in its Irish brogue, "we deny any assignment of the original
contract. The Western Supply Company is a corporation name, a
shield and fence of thieves. The plaintiffs here can claim no
assignment, because they themselves constitute the company. It
has been decided that a man cannot steal his own money, neither
can he assign from himself to himself. We shall prove by a
credible witness that The Western Supply Company is but another
name for John C. Fields, Oliver Radcliff, and the portly
gentleman who was known a year ago as 'Honest' John Griscom, one
of his many aliases. If to these names you add a few moneyed
confederates, you have The Western Supply Company, one and the
same. We shall also prove that for years past these same
gentlemen have belonged to a ring, all brokers in government
contracts, and frequently finding it necessary to use assumed
names, generally that of a corporation."

Scanning the document in his hand, Sutton continued: "Our motive
in selling and accepting money on these herds in Dodge demands a
word of explanation. The original contract calls for five million
pounds of beef on foot to be delivered at Fort Buford. My client
is a sub-contractor under that award. There are times, your
honor, when it becomes necessary to resort to questionable means
to attain an end. This is one of them. Within a week after my
client had given bonds for the fulfillment of his contract, he
made the discovery that he was dealing with a double-faced set of
scoundrels. From that day until the present moment,
secret-service men have shadowed every action of the plaintiffs.
My client has anticipated their every move. When beeves broke in
price from five to seven dollars a head, Honest John, here, made
his boasts in Washington City over a champagne supper that he and