“With Miss Shevlin? I am coming to that. This ‘mare’s nest,’ as you call it, that Parkman has unearthed, may look harmless to you and to other practical business-politicians. But to nine people out of ten it will have very much the look of bare-faced robbery. So much so that it will prove the biggest newspaper sensation of the year. Mr. Shevlin will be everywhere spoken of as—”
“I catch your meanin’!” broke in Caleb, “The ‘Holier’n Thou’ crowd will raise a yell, drag Shevlin out of his snug, comf’table grave an’ croocify him. He’ll be spoke of by the papers an’ by the man on the street as the rottenest grafter of the century. An’ ev’rywhere Dey goes, folks’ll nudge each other an’ whisper: ‘Them fine clo’es was bought out o’ the dough her ol’ man stole from the city.’ An’ all the time there’s no less than a dozen cases of city graft goin’ on in Granite to-day that are raw enough to make Shevlin’s deals look like a game of Old Maid! Still,” he muttered, dropping his head on his chest in thought, “all that won’t keep this story from queerin’ Dey in s’ciety and givin’ her a black eye as the daughter of a crook.”
“That’s why I put off Parkman till I could see you,” explained Caine, “He came direct to me with the news. It’s lucky I happened to be in town. If he had gone to my managing editor instead, there would be a scare-head Extra on the streets by now.”
“Well,” returned Conover, “the story’s got to be hushed up, of course. An’ I hate to pay hush-money. But I guess this is one of the times when it’s got to be done. I wonder what’s Parkman’s price?”
Caine laughed, mirthlessly.
“Parkman’s as rich a man as you are,” he said, “And he’s so upright that he bends backward. He would like nothing better than to prove attempted bribery against you. No, the adage about ‘every man having his price’ won’t apply in Parkman’s case.”
“Rot!” growled Conover. “There ain’t a case on earth where it won’t apply. The price ain’t always money; but it’s always dead sure to be somethin’. Only, I ain’t got time, I s’pose, to find out what Parkman’s partic’lar rates are. I wish I had. If I’d had wind of this a week earlier I’d have been able by now to lay my finger on his pet weakness or fav’rite sin or cash price an’ say ‘Shut up!’ An’ he’d a’ done it, quicker’n greased lightning.”
“You’re mistaken,” averred Caine. “But that has nothing to do—”
“I know it has nothin’ to do with this muddle we’re in now,” snapped Conover, “I ain’t sayin’ it has. But Parkman has his price just the same, if only we could find out what it is. There never was but one Man that hadn’t. An’ that was why they put Him to death. What do you want for keepin’ the story out of the Star?” he ended, abruptly.
Caine’s handsome face contracted in sudden wrath. Then, in spite of himself, he broke into a laugh.