WEEGMAN'S PROPOSAL
For four days Weegman had not troubled Locke, four days during which
Lefty sought in vain to get some word from Charles Collier. His
cablegrams remained unanswered. At the time when he had felt the
most sanguine he seemed to find himself blocked again. He did not
seek to delude himself with the belief that silence on the part of the
conspirators meant they were inactive. Doubtless they were at work
harder than ever. What were they doing? He confessed that he would give
a great deal to know.
Then Weegman reappeared. His manner was ingratiating. His chuckle seemed
intended to be genial and friendly.
"A private room where we can talk without the slightest chance of being
overheard, that's what we want," he said. "Your own room should be
all right, as long as your wife is stopping with Miss Collier and her
aunt." He knew about that. How long he had known was a question.
Locke felt like turning the rascal down flatly. He was on the verge of
doing so when something led him to decide differently. Perhaps a little
patience and cleverness would enable him to get an inkling of what the
enemy was doing. He took Weegman to his room, and shot the door bolt
behind them when they had entered.
"That's right," said Collier's private secretary. "We don't want to
be interrupted by anybody. I took a great deal of pains that no one who
knew me should see me come here. Garrity mustn't get wise. He ordered me
to keep away from you." Laughing, he flung himself down on a chair.
"Garrity!" cried Lefty, astonished at the confession. "Then you admit
that you are taking your orders from him?"
"He thinks I am," was the grinning answer. "Perhaps he'll find
himself fooled. If you and I can get together, I'm sure he will."
Locke stifled a sense of repulsion. The man was more detestable than
ever. It did not appear possible, and yet he still seemed to think that
Locke would accept a proposal from him.
"How do you mean?" asked the pitcher, with masterly self-control. "Get
together how?"
"I hope you realize you can't do anything alone. The combination
against you is too strong, and too much had been done before you began to
get wise to the situation. Let me tell you now that I didn't expect
this affair would go as far as it has when I entered into it."
The creature was shamelessly acknowledging his participation in the plot,
chuckling as he did so. Lefty waited.
"Of course," pursued Weegman, "you've been aware for some time of
my unbounded admiration and regard for Miss Collier. The old man favored
me, but I couldn't bring her round. To do so, I decided, it would be
necessary for me to accomplish a coup. If I could apparently save her
father from ruin she might alter her views. Out of gratitude she might
marry me. I'm a man who gets what he wants, by hook or crook. Garrity
approached me with a scheme. I listened to it. I believed I saw a way to
turn that scheme to my own advantage with Virginia. But I'll tell you
now that it never was my intention to put Charles Collier wholly on the
blink. At that time even I didn't know how badly involved he was."
Even while he told the truth in a way, Weegman was lying in the effort to
palliate his act to some degree. His conscience was warped to such an
extent that he seemed to believe there could be an excuse for the milder
forms of conspiracy and crime. In a bungling way he was actually making
a bid for Locke's sympathy.
"You must have known of the dastardly arrangement with a crooked doctor
to keep Mr. Collier drugged into apparent illness and detain him in
Europe beyond reach of the friends who might tell him, Weegman. Who
got to that doctor and bought him up?"
"Not I," was the denial. "I didn't have the money."
"Was it Garrity?"
"Of course. Garrity had something on Dalmers, who was concerned in
some mighty shady practices at one time. But he told me that Dalmers was
simply going to keep watch of the old man. I didn't know anything about
the drugging business. When I found that out I was mad as blazes."
The southpaw fought to prevent his lips from curling with scorn, and to
suppress a look of triumph in his eyes. "What's your proposition to me,
Weegman?"
The self-acknowledged rascal seemed to hesitate. "You're sure no one
can hear us?" he asked, his eyes roving around the room.
"You can see that we're quite alone."
Weegman drummed nervously on the arm of his chair. "I'm sorry this
thing has gone so far," he protested. "I didn't look for it to, at
first. I got involved and couldn't back out. In fact, Garrity threatened
me when I showed signs of holding back. That," he declared, with an
attempt at indignant resentment, "made me sore. Without my help in the
beginning he never could have done a thing. Now he thinks he's got me
foul, he's going to gobble everything. We'll see about that! Perhaps it
isn't too late to stop him. Maybe we can do it, you and I. I'd like
to show him."
So the rascals had quarreled over the division of the spoils, as rascals
so often do. And now one of them was ready to betray the other, if he
could do so without disaster to himself. At the same time, he hoped to
make an alliance with Lefty by which he might reap some actual benefit
from his underhanded work. Suddenly Locke thought of another man who had
been suspected of complicity.
"How about Parlmee?" he asked. "Where does he fit in? Did Garrity
send him over the pond to wrench the control of the Blue Stockings from
Collier?"
"I don't know what Garrity has been doing with Parlmee," Weegman
confessed. "It was natural that I should want to turn Virginia against
Parlmee, but I swear I didn't know he was in this thing when I got
the idea of making her believe he was. That was an inspiration that
came to me all of a sudden. I had to keep her away from him. I faked up
some evidence. She refused to believe at first. Then, by Jove, I found
out that Garrity and Parlmee were really up to something. They've had
dealings."
Lefty's heart, which had bounded high for a moment, sank heavily. After
all, could it be true that two cleverer scoundrels had combined to work
Weegman as a dupe? Had the confirmation of this fact helped Weegman to
make up his mind to go back on Garrity? Was it not possible that this
was the real cause of the quarrel between the worthy pair?
The southpaw continued to lead the other on. "What is Garrity's scheme?
What has he told you that he proposed to do?"
"Unless Collier receives outside assistance, Garrity's got him
cornered. Collier has met reverses generally. Garrity has got hold of a
certain amount of Blue Stocking stock. Collier still holds enough to keep
the balance of power, but he won't hold it long. If he tries to his
interest in the Northern Can Company will go to glory. Garrity has
placed himself in a position to shake the old man out of that concern.
If Collier loses that, he's broke--a pauper. He can't hang on, because
he hasn't the ready resources. He'll have to sell his Blue Stockings
stock to save Northern Can. If he had a hundred and fifty thousand
dollars in ready cash he could pull through. It'll take half of that to
oust Garrity from Northern Can, and the other half is needed for the
team. Garrity will put it up to him to-morrow. In the meantime, can
you and I raise one hundred and fifty thousand?"
"You and I!" cried Lefty. "Not a dollar! Not a cent! How will Garrity
put it up to Collier to-morrow? Collier is in--"
"Philadelphia!" cut in Weegman sharply.
The southpaw stared, thunderstruck. "Philadelphia! You mean that he's
in this country?"
"He arrived to-day, and took a train at once for Philadelphia. I cabled
him to come, and to keep his coming secret. Those were Garrity's
orders."
Locke sat down heavily, still staring at Weegman.