The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-19

1nVISfble, would have seen sour smile wrinkle upon the fuH face of the club gossip.
 t1t wasn't necessary. If he or the senator wanted to sue us for libel we could prove every word that was said. And 1t got him-got him right in the solar plexus. If you don't see some fireworks within the, next few days | miss my guess and lose my ante.' F On the other hand, if Evan had nn- gered a few minutes longer on the sta-1 ton platform he would have marked Vice President McVfckar crossing to the carriage stand, followed by the private car porter bearing innpedi- menta. At the carriage rank the vice president climbed heavily into the senator's roadster, which seemed to have been arranged for in advance, and was whir1ed stormi1y up to the Inter-Mountafn, where he traced his i1legib1e name in the great guest book two minutes after Blount, still anx- ious for the comfort of Professor An ners and the serene eyed maid, had gone up in the elevator with them to see that the rooms to which they had been assigned were all that they should be.
 Coming down a few minutes later to give the several luggage checks to the hotel porter, Blount missed another incident which might have sent him back suddenly to his problem and it's unsettled condition When MT. Mo Vickar turned away from the clerks desk it was to shake hands perfume torily with the owner of the fast road ster.
 "'We1l, senator,'s he said, with a. cer-a tain dogged emphasis, ''I'm here. Let's, find place where we can Hail it out.'' And together they entered an elevator, which, as chance would have it, pass ed, in ascending, the car in which the younger BIount was coming down.
 It was to the senator's suit that the two opposing field commanders made their way when their car reached the fourth floor. In the senator's sitting room MeVickar dragged a chair over to one of the windows which com handed a view of the Lost River mountains and dropped into 1t mas- siveIy.
 'I suppose we may cut out the pre- hmfnaries and come to the point at once" he began "Ackerton wired me that you had definitely announced your son as a candidate for the attorney generalship. Have you?''
 The senator was opening a box of cigars, and his reply savored of good natured irony.
 '"The primaries do the nominating in this state, Hardwick. Didn't you know that?" he asked mildly.
 "See here, BIount, I've come 5000 miles to thrash this thing out with you, and I'm not in the humor to spar for an opening. Do you mean to run your son or not? That is a plain, ques- ton, and I'd like a plain answer"
 "I told you two weeks ago what I meant to do, McVickar, but you wouldn't believe me. I'll say it again if you want to hear it.''
 "And told you two weeks ago that we couldn't stand for it; that you might name your own price for an aI-i ternattve''
 ''Yes, and I told you my price, if, you happen to remember
 '1 know. You said you wanted us to turn everything over to the reform CTS and take our chances on a clean administration. Naturally we are not going to do any such utopian thing. What want to know now is what it is going to cost us to get your consent to do the practical and possible thing''
 Want to buy me outright this time,
  gently.
 "We"-Nfcvickar was going to say, 'fwe bought you before,'' but he changed it to a less offensive form 'sWe have had no difficulty in arriving at some sem lole and practical conclu- stons in ths past, Blount, and we shouldn't have now. We can't let you have your son for attorney general. That's out of the question. If you put your son in as public prosecutor you can have but one object in view-you mean to squeeze us till the blood runs. We're willing to discount that object before the fact"
 "So you have said before a number of times and in a number of different ways" was the mild counter sugges- tion.
 q shan't say it many more times, David. You're pushing me too far"
 What will you say thenT"
 ''Just this-if you won't meet me halfway, if you insist upon a fight, I'll light you with any weapons can get hold of"
 You've said that in other cam pa1gns, Hardwick, and in the end you've always been like the possum that offered to come down out of the tree if the man wouldn't shoot"
 ''I'l1 hand you another proverb to go with that one,' snapped the man in the chair by the window. 'fTi1e pitch CT that goes often to the well is sure to be broken at last. You've got a joint in your ArmoP now, Blount. You've always been able to laugh at publicity before. Can you stand it now P
 'T reckon I'll have to stand it if you buy 1p 9 few newgRapeEg. as you