Carter had spoken so very convincingly, so politely.
"I don't want to alarm you, Miss Dillon," he went on in a slightly more urgent voice, "but I have heard rumors that there is liable to be more trouble in connection with the Crosstown Railways. The next time it will not be trouble that your friend Swift and his Coxey's Army will be able to settle. Nor will Mr. Burke and his stalwart bluecoats be of much assistance either."
"Is that a threat or a promise?" asked Speedy sharply.
"Neither—it's a prophecy," said Carter.
Speedy took a step toward the sneering Carter and thrust out his chin.
"Whatever it is," almost shouted Speedy, "Jane is not going to fall for any of your bullying or your dirty work or your phoney offers for the franchise. There's somebody bigger and straighter than you after this franchise and probably you're trying to double-cross them as well as us. I propose to find out who it is and, when I do, we may do business with them and we may not. But, whatever happens, we won't accept any of your offers. We wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole. Meantime, if there's trouble, we'll face it and lick it just as we did yesterday. So run along now back to your gunmen and report nothing doing."
"Where do you get that 'we' stuff?" sneered Carter. "I thought Miss Dillon was the boss and you were the stable boy. Isn't that right, Miss Dillon?"
Jane's spirit came to the fore suddenly with a rush.
