"Who kin they be?" Abner enquired, watching the car as it disappeared amid a cloud of dust.
"Must be men from the Capital," was the reply. "There's to be an election soon, an' the members are gittin' busy, so I hear."
"An election! Why, I never heard a word about it."
"Oh, you were too busy with other things, Abner, so ye didn't hear. An', besides, ye don't take the Wire, so how kin ye expect to know what's goin' on?"
"When's the 'lection to take place, Zeb?"
"Next month, an' it's goin' to be a hard fight. That railroad business has put the Government in a bad hole."
"So I've heard. Graftin', eh?"
"I never knew of anythin' like it. Why, every one of the whole bunch, from the premier down, has been gittin' his rake-off."
"I know somethin' about it, Zeb. All them fellers who were in with the government bunch got big slices, whether they did any work or not. One man got ten thousand dollars fer whistlin' the right tune, an' another got over a hundred thousand fer winkin' with his left eye at the right instant. Oh, I've heard lots about it."
"An' it's true, Abner. True as the Gospel. An' them same fellers are comin' to you an' me to ask us to re-elect 'em."