"There's been a lot of scandal said about me in my time. You might take note there's never been a word or line about my women folks. Once long ago a man came to me and wanted money not to print some lie about my oldest daughter. He didn't print it because by the next day noon I would have shot him dead. I was a young man then; I don't do things now in just that fashion."
"This is a legal matter, Mr. Beman."
"You listen to me. You're to drop this talk of Helen Lampert and her son entirely. I don't mean merely that you're to keep it out of court; there's to be no other kind of publicity." The voice was clear and cold and hard as ice. "If you splash my granddaughter's name with one drop of your mud, I'll ride you—I'll ride you both. If you don't know what that means, ask the boys on the Board of Trade about other men I've ridden. You've both got pasts that won't bear looking into; most men have. If you haven't, I'll make them for you. Do you get that? I know what kind of men I'm dealing with; I'll make pasts for you. I've got the
