IN WHICH A MOUSE HELPS A LION

I did not dare communicate my suspicions to my “dear friend” Roebuck. As it was, with each refusal I had seen his confidence in me sink; if he should get an inkling how near to utter disaster I and my candidate were, he would be upon me like a tiger upon its trainer when he slips. I reasoned out my course while we were descending from the fifth “king’s” office to our cab: If the negotiations with the opposition should be successful, I should not get a cent; if they should fail, Wall Street would be frantic to get its contributions into my hand; therefore, the only sane thing to do was to go West, and make such preparations as I could against the worst.

“Let’s go back to the Holland,” said I to Roebuck, in a weary, bored tone. “These people are a waste of time. I’ll start home to-night, and when they see in the morning papers that I’ve left for good, they may come to their senses. But they’ll have to hunt me out. I’ll not go near them again. And when they come dragging themselves to you, don’t forget how they’ve treated us to-day.”

Roebuck was silent, glancing furtively at me now and then, not knowing what to think. “How is it possible to win without them?” he finally said. “This demagogue Scarborough has set the people crazy. I can’t imagine what possesses these men of property with interests throughout the country. They are inviting ruin.”

I smiled. “My dear Roebuck,” I replied, “do you suppose I’m the man to put all my eggs into one basket and that basket Wall Street?”

And I refused to talk any more politics with him. We dined together, I calm and in the best of spirits; we went to a musical farce, and he watched me glumly as I showed my lightness of heart. Then I went alone, at midnight, to the Chicago Express sleeper to lie awake all night staring at the phantoms of ruin that moved in dire panorama before me. In every great affair there is a crisis at which one must stake all upon a single throw. I had staked all upon Wall Street. Without its contributions, Woodruff’s arrangements could not be carried out.

When I descended at the Fredonia station I found De Milt waiting for me. He had news that was indeed news. I shall give it here more consecutively than my impatience for the event permitted him to give it to me.

About ten days before, a paragraph in one of Burbank’s “pilgrimage” speeches had been twisted by the reporter so that it seemed a personal attack upon Scarborough. As Burbank was a stickler for the etiquette of campaigning, he not only sent out a denial and a correction but also directed De Milt to go to Scarborough’s home at Saint X, Indiana, and convey the explanation in a personal message. De Milt arrived at Saint X at eight in the evening. As he was leaving the parlor car he saw a man emerge from its drawing-room, make a hasty descent to the platform, hurriedly engage a station hack and drive away. De Milt had an amazing memory for identities something far rarer than memory merely for faces. He was convinced he knew that man; and being shrewd and quick of thought, he jumped into a trap and told the driver to follow the hack which was just disappearing. A few minutes’ driving and he saw it turn in at a gateway.

“Whose place is that?” he asked.

“The old Gardiner homestead,” was the answer. “President Scarborough lives there.”

De Milt did not discuss this rather premature entitling of Senator Scarborough. He said: “Oh I’ve made a mistake,” descended and sent his trap away. Scarborough’s house was quiet, not a soul about, lights in only a few windows. De Milt strolled in at the open gates and, keeping out of view, made a detour of the gardens, the “lay” of which he could see by the starlight. He was soon in line with the front door his man was parleying with a servant. “Evidently he’s not expected,” thought my chief of publicity.

Soon his man entered. De Milt, keeping in the shadows, moved round the house until he was close under open windows from which came light and men’s voices. Peering through a bush he saw at a table-desk a man whom he recognized as Senator Scarborough. Seated opposite him, with a very uneasy, deprecating expression on his face, was John Thwing, president of the Atlantic and Western System, and Senator Goodrich’s brother-in-law.

De Milt could not hear what Thwing was saying, so careful was that experienced voice to reach only the ears for whom its insinuating subtleties were intended. But he saw a puzzled look come into Scarborough’s face, heard him say: “I don’t think I understand you, John.”

Thwing unconsciously raised his voice in his reply, and De Milt caught “satisfactory assurances from you that these alarming views and intentions attributed to you are false, and they’ll be glad to exert themselves to elect you.”

Scarborough smiled. “Impossible,” he said. “Very few of them would support me in any circumstances.”

“You are mistaken, Hampden,” was Thwing’s answer. “On the contrary, they will

Scarborough interrupted with an impatient motion of his head. “Impossible!” he repeated. “But in any case, why should they send you to me? My speeches speak for themselves. Surely no intelligent man could fancy that my election would mean harm to any legitimate business, great or small, East or West. You’ve known me for twenty years, Thwing. You needn’t come to me for permission to reassure your friends such of them as you can honestly reassure.”

“I have been reassuring them,” Thwing answered. “I tell them that you are about the last man in the world to permit mob rule.”

