“It is.”
“I mean, an indisputable, irrevocable fact,—something not to be denied or escaped from?”
“Just so; a fact not to be denied or escaped from.”
“It must come through me, Sewell, mind that. I took charge of the negotiation two years ago, and no one shall step in and rob me of my credit. I have had all the worry and fatigue of the transaction, and I insist, if there be any glory in success, it shall be mine.”
“You shall have all the glory, as you call it. What I aspire to is infinitely less brilliant.”
“You want a place—hard enough to find one—at least to find something worth having. You 'll want something as good as the Registrarship, eh?”
“No; I'll not pester you with my claims. I'm not in love with official life. I doubt if I am well fitted for it.”
“You want a seat in the House,—is that it?”
“Not exactly,” said Sewell, laughing; “though there is a good stroke of business to be done in private bills and railway grants. My want is the simplest of all wants,—money.”
“Money! But how am I to give you money? Out of what fund is it to come? You don't imagine we live in the old days of secret-service funds, with unlimited corruption to back us, do you?”