His interview with Gorham left Covington with certain well-defined conclusions:  Gorham would never yield one iota from his position, and his associates would not rest until they had wiped out this affront they had received.  It would be necessary for him to take sides openly with Gorham or else make definite sacrifices.  Yet he must hold the position he now had with the directors so as to be Gorham’s successor in case the affair turned in that direction; and, most important of all, he must fortify himself still further against the breaking of the storm, which he knew would sooner or later come upon him.

In military conflicts there are various methods of winning a victory.  When the adversary appears too strong for a direct battle, a skilful tactician will sometimes weaken the enemy’s strength by a rear attack.  Covington was a skilful tactician, and in the present crisis the affidavits he had stored away in his safe-deposit drawer tempted him sorely.  He had never expected to use them, he told himself.  He had never expected to be placed in opposition to Mr. Gorham.  With the family alliance he contemplated, there would seem to be no occasion for conflicting interests to exist between them.  But if Gorham insisted on making a fool of himself, there was really no good reason why Covington should allow himself to be dragged down with him.  It was infinitely wiser to be in the position of “heads I win, tails you lose.”  Surely he could not be accused of selfishness in the matter, when, if Mr. Gorham were eventually dethroned by the directors, and he, Covington, crowned in his place, it would simply result in keeping the Consolidated Companies still in the family.  And as for Gorham’s silly threat to disintegrate the corporation—­that was too absurd to be considered seriously.

So Covington again inspected the papers which Levy had secured for him.  The one which related to Mrs. Buckner and the prospector he laid aside at once as too contemptible to be considered, but the other interested him.  Gorham was setting himself above other men who held enviable positions in the business and social world.  If this affidavit was true—­and Covington saw no reason to doubt its authenticity—­this demigod might hesitate to emphasize his superiority.  With the legality of his marriage questioned, his Czarship might be weakened; and this, as Covington saw it, meant advantage to himself in the Consolidated Companies, and an insurance against any attitude Gorham might take against him.  With Brady vowing vengeance, his part in unloading the railways stock on Alice might at any time be uncovered.  With the present strained relations between Gorham and the Executive Committee, his confidential relations with both sides might prove disagreeable.  But with Gorham himself entangled in a domestic complication, serious consequences to himself from such a catastrophe might be averted, or, at least, mitigated.  And, best of all, Levy was quite ready to proceed in the matter with Buckner as his client.  Surely Opportunity never offered herself with more brazen coquetry to any one than she did to John Covington.