“Precisely,” said Scarborough. “I purpose to continue to do what I can to break up the mob that is being led on by demagogues disguised as captains of industry and advance agents of prosperity led on to pillage the resources of the country, its riches and its character.”

This ought to have put Thwing on his guard. But, convinced that the gods he worshiped must be the gods of all men, whatever they might profess, he held to his purpose.

“Still, you don’t quite follow me,” he persisted. “You’ve said some very disquieting things against some of my friends of course, they understand that the exigencies of campaigning, the necessity of rousing the party spirit, the

Thwing stopped short; De Milt held his breath. Scarborough was leaning forward, was holding Thwing’s eyes with one of those looks that grip. “Do you mean,” said he, “that, if I’ll assure these friends of yours that I don’t mean what I say, they’ll buy me the presidency?”

“My dear Hampden,” expostulated Thwing, “nothing of the sort. Simply that the campaign fund which Burbank must get to be elected won’t go to him, but will be at the disposal of your national committee. My friends, naturally, won’t support their enemies.”

De Milt, watching Scarborough, saw him lower his head, his face flushing deeply.

“Believe me, Hampden,” continued Thwing, “without our support Burbank is beaten, and you are triumphantly elected not otherwise. But you know politics; I needn’t tell you. You know that the presidency depends upon getting the doubtful element in the doubtful states.”

Scarborough stood, and, without lifting his eyes, said in a voice very different from his strong, clear tones of a few minutes before: “I suppose in this day no one is beyond the reach of insult. I have thought I was. I see I have been mistaken. And it is a man who has known me twenty years and has called me friend, who has taught me the deep meaning of the word shame. The servant will show you the door.” And he left Thwing alone in the room.

I had made De Milt give me the point of his story as soon as I saw its drift. While he was going over it in detail, I was thinking out all the bearings of Scarborough’s refusal upon my plans.

“Has Senator Goodrich seen Governor Burbank yet?” I asked De Milt in a casual tone, when he had told how he escaped unobserved in Thwing’s wake and delivered Burbank’s message the next morning.

“I believe he’s to see him by appointment to-morrow,” replied De Milt.

So my suspicion was well-founded. Goodrich, informed of his brother-in-law’s failure, was posting to make peace on whatever terms he could honeyfugle out of my conciliation-mad candidate.

A few minutes later I shut myself in with the long-distance telephone and roused Burbank from bed and from sleep. “I am coming by the first train to-morrow,” I said. “I thought you’d be glad to know that I’ve made satisfactory arrangements in New York unexpectedly satisfactory.”

“That’s good excellent,” came the reply. I noted an instant change of tone which told me that Burbank had got, by some underground route, news of my failure in New York and had been preparing to give Goodrich a cordial reception.

“If Goodrich comes, James,” I went on, “don’t see him till I’ve seen you.”

A pause, then in a strained voice: “But I’ve given him an appointment at nine to-morrow.”

“Put him off till noon. I’ll be there at eleven. It’s imperative.” That last word with an accent I did not like to use, but knew how to use and when.

Another pause, then: “Very well, Harvey. But we must be careful about him. De Milt has told you how dangerous he is, hasn’t he?”

“Yes how dangerous he tried to be.” I was about to add that Goodrich was a fool to permit any one to go to such a man as Scarborough with such a proposition; but I bethought me of Burbank’s acute moral sensitiveness and how it would be rasped by the implication of his opponent’s moral superiority. “We’re past the last danger, James. That’s all. Sleep sound. Good night.”

“Good night, old man,” was his reply in his pose’s tone for affection. But I could imagine him posing there in his night shirt, the anger against me snapping in his eyes.

On the train the next morning, De Milt, who had evidently been doing a little thinking, said, “I hope you won’t let it out to Cousin James that I told you Goodrich was coming to see him.”

“Certainly not,” I replied, not losing the opportunity to win over to myself one so near to my political ward. “I’m deeply obliged to you for telling me.” And presently I went on: “By the way, has anything been done for you for your brilliant work at Saint X?”

“Oh, that’s all right,” he said, “I guess Cousin James’ll look after me unless he forgets about it.” “Cousin James” had always had the habit of taking favors for granted unless reward was pressed for; and since he had become a presidential candidate, he was inclining more than ever to look on a favor done him as a high privilege which was its own reward.

I made no immediate reply to De Milt; but just before we reached the capital, I gave him a cheque for five thousand dollars. “A little expression of gratitude from the party,” said I. “Your reward will come later.” From that hour he was mine, for he knew now by personal experience that “the boys” were right in calling me appreciative.

It is better to ignore a debt than to pay with words.