I tell you, gentlemen, that so far as I know my father is for Judge Van Dorn,” but the crowd only laughed, and it was evident that they thought Morty was playing with them. As Morty Sands sat down Nathan Perry rose and in his high, strong, wire-edged tenor cried: ”Men, I'm voting only myself. But when a man shows doghair as Judge Van Dorn showed it to this convention in that question to Grant Adams--all h.e.l.l can't hold me to--” But the roar of the crowd drowned the close of the sentence. The mob knew nothing of the light that had dawned in Nathan Perry's heart. The crowd knew only that the son and the future son-in-law of the old spider had turned on Van Dorn, and that he was marked for slaughter so it proceeded with the butchering which gave it great personal felicity. Men howled their real convictions and Tom Van Dorn's universe tottered. He tried to speak, but was howled down.
”Vote--vote, vote,” they cried. The Fourth ward balloted again and the vote stood ”Yes, fifteen, no, twelve,” and the proud face of the suave Judge Van Dorn turned white with rage, and the red scar flickered like lightning across his forehead. The voting could not proceed. For men were running about the room, and Joseph Calvin was hovering over the South Harvey delegation like a buzzard. Morty Sands suspected Calvin's mission. The young man rose and ran to Dr. Nesbit and whispered: ”Doctor, Nate's got seven hundred dollars in the bank--see what Calvin is doing? I can get it up here in three minutes. Can you use it to help?”
The Doctor ran his hand over his graying pompadour and smiled and shook his head. In the din he leaned over and piped. ”Touch not, taste not, handle not, Morty--I've sworn off. Teetotler,” he laughed excitedly.
Young Sands saw a bill flash in Mr. Calvin's hands and disappear in d.i.c.k Bowman's pockets.
”No law against it,” chirped the Doctor, ”except G.o.d Almighty's, and He has no jurisdiction in Judge Tom's district.”
As they stood watching Calvin peddle his bills the convention saw what he was doing. A fear seized the decent men in the convention that all who voted for Van Dorn would be suspected of receiving bribes. The balloting proceeded. In five minutes the roll call was finished. Then before the result was announced George Brotherton was on his feet saying, ”The Fourth ward desires to change her vote,” and while Brotherton was announcing the complete desertion of the Fourth ward delegation, Judge Van Dorn left the hall. Men in mob are cruel and mad, and the pack howled at the vain man as he slunk through the crowd to the door.