one of these. He moved uncomfortably in his
chair, and laughed consciously.

"Why, no, guv'nor, since you put it that way, man to man, I don't."

"Then why did you say what you did? I can't blame you for harboring some
resentment against me because I interfered with your plans in that
railway deal, but this statement is so easily refuted that I wonder why
you made it. It was to discover this that I asked you to come here this
morning."

Brady looked over at Covington meaningly. "That was just why I did do
it," he said. "I knew it would bring out certain facts that I wanted to
have known. I ain't harborin' any resentment against you. You licked me,
an' I took my medicine. P'raps I've worried you a bit in Washington
since,--that's another matter. I'm a sport all right, an' I know when to
take my hat off to any man. But there is other slick Alecks, who think
they're so all-fired smart, that I like to get even with when they try
to be funny with me,--an' there's one of 'em sittin' in that chair over
there now."

"Well--go on." Gorham encouraged him as he paused, at the same time
studying the unexpressive face of Covington as the man progressed.

"Just before that railway deal was put through, an' Harris an' me was
feelin' nervous about you gettin' so close to the big stockholders, I
found out that this Covington here was saltin' away some good blocks of
stock of the New York Street Railways Company. He wasn't buyin' them
direct, you understand, an' the stool-pigeon he was usin' happened to be
one of my own men. Then I sent Harris to see Covington, to get his
influence with you to let our personal scheme go through, usin' the
little information we had gained to act as an argument to help him make
up his mind. He see the game was up, of course, an' then he tried to be
smart. He had it all figured out that if he could unload that stock on
your daughter, it would make things run easier for him when the facts
come out. I wouldn't have held this up against him, for it was nothin'
but a cheap trick, but then he come to us of his own accord, an' told
us that you an' him had gone all over the matter, an' you was goin' to
let the thing go through all right. Well, you remember what happened. He
evidently went right back to you an' told you what we had up our sleeve.
I swore then I'd get even with him, an' this is the way I chose to do
it."

"That's the whole story, is it?" Gorham asked.

"Yes; unless friend Covington here can