The T.L. and M. Railroad is building a new branch which is to extend to Alamogordo, New Mexico. The Widow Crosby owns a strip of eight feet of ground which is absolutely necessary for the railroad to secure. The superintendent of the ...See moreThe T.L. and M. Railroad is building a new branch which is to extend to Alamogordo, New Mexico. The Widow Crosby owns a strip of eight feet of ground which is absolutely necessary for the railroad to secure. The superintendent of the company instructs Bracken, the civil engineer to arrange for the purchase of this ground from the widow and if she won't sell, to bluff her out of it. On submitting his proposition to the widow, she refuses to sell for any consideration. Enraged Bracken secures an axe to chop down the fence post and instructs the surveyors to measure off the distance. O'Brien, a young surveyor, who is acting as an assistant, realizes that the railroad land-shark is not acting the part of a gentleman, and he tries to reason with the widow. Convinced that the widow is in the right, he argues with Bracken who discharges him. Bracken starts to tear down the fence, when he is ordered to stop by the widow. He refuses. The widow shoots. Knowing that the railroad corporation will fight the case, for having one of its employees molested in the performance of his duties, the widow's daughter, deliberately fires a shot into her mother's arm, so that she can enter a plea of self-defense. Written by
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