"Yes, certainly we will help Mr. Carlton."
And after that they both withdrew. As the door closed Mr. Carlton turned to the boy and said:
"Those are good people to know, Barry. Both the Congressman and the clerk have considerable influence in legislation and they have the power to either help or hurt you."
"I suppose they have," responded Barry.
He longed to tell his friend of the sign that had passed between the two men, but he was afraid that if he mentioned it, Mr. Carlton might think that he was very presumptuous. Besides that, he thought that possibly he might have been mistaken. However, he said finally, with a great deal of diffidence:
"I can't say, Mr. Carlton, that I am very much attracted by either of those men."
"Well, Barry," said the Congressman, a little coldly, "you must take people as you find them in this world, and not as you think they should be."
All the same, Barry did not relish the recollections of the wink that had passed between the two men.