uction company to undertake the building of
the road. Usually the construction company was to have in addition a
considerable share of the stock of the road when completed. The city,
county, and town subscriptions, of course, depended upon the results of
special elections held for that sole purpose.

In this case the personal subscriptions had been satisfactory, and there
was no doubt that the two terminal cities, and the counties in which
they lay, would vote the bonds asked of them. But there was grave doubt
as to results in the rural counties, in each of which a special election
was to be held a month or two later. It was Guilford Duncan's task to
remove that doubt, to persuade the voters to favor the proposed
subscriptions, and incidentally to secure rights of way, station sites,
etc., by gift from the land owners.

During the next two months he toiled ceaselessly at this task, going to
Cairo only once a week to keep in touch with his bank, and to pass the
Sundays with Barbara.

Tandy also worked in the county towns, where he had a good deal of
influence. He had been made president of the proposed railroad, and was
supposed to be very earnestly interested in it. He was so--in his own
way, and with purposes of his own.

Duncan's campaign was a tireless one, and it proved successful. When the
elections occurred every county and every town voted in favor of the
proposed subscription, but some of them did so by majorities so narrow
as to show clearly how great the need of Duncan's work had been.

"Worse still," he said to Hallam, a few weeks later, "the smallness of
the majorities in two or three counties is a threat to us and a warning.
The county authorities are putting all sorts of absurd provisions into
their subscriptions, and they will give us trouble if our construction
company fails in the smallest particular to meet these requirements."

"Just what are the conditions?"

"Oh, every sort of thing. In every county it is provided that we shall
somewhere break ground for construction before the last of January--less
than two months hence--or forfeit the subscription. That gives us too
little time for organization, but we can meet that requirement by
sending a gang of men at our own expense to do a day's work somewhere on
the line. In two of the counties there is a peculiarly absurd provision.
There are rival villages there, one in each county, and the authorities
have stipulated that "a track shall be laid ac