CHAPTER II
At fifty-six, John Burkett Ryder was surprisingly well preserved.With the exception of the slight stoop, already noted, and therapidly thinning snow-white hair, his step was as light andelastic, and his brain as vigorous and alert, as in a man offorty. Of old English stock, his physical make-up presentedall those strongly marked characteristics of our race which,sprung from Anglo-Saxon ancestry, but modified by nearly 300years of different climate and customs, has gradually producedthe distinct and true American type, as easily recognizable amongthe family of nations as any other of the earth's children. Talland distinguished-looking, Ryder would have attracted attentionanywhere. Men who have accomplished much in life usually bearplainly upon their persons the indefinable stamp of achievement,whether of good or evil, which renders them conspicuous amongtheir fellows. We turn after a man in the street and ask, Who ishe? And nine times out of ten the object of our curiosity is a manwho has made his mark--a successful soldier, a famous sailor, acelebrated author, a distinguished lawyer, or even a notoriouscrook.
There was certainly nothing in John Ryder's outward appearance tojustify Lombroso's sensational description of him: "A social andphysiological freak, a degenerate and a prodigy of turpitude who,in the pursuit of money, crushes with the insensibility of a steelmachine everyone who stands in his way." On the contrary, Ryder,outwardly at least, was a prepossessing-looking man. His head waswell-shaped, and he had an intellectual brow, while power wasexpressed in every gesture of his hands and body. Every inch ofhim suggested strength and resourcefulness. His face, when in goodhumour, frequently expanded in a pleasant smile, and he had evenbeen known to laugh boisterously, usually at his own stories,which he rightly considered very droll, and of which he possesseda goodly stock. But in repose his face grew stern and forbidding,and when his prognathous jaw, indicative of will-power andbull-dog tenacity, snapped to with a click-like sound, those whoheard it knew that squalls were coming.
But it was John Ryder's eyes that were regarded as the mostreliable barometer of his mental condition. Wonderful eyes theywere, strangely eloquent and expressive, and their most singularfeature was that they possessed the uncanny power of changingcolour like a cat's. When their owner was at peace with the world,and had temporarily shaken off the cares of business, his eyeswere of the most restful, beautiful blue, like the sky aftersunrise on a Spring morning, and looking into their serene depthsit seemed absurd to think that this man could ever harm a fly. Hisface, while under the spell of this kindly mood, was so benevolentand gentle, so frank and honest that you felt there was nothing inthe world--purse, honour, wife, child--that, if needs be, youwould not entrust to his keeping.
When this period of truce was ended, when the plutocrat was oncemore absorbed in controlling the political as well as thecommercial machinery of the nation, then his eyes took on asnakish, greenish hue, and one could plainly read in them thecunning, the avariciousness, the meanness, the insatiable thirstfor gain that had made this man the most unscrupulous money-getterof his time. But his eyes had still another colour, and when thislast transformation took place those dependent on him, and evenhis friends, quaked with fear. For they were his eyes of anger. Onthese dreaded occasions his eyes grew black as darkest night andflashed fire as lightning rends the thundercloud. Almostungovernable fury was, indeed, the weakest spot in John Ryder'sarmour, for in these moments of appalling wrath he was reckless ofwhat he said or did, friendship, self-interest, prudence--all weresacrificed.
Such was the Colossus on whom all eyes were turned as he entered.Instantly the conversations stopped as by magic. The directorsnudged each other and whispered. Instinctively, Ryder singled outhis crony, Senator Roberts, who advanced with effusive gesture:
"Hello, Senator!"
"You're punctual as usual, Mr. Ryder. I never knew you to belate!"
The great man chuckled, and the little men standing around,listening breathlessly, chuckled in respectful sympathy, and theyelbowed and pushed one another in their efforts to attract Ryder'snotice, like so many cowardly hyenas not daring to approach thelordly wolf. Senator Roberts made a remark in a low tone to Ryder,whereupon the latter laughed. The bystanders congratulated eachother silently. The great man was pleased to be in a good humour.And as Ryder turned with the senator to enter the Directors Roomthe light from the big windows fell full on his face, and theynoticed that his eyes were of the softest blue.
"No squalls to-day," whispered one.
"Wait and see," retorted a more experienced colleague. "Those eyesare more fickle than the weather."
Outside the sky was darkening, and drops of rain were alreadyfalling. A flash of lightning presaged the coming storm.
Ryder passed on and into the Directors Room followed by SenatorRoberts and the other directors, the procession being brought upby the dapper little secretary bearing the minutes.
