Viewing Melville Davisson Post: "The Intriguer" (1912).Melville Davisson Post: "The Intriguer" (1912).To end a protracted strike by coal miners that will soon bankrupt a huge railroad, Randolph Mason must negotiate the resignation of the U. S. Marshall whose condition for leaving office is to be granted control over the railroad. As he formulates his plan to outwit the Marshall, Mason is perplexed by the sudden appearance of the daughter of the magnate who owns the railroad. She pleads with Mason to not intervene, to let the fight between her father and the Marshall be "fair." Mason brushes her off but as she leaves his office, she promises that "since he has so ruthlessly taken from my fingers the weapons of a man, I shall meet him with the weapons of a woman." Mason's "weapon" is his superior knowledge of the law, unencumbered by ethical considerations. Just as Mason planned, the Marshall resigned, received nothing in return, and control of the railroad remained with the tycoon. But to his surprise, the drama did not end there. The cold, unemotional, devious and self-confident "Corrector of Destinies" could not envision the power of love.
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