Then he stepped down, but he had exploded a bombshell, and there was consternation in the meeting.
Brad Buckhart had shot to his feet as he heard Savage speak Arlington’s name, and now he dropped back, gasping:
“I’ll—be—shot!”
“Arlington, Arlington!” was the mad cry that went up.
Brad turned to Dick.
“Partner, am I dreaming?” he asked. “Did I hear straight? Did that onery galoot say Arlington?”
“That’s what he said,” nodded Dick.
“And he pretends to be your friend! Well, he ought to be lynched like a horse-thief!”
Dick had been astonished, but he was master of himself, and he did not show his surprise.
“It was worked somehow,” he said. “I don’t believe Savage really wanted to withdraw in favor of Arlington, but he was driven into it.”