ON THE FLYER

West, his friends not in evidence, artfully waylaid Graham on his way to the private car.

“Hello, Henry B. Sorry I couldn’t see you yesterday,” the railroad builder told West as they shook hands.  “You taking this tram?”

“Yes, sir.  Got business takes me East.”

“Drop in to see me some time this morning.  Say about noon.  You’ll have lunch with me.”

“Suits me.  About noon, then,” agreed West.

The conspirators modified their plans to meet a new strategic situation.  West was still of opinion that he had better use his card of entry to get his friends into the railroad builder’s car, but he yielded to Dave’s view that it would be wiser for the cattleman to pave the way at luncheon.

Graham’s secretary ate lunch with the two old-timers and the conversation threatened to get away from West and hover about financial conditions in New York.  The cattleman brought it by awkward main force to the subject he had in mind.

“Say, Horace, I wanta talk with you about a proposition that’s on my chest,” he broke out.

Graham helped himself to a lamb chop.  “Sail in, Henry B. You’ve got me at your mercy.”

At the first mention of the Jackpot gusher the financier raised a prohibitive hand.  “I’ve disposed of that matter.  No use reopening it.”

But West stuck to his guns.  “I ain’t aimin’ to try to change yore mind on a matter of business, Horace.  If you’ll tell me that you turned down the proposition because it didn’t look to you like there was money in it, I’ll curl right up and not say another word.”

“It doesn’t matter why I turned it down.  I had my reasons.”

“It matters if you’re doin’ an injustice to one of the finest young fellows I know,” insisted the New Mexican stanchly.

“Meaning the convict?”

“Call him that if you’ve a mind to.  The Governor pardoned him yesterday because another man confessed he did the killin’ for which Dave was convicted.  The boy was railroaded through on false evidence.”

The railroad builder was a fair-minded man.  He did not want to be unjust to any one.  At the same time he was not one to jump easily from one view to another.

“I noticed something in the papers about a pardon, but I didn’t know it was our young oil promoter.  There are other rumors about him too.  A stage robbery, for instance, and a murder with it.”

“He and Em Crawford ran down the robbers and got the money back.  One of the robbers confessed.  Dave hadn’t a thing to do with the hold-up.  There’s a bad gang down in that country.  Crawford and Sanders have been fightin’ ’em, so naturally they tell lies about ’em.”

“Did you say this Sanders ran down one of the robbers?”

“Yes.”

“He didn’t tell me that,” said Graham thoughtfully.  “I liked the young fellow when I first saw him.  He looks quiet and strong; a self-reliant fellow would be my guess.”