"
"It would hurt.... Of course it mustn't pass. Get after it and don't let
any grass grow. Kill it in committee. That's the safest way.... Have
Lafe Siggins look after it."
Hammond bustled out, and Castle turned to his brother-in-law. "I
underestimated this Scattergood _some_," he said. "Now I'll go after
him.... For reasons of necessity we will discontinue all train service
at the flag station at the mouth of Coldriver Valley. That'll leave his
stage line dangling in the air. Just for a taste of what we can do....
I'll have Hammond look after that condemnation matter for you."
"He'll be coming around to offer to sidetrack that legislation if you'll
let him build his railroad."
"Probably. I guess we won't trade."
But Scattergood did not come around to offer a compromise. He seemed to
have lost interest in the matter wholly and to give his time solely to
his hardware store. But the Transient Car bill, as it came to be called,
began mysteriously to attract unprecedented attention. The press of the
state showed unusual interest in it. In short, it became the one big
measure of the legislative session. Everything else was secondary to it.
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