"I am not the leader of the party," Tallente reminded him.
"From a parliamentary point of view you are," was the impatient protest. "Dartrey is a dreamer. He might even have dreamed away his opportunities if you hadn't come along. Miller would never have handled the House as you have. Miller was made to create factions. You were made to coalesce, to smooth over difficulties, to bring men of opposite points of view into the same camp. You are a genius at it, Tallente. Six months ago I was only afraid of the Democrats. Now I dread them. Shall I tell you what it is that worries me most?"
"If you think it wise."
"Your absence of programme. Why don't you say what you want to do—give us some idea of how far you are going to carry your tenets? Are we to have the anarchy of Bolshevists or the socialism of Marx,—a red flag republic or a classical dictatorship?"
"We are not out for anarchy, at all events," Tallente assured him, "nor for revolutions in the ordinary sense of the word."
"You mean to upset the Constitution?"
"Speaking officially, I do not know. Speaking to you as a fellow politician, I should say that sooner or later some changes are desirable."
"You'll never get away from party government."
"Perhaps not, but I dare say we can find machinery to prevent the house of Commons being used for a debating society."
Horlock, whose sense of humour had never been entirely crushed by the exigencies of political leadership, suddenly grinned.