"Now what is he going to say in his address?" she asked. "Every one will know in a few moments. Tell me ahead—tell me the big utterance that will make the people sit up. I want to be ready to watch their faces!"
"Why, I haven't a single idea what he will say," he blurted.
"Oh, safe repository, I salute you!"
"But I haven't! The Governor hasn't opened his mouth to me!"
"Have a care! One very easily steps from polite diplomacy into very impolite falsehood. You must always be truthful with me, Harlan."
His eyes grew brighter and his tanned cheeks warm. It was the first time she had addressed him without hateful formality.
"I propose to tell you the truth, always," he assured her. "But I mean what I say—the Governor has kept his address to himself."
"I should resent that. It would have been a delicate compliment, and he owed that much to you. I'm afraid he has been a politician long enough to be like all the rest—to walk up to power on men as one uses a flight of stairs, and then to put the stairs behind his back; for one doesn't walk up-stairs backward."
He flushed more deeply.
"I'm not that kind of a fellow—jealous, or petty, or expecting a great deal for what little service I can render."