It was Lord John who cut these amenities short by chaffing Stonor for being so enterprising all of a sudden. 'Fancy your motoring out of town to see a supporter on Sunday!'
'I don't know how we ever covered the ground in the old days,' he answered. 'It's no use to stand for your borough any more. The American, you know, he "runs" for Congress. By-and-by we shall all be flying after the thing we want.' He smiled at Jean.
'Sh!' She glanced over her shoulder and spoke low. 'All sorts of irrelevant people here.'
One of them, unable any longer to resist the temptation, was making a second foray into the hall.
'How do you do, Mr. Stonor?' Farnborough stood there holding out his hand.
The great man seemed not to see it, but he murmured, 'How do you do?' and proceeded to share with Lady John his dislike of any means of locomotion except his own legs or those of a horse.
It took a great deal to disconcert Farnborough. 'Some of us were arguing in the smoking-room last night,' he said, 'whether it didn't hurt a candidate's chances going about in a motor.'
As Mr. Stonor, not deigning to reply to this, paused the merest instant in what he was saying to his hostess, Lord John came to the rescue of the audacious young gentleman.
'Yes, we've been hearing a great many stories about the unpopularity of motor-cars—among the class that hasn't got 'em, of course.'
'I'm sure,' Lady John put in, 'you gain more votes by being able to reach so many more of your constituents than we used——'