They arrived as the railway was on the point of running its first train. McKettrick brought them in person. He burst upon Scattergood as Scattergood sat in front of his hardware store, and began to storm. "What's this? What's this?" he roared. "What's that railroad doing up the easterly side of our timber? It's waste money, lost money. It'll have to be rebuilt. We've made all arrangements to cut off the westerly side. Now we'll have to swamp roads and log by team till the road can be moved." "Um!..." said Scattergood, "so _that's_ it, eh? I was wonderin' how it would come." "It was an inexcusable blunder, and it'll cost you money. You know how the railroad's contract with the company reads. Who gave you directions to run up the easterly side?" "My engineer got 'em in your office." "Oh, your engineer. He made the mistake, eh? Then the mistake's yours, all right, for every scrap of writing in our office has the word 'westerly' in it, plain and distinct. It means tearing up those rails, grading a new line--and you'll pay for it. I sha'n't stand loss for your mistake. It'll cost you a hundred thousand dollars for that blunder." "Hain't you discoverin' it a mite late?" "It was left wholly to you." "Seems like I noticed it," said Scattergood. "So all that work's lost, eh? Seems a pity, too." "You don't seem to take it seriously." "You bet I do, and I calculate to look into it _some_." "It won't do any good. The mistake is plain." "Shouldn't be s'prised. I git your idee, McKettrick. You've been figgerin' from the start on smougin' me out of what I invested in that road, eh?... By the way, your stock's in your name. I'll git the certificates out of the safe." McKettrick shoved the envelope in his pocket. "The Seaboard Box and Paper Company will force you to remove your tracks from our land. I'll sue you for damages for your blunder. The Seaboard will sue the new railroad for damages for failure to have the tracks into the cuttings on time. I guess when we begin collecting judgments by levying on the new road, there won't be much of it left. The Seaboard will come pretty close to owning it." "And you and I will be frozen out, eh?" said Scattergood. McKettrick purred and smiled. "Exactly," he said. "Now, my advice to you is not to fight the thing. You can't deny the blunder and you'll save cost of litigation." "What's your proposition?" "Transfer your stock to the Seaboard." "And lose a hunderd and two thousand?" "It's not our fault if you make expensive mistakes." "Course not," said Scattergood. "I admit I hain't much on litigation. S'posin' you and me meets in Boston to-morrow with our lawyers, and sort of figger this thing out." "There's nothing to figure out--but I'll meet you to-morrow. You're sensible to settle." "Calc'late I be," said Scattergood.