The Poisoned Pen(Fiscle Part-3) - Arthur B. Reeve (best detective novels of all time TXT) 📗

Campaign. The

Rest Of Monday And The Tuesday Morning Papers Do Not Give Us Time

To Reply. Even If They Were Published To-Day We Should Hardly Have

Time To Expose The Plot,  Hammer It In,  And Make The Issue An Asset

Instead Of A Liability. No,  You Must Admit It Yourself. There

Isn't Time. We Must Carry Out The Work We Have So Carefully

Planned To Cap The Campaign,  And If We Are Diverted By This It

Means A Let-Up In Our Final Efforts,  And That Is As Good As

Mcloughlin Wants Anyhow. Now,  Kennedy,  Don't You Agree With Me?

Squelch The Pictures Now At Any Cost,  Then Follow The Thing Up

And,  If We Can,  Prosecute After Election?"

 

Kennedy And I,  Who Had Been So Far Little More Than Interested

Spectators,  Had Not Presumed To Interrupt. Finally Craig Asked,

"You Have Copies Of The Pictures?"

 

"No," Replied Bennett. "This Hanford Is A Brazen Fellow,  But He

Was Too Astute To Leave Them. I Saw Them For An Instant. They Look

Bad. And The Affidavits With Them Look Worse."

 

"H'm," Considered Kennedy,  Turning The Crisis Over In His Mind.

"We've Had Alleged Stolen And Forged Letters Before,  But Alleged

Stolen And Forged Photographs Are New. I'm Not Surprised That You

Are Alarmed,  Bennett,--Nor That You Want To Fight,  Travis."

 

"Then You Will Take Up The Case?" Urged The Latter Eagerly,

Forgetting Both His Campaign Manager And His Campaign Manners,  And

Leaning Forward Almost Like A Prisoner In The Dock To Catch The

Words Of The Foreman Of The Jury. "You Will Trace Down The Forger

Of Those Pictures Before It Is Too Late?"

 

"I Haven't Said I'll Do That--Yet," Answered Craig Measuredly. "I

Haven't Even Said I'd Take Up The Case. Politics Is A New Game To

Me,  Mr. Travis. If I Go Into This Thing I Want To Go Into It And

Stay In It--Well,  You Know How You Lawyers Put It,  With Clean

Hands. On One Condition I'll Take The Matter Up,  And On Only One."

 

"Name It," Cried Travis Anxiously,

 

"Of Course,  Having Been Retained By You," Continued Craig With

Provoking Slowness,  "It Is Not Reasonable To Suppose That If I

Find--How Shall I Put It--Bluntly,  Yes?--If I Find That The Story

Of Hanford Has Some--Er--Foundation,  It Is Not Reasonable To

Suppose That I Should Desert You And Go Over To The Other Side.

Neither Is It To Be Supposed That I Will Continue And Carry Such A

Thing Through For You Regardless Of Truth. What I Ask Is To Have A

Free Hand,  To Be Able To Drop The Case The Moment I Cannot Proceed

Further In Justice To Myself,  Drop It,  And Keep My Mouth Shut. You

Understand? These Are My Conditions And No Less."

 

"And You Think You Can Make Good?" Questioned Bennett Rather

Sceptically. "You Are Willing To Risk It? You Don't Think It Would

Be Better To Wait Until After The Election Is Won?"

 

"You Have Heard My Conditions," Reiterated Craig.

 

"Done," Broke In Travis. "I'm Going To Fight It Out,  Bennett. If

We Get In Wrong By Dickering With Them At The Start It May Be

Worse For Us In The End. Paying Amounts To Confession."

 

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 142

Bennett Shook His Head Dubiously. "I'm Afraid This Will Suit

Mcloughlin's Purpose Just As Well. Photographs Are Like

Statistics. They Don't Lie Unless The People Who Make Them Do. But

It's Hard To Tell What A Liar Can Accomplish With Either In An

Election."

