Leslie could tell nothing of the man’s thoughts by watching his face. No expression or emotion contrary to Lavigne’s will was allowed to appear on his dark features.
“My business operation is the building of a garage not far from the campus of Hamilton College. Hamilton is my—er—the college I went to.” Leslie always stuck at the words “Alma Mater.” “I had a good deal of trouble obtaining the site, due to the underhandedness of a crowd of would-be welfare students who tried to make me give it up to them. They wanted it for a dormitory.”
Lavigne smiled with heartening sympathy and made a gesture of understanding regret for Leslie’s troubles.
“I found out what their scheme was and managed to get into touch with the owner of the property before they did. Before he closed with me they let him know they wanted the site and he charged me sixty thousand dollars for what I should have paid not more than thirty-five or forty thousand. When they discovered I had won out over them they made a great fuss. They circulated very hateful gossip about how dishonorable I was, and so forth. A rich old crank at Hamilton, the last of the Hamilton family, sided with these students against me, though she’d never met me, and presented them with a dormitory site right next to the property I had bought. Can you beat that?” Leslie had forgotten dignity in slangy disgust for the way the matter had turned out.
“Incredible, yet true.” Lavigne lightly raised a hand. “But proceed, Miss Cairns. I am deeply interested.”
Leslie went on to explain regarding the old houses standing on both pieces of property. “These students have the advantage of the services of the only builder and architect of ability in that part of the country. He knows the labor situation there. He has had plenty of men since the start. I have a New York firm on the job and they are slackers. They claim they can’t get the laborers. My ground hasn’t been cleared off yet. My garage building isn’t started. The old dormitory is half up. I must do something about it. Two-thirds of those laborers are Italians, from an Italian colony outside Hamilton. I want them to work for me. I’ll pay them double, triple, if necessary, to quit the other operation.”
She stopped. Not for an instant did her gaze leave Lavigne’s face. He was now looking at her very shrewdly, an odd gleam in his black eyes. Leslie thought they twinkled. It put her on her mettle.
“This isn’t a schoolgirl quarrel I’ve had with these other students, Mr. Lavigne,” she said a trifle sullenly. “If you want to know the secret truth it’s a fight between another student and myself for—to bring about a certain result. I have as much right to the use of these men as she—as they—these students have. I don’t care what I pay you to have you help me. I have a large fortune in my own right. I can soon prove it to you. This business is really a race to see which side wins. I’ll win, if you’ll help me. No one need even suspect you of being concerned in the matter. I want you to engineer it. That’s the way you’ve always worked for my father, isn’t it?” Leslie asked the question with innocent ingenuousness. She understood, however, precisely how much depended upon it.
“Your father’s and my transactions have always been conducted with great discretion,” was the indirect admission.
“I know that. I know all about certain deals between you and him in the past. If I didn’t, would I be here now? It’s not simply a question of the garage operation with me. I’m fighting to assert myself. I’m going to follow my father’s methods. They’ve been absolutely successful. What I want I intend to get, if those who can give it to me are willing to sell out.” Leslie asserted boldly.