got me on the run the first
crack out of the box!"

This time Blount's smile was entirely conciliatory.

"Don't let that little misfire in the Lost Mountain foot-hills embarrass
you, Mr. Hathaway. I assure you I'm not at all vindictive."

"All right," said the visitor, only too willing to dismiss the Jack
Barto incident and the forced awkwardness of the pretended surprise.
"That being the case, I'll jump in on the other matter. But first I'd
like to ask a sort of personal question: I've been given to understand
that you are handling the political business for the railroad company in
this campaign. Is that right?"

"It is and it isn't," was the prompt reply. "The railroad company isn't
in politics in this campaign--as a political factor, I mean. What we are
trying to do--and all we are trying to do--is to lay the entire matter
plainly and fairly before the people of this State, with a frank appeal
for the relief to which we are entitled."

"Ha--h'm--I guess I get you, Mr. Blount. That's the way to talk it; in
public, anyway. But, just between us two--I guess we needn't beat the
bushes in a little personal talk like this--we both know there are
certain things that have to be done in every campaign; things you
wouldn't want to publish in the newspapers."

Blount sat back in his chair and the conciliatory smile disappeared.

"What kind of things?" he asked abruptly.

"Oh, of course, I don't know all of 'em. But there was one little
arrangement that was made two years ago with us, and it helped out both
ways. I thought I'd come around and see if it couldn't be worked again."

"State the facts," said Blount shortly.

"It was like this. As you know, we've got a number of plants scattered
around at different places in the State, and, one way and another, we
employ a good many men. These men are residents of the State, but you
couldn't call 'em citizens in the sense that they take any active
interest in what's going on. They're here this year, and they may be up
among the Oregon redwoods next year, and somewhere else the year after.
When they vote at all they naturally ask us how we'd like to have 'em
vote; and that's the way it was two years ago at election time."

"I see. But how does this concern the railroad company?"

"I'm coming to that, right now. Two years ago we found that our
employees' vote was big enough to turn the scale in four of the
legislative districts and to cut a pretty good-sized figure in a fif