et. Uptown hardly knew that he was again in Cadgers, and it knew
nothing whatever of his doings.

"I wonder why Asbury is so quiet," they said to one another. "It isn't
like him to be quiet." And they felt vaguely uneasy about him.

So many people had begun to say, "Well, he was a mighty good fellow
after all."

Mr. Bingo expressed the opinion that Asbury was quiet because he was
crushed, but others expressed doubt as to this. There are calms and
calms, some after and some before the storm. Which was this?

They waited a while, and, as no storm came, concluded that this must be
the after-quiet. Bingo, reassured, volunteered to go and seek
confirmation of this conclusion.

He went, and Asbury received him with an indifferent, not to say,
impolite, demeanour.

"Well, we're glad to see you back, Asbury," said Bingo patronisingly. He
had variously demonstrated his inability to lead during his rival's
absence and was proud of it. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to work."

"That's right. I reckon you'll stay out of politics."

"What could I do even if I went in?"

"Nothing now, of course; but I didn't know----"

He did not see the gleam in Asbury's half shut eyes. He only marked his
humility, and he went back swelling with the news.

"Completely crushed--all the run taken out of him," was his report.

The black district believed this, too, and a sullen, smouldering anger
took possession of them. Here was a good man ruined. Some of the people
whom he had helped in his former days--some of the rude, coarse people
of the low quarter who were still sufficiently unenlightened to be
grateful--talked among themselves and offered to get up a demonstration
for him. But he denied them. No, he wanted nothing of the kind. It would
only bring him into unfavourable notice. All he wanted was that they
would always be his friends and would stick by him.

They would to the death.

There were again two factions in Cadgers. The school-master could not
forget how once on a time he had been made a tool of by Mr. Bingo. So he
revolted against his rule and set himself up as the leader of an
opposing clique. The fight had been long and strong, but had ended with
odds slightly in Bingo's favour.

But Mr. Morton did not despair. As the first of January and Emancipation
Day approached, he arrayed his hosts, and the fight for supremacy became
fiercer than ever. The school-teacher is giving you a pretty hard
brought the school