arrow flying in the direction of Cowperwood, as indeed he had.  Yet at this moment, both the Senator and Mollenhauer were not a little surprised, seeing at their last meeting he had appeared rather friendly to the young banker, and this recent discovery seemed scarcely any occasion for a vicious attitude on his part.  Mollenhauer in particular was surprised, for he had been looking on Butler’s friendship for Cowperwood as a possible stumbling block.

“Um-m, you don’t tell me,” observed Senator Simpson, thoughtfully, stroking his mouth with his pale hand.

“Yes, I can confirm that,” said Mollenhauer, quietly, seeing his own little private plan of browbeating Cowperwood out of his street-railway shares going glimmering.  “I had a talk with Stener the other day about this very matter, and he told me that Cowperwood had been trying to force him to give him three hundred thousand dollars more, and that when he refused Cowperwood managed to get sixty thousand dollars further without his knowledge or consent.”

“How could he do that?” asked Senator Simpson, incredulously.  Mollenhauer explained the transaction.

“Oh,” said the Senator, when Mollenhauer had finished, “that indicates a rather sharp person, doesn’t it?  And the certificates are not in the sinking-fund, eh?”

“They’re not,” chimed in Butler, with considerable enthusiasm.

“Well, I must say,” said Simpson, rather relieved in his manner, “this looks like a rather good thing than not to me.  A scapegoat possibly.  We need something like this.  I see no reason under the circumstances for trying to protect Mr. Cowperwood.  We might as well try to make a point of that, if we have to.  The newspapers might just as well talk loud about that as anything else.  They are bound to talk; and if we give them the right angle, I think that the election might well come and go before the matter could be reasonably cleared up, even though Mr. Wheat does interfere.  I will be glad to undertake to see what can be done with the papers.”

“Well, that bein’ the case,” said Butler, “I don’t see that there’s so much more we can do now; but I do think it will be a mistake if Cowperwood isn’t punished with the other one.  He’s equally guilty with Stener, if not more so, and I for one want to see him get what he deserves.  He belongs in the penitentiary, and that’s where he’ll go if I have my say.”  Both Mollenhauer and Simpson turned a reserved and inquiring eye on their usually genial associate.  What could be the reason for his sudden determination to have Cowperwood punished?  Cowperwood, as Mollenhauer and Simpson saw it, and as Butler would ordinarily have seen it, was well within his human, if not his strictly legal rights.  They did not blame him half as much for trying to do what he had done as they blamed Stener for letting him do it.  But, since Butler felt as he did, and there was an actual technical crime here, they were perfectly willing that the party should have the advantage of it, even if Cowperwood went to the penitentiary.