at Hamilton Tooting is one of the shrewdest politicians he has
ever known. Isn't Mr. Tooting one of your right-hand men?"

"He could hardly be called that," Mr. Crewe replied. "In fact, I haven't
any what you might call 'right-hand men.' The large problems I have had
to decide for myself. As for Tooting, he's well enough in his way; he
understands the tricks of the politicians--he's played 'em, I guess. He's
uneducated; he's merely a worker. You see," he went on, "one great reason
why I've been so successful is because I've been practical. I've taken
materials as I've found them."

"I see," answered Victoria, turning her head and gazing over the terrace
at the sparkling reaches of the river. She remembered the close of that
wintry afternoon in Mr. Crewe's house at the capital, and she was quite
willing to do him exact justice, and to believe that he had forgotten it
--which, indeed, was the case.

"I want to say," he continued, "that although I have known and--ahem
--admired you for many years, Victoria, what has struck me most forcibly
in your favour has been your open-mindedness--especially on the great
political questions this summer. I have no idea how much you know about
them, but one would naturally have expected you, on account of your
father, to be prejudiced. Sometime, when I have more leisure, I shall go
into them, fully with you. And in the meantime I'll have my secretary
send you the complete list of my speeches up to date, and I know you will
read them carefully."

"You are very kind, Humphrey," she said.

Absorbed in the presentation of his subject (which chanced to be
himself), Mr. Crewe did not observe that her lips were parted, and that
there were little creases around her eyes.

"And sometime," said Mr. Crewe, when all this has blown over a little, I
shall have a talk with your father. He undoubtedly understands that there
is scarcely any question of my election. He probably realizes, too, that
he has been in the--wrong, and that railroad domination must cease--he
has already made several concessions, as you know. I wish you would tell
him from me that when I am governor, I shall make it a point to discuss
the whole matter with him, and that he will find in me no foe of
corporations. Justice is what I stand for. Temperamentally, I am too
conservative, I am too much of a business man, to tamper with vested
interests."

"I will tell him, Humphrey," said Victoria.

Mr. Crewe coughed, and looked a