In the first place they were depending on business from
Morrow & Company's ships; and, with Morrow & Company gone broke and a
new company liable to take over their line, it would be a bad
precedent to establish, to permit one cargo to go to the competitor.
Future cargoes might follow it!
"Then, too, the schedule of the ships on the Atlantic side of the
Canal doubtless had been made up already, with a view to handling this
cargo ex-Tillicum, and to lose the cargo would throw that schedule out
of joint; in fact, from whatever angle I viewed the situation, I could
see that the railroad company would prefer to give up its twenty per
cent. rather than decline my terms. They might think their competitor
had already made me an offer! Of course, it was all a mighty bluff on
my part, but bluffs are not always called, particularly when they're
made good and strong; and, believe me, my bluff was anything but weak
in the knees. I told the Panama people to wire their reply to me at
San Diego, and when I got to that city, twenty-four hours later, their
answer was awaiting me."
"They called your bluff?" Mr. Skinner challenged.
"Pooh-pooh for you!" Matt laughed. "God is good and the devil not
half bad. I got the guaranties I asked for, old dear! Don't you ever
think I'd have been crazy enough to go to Panama without them.
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