ace if the thing could be done.

CHAPTER 15. LASKA OPENS A DOOR

The first ballots for a United States senator taken by the legislature
in joint session failed to disclose the alignment of some of the
doubtful members. The Democratic minority of twenty-eight votes were
cast for Springer, the senator whose place would be taken by whoever
should win in the contest now on. Warner received forty-four, Ridgway
twenty-six, eight went to Pascom, a former governor whom the cattlemen
were supporting, and the remaining three were scattered. Each day one
ballot was taken, and for a week there was a slight sifting down of the
complimentary votes until at the end of it the count stood:

Warner 45
Ridgway 28
Springer 28
Pascom 8

Warner still lacked ten votes of an election, but It was pretty
thoroughly understood that several of the Democratic minority were
waiting only long enough for a colorable excuse to switch to him. All
kinds of rumors were in the air as to how many of these there were. The
Consolidated leaders boldly claimed that they had only to give the word
to force the election of their candidate on any ballot. Yesler did not
believe this claim could be justified, since Pelton and Harley were
already negotiating with him for the delivery of the votes belonging to
the cattlemen's contingent.

He had held off for some time with hints that it would take a lot of
money to swing the votes of such men as Roper and Landor, but he had
finally come to an agreement that the eight votes should be given to
Warner for a consideration of $300,000. This was to be paid to Yesler
in the presence of the other seven members on the night before the
election, and was to be held in escrow by him and Roper until the pact
was fulfilled, the money to be kept in a safety deposit vault with a
key in possession of each of the two.

On the third day of the session, before the voting had begun, Stephen
Eaton, who was a State senator from Mesa, moved that a committee be
appointed to investigate the rumors of bribery that were so common. The
motion caught the Consolidated leaders napping, for this was the last
man they had expected to propose such a course, and it went through
with little opposition, as a similar motion did in the House at the
same time. The lieutenant-governor and the speaker of the House were
both opposed to Warner, and the joint committee had on it the names of
no Consolidated men. The idea of such a co