All these, and others, had
friends on the outside, people who were "in the know." Some told one
thing, and others told exactly the opposite; but Peter put this and
that together, and used his own intrigue-sharpened wits upon it, and
before long he was satisfied that he had got the facts.
Jim Goober was a prominent labor leader. He had organized the
employees of the Traction Trust, and had called and led a tremendous
strike. Also he had called building strikes, and some people said he
had used dynamite upon uncompleted buildings, and made a joke of it.
Anyhow, the business men of the city wanted to put him where he
could no longer trouble them; and when some maniac unknown had flung
a dynamite bomb into the path of the Preparedness parade, the big
fellows of the city had decided that now was the opportunity they
were seeking. Guffey, the man who had taken charge of Peter, was
head of the secret service of the Traction Trust, and the big
fellows had put him in complete charge. They wanted action, and
would take no chances with the graft-ridden and incompetent police
of the city. They had Goober in jail, with his wife and three of his
gang, and thru the newspapers of the city they were carrying on a
propaganda to prepare the public for the hanging of all five.
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