CHAPTER XIV.
SHERIFF COGGSWELL’S family apartments were in the front part of the jail building, and here he entertained his old friend, Wycliff, until the notice came from Congressman Baldwin that he made no charge against him. Wycliff then thanked the Sheriff and his family, and walked out upon the streets of Elmfield, a free man.
At the gateway of the jail-grounds he was met by a messenger from Papyrus bearing a telegram from Colonel Lathrop:—
“Rich vein struck at the Rattlesnake. Syndicate offers one million for mine. Full particulars by letter.�
Wycliff’s acquaintances—and he had many among all classes in Elmfield—were surprised at seeing him at large, and congratulations and inquiries were of frequent occurrence. But he saw something which made him, for the moment, unconscious of the attentions of friend orfoe,—a pretty pony, drawing a cart in which were several children.
Wycliff stopped suddenly. His memory went back to a scene in a sick-room not many months before, and to a promise which he had forgotten. For a time he had been unable to keep the promise. Recently he had been able to keep his promise, but had forgotten it. He wandered down the main street of Elmfield, and then off down a side street, to a livery and sale stable.
“Do you keep those little ponies, such as children drive?� he asked the proprietor, an old acquaintance.
“No, there is too little call for them, but I order them when wanted. Do you want one?�
“Yes, a perfectly gentle and safe one, as my boy is not very strong. I am going over to Cook’s for a cart, and to Brandon’s for a harness. Please send the pony to Brandon’s to be fitted with a harness; get the cart, and send the outfit to my place, ready for use.�
When these purchases had been made,Wycliff called upon his attorney, Lawyer Sturgis. An hour later Sheriff Coggswell was posting up a notice of attachment in the Monadnock, the principal hotel of Elmfield. As Zechariah Baldwin owned both the ElmfieldStarand the Hotel Monadnock, the hotel could be lawfully attached for the misdeeds of the newspaper, while Massachusetts Law in a measure protects the newspaper plant from attachment.
“What does this mean?� asked the manager of the hotel.
“It means,� replied the smiling sheriff, “that those who dance must pay the fiddler,� and straightway he started for the “Paper Town,� to serve personal notice upon the Lord of Papyrus himself. Sheriff Coggswell was the only Berkshire officer who was independent of the Baldwins—the only one who did not acknowledge the political authority of Congressman Baldwin, the political boss of the County and State. Consequently he fully enjoyed the present situation.
The case against Zechariah Baldwin came up in the Superior Court, a little later, for trial. Wycliff, the plaintiff, was ready to proceed with the case. The defendant, through his attorney, pleaded for delay.
Judge Selden, after hearing both attorneys patiently, ordered an immediate trial.
“The defendant in this case,� said the Judge, “has, through his newspaper, charged the plaintiff with a very serious crime—assault with intent to kill. If he had sufficient evidence to warrant him in making such charge, in such a public manner, he has sufficient evidence for defending this action, without delay.�
Then Baldwin’s attorney, Lawyer Stimson, requested time to effect a settlement out of court. This was granted.
Only the attorneys for the two parties met. There was good reason for this, since a meeting of the principals would only have resulted in a wordy encounter, with nothing accomplished at last in the way of settlement. One could scarcelyimagine any business of this nature accomplished between two men who so thoroughly detested one another as did Zechariah Baldwin and John Wycliff. Nor would the settlement have fared any better if the Baldwin end of the negotiations had been left with Deacon Surface, since Wycliff regarded him as an arch-hypocrite, and he, in his turn, was looked upon as an outlaw by the Deacon.
“Well, Sturgis,� began the attorney for Baldwin, “your client seems to value his reputation pretty highly. It is not often that an attachment for one hundred thousand dollars is placed in an action of this kind.�
“You forget, Stimson,� Lawyer Sturgis replied, “that these millionaires think a good deal of themselves, whatever value the public may set upon them. Since Wycliff is rated a millionaire, I presume he regards himself as not being on the bargain-counter any longer, but fit to have his reputation rated with that of the Baldwins. In the famous Apthorpcase you pleaded, with abundant reason, that the reputation of a millionaire was worth more than that of a poor man.�
Then, seeing a puzzled expression on the face of his brother attorney, Lawyer Sturgis continued:—
“Perhaps you have not read all the latest news from the gold fields. The syndicate has raised its offer for the Rattlesnake Mine to two million dollars.�
“But how does that affect this question?� asked Stimson, who was still in the dark.
“John Wycliff is a half owner in the Rattlesnake mine.�
“That makes a difference.�
“Wycliff would prefer to have this case go to court. He would like to show up these immaculate Baldwins—these Christian philanthropists—in their true attitude toward labor. Only one reason impels him to a private settlement. Jehu Baldwin, who would be shown up as the principal transgressor, is little more than a boy, and less to blame than his father who set him on,� said Sturgis.
