XXIV
Oldham obeyed his principal's orders by joining Bob on the train back tothe city. He dropped down by the young man's side, produced a cigarwhich he rolled between his lips, but did not light, and at once openedup the subject of his negotiations.
"I wish to point out to you, with your permission," he began, "justwhere you stand in this matter. In the confusion and haste of a busytime you may not have cast up your accounts. First," he checked off thepoint on his long, slender forefinger, "in injuring Mr. Baker in thisill-advised fashion you are injuring your old-time employer and friend,Mr. Welton, and this in two ways: you are jeopardizing his wholebusiness, and you are rendering practically certain his conviction on acriminal charge. Mr. Welton is an old man, a simple man, and a kindlyman; this thing is likely to kill him." Oldham glanced keenly at theyoung man's sombre face, and went on. "Second"--he folded back hismiddle finger--"you are injuring your own father, also in two ways: youare bringing his lawful property into danger, and you are giving hispolitical enemies the most effective sort of a weapon to swing in hiscoming campaign. And do not flatter yourself they will not make the bestof it. It happens that your father has stood strongly with theConservation members in the late fight in Congress. This would be apretty scandal. Third," said Oldham, touching his ring finger, "you areinjuring yourself. You are throwing away an opportunity to get in on theground floor with the biggest man in the West; you are making foryourself a powerful enemy; and you are indubitably preparing the way foryour removal from office--if removal from such an office canconceivably mean anything to any one." He removed the cigar from hismouth, gazed at the wetted end, waited a moment for the young man tocomment, then replaced it, and resumed. "And fourth," he remarkedclosing his fist so that all fingers were concealed. There he stoppeduntil Bob was fairly compelled to start him on again.
"And fourth----" he suggested, therefore.
"Fourth," rapped out Oldham, briskly, "you injure George Pollock."
"George Pollock!" echoed Bob, trying vainly to throw a tone of ingenuoussurprise into his voice.
"Certainly; George Pollock," repeated Oldham. "I arrived in SycamoreFlats at the moment when Pollock murdered Plant. I know positively thatyou were an eye-witness to the deed. If you testify in one case, I shallcertainly call upon you to testify in the other. Furthermore," he turnedhis gray eyes on Bob, and for the second time the young man waspermitted to see an implacable hostility, "although not on the sceneitself, I can myself testify, and will, that you held the murderer'shorse during the deed, and assisted Pollock to escape. Furthermore, Ican testify, and can bring a competent witness, that while supposed tobe estimating Government timber in the Basin, you were in communicationwith Pollock."
"Saleratus Bill!" cried Bob, enlightened as to the trailer's recentactivities in the Basin.
"It will be easy to establish not only Pollock's guilt, but your own asaccessory. That will put you hard and fast behind the bars--where youbelong."
In this last speech Oldham made his one serious mistake of theinterview. So long as he had appealed to Bob's feelings for, and senseof duty toward, other men, he had succeeded well in still furtherconfusing the young man's decision. But at the direct personal threat,Bob's combative spirit flared. Suddenly his troubled mind was clarified,as though Oldham's menace had acted as a chemical reagent toprecipitate all his doubts. Whatever the incidental hardships, rightmust prevail. And, as always, in the uprooting of evil, some unluckyinnocent must suffer. It is the hardship of life, inevitable, not to beblinked at if a man is to be a man, and do a man's part. He leanedforward with so swift a movement that Oldham involuntarily dodged back.
"You tell your boss," said Bob, "that nothing on God's earth can keep meout of court."
He threw away his half-smoked cigar and went back to the chair car. Thesight of Oldham was intolerable to him.
The words were said, and the decision made. In his heart he knew thematter irrevocable. For a few moments he experienced a feeling of reliefand freedom, as when a swimmer first gets his head above the surf thathas tumbled him. These fine-spun matters of ethical balance had confusedand wearied his spirit. He had become bewildered among such varieddemands on his personal decision. It was a comfort to fall back on theold straight rule of right conduct no matter what the consequences. Theessentials of the situation were not at all altered: Baker was guilty ofthe rankest fraud; Welton was innocent of every evil intent and shouldnever be punished for what he had been unwillingly and doubtfullypersuaded to permit; Orde senior had acquired his lands quite accordingto the customs and ideas of the time; George Pollock should have beenjustified a thousand times over in sight of God and man. Those thingswere to Bob's mind indisputable. To deprive the one man of a very smallportion of his fraudulently acquired property, it was apparentlynecessary to punish three men who should not be punished. These menwere, furthermore, all dear to Bob personally. It did not seem rightthat his decision should plunge them into undeserved penalties. But nowthe situation was materially altered. Bob also stood in danger from hisaction. He, too, must suffer with the others. All were in the sameboat. The menace to his own liberty justified his course. The innocentmust suffer with the guilty; but now the fact that he was one of thosewho must so suffer, raised his decision from a choice to a necessity.Whatever the consequences, the simplest, least perplexing, mostsatisfying course was to follow the obvious right. The odium ofingratitude, of lack of affection, of disloyalty, of self-reproach waslifted from him by the very fact that he, too, was one of those who musttake consequences. In making the personal threat against the young man'sliberty, Oldham had, without knowing it, furnished to his soul the onevalid reason for going ahead, conscience-clear.
Though naturally Oldham could not follow out this psychology, he wasshrewd enough to understand that he had failed. This surprised him, forhe had entertained not the slightest doubt that the threat of thepenitentiary would bring Bob to terms.
On arriving in the city, Oldham took quarters at the Buena Vista andsent for Saleratus Bill, whom he had summoned by wire as soon as he hadheard from that individual of Bob's intended visit to Fremont.
The spy arrived wearing a new broad, black hat, a celluloid collar, awrinkled suit of store clothes, and his same shrewd, evil leer. Oldhamdid not appear, but requested that the visitor be shown into his room.There, having closed the transom, he issued his instructions.
"I want you to pay attention, and not interrupt," said he. "Within amonth a case is coming up in which Orde, the Forest man, is to appear aswitness. He must not appear. I leave that all to you, but, of course, Iwant no more than necessary violence. He must be detained until afterthe trial, and for as long after that as I say. Understand?"
"Sure," said Saleratus Bill. "But when he comes back, he'll fix you justthe same."
"I'll see to that part of it. The case will never be reopened. Now, mindyou, no shooting----"
"There might be an accident," suggested Saleratus Bill, opening his redeyes and staring straight at his principal.
"Accidents," said Oldham, speaking slowly and judicially, "are alwayslikely to happen. Sometimes they can't be helped." He paused to letthese words sink in.
Saleratus Bill wrinkled his eyes in an appreciative laugh. "Accidents isof two kinds: lucky and unlucky," he remarked briefly, by way ofparenthesis.
"But, of course, it is distinctly understood," went on Oldham, as thoughhe had not heard, "that this is your own affair. You have nothing toexpect from me if you get into trouble. And if you mention my name,you'll merely get jugged for attempted blackmail."
Saleratus Bill's eyes flared.
"Cut it," said he, with a rasp in his voice.
"Nevertheless, that is the case," repeated Oldham, unmoved.
The flame slowly died from Saleratus Bill's eyes.
"I'll want a little raise for that kind of a job," said he.
"Naturally," agreed Oldham.
They entered into discussion of ways and means.
In the meantime Bob ha
d encountered an old friend.