XX
THE WINNING LOSER
Editor Hildreth's prophecy concerning the probable attitude of theadministration newspapers in the discussion of the oil field affair waitedbut a day for its fulfilment. On the Friday morning there appeared in the_Capital Tribune_, the _Midland City Chronicle_, the _Range CountyMaverick_ and the _Agriculta Ruralist_ able editorials exonerating thePeople's Party, its policy and the executive, and heaping mountains ofobloquy on the name of Duvall. These editorials were so similar in tone,tenor and texture, as pointedly to suggest a common model--a coincidencewhich was not allowed to pass unremarked by Hildreth and other molders ofpublic opinion on the opposite side of the political fence.
But Hildreth did not pause at generalities. Two days after the Universal'striumph in the Belmount field, the _Argus_ began to "hit it up" boldlytoward the capitol, and two things came of it. The first was an attempt bysome party or parties unknown to buy up a controlling interest in the_Argus_. The second was the waylaying of David Kent in the lobby of theClarendon Hotel by no less a personage than the Honorable Melton Meigs,attorney-general of the State.
In his first conversation with Ormsby, Kent had spoken of the threeleading spirits of the junto as from personal knowledge; but of the three,Bucks, Hendricks and Meigs, the attorney-general was the least known tohim. Prior to his nomination on the State ticket Meigs had been best knownas the most astute criminal lawyer in the State, his astuteness lying notso much in his ability as a pleader as in a certain oratorical gift bywhich he was able to convince not only a jury but the public of the entireinnocence of his client.
He was a small man physically, with womanish hands and feet, and abeardless face of that prematurely aged cast which is oftenest seen indwarfs and precocious infants; and his distinguishing characteristic, theone which stuck longest in the mind of a chance acquaintance or a casualobserver, was a smile of the congealed sort which served to mask whateveremotion there might be behind it.
Kent had seen little of Meigs since the latter had turned him down in the_quo warranto_ matter; and his guard went up quickly when theattorney-general accosted him in the lobby of the hotel and asked for aprivate interview.
"I am very much occupied just now, Mr. Meigs," he demurred; "but if it isa matter of importance----"
"It is; a matter of the greatest importance," was the smooth-toned reply."I am sure you will not regret it if you will give me a few moments, Mr.Kent."
Kent decided quickly. Being forewarned, there was nothing to fear.
"We will go up to my rooms, if you please," he said, leading the way tothe elevator; and no other word was spoken until they were behind closeddoors on the fourth floor.
"A prefatory remark may make my business with you seem a little lesssingular, Mr. Kent," Meigs began, when Kent had passed his cigar-case andthe attorney-general had apologized for a weak digestive tract. "On whollydivergent lines and from wholly different motives we are both workingtoward the same end, I believe, and it has occurred to me that we might beof some assistance to each other."
Kent's rejoinder was a mute signal to the effect that he was attending.
"Some little time ago you came to me as the legal representative of thestock-holders of the Trans-Western Railway Company, and I did not find itpossible at that time to meet your wishes in the matter of a _quowarranto_ information questioning Judge MacFarlane's election and status.You will admit, I presume, that your demand was a little peremptory?"
"I admit nothing," said Kent, curtly. "But for the sake of expeditingpresent matters----"
"Precisely," was the smiling rejoinder. "You will note that I said 'atthat time.' Later developments--more especially this charge made openly bythe public press of juggling with foreign corporations--have led me tobelieve that as the public prosecutor I may have duties which transcendall other considerations--of loyalty to a party standard--of----"
Kent took his turn at interrupting.
"Mr. Meigs, there is nothing to be gained by indirection. May I ask you tocome to the point?"
"Briefly, then: the course pursued by Senator Duvall in the Belmountaffair leaves an unproved charge against others; a charge which I amdetermined to sift to the bottom--you see, I am speaking quite frankly.That charge involves the reputation of men high in authority; but I shallbe strong to do my sworn duty, Mr. Kent; I ask you to believe that."
