l, and with some of
our contracts. You don't want to forget that an election is comin'
along in November. I'm wonderin' if I ought to call in that one hundred
thousand dollars. It's goin' to take considerable money to meet my loans
in the mornin'."

It is a curious matter of psychology, but it was only now that the real
difficulties of the situation were beginning to dawn on Butler. In
the presence of Cowperwood he was so influenced by that young man's
personality and his magnetic presentation of his need and his own liking
for him that he had not stopped to consider all the phases of his own
relationship to the situation. Out here in the cool night air,
talking to Owen, who was ambitious on his own account and anything but
sentimentally considerate of Cowperwood, he was beginning to sober down
and see things in their true light. He had to admit that Cowperwood had
seriously compromised the city treasury and the Republican party, and
incidentally Butler's own private interests. Nevertheless, he liked
Cowperwood. He was in no way prepared to desert him. He was now going
to see Mollenhauer and Simpson as much to save Cowperwood really as
the party and his own affairs. And yet a scandal. He did not like
that--resented it. This young scalawag! To think he should be so sly.
None the less he still liked him, even here and now, and was feeling
that he ought to do something to help the young man, if anything could
help him. He might even leave his hundred-thousand-dollar loan with him
until the last hour, as Cowperwood had requested, if the others were
friendly.

"Well, father," said Owen, after a time, "I don't see why you need to
worry any more than Mollenhauer or Simpson. If you three want to help
him out, you can; but for the life of me I don't see why you should. I
know this thing will have a bad effect on the election, if it comes out
before then; but it could be hushed up until then, couldn't it? Anyhow,
your street-railway holdings are more important than this election, and
if you can see your way clear to getting the street-railway lines in
your hands you won't need to worry about any elections. My advice to
you is to call that one-hundred-thousand-dollar loan of yours in
the morning, and meet the drop in your stocks that way. It may make
Cowperwood fail, but that won't hurt you any. You can go into the market
and buy his stocks. I wouldn't be surprised if he would run to you and
ask you to take them. You ought to ge