 

"Say,  Dean,  You're Not Going To Desert Me?" Reproached Travis.

"You're Not Offended At My Kicking Over The Traces,  Are You?"

 

Bennett Rose,  Placed A Hand On Travis's Shoulder,  And Grasped His

Other. "Wesley," He Said Earnestly,  "I Wouldn't Desert You Even If

The Pictures Were True."

 

"I Knew It," Responded Travis Heartily. "Then Let Mr. Kennedy Have

One Day To See What He Can Do. Then If We Make No Progress We'll

Take Your Advice,  Dean. We'll Pay,  I Suppose,  And Ask Mr. Kennedy

To Continue The Case After Next Tuesday."

 

"With The Proviso," Put In Craig.

 

"With The Proviso,  Kennedy," Repeated Travis. "Your Hand On That.

Say,  I Think I've Shaken Hands With Half The Male Population Of

This State Since I Was Nominated,  But This Means More To Me Than

Any Of Them. Call On Us,  Either Bennett Or Myself,  The Moment You

Need Aid. Spare No Reasonable Expense,  And--And Get The Goods,  No

Matter Whom It Hits Higher Up,  Even If It Is Cadwalader Brown

Himself. Good-Bye And A Thousand Thanks--Oh,  By The Way,  Wait. Let

Me Take You Around And Introduce You To Miss Ashton. She May Be

Able To Help You."

 

The Office Of Bennett And Travis Was In The Centre Of The Suite.

On One Side Were The Cashier And Clerical Force As Well As The

Speakers' Bureau,  Where Spellbinders Of All Degrees Were Getting

Instruction,  Tours Were Being Laid Out,  And Reports Received From

Meetings Already Held.

 

On The Other Side Was The Press Bureau With A Large And Active

Force In Charge Of Miss Ashton,  Who Was Supporting Travis Because

He Had Most Emphatically Declared For "Votes For Women" And Had

Insisted That His Party Put This Plank In Its Platform. Miss

Ashton Was A Clever Girl,  A Graduate Of A Famous Woman's College,

And Had Had Several Years Of Newspaper Experience Before She

Became A Leader In The Suffrage Cause. I Recalled Having Read And

Heard A Great Deal About Her,  Though I Had Never Met Her. The

Ashtons Were Well Known In New York Society,  And It Was A Sore

Trial To Some Of Her Conservative Friends That She Should Reject

What They Considered The Proper "Sphere" For Women. Among Those

Friends,  I Understood,  Was Cadwalader Brown Himself.

 

Travis Had Scarcely More Than Introduced Us,  Yet Already I Scented

A Romance Behind The Ordinarily Prosaic Conduct Of A Campaign

Press Bureau. It Is Far From My Intention To Minimise The Work Or

The Ability Of The Head Of The Press Bureau,  But It Struck Me,

Both Then And Later,  That The Candidate Had An Extraordinary

Interest In The Newspaper Campaign,  Much More Than In The

Speakers' Bureau,  And I Am Sure That It Was Not Solely Accounted

For By The Fact That Publicity Is Playing A More And More

Important Part In Political Campaigning.

 

Nevertheless Such Innovations As Her Card Index System By Election

Districts All Over The State,  Showing The Attitude Of The Various

Newspaper Editors,  Of Local Political Leaders,  And Changes Of

Sentiment,  Were Very Full And Valuable. Kennedy,  Who Had A Regular

Pigeon-Hole Mind For Facts,  Was Visibly Impressed By This Huge

Mechanical Memory Built Up By Miss Ashton. Though He Said Nothing

To Me I Knew He Had Also Observed The State Of Affairs Between The

Reform Candidate And The Suffrage Leader.

 

It Was At A Moment When Travis Had Been Called Back To His Office

That Kennedy,  Who Had Been Eyeing Miss Ashton With Marked

Approval,  Leaned Over And Said In A Low Voice. "Miss Ashton,  I

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 143

Think I Can Trust You. Do You Want To Do A Great Favour For Mr.

