bountifully stored there and granted a fair measure
of encouragement to transportation, those great inland tundras would be as
populous as Sweden; as progressive as Germany." His glance moved to the
jury; all the nobility, the fineness, the large humanity of the man was
expressed in that moment in his face; a subdued emotion pervaded his
voice. "We know the men who forged a way through that mighty bulwark of
mountains to the interior were brave, resourceful, determined--they had to
be--but, too, they saw a broad horizon; they had patriotism; if there are
any Americans left who have inherited a spark of the old Puritan spirit,
they are the ones who have cast their fortunes with Alaska."

He paused again briefly, and his eyes rested on Foster. "Do you know?" he
resumed, and his glance returned to the prosecuting attorney, "when I came
out last season, I saw a ship at the terminus of the new Copper River and
Northwestern Railroad discharging Australian coal. This with the great
Bering fields lying at their side door! The people of Cordova wanted to
see that road finished; the life of their young seaport depended on it--
but--that night they threw the whole of that cargo of foreign coal into
the waters of Prince William Sound. It is referred to, now, as the
'Cordova tea-party.'"

In the silence that held the courtroom, Tisdale stood still regarding the
lawyer. His expression was most engaging, a hint of humor lurked at the
corners of his mouth, yet it seemed to veil a subtle meaning. Then the
jury began to laugh quietly, with a kind of seriousness, and again the
judge straightened, checking a smile. It was all very disturbing to Mr.
Bromley. He had been assured by one high in the administration that he
might rely on Tisdale's magnetic personality and practical knowledge as
well as his technical information in prosecuting the case; but while he
hesitated over the question he wished to ask, Tisdale said mellowly, no
doubt to bridge the awkward pause: "The Copper River and Northwestern
couldn't mine their coal, and they couldn't import any, so they changed
their locomotives to oil burners."

Then Mr. Bromley said abruptly: "This is all very interesting, Mr.
Tisdale, but it is the Chugach Railway and not the Copper River
Northwestern, that bears on our case. You have been over that route, I
believe?"

"Yes." Tisdale's voice quickened. "I used the roadbed going to and from
the Matanuska Valley. Also I went over the proposed