"So he was. Big men change when they get what they want. He had an interview with the old man, and laid his cards on the table. Governor said it was the frankest confidence he'd ever heard. When he went into the railroad field, it was at the mercy of a lot of clever little stock-jobbers, who were playing it like a game of roulette. Slade's driven 'em out, broken their backs, bankrupted them ... Oh! he strikes hard! ... Now there's a real railroad policy, with a national object."
"You seem quite enthusiastic over him yourself," said Beecher, glancing at the plates on the boxes.
"I am. He's a constructive ... that's what we want!"
"When did all this happen?"
"A couple of months after that affair of the Atlantic Trust."
Beecher stopped, and with a gesture showed his companion a plate on which was inscribed:
ENOS BLOODGOOD.
"I never can forget Majendie that night," he said, sobered by the recollection of the events in which he had been such an agitated spectator. "By Jove, he was true blue!"
"If he'd had the nerve to face the music he'd be a rich man to-day," said Gunther, meditatively.
"The Atlantic Trust is stronger than ever. Of course, technically, Majendie did things he had no right to do, but do you know, every investment he made has turned out enormously profitable! Queer how one man drops out and another pops up."