en touring the constituency drove up to the Tallyn door. Forbes
hurried to the steps to greet the party.

"Hullo, Oliver! A thousand congratulations, old fellow! Never mind the
figures. A win's a win! But I thought you would have been dining and
junketing in Dunscombe to-night. How on earth did you get them to
let you off?"

Oliver's tired countenance smiled perfunctorily as he swung himself down
from the coach. He allowed his hand to be shaken; his lips moved, but
only a husky whisper emerged.

"Lost his voice," Roland Lankester explained. "And so done that we
begged him off from the Dunscombe dinner. He's only fit for bed."

And with a wave of the hand to the company, Marsham, weary and worn,
mounted the steps, and, passing rapidly through the hall, went
up-stairs. Alicia Drake and Lankester followed, pausing in the hall to
talk with Bobbie.

Alicia too looked tired out. She was dressed in a marvellous gown of
white chiffon, adorned with a large rosette of Marsham's
colors--red-and-yellow--and wore a hat entirely composed of red and
yellow roses. The colors were not becoming to her, and she had no air of
happy triumph. Rather, both in her and in Marsham there were strong
signs of suppressed chagrin and indignation.

"Well, that's over!" said Miss Drake, throwing down her gloves on the
billiard-table with a fierce gesture; "and I'm sure neither Oliver nor I
would go through it again for a million of money. How _revolting_ the
lower classes are!"

Lankester looked at her curiously.

"You've worked awfully hard," he said. "I hope you're going to have a
good rest."

"I wouldn't bother about rest if I could pay out some of the people
here," said Alicia, passionately. "I should like to see a few score of
them hanged in chains, _pour encourager les autres_."

So saying, she gathered up her gloves and parasol, and swept up-stairs
declaring that she was too dog-tired to talk.

Bobbie Forbes and Lankester looked at each other.

"It's been really a beastly business!" said Lankester, under his breath.
"Precious little politics in it, too, as far as I could see. The strong
Ferrierites no doubt have held aloof on the score of Marsham's supposed
disloyalty to the great man; though, as far as I can make out, he has
been careful not to go beyond a certain line in his speeches. Anyway,
they have done no work, and a good many of them have certainly
abstained from voting. It is our vote that has gone down; the Tories
have