“Because I am interested. My name is Macklyn Morgan. It is barely possible you have heard of me?”
“Macklyn Morgan!” exclaimed Thomas Kensington. “Why, not—why, not——”
“Exactly,” nodded Morgan. “I belong to the Consolidated Mining Association of America. You may know something of that association; it’s quite probable that you do.”
“I should say so!” exclaimed Kensington, rather warmly. “I know that it’s a trust and that it has been gobbling up some of the best mines in the country.”
“Very well. You know, then, that the C. M. A. of A. makes few mistakes. As a member of that association I warn you now that you may involve yourself in difficulty if you negotiate with this young man for this mine which he claims.”
Frank rose to his feet, his eyes flashing with indignation.
“That will about do for you, Morgan!” he exclaimed. “I think I have stood about as much from you as I am in the mood to stand. Mr. Kensington, this man does belong to the Consolidated Mining Association. That association attempted to get possession of my Queen Mystery and San Pablo mines. I fought the whole bunch of them to a standstill and made them back water. They have given up the fight. But after they did so this Mr. Morgan, in conjunction with another one of the trust, did his level best to wring the Queen Mystery from me.
“The matter was finally settled right here in the courts. They were beaten. It was shown that their claims to my property were not worth a pinch of snuff. Since then Sukes, this man’s partner, met his just deserts, being shot by one of his tools, a half-crazed fellow whom he led into an infamous piece of business. This Morgan is persistent and vengeful. He has trumped up some silly charge against me and tried to frighten me into giving up to him my Queen Mystery or my new mine. It is a pure case of bluff on his part, and it has no further effect on me than to annoy me.”
Both Kensington and Morgan had listened while Frank was speaking, the latter with a hard smile on his face.
“You can judge, Mr. Kensington,” said Morgan, “whether a man of my reputation would be the sort to take part in anything of that kind. When it comes to bluff, this young fellow here is the limit. I tell you once more that you will make a serious mistake if you have any dealings with him. Any day he is likely to be arrested on the charge of murder, for there is evidence that he conspired in the assassination of my partner. It even seems possible that he fired the fatal shot. That’s the kind of a chap he is.”