Kent nodded and waved him on.
"You will readily understand the delicacy of the task, and how, in thenature of things, I am handicapped and hedged up on every side.Evidence--of a kind to enable me to assail a popular idol--is exceedinglydifficult to procure."
"It is," said Kent, grimly.
"Exactly. But in revolving the matter in my own mind, I thought of you.You are known at the capitol, Mr. Kent, and I may say throughout theState, as the uncompromising antagonist of the State administration. Ihave asked myself this: Is it possible that a cool-headed, resoluteattorney like Mr. David Kent would move so far and so determinedly in thismatter of antagonism without substantially paving the ground under hisfeet with evidence as he went along?"
Kent admitted that it was possible, but highly improbable.
"So I decided," was the smile-tempered rejoinder. "In that case it onlyremains for me to remind you of your public duty, Mr. Kent; to ask you inthe name of justice and of the people of the State, to place yourinformation in the hands of the public prosecutor."
Kent's face betrayed nothing more than his appreciation of the confidencereposed in him by the man whose high sense of official honor was makinghim turn traitor to the party leader who had dragged him through asuccessful election.
"I have what evidence I need, Mr. Meigs," he declared. "But if I make nosecret of this, neither do I conceal the fact that the motive _pro bonopublico_ has had little to do with its accumulating. I want justice firstfor what might be called a purely private end, and I mean to have it."
"Pre-cisely," smiled the attorney-general. "And now we are beginning tosee our way a little clearer. It is not too late for us to move in the_quo warranto_ proceedings. If you will call at my office I shall be gladto reopen the matter with you."
"And the price?" said Kent, shortly.
"Oh, my dear sir! must we put it upon the ground of a _quid pro quo_?Rather let us say that we shall help each other. You are in a position toassist me very materially: I may be in a position to serve your turn. Cometo my office to-morrow morning prepared to do your duty as an honest,loyal citizen, and you will find me quite willing to meet you half-way."
Kent rose and opened his watch.
"Mr. Meigs, I have given you your opportunity, and you have seemed to giveme mine," he said coolly. "Will you pardon me if I say that I can paddlemy own canoe--if I ask you to assure his Excellency that one more deviceof his to escape punishment has been tried and found wanting?"
For a flitting moment the cast-iron smile faded from the impassive face ofthe attorney-general and an unrelenting devil came to peer out of thecolorless eyes. Then Meigs rose cat-like and laid his hand on thedoor-knob.
"Do I understand that you refuse to move in a matter which should be thefirst duty of a good citizen, Mr. Kent?" he asked purringly.
"I certainly do refuse to fall into any such clumsy trap as you have beentrying to bait for me, Mr. Meigs," said David Kent, dropping back into hisformer curtness.
The door opened slowly under the impulse of the slender womanish hand.
"You have a task of some magnitude before you, Mr. Kent. You can scarcelyhope to accomplish it alone."
"Meaning that you would like to know if the fight will go on if I shouldchance to meet another drunken cow-boy with a better aim? It will."
The door closed softly behind the retreating figure of theattorney-general, and Kent released the spring of the night-latch. Then hewent to the dropped portiere at the farther end of the room, drew it asideand looked in on a man who was writing at a table pushed out between thewindows.
"You heard him, Loring?" he asked.
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br /> The ex-manager nodded.
"They are hard pressed," he said. Then, looking up quickly: "You couldname your price if you wanted to close out the stock of goods in hand,David."
"I shall name it when the time comes. Are you ready to go over to the_Argus_ office with me? I want to have a three-cornered talk withHildreth."
"In a minute. I'll join you in the lobby if you don't want to wait."
* * * * *
It was in the afternoon of the same day that Kent found a note in hiskey-box at the Clarendon asking him to call up 124 Tejon Avenue bytelephone. He did it at once, and Penelope answered. The key-box note hadbeen placed at Elinor's request, and she, Miss Penelope, could not saywhat was wanted; neither could she say definitely when her sister would bein. Elinor had gone out an hour earlier with Mr. Ormsby and Miss Van Brockin Mr. Ormsby's motor-car. When was he, David Kent, coming up? Did he knowthey were talking of spending the remainder of the summer at BreezelandInn? And where was Mr. Loring all this time?
