Ford swamped the local operator at the next way station with a thick sheaf of “rush” telegrams, left the west-bound train at the first cross-road junction, and caught a night express on a fast line for Chicago.  Kenneth was waiting for him at the hotel; and after breakfast there was another telegram from Adair.  Matters were still progressing favorably, and President Colbrith, traveling in his private car, “Nadia,” via the Lake Shore, would be in Chicago the following morning to take final action in the stock purchases.

Ford gave the message to Kenneth, and the attorney drummed softly on the table with his finger-tips when he read the announcement.

“We are in for it now,” he said with a grimace of dismay.  “If Mr. Colbrith doesn’t manage to queer the whole deal, it will be because he has suffered a complete change of heart.”

Ford answered the grimace with a scowl, and the masterful side of him came uppermost.

“What in the name of common sense were they thinking of to send him out here?” he gritted.

The general counsel laughed.

“You don’t know Mr. Colbrith as well as I do, I fancy,” he suggested.  “He is rather hard to suppress.  He’ll be president until his successor is elected—­or he’ll know all the reasons why.”

“Well, I hope you’ve got everything straight in the option business,” said Ford.  “If there is so much as a hair displaced, he will be sure to find it.”

“It is all straight enough,” was the confident rejoinder.  “Only I had to bid five points over the market on odd lots of the stock.  I’m not sure, but I think the Transcontinental people got wind of us during the last day or two and bid against us.”

“But you have safe majorities?”

“Oh, yes; we are all in.”

“Good,” said Ford.  “That puts it up to Mr. Colbrith, at all events.  And now, while we have a clear day before us, I want to go over these C. P. & D. terminal contracts with you.  Right here in Chicago is where the Transcontinental will try hardest to balk us.  The C. P. & D. has trackage rights to the elevators; but I want to be sure that the contracts will hold water under a transfer of ownership.”

Subjected to legal scrutiny, the contracts promised to be defensible, and Ford came through the day with his apprehensive burdens considerably lightened.  After dinner he took his papers to Kenneth’s room, and together they went carefully over all the legal points involved in the welding of the three local lines into the Pacific Southwestern system, Ford furnishing the data gathered by him during the four days.

Kenneth was shrewdly inquisitive, as his responsibilities constrained him to be, and it was deep in the small hours when Ford made his escape and went to bed.  By consequence, he was scarcely more than half awake the next morning, when he dressed hurriedly and hastened over to the Van Buren Street station to see if the president’s car had arrived.