"Played us for—suckers!" said another man, while a third struck the table with his clenched fist.
"Leslie's right. The straight fact is that we're fooled," he said.
It was significant that nobody had asked the member of the Provincial Legislature to sit down, and he leaned on the arm of a big lounge as though he required support, and blinked at them.
"Well," he said, "when I first saw you about it I was willing to do what I could, but on going further into the thing I found it couldn't be considered quite in line with the interests of the country."
One of them laughed aloud, sardonically, and Merril's face contorted into an unpleasant smile.
"It's rather a pity you didn't make sure of that before you took what we offered you," he said.
The baited man turned to them appealingly. "You know what I promised. I would support the bridge-building and road-making policy as long as I considered it in line with the interests of the country."
The man who had struck the table shook his fist at him. "—— the interests of the country. You know what you meant, and you got your price," he said.
"That remark," said Merril, "is quite warranted. Mr. Shafleton made a perfectly understood bargain—and he got his price. It is also likely that he would never have been elected if we had not set certain influences to work. Owing to the Government's finding a change of policy convenient, he has not kept his bargain. The question, however, is how——"
One of the men who was standing up looked around just then.