Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-10
BY ALBERT PAYSON TERIIUNE,

And there's enough Of 1t for two. So L"
II congratulate you on your success. .
said the girl neryously. Here is my cor
ner. I must hurry back. I've a long
evening: work to"
"Anicei"
"Good-byeH'
'You must hear me. l."
Hello Miss Lanier! Parieying with the
enemy, eh? Come. come, that isn't playing
square. Evening, Standish!'
Caleb Conover, crossing the street from
the side entrance Of his own grounds had
confronted the two before they noted his
approach. Looking from one to the other.
he grinned amusedly
Tive heard there was more than one leak
in our camp" he went on, but l never
s'posed this was it.
Trembling with confusion. perhaps with
some deeper emotion. Anice nevertheless
answered coolly:
81 hope my absence hasn't delayed any
of your work? 1 was on my way back,
when you --- 49, 49,
Now look at that" exclaimed Caleb
with genuine admiration. Here's my hated
enemy as red and ratified as if I'd caught
him stuffing ballot-boxes or cheering Tor
Conover! And the lady in the case is as
cool as cucumbers. and she don't bat an
eye. Standish, she's seven more kinds or a
man than you are, or ever will be, Tor an
your big shoulders and bigger line OF talk
No use askin' you In, 1 s'pose? No? Then
maybe I'll drop around to your meeting this
evening. I'd a come before, but 1t al
ways makes me bashful to hear myseif
1t was late that evening when Give
reached his rooms, for a few brief hours OF
rest before setting forth on his tour of the
state. He was tired out discouraged, mis-
been the drearist sort of fiasco Scarcely
had the opening address begun and the
crowded house warmed up to the occasion,
when every light in the building had been
switched off.
Inquiry showed that a break had &C.
Cured in the gas mains which could not be
remedied until morning. Candles and lamps
were hurriedly sent for. Meantime. though
certain confusion followed the plunging
of the place into darkness, the crowd had
been, on the whole, orderly. In spite OF
this, the chief of police, with twenty re-
serves coming on the scene, had ordered
Standish civily enough to dismiss the au-
dience. Then the policemen had filed up on
the stage, illumining it by their bulls eye
lanterns, and clustered ominously about the
speakers.
In response to Gives angry protest, the
chief had simply reiterated his order, ad-
ding that his department was responsible
the crowd showed an inclination to riot
Nor could the arm Of the law be shaken
from this stand. The audience, during the
colloquy between Standish and the chief
catcall or shrill whistle had risen from
the darkened auditorium. At each of these
sounds the police had gripped their night
sticks and glanced with fine apprehension
at their leader for commands
The upshot of the matter had been the
forced dismissal of the spectators. Stand
ish had secuted Ansels suggestion that the
whole catastrophe was a ruse of Conovers,
until, as he walked down the dark aisle to-
ward the door, he heard a policeman whis-
per-
II was waitin' for the chief to give some
of us the tip to pinch him."
AN let him make a noise like mar
tyre" grunted second voice easily recog-
nized as Billy Shevlins. You must think
the boss is as balmy in the belfry as you
broke If he'd
The rest of the reply had been lost
No other disengaged hall could be found
in the vicinity: and the meeting from which
Give had expected so much had gone by
the board. He walked home in a daze of
chagrin. How could he hope to fight a
man who employed such weapons; who
ment; who thus early in the campaign
showed plainly he would stop at nothing
in beating his opponent?
Then the young candidates teeth clenched
tight, and the sullen grit that for so many
centuries has carried the bulldog race of
yellow haired strong jawed Anglo-Saxons
to victory against hopeless odds came to his
aid He shook his big shoulders as If
his rooms and switched on the electric
light.
On his study table lay a special delivery
letter. neatly typewriter, as was the single
glanced at the bottom Of the page. There
was no signature. Then he read
1.-The date for the various county conven-
tons has not been formally set. 1t Is I'M
Instead, the caucus will be held in three of
the eight counties next Saturday. The
machines men know this. The leagues
don't. 1t will be sprung as surprise. with
two days notice instead of the customary
seven. This will keep many Of the leagues
! people from attending. At the Bowden and
Jericho caucuses kilograms will be received
saying you have withdrawn.
AT Matawan and Haldane the regular
delegates will be notified to meet at the
town halls. While they are waiting out
side the locked front doors, the county
chairman and his own crowd will step in
elect their delegates. Floaters will be
brought into several counties. In Wills
county the chairman will fail to hear the
names of your delegates. Have your
manager arrange for the Willis men to bolt
at the right time. Force the state COM
mittee at once to declare the date for the
county conventions. Notify the leagues
men at Matawan and Haldane Of the back
door trick, and have the telegraph opera
tors at Jericho and Bowden warned not to
receive or transmit any fake message OF
your withdrawal.
ION your state tour you will find news
papers closed to your speeches and adver-
tisements, and a number OF the halls en-
gagged before you get to the town. Ar
range for injunctions restraining the papers
from barring your notices, and have some
one 60 ahead of you to secure halls. And
arrange for police protection to break up
rodyism at your meetings."
Give Standish read and re-read this re-
markable epistle. That 1t had come from
the Conover camp he could not doubt He
had heard, before Caleb's hint of the pre-
vious afternoon, that there was q certain
discomfort and vague rumor OF treachery
in more than one of the multifarious
branches Of the boss business and political
interests. For the unexpected strength de-
veloped by the Civic League and the elo-
uuence of its candidate had shaken divers
OF the enemy's less resolute followers. and
more than one Of these might readily seek
to curry future favor with the winning side
by casting just such an anchor to wind
ward.
In any case, there was the letter. It's
authors identity. for the moment. was Of
NO great matter.
"Anonymous! unused Standish, cycling
the -missive with strong distaste. rs 1t q
trick of Conover's or a bit Of treachery on
| the part Of one of the men he trusts7 In
| either case, there's only one course white
man can take with q thing Of this kind.
Picking up the letter he crumpeled 1t Into