“But,� protested Stimson, “are you not taking a great deal for granted on very slight evidence?�
“By no means,� replied Sturgis. “We have full proof of every step of this whole crime, from the time when Zechariah Baldwin, on his own premises, persuaded his son Jehu to set this trap for Wycliff, until the instant when Jehu Baldwin threw his pistol upon Wycliff’s lawn. A kind Providence, more than his own exertions, has placed full proof in my client’s possession. You and I, Stimson, are both too old, and have won too honorable a place at the Berkshire Bar to indulge in a game of bluff, and I have something here which will convince you that I am not bluffing.�
He opened his safe, and took from it a photograph.
“Do you recognize anything in that picture?�
“Yes, that is Dobbs’ Corner, in Papyrus. The guide-board tells the story. ‘Elmfield, six miles; Sprucemont, nine miles; Wendell, five miles.’ And thatold elm—there’s no mistaking that. I was out there in my auto yesterday.�
“But the person?�
“Looks like Jehu Baldwin, surely, and the pistol still in his hand. But here’s an important point which you might be troubled to prove. How can you prove that this flashlight—for a flashlight photo it is, evidently—was taken on the night which you claim? If we assert that it was secured on some other night than the one of the riot, you cannot prove that it was taken on that identical night.�
“Easily enough, Stimson. Do you see nothing else in the picture?�
“Yes, some sort of a machine, or wagon, with the word ‘Vesuvius’ on it.�
“Very well,� laughed Sturgis, “that new Vesuvius road machine spent only that one night in Papyrus. It was taken on trial, proved unsatisfactory, and was next day returned to Elmfield and exchanged for another.�
“But you are not going to exact the whole pound of flesh, the whole hundredthousand?� asked Lawyer Stimson.
“Not if you will do the fair thing. If theStarwill publish a suitable retraction of its charge against Wycliff, and an admission that the attack upon Congressman Baldwin was part of a conspiracy to drive Wycliff out of town, then we will cut our claim to ten thousand dollars. Otherwise we shall insist on the whole sum.�
“I think Zack Baldwin had rather pay the whole demand than to make the acknowledgement you ask,� said Stimson.
“So do I,� responded Sturgis. “I never knew a Baldwin to acknowledge an injustice he had done, or to make any compensation for it unless obliged to do so by law, and being multi-millionaires, they cannot usually be compelled to do justly. Senator Dawes, the greatest advocate that ever faced a Berkshire jury, in describing a particularly mean man, once coined the expression, ‘natural cussedness.’ I suppose that the orthodox term, ‘total depravity,’ would have sounded more smoothly, but smoothnesswas not what the great Senator was after. When I think of the great conspiracy against my client I cannot help using the words of the Senator. Natural cussedness is a proper term to apply to the meanness of Zack Baldwin. The words fit.�
“You are rather uncharitable toward my client, are you not?� asked Stimson, laughing, and stepping to a window. Lawyer Sturgis’ office was on the upper floor of the highest block in the city of Elmfield, and commanded a fine view of the city.
“Come here, Sturgis,� said the other, and Sturgis stepped to the window. “There is a side of Zechariah Baldwin’s character which you do not appreciate. There is the finest gift ever made to the city. Who gave that splendid building to Elmfield?�
Before them stood the Elmfield Public Library, given to the city by the Honorable Zechariah Baldwin and representing, with its contents, an expenditure of more than half a million dollars.
“You will probably think me a crank, Stimson,� Sturgis replied, “but I believe the half million dollars put into that building had better have gone to the Baldwin employees. One thousand each, in cash or in a home, to five hundred workmen, would have done more good than half a million in this palatial building, in my way of thinking. It would be nearer just.
“The very fact that the Baldwins have been able, through the labor of others, in the paper industry, to pile up millions and tens of millions, for themselves and their descendants, while incidentally giving a few millions in so-called charity, this very fact, I say, is evidence that they might have paid their workmen more liberally. I tell you, Stimson, the time is coming, though you and I may not live to see it, when the lion’s share of the profits in any industry will go, not to the employer, but to the worker. To accomplish this it may be necessary for the government to become the employer.�
“Isn’t that socialism?� asked the smilingStimson of his brother of the Bar.
“I believe that there is something vitally wrong,� replied Sturgis, “in a system which permits the employer to pile up millions, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of dollars, while the workman, who is making these millions for him, often receives only a bare living, and frequently has nothing left for old age. With apologies to Patrick Henry, if this be socialism, make the most of it. Let me remind you of a very prominent illustration of our present system. Our government framed its tariff laws for the special benefit of the iron and steel industry, it being claimed that such laws would especially benefit the workingmen in that industry. Who received the benefit? More than two hundred millions of dollars were piled up in the hands of one man, who is now trying to unload these millions upon the public libraries of the country. Without denying the benefit of public libraries, that two hundred millions should most of it have gone to the workingmen whocreated that wealth. Give the workingmen of America their just dues, and there will be no need of private gifts to libraries. Every community will be abundantly able to build its own library, and that will be better than accepting gifts from men whose wealth rightly belongs to the people.�
“Would you deny the right of private property?� asked Stimson.
“The right of private property, when grossly abused, must give way to something higher,—the public good.�
“If I stay longer I shall miss another appointment,� said Stimson. “Your client will probably receive a check soon.� And Stimson withdrew.