had
arisen against him,--forces which he knew in his secret soul he could
not combat, because they were the irresistible forces of things not
material. All his life he had met and successfully conquered forces
of another kind, and put down with a strong hand merely physical
encroachments.

Mr. Flint's nature was not an introspective one, and if he had tried,
he could not have accounted for his feelings. He was angry--that was
certain. But he measured the six feet and more of Austen Vane with his
eye, and in spite of himself experienced the compelled admiration of one
fighting man for another. A thought, which had made itself vaguely felt
at intervals in the past half hour, shot suddenly and poignantly through
Mr. Flint's mind what if this young man, who dared in spite of every
interest to oppose him, should in the apparently inevitable trend of
things, become...?

Mr. Flint rose and went to the window, where he stood silent for a
space, looking out, played upon by unwonted conflicting thoughts and
emotions. At length, with a characteristic snap of the fingers, he
turned abruptly. Austen Vane was still standing beside the desk. His
face was still square, determined, but Mr. Flint noted curiously that
the anger was gone from his eyes, and that another--although equally
human--expression had taken its place,--a more disturbing expression, to
Mr. Flint.

"It appears, Mr. Vane," he said, gathering up the papers and placing
them in the boxes, "it appears that we are able to agree upon one point,
at least--Hilary Vane."

"Mr. Flint," said Austen, "I did not come up here with any thought
of arguing with you, of intruding any ideas--I may hold, but you have
yourself asked me one question which I feel bound to answer to the best
of my ability before I go. You have asked me what, in my opinion, would
happen if you ceased--as you express it--to take an interest in the
political, affairs of this State.

"I believe, as firmly as I stand here, that the public opinion which
exists to-day would protect your property, and I base that belief on the
good sense of the average American voter. The public would protect you
not only in its own interests, but from an inherent sense of fair play.
On the other hand, if you persist in a course of political manipulation
which is not only obsolete but wrong, you will magnify the just charges
against you, and the just wrath; you will put ammunition into the
hands of the agitators you rightly co