Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-12-31
CHAPTER ] ] / s,llI;V,,.
TIheclas.h.

aington at Ell ght. But, being "a woman
or else thinking I'm amind.reade lei. she;
doesn't say whether It II be eight this;
evening. cor eight Il tomorrow morning,
Il Eve been looking everywhere, since I
got ii, TO hnd Mark and ~ Excuse mel
sSss sx-GovernorRo Rob ertson was crossing
the corridor toward them and II Tom
hurried to meet him with the tele-
gram. obertson's cold face. as he
ssSread the dispatch. softened in la way
that would have amazed his political
foes. .$ s,$3 $ts5
GOD! Z. ne said emphatic ally. But
Why doesn't she tell b whether she
means tonight or In the morning?
4 Isn't that just like Grace ?"''s
not call her up on long dis
5s5tance?. sugg ested Tom IT she'll be
here Sat eight tonight she'll have left
New York. long before now. And If
4 she isn't coming till morning q 4 s5
Good idea SRI assented Robertson,
starting for the telephone alcove
s"sometimes you actually show a CLEAN
ssof human intellig ence, Tom, IN spite
.sof the way 8you,Y taken to incoming
around lately. Ell - ii
He stopped short, and the unwonted
look OF happiness froze from his face.
& He and Tom. on their way to the al
" cove, we're passing the short flight OF
y steps that led down from the outer
foyer to- the corridor. q s*5.l 4; q
And saa man was coming down those
steps. sA tall man. whose shoulders
were eli ghtfy stopped whose dark hair
was beginning to grizzle at the tenn
Il ples, "a whose swarthy and somewhat
\ heavy face was lined and hardened
4 BY marks that; did not seem to have
come from times brush alone.
II AT sight Of him Robertson halted.
IL His face darkened and his hands In.
voluntarily c1ench ed::S The newcomer
glanced fxcross and his eye met the
Y ex,goyernors r. lowering gaze; then
passed scarelessly on to Tom. Ct N. NJ
Good evening. gentlemen" he said
Good evening, Mr.. Stand ish. an
tssWeredI Tom. Il. ss33s
Robertson barely returned the 9TH
4 @er's nod. But az $standish made as
though to pass on. he took an impnl-
4 sive step toward the insurgent chief.
Well, standish, !" q he observed
q Steadying his voice by palpa BILE ef
Il fort into some semblance Of ciyiltty,
understand the fights on for to-
Il Nigh n ia:
Is es. 4! answered Standish, pausing
81 q though merely to wait until the
other should move from his path. !" An
II; all-nfght session, probably z
Again, NJ with o. nod, he started to-
ward the. dining room. But once more
Il Mark Robertson's voice checked him
Did It; ever occur to you, Standish," :
EN- nded Mark, that BY OPP osing the
III Mullins bill you are betraying the par;
Il tys that elected you n n,
Standish regarded him a moment
with som Der eyes from which all per
I sonal emotions seemed long since to
& have been burned away. Then he said
a In the heavy measured voice that had
Is for years been characteristic OF. him:
Did It ever occur to you, Robert.
son. that BY trying to force the Null.
Inns bill through, you are betraying
the people who voted for you ~
"Oh.S be sensible q urged Robertson;
and Tom, who knew his brother-in-law
noted the mighty effort with which the
q attempt TAT Cancellation was kept up.
both politicians. There's no
sense In spouting noble sentiments for
my benefit Keep them for your par.
"a sons, was promised the speaker
H ship And to get 1t away from me you
turned insurgent. The. Mullins bill
tonight's battle cans nothing to you
B but q test Of power. There's no prin-
is ciple involved. II you can kill the bill
y 1T will prove only you're strong
enough to depose our speaker and put
yourself in his chair. That's your
game. Why pose as a reformer?"
# You're quite wrong" said standish.
with certain irritating patience. Il
II haven't any pose. II had shonld
not bother to display it for your bene-
1T. I am not hypocrite enough to say
sS don't want every legitimate political
reward / can earn. Who doesn't? But
that not why I'm fighting this Mullins
bill of yours. And at heart you know
4 At isn't. I'm trying to kill this bill
4 because It is an offense to the coun-
try's nostrils. The bill is innocent
\ enough on its face. Van Dyke and the
rest saw to that, l suppose. But when