Travis?"

 

She Did Not Betray Even By A Fleeting Look On Her Face What The

True State Of Her Feelings Was,  Although I Fancied That The

Readiness Of Her Assent Had Perhaps More Meaning Than She Would

Have Placed In A Simple "Yes" Otherwise.

 

"I Suppose You Know That An Attempt Is Being Made To Blackmail Mr.

Travis?" Added Kennedy Quickly.

 

"I Know Something About It," She Replied In A Tone Which Left It

For Granted That Travis Had Told Her Before Even We Were Called

In. I Felt That Not Unlikely Travis's Set Determination To Fight

Might Be Traceable To Her Advice Or At Least To Her Opinion Of

Him.

 

"I Suppose In A Large Force Like This It Is Not Impossible That

Your Political Enemies May Have A Spy Or Two," Observed Kennedy,

Glancing About At The Score Or More Clerks Busily Engaged In

Getting Out "Literature."

 

"I Have Sometimes Thought That Myself," She Agreed. "But Of Course

I Don't Know. Still,  I Have To Be Pretty Careful. Some One Is

Always Over Here By My Desk Or Looking Over Here. There Isn't Much

Secrecy In A Big Room Like This. I Never Leave Important Stuff

Lying About Where Any Of Them Could See It."

 

"Yes," Mused Kennedy. "What Time Does The Office Close?"

 

"We Shall Finish To-Night About Nine,  I Think. To-Morrow It May Be

Later."

 

"Well,  Then,  If I Should Call Here To-Night At,  Say,  Half-Past

Nine,  Could You Be Here? I Need Hardly Say That Your Doing So May

Be Of Inestimable Value To--To The Campaign."

 

"I Shall Be Here," She Promised,  Giving Her Hand With A Peculiar

Straight Arm Shake And Looking Him Frankly In The Face With Those

Eyes Which Even The Old Guard In The Legislature Admitted Were

Vote-Winners.

 

Kennedy Was Not Quite Ready To Leave Yet,  But Sought Out Travis

And Obtained Permission To Glance Over The Financial End Of The

Campaign. There Were Few Large Contributors To Travis's Fund,  But

A Host Of Small Sums Ranging From Ten And Twenty-Five Dollars Down

To Dimes And Nickels. Truly It Showed The Depth Of The Popular

Uprising. Kennedy Also Glanced Hastily Over The Items Of Expense--

Rent,  Salaries,  Stenographer And Office Force,  Advertising,

Printing And Stationery,  Postage,  Telephone,  Telegraph,  Automobile

And Travelling Expenses,  And Miscellaneous Matters.

 

As Kennedy Expressed It Afterwards,  As Against The Small Driblets

Of Money Coming In,  Large Sums Were Going Out For Expenses In

Lumps. Campaigning In These Days Costs Money Even When Done

Honestly. The Miscellaneous Account Showed Some Large Indefinite

Items,  And After A Hasty Calculation Kennedy Made Out That If All

The Obligations Had To Be Met Immediately The Committee Would Be

In The Hole For Several Thousand Dollars.

 

"In Short," I Argued As We Were Leaving,  "This Will Either Break

Travis Privately Or Put His Fund In Hopeless Shape. Or Does It

Mean That He Foresees Defeat And Is Taking This Way To Recoup

Himself Under Cover Of Being Held Up?"

 

Kennedy Said Nothing In Response To My Suspicions,  Though I Could

See That In His Mind He Was Leaving No Possible Clue Unnoted.

 

It Was Only A Few Blocks To The Studio Of Harris Hanford,  Whom

Kennedy Was Now Bent On Seeing. We Found Him In An Old Building On

One Of The Side Streets In The Thirties Which Business Had

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 144

Captured. His Was A Little Place On The Top Floor,  Up Three

Flights Of Stairs,  And I Noticed As We Climbed Up That The