"Yes."
"Now, the party has dropped the bill for good, and Alwyn doesn't like it. If he should attack the party—"
"But he wouldn't," cried Miss Wynn with a start that belied her conviction.
"Did you know that he is to be invited to make the principal address to the graduates of the colored high-school?"
"But," she objected. "They have selected Bishop Johnson; I—"
"I know you did," laughed the Senator, "but the Judge got orders from higher up."
"Shrewd Mr. Teerswell," remarked Miss Wynn, sagely.
"Shrewd Mr. Stillings," the Senator corrected; "but perhaps too shrewd. Suppose Mr. Alwyn should take this occasion to make a thorough defence of the party?"
"But—will he?"
"That's where you come in," Senator Smith pointed out, rising, "and the real reason of this interview. We're depending on you to pull the party out of an awkward hole," and he shook hands with his caller.