Kent made fitting answers to all these queries, hung up the ear-piece andwent away moodily reflective. He was due at a meeting of the executivecommittee of the Civic League, but he let the public business wait whilehe speculated upon the probable object of Elinor's telephoning him.
Now there is no field in which the inconsistency of human nature is sopersistent as in that which is bounded by the sentimentally narrowedhorizon of a man in love. With Ormsby at the nodus of his point of view,David Kent made no secret of his open rivalry of the millionaire,declaring his intention boldly and taking no shame therefor. But when hefaced about toward Elinor he found himself growing hotly jealous for hergood faith; careful and fearful lest she should say or do something notstrictly in accordance with the letter and spirit of her obligations asOrmsby's _fiancee_.
For example: at the "conspiracy dinner," as Loring dubbed it, Ormsby beingpresent to fight for his own hand, Kent, as we have seen, had boldlymonopolized Miss Brentwood, and would have committed himself still morepointedly had the occasion favored him. None the less, when Elinor hadbegged him privately to see her before moving in the attack on the junto,he had almost resented the implied establishing of confidential relationswith her lover's open rival.
For this cause he had been postponing the promised visit, and therebypostponing the taking of the final step in the campaign of intimidation.The unexplained telephone call decided him, however. He would go and seeElinor and have the ordeal over with.
But as a preliminary he dined that evening with Ormsby at the CamelotClub, and over the coffee had it out with him.
"I am going out to see Miss Brentwood to-night," he announced abruptly."Have you any objection?"
The millionaire gave him the shrewdest of over-looks, ending with adeep-rumbling laugh.
"Kent, you are the queerest lot I have ever discovered, and that is sayinga good bit. Why, in the name of all the proprieties, should I object?"
"Your right is unchallenged," Kent admitted.
"Is it? Better ask Miss Brentwood about that. She might say it isn't."
"I don't understand," said Kent, dry-tongued.
"Don't you? Perhaps I'd better explain: she might find it a littledifficult. You have been laboring under the impression that we areengaged, haven't you?"
"Laboring under the--why, good heavens, man! it's in everybody's mouth!"
"Curious, isn't it, how such things get about," commented the player oflong suits. "How do you suppose they get started?"
"I don't suppose anything about it, so far as we two are concerned; I haveyour own word for it. You said you were the man in possession."
Ormsby laughed again.
"You are something of a bluffer yourself, David. Did you let my littlestagger scare you out?"
David Kent pushed his chair back from the table and nailed Ormsby with alook that would have made a younger man betray himself.
"Do you mean to tell me that there is no engagement between you and MissBrentwood?"
"Just that." Ormsby put all the nonchalance he could muster into thelaconic reply, but he was anticipating the sequent demand which came likea shot out of a gun.
"And there never has been?"
Ormsby grinned.
"When you are digging a well and have found your stream of water, it'sfolly to go deeper, David. Can't you let 'good enough' alone?"
Kent turned it over in his mind, frowning thoughtfully into hiscoffee-cup. When he spoke it was out of the mid-heart of manliness.
"I wish you would tell me one thing, Ormsby. Am I responsible for--for thepresent state of affairs?"
Ormsby stretched the truth a little; partly for Elinor's sake; more,perhaps, for Kent's.
"You have done nothing that an honorable rival--and incidentally a goodfriend of mine--might not do. Therefore you are not responsible."
"That is putting it very diplomatically," Kent mused. "I am afraid it doesnot exonerate me wholly."
"Yes, it does. But it doesn't put me out of the running, you understand.I'm 'forninst' you yet; rather more stubbornly than before, I fancy."
Kent nodded.
"That, of course; I should think less of you if you were not. And youshall have as fair a show as you are giving me--which is saying a lot.Shall we go and smoke?"
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