"I might be induced to run, since you put it so strongly," said Danvers, with a lightness that did not conceal from either of his friends the depth of his feeling.
"Thank you, Phil."
Danvers took the thin, nervous hand extended to him, and held it with a grasp that sent courage into the heart of Judge Latimer. It was a hand that had guided bucking bronchos and held lassoed steers, and the man weary with life's battles knew that a friend had come to his aid who would blench at no enemy.
"Do you need any more men?" inquired Danvers, with a tone of assurance and natural leadership that amazed them both.
"Do we need them? Can you produce any more? That is the question," said Latimer.
"There's always O'Dwyer, of course!" laughed Danvers.
"Is he as devoted as ever?" inquired Latimer.
"The same old worshipper," declared the doctor. "And, by George! now you speak of it, he wouldn't make a bad representative!"
The three men talked over the situation and planned a brief campaign, sending Arthur Latimer home, cheered and strengthened. Nevertheless, after they had said good-bye at the station, the doctor turned to Danvers with a heavy sigh.
"Latimer's heart is in bad condition. He's going to have trouble with it. And the nervous strain he lives under so constantly is more than I can reckon with. If he could rest at home—but I know how it was when they lived at Fort Benton!"