At this there was wild applause. I had the audience with me. The offender remained silent and presently I finished my speech. After that Mr. Mecklin made them cheer and weep, and Mr. Mellish made them laugh. The meeting had been highly successful.
“You polished him off, all right,” said George Hutchins, as he took my hand.
“Who was he?”
“Oh, one of the local sore-heads. Krebs put him up to it, of course.”
“Was Krebs here?” I asked.
“Sitting in the corner of the balcony. That meeting must have made him feel sick.” George bent forward and whispered in my ear: “I thought Bill 709 was Watling's idea.”
“Oh, I happened to be in the Potts House about that time,” I explained.
George, of whom it may be gathered that he was not wholly unsophisticated, grinned at me appreciatively.
“Say, Paret,” he replied, putting his hand through my arm, “there's a little legal business in prospect down here that will require some handling, and I wish you'd come down after the campaign and talk it over, with us. I've just about made up my mind that you're he man to tackle it.”
“All right, I'll come,” I said.