er, something
legitimate? All the other men were taking Madeira's attitude seriously.
They showed that they were by the emotionalism, effusive, admiring, with
which they hung upon Madeira for a few last words, by their blind
dependence, their awe. When the seance broke up finally, they strayed
away from him haltingly, like lost sheep.

The impression of Madeira upon the men, as he let them out of the door,
was so profound that it came on to Steering with the value of a
reflection. He felt himself growing a little hopeful that the thing
really was to be right and straight, as he watched Madeira turn from the
door.

For his part, Madeira came back toward his desk with a peculiar
revulsion of feeling upon him. This effort of his to bring Steering
around by strategy was galling him. He resented that any such effort
should ever have been saddled upon him. He considered that from the
start Steering should have been with him. Most fiercely of all he
resented that he, Crittenton Madeira, should have let himself get into
the position of trying to mollify Steering. "By God!" he was saying to
himself with a convulsive anger, "Me to have to mollify! By God! Me!"
Then the thought of Sally came back to him, goading him and confusing
him. On a sudden impulse of candour he cried out to Steering, as he came
on to his desk.

"Steering! God love you, why do you want trouble between you and me?
Don't you see that I have this thing here under my thumb? Don't you see
that you mustn't go against me, my boy? Here's your chance back again.
I'm handing it out to you. Stand by me. You won't be sorry. All my plans
are made now. I have once or twice in my life thought the thing to do
down here was to stir up a furore over some of the lakes and the springs
and the scenery and make a health resort out of the region, but I have
settled away from that now, settled straight at zinc. But Lord bless
you! zinc or no zinc we can't fail to make a pile of money out of this.
Why do you want to be a fool and hold back from me when I'm willing to
pull you along? You ought to see by now that you can't do anything
without me, or go against me. 'Tisn't everybody I'm willing to pull
along, Steering. Why, boy, from the start, I've treated you on the
square, let you know me on the inside--let--and, here and now, I'm still
willing to pull you along, if you'll come along!--eh, what?"

With Madeira's words, matching Madeira's excitement, blazing furiously
and whitel