Ragtime Chapter 35 Summary

  • From Younger Brother's journal we learn that the original plan was to take Morgan hostage in order to flush Conklin out. The gang picked the wrong place—Morgan's library instead of his home.
  • J.P. Morgan is not at home, sailing for Rome. His company can't reach him for instructions, so they cordon off the street. A grenade thrown by Younger Brother has left a large hole in the street and blown out windows.
  • The police set up headquarters in a brownstone across the street from the library. The Police Commissioner, Rhinelander Waldo, and the State District Attorney, Charles S. Whitman, are both present. Whitman is thought of as a potential Governor or President.
  • Whitman calls for the architectural plans of the library. A man is sent to the garden next to the library to see if he can tell how many men are in the library. The man is killed when a bomb goes off and Whitman and the police realize the place is mined.