Carmen Ariza
Chapter 119 : Gannette, who had been sulking in his chair, roused up. "Speaking of war," h

Gannette, who had been sulking in his chair, roused up. "Speaking of war," he growled, "has Ames, or any of you fellows, got a finger in the muddle in South America? I've got interests down there--concessions and the like--and by--!" He wandered off into incoherent mutterings.

The Beaubien gave a sharp command to the butler. "William, Mr.

Gannette is leaving now. You will escort him to the door."

"Now look here, Lucile!" cried Gannette, his apoplectic face becoming more deeply purple, and his blear eyes leering angrily upon the calm woman. "I ain't a-goin' to stand this! What have I done? I'm as sober as any one here, an'--" William took the heavy man gently by the arm and persuaded him to his feet. The other guests suppressed their smiles and remained discreetly quiet.

"But--my car--!" sputtered Gannette.

"Have Henri take him to his club, William," said the Beaubien, rising.

"Good night, Mr. Gannette. We will expect you Wednesday evening, and we trust that we will not have to accept your excuses again."

Gannette was led soddenly out. The Beaubien quietly resumed her seat.

It was the second time the man had been dismissed from her table, and the guests marveled that it did not mean the final loss of her favor.

But she remained inscrutable; and the conversation quickly drifted into new channels. A few moments later William returned and made a quiet announcement:

"Mr. Ames."

A huge presence emerged from the darkness into the light. The Beaubien immediately rose and advanced to greet the newcomer. "What is it?" she whispered, taking his hand.

The man smiled down into her upturned, anxious face. His only reply was a rea.s.suring pressure of her hand. But she comprehended, and her face brightened.

"Gentlemen," remarked Ames, taking the vacant chair, "the President's message is out. I have been going over it with Hood--which accounts for my tardiness," he added, nodding pleasantly to the Beaubien.

"Quoting from our chief executive's long list of innocent plat.i.tudes, I may say that 'private monopoly is criminally unjust, wholly indefensible, and not to be tolerated in a Republic founded upon the premise of equal rights to all mankind.'"

"Certainly not!" concurred Weston, holding up his gla.s.s and gazing admiringly at the rich color of the wine.

The others laughed. "Quite my sentiments, too," murmured Fitch, rolling his eyes upward and attempting with poor success to a.s.sume a beatific expression.

"Furthermore," continued Ames, with mock gravity, "the interlocking of corporation directorates must be prohibited by law; power must be conferred upon the Interstate Commerce Commission to superintend the financial management of railroads; holding-companies must cease to exist; and corrective policies must be shaped, whereby so-called 'trusts' will be regulated and rendered innocuous. Are we agreed?"

"We are," said they all, in one voice.

"Carried," concluded Ames in a solemn tone. Then a burst of laughter rose from the table; and even the inscrutable William smiled behind his hand.

"But, seriously," said Weston, when the laughter had ceased, "I believe we've got a President now who's going to do something, don't you?"

"I do not," replied Ames emphatically. "As long as the human mind remains as it is there is nothing to fear, though Congress legislate itself blue in the face. Reform is not to be made like a garment and forced upon the people from the outside. It is a growth from within.

Restrictive measures have not as yet, in all the history of civilization, reformed a single criminal."

"What does Hood say?" asked Murdock.

"That we are puncture-proof," replied Ames with a light laugh.

"But what about your indictment in that cotton deal? Is Hood going to find you law-proof there?"

"The case is settled," said Ames easily. "I went into court this morning and plead guilty to the indictment for conspiring to corner the cotton market two years ago. I admitted that I violated the Sherman law. The judge promptly fined me three thousand dollars, for which I immediately wrote a check, leaving me still the winner by some two million seven hundred thousand dollars on the deal, to say nothing of compound interest on the three thousand for the past two years. You see the beneficent effect of legislation, do you not?"

"By George, Ames, you certainly were stingy not to let us in on that!"

exclaimed Kane.

"Cotton belongs to me, gentlemen," replied Ames simply. "You will have to keep out."

