"Friend Kidder, let us evolve an explanation that explains. Let us form a syndicate of intelligent men!" He made a motion with his hand as if waving away the necessity of further elucidation.
"Friend Robison," said Kidder, jocularly mimicking the older man's manner, "you are one of those unusual men whose speeches are better than his silences. _Continuez, s'il vous plaît._"
"Intelligent men, deprecating alike violence and the immoderate accumulation of wealth by others. To reduce such wealth would be their object."
"No; since they would take from crooks, annexing only that class of wealth which is called tainted! They would take plunder from the plunderers, themselves pardonable plunderers. That would give to the syndicate a confidence in itself and a faith in its righteousness that would make success easy. How would they go about making Wall Street contribute to the fund? Now they must have seen that Garrettson's life was a bull factor, and his death a bear card. But they had old-fashioned, unphilosophical scruples against murder. Moreover, the sensational disappearance of Garrettson would serve even better than his death. Problem: How to kidnap Garrettson? Or, better still: How to make Garrettson kidnap himself? Simplicity itself!"
"It I am Dr. Watson to your Sherlock Holmes, consider me gazing on you with admiration. And so--"
"The time would be when the Street was full of people long of Con. Steel and the newspapers full of articles showing the greatness of W. H. Garrettson. If I, who merely desired to trade in a few thousand shares, studied Garrettson's habits, think of the syndicate playing for millions! They learn about his daily carriage trip to his office. The rest is obvious, even to you--isn't it?" Mr. Robison gazed benignantly at his guest.
"No; it isn't obvious to me--or to any one else," retorted Kidder, sharply.
"You still think I am Delphic or a crook? My dear Kidder, how can you ask me to insult your intelligence by filling in the obvious gaps in an obvious way?"
"Very well. Mr. Garrettson is sane in everything except in the matter of collecting MSS. At five minutes to nine a man goes to his house--an impressive stranger, well-dressed, cold-eyed, with the aristocratic attitude toward servants that sees in them merely pieces of furniture. He tells the footman in a dehumanized voice that he must see Mr. Garrettson. The footman tells the butler. The butler comes out. The stranger says to the butler: 'I am leaving for Europe this morning. Tell Mr. Garrettson he will see me at once or not at all. Give him this paper and show him this sheet. Make haste!' The dazed butler gives Mr. Garrettson the paper, which is apparently the first page of the _Knickerbocker History of New York_. The memorandum informs Mr. Garrettson: 'I have, in their entirety, the MSS. of this history, Cooper's "Spy," Poe's "Goldbug," three love-letters of George Washington to Mrs. Glendenning, and no less than sixteen signed letters of Thomas Lynch, the one signer of the Declaration of Independence whose autograph is really rare.' Of course Mr. Garrettson would see the stranger!"