“It’s all right,” Stone said gruffly. “I’ll be in court myself at ten o’clock to-morrow morning, and you may tell Billy that I’ll get him out of it.”
Another man, a flashily-dressed fellow, was ahead of Bobby, and he, too, now leaned over Stone and whispered.
“Nothing doing,” rumbled Stone.
The man, from his gestures, protested earnestly.
“Nix!” declared Stone loudly. “You threw me two years ago this fall, and you can’t come back till you’re on your uppers good and proper. I don’t want to see you nor hear of you for another year, and you needn’t send any one to me to fix it, because it can’t be fixed. Now beat it. I’m busy!”
The man, much crestfallen, “beat it.” Bobby was thankful that there was no one else waiting when it was his turn to approach the Mogul. Stone shook hands cordially enough.
“Mr. Stone,” inquired Bobby, “how does it come that the Brightlight Electric Company was not offered a chance to come into this new consolidation?”
“How should I know?” asked Stone in reply.
“It is popularly supposed,” suggested Bobby, smiling, “that you know a great deal about it.”
Mr. Stone ignored that supposition completely.