The long room with its narrow centre table covered with greenbaize was filled with directors scattered in little groups and alltalking at once with excited gesture. At the sight of Ryder thechattering stopped as if by common consent, and the only soundaudible was of the shuffling of feet and the moving of chairs asthe directors took their places around the long table.
With a nod here and there Ryder took his place in the chairman'sseat and rapped for order. Then at a sign from the chair thedapper little secretary began in a monotonous voice to read theminutes of the previous meeting. No one listened, a few directorsyawned. Others had their eyes riveted on Ryder's face, trying toread there if he had devised some plan to offset the crushing blowof this adverse decision, which meant a serious loss to them all.He, the master mind, had served them in many a like crisis in thepast. Could he do so again? But John Ryder gave no sign. His eyes,still of the same restful blue, were fixed on the ceiling watchinga spider marching with diabolical intent on a wretched fly thathad become entangled in its web. And as the secretary ambledmonotonously on, Ryder watched and watched until he saw the spiderseize its helpless prey and devour it. Fascinated by thespectacle, which doubtless suggested to him some analogy to hisown methods, Ryder sat motionless, his eyes fastened on theceiling, until the sudden stopping of the secretary's readingaroused him and told him that the minutes were finished. Quicklythey were approved, and the chairman proceeded as rapidly aspossible with the regular business routine. That disposed of, themeeting was ready for the chief business of the day. Ryder thencalmly proceeded to present the facts in the case.
Some years back the road had acquired as an investment somethousands of acres of land located in the outskirts of Auburndale,on the line of their road. The land was bought cheap, and therehad been some talk of laying part of it out as a public park. Thispromise had been made at the time in good faith, but it was nocondition of the sale. If, afterwards, owing to the rise in thevalue of real estate, the road found it impossible to carry outthe original idea, surely they were masters of their own property!The people of Auburndale thought differently and, goaded on by thelocal newspapers, had begun action in the courts to restrain theroad from diverting the land from its alleged original purpose.They had succeeded in getting the injunction, but the road hadfought it tooth and nail, and finally carried it to the SupremeCourt, where Judge Rossmore, after reserving his opinion, hadfinally sustained the injunction and decided against the railroad.That was the situation, and he would now like to hear from themembers of the board.
Mr. Grimsby rose. Self-confident and noisily loquacious, as mostmen of his class are in simple conversation, he was plainlyintimidated at speaking before such a crowd. He did not know whereto look nor what to do with his hands, and he shuffled uneasily onhis feet, while streams of nervous perspiration ran down his fatface, which he mopped repeatedly with a big coloured handkerchief.At last, taking courage, he began:
"Mr. Chairman, for the past ten years this road has made biggerearnings in proportion to its carrying capacity than any otherrailroad in the United States. We have had fewer accidents, lessinjury to rolling stock, less litigation and bigge
r dividends. Theroad has been well managed and"--here he looked significantly inRyder's direction--"there has been a big brain behind the manager.We owe you that credit, Mr. Ryder!"
Cries of "Hear! Hear!" came from all round the table.
Ryder bowed coldly, and Mr. Grimsby continued:
"But during the last year or two things have gone wrong. There hasbeen a lot of litigation, most of which has gone against us, andit has cost a heap of money. It reduced the last quarterlydividend very considerably, and the new complication--thisAuburndale suit, which also has gone against us--is going to makea still bigger hole in our exchequer. Gentlemen, I don't want tobe a prophet of misfortune, but I'll tell you this--unlesssomething is done to stop this hostility in the courts you and Istand to lose every cent we have invested in the road. This suitwhich we have just lost means a number of others. What I would askour chairman is what has become of his former good relations withthe Supreme Court, what has become of his influence, which neverfailed us. What are these rumours regarding Judge Rossmore? He ischarged in the newspapers with having accepted a present from aroad in whose favour he handed down a very valuable decision. Howis it that our road cannot reach Judge Rossmore and make himpresents?"
The speaker sat down, flushed and breathless. The expression onevery face showed that the anxiety was general. The directorsglanced at Ryder, but his face was expressionless as marble.Apparently he took not the slightest interest in this matter whichso agitated his colleagues.
Another director rose. He was a better speaker than Mr. Grimsby,but his voice had a hard, rasping quality that smote the earsunpleasantly. He said:
"Mr. Chairman, none of us can deny what Mr. Grimsby has just putbefore us so vividly. We are threatened not with one, but with ahundred such suits, unless something is done either to placate thepublic or to render its attacks harmless. Rightly or wrongly, therailroad is hated by the people, yet we are only what railroadconditions compel us to be. With the present fierce competition,no fine question of ethics can enter into our dealings as abusiness organization. With an irritated public and press on oneside, and a hostile judiciary on the other, the outlook certainlyis far from bright. But is the judiciary hostile? Is it not truethat we have been singularly free from litigation until recently,and that most of the decisions were favourable to the road? JudgeRossmore is the real danger. While he is on the bench the road isnot safe. Yet all efforts to reach him have failed and will fail.I do not take any stock in the newspaper stories regarding JudgeRossmore. They are preposterous. Judge Rossmore is too strong aman to be got rid of so easily."
