nator. Norton
believed that his work for Langdon would win him the family's
gratitude and thus further his ambition to marry Carolina, the
planter's oldest daughter, whose beauty made her the recipient of many
attentions.

A complacent gleam shone in Norton's eyes as they swept over the
fertile acres of the plantation. He thought of the material interest
he might one day have in them if his suit for the hand of Carolina
progressed favorably. Suddenly his reverie was interrupted by the
voice of young Randolph Langdon, a spirited lad in his early twenties,
who had just been made plantation manager, by his father.

"Well, how is the honorable to-day?" said Randolph, approaching from
the doorway. "I didn't think a Congressman could be spared from
Washington but rarely, especially when the papers say the country
needs such a lot of saving."

"Oh, this 'saving the country' talk goes all right in the story
books," replied Norton, who exercised considerable influence over the
youth through a long acquaintanceship and by frequently taking him
into his confidence, "but this country can take pretty good care of
itself. In Congress we representatives put the job of saving it over
on the Senate, and the Senate hands back the job to us. So what's
everybody's business isn't anybody's; a fine scheme so long as we have
a President who keeps his hands off and doesn't--"

"But how about the speeches and the bills?" broke in Randolph. "I
thought--"

"Yes, yes; to be sure," the Congressman quickly added. "Nearly all of
us introduce these so-called reform bills. When they're printed at
government expense we send copies, carried free by the Post-office
Department, to our constituents, and when we allow the bills to die in
some committee we can always blame the committee. But if there's a big
fight by our constituents over the bill we let it pass the House, but
arrange to kill it in the Senate. Then we do the same thing for the
Senators. Like in every other business, my boy," continued Norton as
he led the way into the house, "it's a case of 'you tickle me and I'll
tickle you' in politics. And don't let any one fool you about the
speeches either. They are pretty things to mail to the voters, but all
the wise boys in Washington know they aren't meant seriously. It's
all play acting, and there are better actors in the Senate than Henry
Irving or Edwin Booth ever were."

"I don't think my father looks at things in the way you do, Charlie.