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up to go.
Steger arose also. "I'll see both these people, and then I'll call around at your house. You'll be
in, will you, after dinner?"
"Yes."
They slipped on their overcoats and went out into the cold February day, Cowperwood back to
his Third Street office, Steger to see Shannon and Jaspers.
Chapter XLIX
The business of arranging Cowperwood's sentence for Monday was soon disposed of through
Shannon, who had no personal objection to any reasonable delay.
Steger next visited the county jail, close on to five o'clock, when it was already dark. Sheriff
Jaspers came lolling out from his private library, where he had been engaged upon the work of
cleaning his pipe.
"How are you, Mr. Steger?" he observed, smiling blandly. "How are you? Glad to see you. Won't
you sit down? I suppose you're round here again on that Cowperwood matter. I just received
word from the district attorney that he had lost his case."
"That's it, Sheriff," replied Steger, ingratiatingly. "He asked me to step around and see what you
wanted him to do in the matter. Judge Payderson has just fixed the sentence time for Monday
morning at ten o'clock. I don't suppose you'll be much put out if he doesn't show up here before
Monday at eight o'clock, will you, or Sunday night, anyhow? He's perfectly reliable, as you
know." Steger was sounding Jaspers out, politely trying to make the time of Cowperwood's
arrival a trivial matter in order to avoid paying the hundred dollars, if possible. But Jaspers was
not to be so easily disposed of. His fat face lengthened considerably. How could Steger ask him
such a favor and not even suggest the slightest form of remuneration?
"It's ag'in' the law, Mr. Steger, as you know," he began, cautiously and complainingly. "I'd like to
accommodate him, everything else being equal, but since that Albertson case three years ago
we've had to run this office much more careful, and--"
"Oh, I know, Sheriff," interrupted Steger, blandly, "but this isn't an ordinary case in any way, as
you can see for yourself. Mr. Cowperwood is a very important man, and he has a great many
things to attend to. Now if it were only a mere matter of seventy-five or a hundred dollars to
satisfy some court clerk with, or to pay a fine, it would be easy enough, but--" He paused and
looked wisely away, and Mr. Jaspers's face began to relax at once. The law against which it
was ordinarily so hard to offend was not now so important. Steger saw that it was needless to
introduce any additional arguments.
"It's a very ticklish business, this, Mr. Steger," put in the sheriff, yieldingly, and yet with a slight
whimper in his voice. "If anything were to happen, it would cost me my place all right. I don't like
to do it under any circumstances, and I wouldn't, only I happen to know both Mr. Cowperwood
and Mr. Stener, and I like 'em both. I don' think they got their rights in this matter, either. I don't
mind making an exception in this case if Mr. Cowperwood don't go about too publicly. I wouldn't
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