n and she--went to him. I returned to
Lafferton. It was daylight before I had it out with myself."

"Dave! I thought I knew you better than any of them. It's been a purty
hard test, but you won't let it spile your life?"

"No, I won't, Uncle Barnabas. I owe it to you, if not to myself, to go
straight ahead as you have mapped it out for me."

"Bless you, Dave! You're the right stuff!"

PART THREE

CHAPTER I

In January David took his seat in the House of Representatives, of
which he was the youngest member. It was not intended by that august
body that he should take any role but the one tacitly conceded to him
of making silver-tongued oratory on the days when the public would
crowd the galleries to hear an all-important measure, the "Griggs
Bill," discussed. The committee were to give him the facts and the
general line of argument, and he was to dress it up in his fantastic
way. They were entirely willing that he should have the applause from
the public as well as the credit of the victory; all they cared for
was the certainty of the passage of the bill.

David's cool, lawyer-like mind saw through all these manipulations and
machinations even if he were only a political tenderfoot. As other
minor measures came up he voted for or against them as his better
judgment dictated, but all his leisure hours were devoted to the
investigation and study of the one big bill which was to be rushed
through at the end of the session. He pored over the status of the
law, found out the policies and opinions of other states on the
subject, and listened attentively to all arguments, but he never took
part in the discussions and he was very guarded in giving an
expression of his views, an attitude which pleased the promoters of
the bill until it began to occur to them that his caution came from
penetration into their designs and, perhaps, from intent to thwart
them.

"He has ketched on," mournfully stated an old-timer from the third
district. "I'm allers mistrustful of these young critters. They are
sure to balk on the home stretch."

"Well, one good thing," grinned a city member, "it breaks their
record, and they don't get another entry."

David had made a few short speeches on some of the bills, and those
who had read in the papers of the wonderful powers of oratory of the
young member from the eleventh flocked to hear him. They were
disappointed. His speeches were brief, forceful, and logical, but
entirely barren of