XXVIII
The Straddler
Since Brewster was a full-fledged city, its banks closed at threeo'clock. Ten minutes after the hour, which happened also to be about thesame length of time after Starbuck and Smith had reached town, Mr.Crawford Stanton got himself admitted by the janitor at the side door ofthe Brewster City National. President Kinzie was still at his desk inhis private room, and the promoter entered unannounced.
"I thought I'd hang off and give you the limit--all the time there was,"he said, dropping into the debtor's chair at the desk-end. And then,with a quarrelsome rasp in his tone: "Are you getting ready to switchagain?"
Though his victims often cursed the banker for his shrewd caution andhis ruthless profit-takings, no one had ever accused him of timidity ina stand-up encounter.
"You've taken that tone with me before, Stanton, and I don't like it,"he returned brusquely. "I've been willing to serve you, as I could, ina business matter, and I am still willing to serve you; but you may aswell keep it in mind that neither you, nor the people you represent, ownthe Brewster City National, or any part of it, in fee simple."
"We can buy you out any minute we think we need you," retorted Stanton."But never mind about that. Your man came back from the Topaz lastnight; I know, because I make it my business to keep cases on you andeverybody else. You've let the better part of the day go by withoutsaying a word, and I've drawn the only conclusion there is to draw:you're getting ready to swap sides again."
Kinzie frowned his impatience. "If I have to do business with yourpeople much longer, Mr. Stanton, I shall certainly suggest that they puta man in charge out here who can control his temper. I have acted inperfect good faith with you from the beginning. What you say is true;our man did return from the Topaz last night. But I thought it wise tomake a few investigations on my own account before we should becommitted to the course you advocated, and it is fortunate for us that Idid. Here is Mr. Richlander's letter."
Stanton read the letter through hastily, punctuating its final sentencewith a brittle oath.
"And you've muddled over this all day, when every hour is worth more tous than your one-horse bank could earn in a year?" he rapped out. "Whathave you done? Have you telegraphed this sheriff?"
"No; and neither will you when I tell you the facts. I was afraid youmight go off at half-cock, as usual, if I turned the matter over to you.You see what Mr. Richlander says, and you will note his description ofthe man Smith who is wanted in Lawrenceville. It doesn't tally in anyrespect with Baldwin's treasurer, and the common name aroused mysuspicions at once. We had nothing to go on unless we could identify ourman definitely, so I took the straightforward course and went to MissRichlander."
Stanton's laugh was a derisive shout.
"You need a guardian, Kinzie; you do, for a fact!" he sneered. "You sithere, day in and day out, like a greedy old spider in the middle of aweb, clawing in a man-fly every time the door opens, but what you don'tknow about women--Bah! you make my back ache! Of course, the girl pulledthe wool over your eyes; any woman could do that!"
"You are not gaining anything by being abusive, Stanton. As I have said,it is fortunate for all of us that I took the matter into my own handsand used a little ordinary common sense. There are two Smiths, just as Isuspected when I read Mr. Richlander's letter. Miss Richlander didn'task me to take her word for it. She called in a young man named Jibbey,who arrived here, direct from Lawrenceville, as I understand, lastevening. He is a banker's son, and he knows both Smiths. This man ofBaldwin's is not the one Mr. Richlander is trying to describe in thatletter."
Stanton bit the tip from a cigar and struck a light.
"Kinzie," he said, "you've got me guessing. If you are really the easymark you are trying to tell me you are, you have no business running abank. I'm going to be charitable and put it the other way around. Youthink we're going to lose out, and you are trying to throw me off thescent. You had a long talk with Colonel Baldwin this morning--I keptcases on that, too--and you figured that you'd make money by seesawingagain. I'm glad to be able to tell you that you are just abouttwenty-four hours too late."
The round-bodied banker righted his pivot-chair with a snap and his lipswere puffed out like the lips of a swimmer who sees the saving plankdrifting out of reach.
"You are wrong, Stanton; altogether wrong!" he protested. "Baldwin washere because I sent for him to make a final attempt to swing him over tothe compromise. You are doing me the greatest possible injustice!"
Stanton rose and made ready to go.
"I think that would be rather hard to do, Kinzie," he flung back."Nobody loves a trimmmer. But in the present case you are not going tolose anything. We'll take your stock at par, as I promised you wewould."
It was at this crisis that David Kinzie showed himself as the exponentof the saying that every man has his modicum of saving grace, by smitingupon the arm of his chair and glaring up at the promoter.
"There's another promise of yours that you've got to remember, too,Stanton," he argued hoarsely. "You've got to hold Dexter Baldwinharmless!"
Stanton's smile was a mask of pure malice. "I've made you no definitepromise as to that; but you shall have one now. I'll promise to breakBaldwin in two and throw him and his ranchmen backers out of theTimanyoni. That's what you get for playing fast and loose with twopeople at the same time. When you look over your paying teller'sstatement for the day, you'll see that I have withdrawn our account fromyour tin-horn money shop. Good-day."
Five minutes later the promoter was squared before his own desk in theoffice across the street and was hastily scribbling a telegram while amessenger boy waited. It was addressed to Sheriff Macauley, atLawrenceville, and the wording of it showed how completely Stanton wasignoring Banker Kinzie's investigations.
Your man Montague Smith is here, known as John Smith, secretary and treasurer Timanyoni High Line Company. Wire authority quick to chief police Brewster for his arrest and send deputy with requisition. Rush or you lose him.
CRAWFORD STANTON.
He let the boy go with this, but immediately set to work on anotherwhich was addressed to the great man whose private car, returning fromthe Pacific Coast, was due to reach Denver by the evening Union Pacifictrain. This second message he translated laboriously into cipher,working it out word by word from a worn code book taken from the safe.But the copy from which he translated, and which, after the cipher wasmade, he carefully destroyed, read thus:
The obstacle is removed. M'Graw and his men will take possession to-night and hold until we can make the turn.
Stanton.
The Real Man Page 28