Спрут: Калифорнийская история
Chapter VI
,
CYRUSBLAKELEERUGGLES,
LandAgent,P.andS.W.R.R.
S.BEHRMAN,
LocalAgent,P.andS.W.R.R.
Inthemidstoftheprofoundsilencethatfollowed,Ostermanwasheardtoexclaimgrimly:
“THAT’Saprettygoodone.Tellusanother.”
Butforalongmomentthiswastheonlyremark.
Thesilencewidened,brokenonlybythesoundoftornpaperasAnnixter,Osterman,oldBroderson,Garnett,Keast,Gethings,Chattern,andDabneyopenedandreadtheirletters.Theywerealltothesameeffect,almostwordforwordliketheGovernor’s.Onlythefiguresandthepropernamesvaried.Insomecasesthepriceperacrewastwenty-twodollars.InAnnixter’scaseitwasthirty.
“And—andthecompanypromisedtoselltome,to—toallofus,”gaspedoldBroderson,“atTWODOLLARSANDAHALFanacre.”
ItwasnotalonetheranchersimmediatelyaroundBonnevillewhowouldbeplunderedbythismoveonthepartoftheRailroad.The“alternatesection”systemappliedthroughoutalltheSanJoaquin.BystrikingattheBonnevilleranchersaterribleprecedentwasestablished.Ofthecrowdofguestsintheharnessroomalone,nearlyeverymanwasaffected,everymanmenacedwithruin.Allofamillionacreswassuddenlyinvolved.
Thensuddenlythetempestburst.Adozenmenwereontheirfeetinaninstant,theirteethset,theirfistsclenched,theirfacespurplewithrage.Oaths,curses,maledictionsexplodedlikethefiringofsuccessivemines.
