Railroad being so
rich!), would have opposed the bill if they had felt sufficiently sure of
themselves to cope with such veterans as Letchworth. Many of these had
allowed themselves to be won over or cowed by the oratory which had
crushed Krebs.

Nor did the Ribblevale people--be it recorded--scruple to fight fire with
fire. Their existence, of course, was at stake, and there was no public
to appeal to. A part of the legal army that rushed to the aid of our
adversaries spent the afternoon and most of the night organizing all
those who could be induced by one means or another to reverse their
sentiments, and in searching for the few who had grievances against the
existing power. The following morning a motion was introduced to
reconsider; and in the debate that followed, Krebs, still defiant, took
an active part. But the resolution required a two-thirds vote, and was
lost.

When the battle was shifted to the Senate it was as good as lost. The
Judiciary Committee of the august body did indeed condescend to give
hearings, at which the Ribblevale lawyers exhausted their energy and
ingenuity without result with only two dissenting votes the bill was
calmly passed. In vain was the Governor besieged, entreated,
threatened,--it was said; Mr. Trulease had informed protesters--so
Colonel Varney gleefully reported--that he had "become fully convinced of
the inherent justice of the measure." On Saturday morning he signed it,
and it became a law....

Colonel Varney, as he accompanied me to the train, did not conceal his
jubilation.

"Perhaps I ought not to say it, Mr. Paret, but it couldn't have been done
neater. That's the art in these little affairs, to get 'em runnin' fast,
to get momentum on 'em before the other party wakes up, and then he can't
stop 'em." As he shook hands in farewell he added, with more gravity:
"We'll see each other often, sir, I guess. My very best regards to Mr.
Watling."

Needless to say, I had not confided to him the part I had played in
originating House Bill No. 709, now a law of the state. But as the train
rolled on through the sunny winter landscape a sense of well-being, of
importance and power began to steal through me. I was victoriously
bearing home my first scalp,--one which was by no means to be
despised.... It was not until we reached Rossiter, about five o'clock,
that I was able to get the evening newspapers. Such was the perfection of
the organization of which I might now call myself a