The speaker sat down and another rose, his arguments being merelya reiteration of those already heard. Ryder did not listen to whatwas being said. Why should he? Was he not familiar with everypossible phase of the game? Better than these men who merelytalked, he was planning how the railroad and all his otherinterests could get rid of this troublesome judge.
It was true. He who controlled legislatures and dictated to SupremeCourt judges had found himself powerless when each turn of the legalmachinery had brought him face to face with Judge Rossmore. Suitafter suit had been decided against him and the interests herepresented, and each time it was Judge Rossmore who had handeddown the decision. So for years these two men had fought a silentbut bitter duel in which principle on the one side and attemptedcorruption on the other were the gauge of battle. Judge Rossmorefought with the weapons which his oath and the law directed himto use, Ryder with the only weapons he understood--bribery andtrickery. And each time it had been Rossmore who had emergedtriumphant. Despite every manoeuvre Ryder's experience couldsuggest, notwithstanding every card that could be played toundermine his credit and reputation, Judge Rossmore stood higherin the country's confidence than when he was first appointed.
So when Ryder found he could not corrupt this honest judge withgold, he decided to destroy him with calumny. He realized that thesordid methods which had succeeded with other judges would neverprevail with Rossmore, so he plotted to take away from this manthe one thing he cherished most--his honour. He would ruin him bydefaming his character, and so skilfully would he accomplish hiswork that the judge himself would realize the hopelessness ofresistance. No scruples embarrassed Ryder in arriving at thisdetermination. From his point of view he was fully justified."Business is business. He hurts my interests; therefore I removehim." So he argued, and he considered it no more wrong to wreckthe happiness of this honourable man than he would to have shot aburglar in self-defence. So having thus tranquillized hisconscience he had gone to work in his usually thorough manner, andhis success had surpassed the most sanguine expectations.
This is what he had done.
Like many of our public servants whose labours are compensatedonly in niggardly fashion by an inconsiderate country, JudgeRossmore was a man of but moderate means. His income as Justice ofthe Supreme Court was $12,000 a year, but for a man in hisposition, having a certain appearance to keep up, it little morethan kept the wolf from the door. He lived quietly but comfortablyin New York City with his wife and his daughter Shirley, anattractive young woman who had graduated from Vassar and had showna marked taste for literature. The daughter's education had cost agood deal of money, and this, together with life insurance andother incidentals of keeping house in New York, had about takenall he had. Yet he had managed to save a little, and those yearswhen he could put by a fifth of his salary the judge consideredhimself lucky. Secretly, he was proud of his comparative poverty.At least the world could never ask him "where he got it."
Ryder was well acquainted with Judge Rossmore's private means. Thetwo men had met at a dinner, and although Ryder had tried tocultivate the acquaintance, he never received much encouragement.Ryder's son Jefferson, too, had met Miss Shirley Rossmore and beenmuch attracted to her, but the father having more ambitious plansfor his heir quickly discouraged all attentions in that direction.He himself, however, continued to meet the judge casually, and oneevening he contrived to broach the subject of profitableinvestments. The judge admitted that by careful hoarding and muchstinting he had managed to save a few thousand dollars which hewas anxious to invest in something good.
Quick as the keen-eyed vulture swoops down on its prey the wilyfinancier seized the opportunity thus presented. And he took somuch trouble in answering the judge's inexperienced questions, andgenerally made himself so agreeable, that the judge found himselfregretting that he and Ryder had, by force of circumstances, beenopposed to each other in public life so long. Ryder stronglyrecommended the purchase of Alaskan Mining stock, a new andbooming enterprise which had lately become very active in themarket. Ryder said he had reasons to believe that the stock wouldsoon advance, and now there was an opportunity to get it cheap.
A few days after he had made the investment the judge wassurprised to receive certificates of stock for double the amounthe had paid for. At the same time he received a letter from thesecretary of the company explaining that the additional stock waspool stock and not to be marketed at the present time. It was inthe nature of a bonus to which he was entitled as one of the earlyshareholders. The letter was full of verbiage and technicaldetails of which the judge understood nothing, but he thought itvery liberal of the company, and putting the stock away in hissafe soon forgot all about it. Had he been a business man he wouldhave scented peril. He would have realized that he had now in hispossession $50,000 worth of stock for which he had not paid acent, and furthermore had deposited it when a reorganization came.