"Well," remarked Fitch, glancing about the table, "suppose we get down to the business of the evening--if agreeable to our hostess," bowing in the direction of the Beaubien.

The latter nodded her approval of the suggestion. "Has any one anything new to offer?" she said.

Some moments of silence followed. Then Ames spoke. "There is a little matter," he began, "that I have been revolving for some days. Perhaps it may interest you. It concerns the Albany post road. It occurred to me some time ago that a franchise for a trolley line on that road could be secured and ultimately sold for a round figure to the wealthy residents whose estates lie along it, and who would give a million dollars rather than have a line built there. After some preliminary examination I got Hood to draft a bill providing for the building of the road, and submitted it to Jacobson, Commissioner of Highways. He reported that it would be the means of destroying the post road. I convinced him, on the other hand, that it would be the means of lining his purse with fifty thousand dollars. So he very naturally gave it his endors.e.m.e.nt. I then got in consultation with Senator Gossitch, and had him arrange a meeting with the Governor, in Albany. I think," he concluded, "that about five hundred thousand dollars will grease the wheels all 'round. I've got the Governor on the hip in that Southern Mexican deal, and he is at present eating out of my hand. I'll lay this project on the table now, and you can take it up if you so desire."

"The scheme seems all right," commented Weston, after a short meditation. "But the profits are not especially large. What else have you?"

"Well, a net profit of half a million to split up among us would at least provide for a yachting party next summer," remarked Ames sententiously. "And no work connected with it--in fact, the work has been done. I shall want an additional five per cent for handling it."

An animated discussion followed; and then Fitch offered a motion that the group definitely take up the project. The Beaubien put the vote, and it was carried without dissent.

"What about that potato scheme you were figuring on, Ames?" asked Fitch at this juncture. "Anything ever come of it?"

Ames's eyes twinkled. "I didn't get much encouragement from my friends," he replied. "A perfectly feasible scheme, too."

"I don't believe it," put in Weston emphatically. "It never could be put through."

"I have one million dollars that says it could," returned Ames calmly.

"Will you cover it?"

Weston threw up his hands in token of surrender. "Not I!" he exclaimed, scurrying for cover.

Ames laughed. "Well," he said, "suppose we look into the scheme and see if we don't want to handle it. It simply calls for a little thought and work. The profits would be tremendous. Shall I explain?"

He stopped and glanced at the Beaubien for approval. She nodded, and he went on:

"I have lately been investigating the subject of various food supplies other than wheat and corn as possible bases for speculation, and my attention has been drawn strongly to a very humble one, potatoes."

A general laugh followed this announcement. But Ames continued unperturbed:

"I find that in some sections of the West potatoes are so plentiful at times that they bring but twenty cents a bushel. My investigations have covered a period of several months, and now I have in my possession a large map of the United States with the potato sections, prices, freight rates and all other necessary data indicated. The results are interesting. My idea is to send agents into all these sections next summer before the potatoes are turned up, and contract for the entire crop at twenty-five cents a bushel. The agents will pay the farmers cash, and agree to a.s.sume all expenses of digging, packing, s.h.i.+pping, and so forth, allowing the farmer to take what he needs for his own consumption. Needless to say, the potatoes will not be removed from the fields, but will be allowed to rot in the ground.

Those that do reach the market will sell for a dollar and a half in New York and Chicago."

"In other words," added Fitch, "you are simply figuring to corner the market for the humble tuber, eh?"

"Precisely," said Ames.

"But--you say you have all the necessary data now?"

"All, even to the selection of a few of my agents. I can control freight rates for what we may wish to s.h.i.+p. The rest of the crop will be left to rot. The farmers will jump at such a bargain. And the consumers will pay our price for what they must have."

"Very pretty," mused Murdock. "And how much do you figure we shall need to round the corner?"

"A million, cash in hand," replied Ames.

"Is this anything that the women can mix into?" asked Fitch suddenly.

"You know they forced us to dump tons of our cold-storage stuff onto the market two years ago."