n;
and if, as they said, he had been a pioneer, education and a knowledge of
railroads and the world had helped him. Whereupon, adding tactfully that
he desired the evening to himself to prepare for the battle of the morrow
(of which he foresaw he was to bear the burden), he extricated himself
from his admirers and made his way unostentatiously out of a side door
into his sleigh. For the man who had kindled a fire--the blaze of which
was to mark an epoch--he was exceptionally calm. Not so the only visitor
whom Waters had instructions to admit that evening.

"Say, you hit it just right," cried the visitor, too exultant to take off
his overcoat. "I've been down through the Pelican, and there ain't been
such excitement since Snow and Giddings had the fight for United States
senator in the '80's. The place is all torn up, and you can't get a room
there for love or money. They tell me they've been havin' conferences
steady in Number Seven since the session closed, and Hilary Vane's sent
for all the Federal and State office-holders to be here in the morning
and lobby. Botcher and Jane and Bascom are circulatin' like hot water,
tellin' everybody that because they wouldn't saddle the State with a debt
with your bills you turned sour on 'em, and that you're more of a
corporation and railroad man than any of 'em. They've got their machine
to working a thousand to the minute, and everybody they have a slant on
is going into line. One of them fellers, a conductor, told me he had to
go with 'em. But our boys ain't idle, I can tell you that. I was in the
back of the gallery when you spoke up, and I shook 'em off the leash
right away."

Mr. Crewe leaned back from the table and thrust his hands in his pockets
and smiled. He was in one of his delightful moods.

"Take off your overcoat, Tooting," he said; "you'll find one of my best
political cigars over there, in the usual place."

"Well, I guessed about right, didn't I?" inquired Mr. Tooting, biting off
one of the political cigars. "I gave you a pretty straight tip, didn't I,
that young Tom Gaylord was goin' to have somebody make that motion
to-day? But say, it's funny he couldn't get a better one than that feller
Harper. If you hadn't come along, they'd have smashed him to pulp. I'll
bet the most surprised man in the State to-night, next to Brush Bascom,
is young Tom Gaylord. It's a wonder he ain't been up here to thank you."

"Maybe he has been," replied Mr. Crewe. "I told Waters