But the judge was sincerely grateful for Ryder's apparentlydisinterested advice and wrote two letters to him, one in which hethanked him for the trouble he had taken, and another in which heasked him if he was sure the company was financially sound, as theinvestment he contemplated making represented all his savings. Headded in the second letter that he had received stock for doublethe amount of his investment, and that being a perfect child inbusiness transactions he had been unable to account for the extra$50,000 worth until the secretary of the company had written himassu
ring him that everything was in order. These letters Ryderkept.
From that time on the Alaskan Mining Company underwent mysteriouschanges. New capitalists gained control and the name was alteredto the Great Northwestern Mining Company. Then it became involvedin litigation, and one suit, the outcome of which meant millionsto the company, was carried to the Supreme Court, where JudgeRossmore was sitting. The judge had by this time forgotten allabout the company in which he owned stock. He did not even recallits name. He only knew vaguely that it was a mine and that it wassituated in Alaska. Could he dream that the Great NorthwesternMining Company and the company to which he had entrusted his fewthousands were one and the same? In deciding on the merits of thecase presented to him right seemed to him to be plainly with theNorthwestern, and he rendered a decision to that effect. It was animportant decision, involving a large sum, and for a day or two itwas talked about. But as it was the opinion of the most learnedand honest judge on the bench no one dreamed of questioning it.
But very soon ugly paragraphs began to appear in the newspapers.One paper asked if it were true that Judge Rossmore owned stock inthe Great Northwestern Mining Company which had recently benefitedso signally by his decision. Interviewed by a reporter, JudgeRossmore indignantly denied being interested in any way in thecompany. Thereupon the same paper returned to the attack, statingthat the judge must surely be mistaken as the records showed asale of stock to him at the time the company was known as theAlaskan Mining Company. When he read this the judge wasoverwhelmed. It was true then! They had not slandered him. It washe who had lied, but how innocently--how innocently!
His daughter Shirley, who was his greatest friend and comfort, wasthen in Europe. She had gone to the Continent to rest, afterworking for months on a novel which she had just published. Hiswife, entirely without experience in business matters and somewhatof an invalid, was helpless to advise him. But to his old andtried friend, ex-Judge Stott, Judge Rossmore explained the factsas they were. Stott shook his head. "It's a conspiracy!" he cried."And John B. Ryder is behind it." Rossmore refused to believe thatany man could so deliberately try to encompass another'sdestruction, but when more newspaper stories came out he began torealize that Stott was right and that his enemies had indeed dealthim a deadly blow. One newspaper boldly stated that Judge Rossmorewas down on the mining company's books for $50,000 more stock thanhe had paid for, and it went on to ask if this were payment forthe favourable decision just rendered. Rossmore, helpless,child-like as he was in business matters, now fully realized theseriousness of his position. "My God! My God!" he cried, as hebowed his head down on his desk. And for a whole day he remainedcloseted in his library, no one venturing near him.
As John Ryder sat there sphinx-like at the head of the directors'table he reviewed all this in his mind. His own part in the workwas now done and well done, and he had come to this meeting to-dayto tell them of his triumph.
The speaker, to whom he had paid such scant attention, resumed hisseat, and there followed a pause and an intense silence which wasbroken only by the pattering of the rain against the big windows.The directors turned expectantly to Ryder, waiting for him tospeak. What could the Colossus do now to save the situation? Criesof "the Chair! the Chair!" arose on every side. Senator Robertsleaned over to Ryder and whispered something in his ear.
[Pencil illustration of the meeting]
He had come to this meeting to-day to tell them of his triumph.--_Page 46._
With an acquiescent gesture, John Ryder tapped the table with hisgavel and rose to address his fellow directors. Instantly the roomwas silent again as the tomb. One might have heard a pin drop, sointense was the attention. All eyes were fixed on the chairman.The air itself seemed charged with electricity, that needed but aspark to set it ablaze.
Speaking deliberately and dispassionately, the Master Dissemblerbegan.
They had all listened carefully, he said, to what had been statedby previous speakers. The situation no doubt was very critical,but they had weathered worse storms and he had every reason tohope they would outlive this storm. It was true that publicopinion was greatly incensed against the railroads and, indeed,against all organized capital, and was seeking to injure themthrough the courts. For a time this agitation would hurt businessand lessen the dividends, for it meant not only smaller annualearnings but that a lot of money must be spent in Washington.
