ant to
keep on with a losing fight if there was any way to put up a winner,
though of course we all recognized that Mr. Harkless would want us to
support Kedge to the death, and that's what he'd do if he was on the
ground. But Miss Sherwood mentioned that she'd had one note since his
last illness began, and he'd entrusted her and her associates on the
paper with the entire policy, and she would take the responsibility for
anything we determined on. Mr. Smith said the only thing to do was
to give up Halloway and get a man that could beat McCune; Kedge would
recognize it himself, that that was the only thing to do, and he could
retire gracefully. Miss Sherwood said she was still more or less a
stranger, and asked what man we could find who was strong enough to do
it by popularity alone and who was also a man we wanted; somebody that
had worked a good deal, but had never had any office. It was to such a
man she could promise the 'Herald's' support, as for a time the paper
was being operated almost independently, it might be said, of Mr.
Harkless. Well, I expect it came to all of us at the same time, but it
was Mr. Bence here that said it first."

Mr. Bence was the gentleman who had walked about saying "A glorious
conception," and he now thrust one hand into his breast and extended the
other in a wide gesture, and looked as impressive as a very young man
with white eyebrows can look.

"The name of Harkless," he said abruptly, "the name of Harkless will
sweep the convention like the fire of a Western prairie; the name of
Harkless will thunder over their astonished heads and strike a peal
of joy bells in every home in the district; it will re-echo in the
corridors of posterity and teem with prosperity like a mighty river.
The name of Harkless will reverberate in that convention hall, and they
shall sit ashamed."

"Harkless!" exclaimed the judge. "Why didn't some one think of that long
ago?"

"Then you approve?" asked Keating.

"Yes, I think I do!"

The Amo man shook hands with him. "We'll swim out," he exclaimed. "It
will be the same everywhere. A lot of the old crowd themselves will be
swept along with us when we make our nomination. People feel that that
Cross-Roads business ought never to have been allowed to happen,
and they'd like to make it up to him some way. There are just two
difficulties, Halloway and Mr. Harkless himself. It's a sure thing that
he wouldn't come out against Kedge and that he'd refuse to let