The eyes of the listeners, who were hanging on every word,involuntarily turned in the direction of Senator Roberts, but thelatter, at that moment busily engaged in rummaging among a lot ofpapers, seemed to have missed this significant allusion to theroad's expenses in the District of Columbia. Ryder continued:
In his experience such waves of reform were periodical and soonwear themselves out, when things go on just as they did before.Much of the agitation, doubtless, was a strike for graft. Theywould have to go down in their pockets, he supposed, and thenthese yellow newspapers and these yellow magazines that werebarking at their heels would let them go. But in regard to theparticular case now at issue--this Auburndale decision--there hadbeen no way of preventing it. Influence had been used, but to noeffect. The thing to do now was to prevent any such disasters infuture by removing the author of them.
The directors bent eagerly forward. Had Ryder really got some planup his sleeve after all? The faces around the table lookedbrighter, and the directors cleared their throats and settledthemselves down in their chairs as audiences do in the theatrewhen the drama is reaching its climax.
The board, continued Ryder with icy calmness, had perhaps heard,and also seen in the newspapers, the stories regarding JudgeRossmore and his alleged connection with the Great NorthwesternCompany. Perhaps they had not believed these stories. It was onlynatural. He had not believed them himself. But he had taken thetrouble to inquire into the matter very carefully, and heregretted to say that the stories were true. In fact, they were nolonger denied by Judge Rossmore himself.
The directors looked at each other in amazement. Gasps ofastonishment, incredulity, satisfaction were heard all over theroom. The rumours were true, then? Was it possible? Incredible!
Investigation, Ryder went on, had shown that Judge Rossmore wasnot only interested in the company in whose favour, as Judge ofthe Supreme Court, he had rendered an important decision, but whatwas worse, he had accepted from that company a valuable gift--thatis, $50,000 worth of stock--for which he had given absolutelynothing in return unless, as some claimed, the weight of hisinfluence on the bench. These facts were very ugly and sounanswerable that Judge Rossmore did not attempt to answer them,and the important news which he, the chairman, had to announce tohis fellow-directors that afternoon, was that Judge Rossmore'sconduct would be made the subject of an inquiry by Congress.
This was the spark that was needed to ignite the electricallycharged air. A wild cry of triumph went up from this band ofjackals only too willing to fatten their bellies at the cost ofanother man's ruin, and one director, in his enthusiasm, roseexcitedly from his chair and demanded a vote of thanks for JohnRyder.
Ryder coldly opposed the motion. No thanks were due to him, hesaid deprecatingly, nor did he think the occasion called forcongratulations of any kind. It was surely a sad spectacle to seethis honoured judge, this devoted father, this blameless citizenthreatened with ruin and disgrace on account of one false step.Let them rather sympathize with him and his family in theirmisfortune. He had little more to tell. The Congressional inquirywould take place immediately, and in all probability a demandwould be made upon the Senate for Judge Rossmore's impeachment. Itwas, he added, almost unnecessary for him to remind the Boardthat, in the event of impeachment, the adverse decision in theAuburndale case would be annulled and the road would be entitledto a new trial.
Ryder sat down, and pandemonium broke loose, the delighteddirectors tumbling over each other in their eagerness to shakehands with the man who had saved them. Ryder had given no hintthat he had been a factor in the working up of this case againsttheir common enemy, in
fact he had appeared to sympathise withhim, but the directors knew well that he and he alone had been themaster mind which had brought about the happy result.
On a motion to adjourn, the meeting broke up, and everyone beganto troop towards the elevators. Outside the rain was now comingdown in torrents and the lights that everywhere dotted the greatcity only paled when every few moments a vivid flash of lightningrent the enveloping gloom.
Ryder and Senator Roberts went down in the elevator together. Whenthey reached the street the senator inquired in a low tone:
"Do you think they really believed Rossmore was influenced in hisdecision?"
Ryder glanced from the lowering clouds overhead to his electricbrougham which awaited him at the curb and replied indifferently:
"Not they. They don't care. All they want to believe is that he isto be impeached. The man was dangerous and had to be removed--nomatter by what means. He is our enemy--my enemy--and I never givequarter to my enemies!"
As he spoke his prognathous jaw snapped to with a click-likesound, and in his eyes now coal-black were glints of fire. At thesame instant there was a blinding flash, accompanied by a terrificcrash, and the splinters of the flag-pole on the buildingopposite, which had been struck by a bolt, fell at their feet.
"A good or a bad omen?" asked the senator with a nervous laugh. Hewas secretly afraid of lightning; but was ashamed to admit it.
"A bad omen for Judge Rossmore!" rejoined Ryder coolly, as heslammed to the door of the cab, and the two men drove rapidly offin the direction of Fifth Avenue.
The Lion and The Mouse: A Story Of American Life Page 2