y, Laird is going to be pretty heavily obligated to
The Patriot if he's elected."

For half an hour they talked politics, nothing else.

At the office Edmonds was making a dossier of the Veridian reports. It
was ready when Banneker returned.

"Let it wait," said Banneker.

Prudence ordained that he should throw the troublous stuff into the
waste-basket. He wondered if he was becoming prudent, as another man
might wonder whether he was becoming old. At any rate, he would make no
decision until he had talked it over with Io. Not only did he feel
instinctive confidence in her sense of fair play; but also this
relationship of interest in his affairs, established by her, was the
opportunity of his closest approach; an intimacy of spirit assured and
subtle. He hoped that she would come early on Saturday evening.

But she did not. Some dinner party had claimed her, and it was after
eleven when she arrived with Archie Densmore. At once Banneker took her
aside and laid before her the whole matter.

"Poor Ban!" she said softly. "It isn't so simple, having power to play
with, is it?"

"But how am I to handle this?"

"The mills belong to Mr. Marrineal's mother, you said?"

"Practically they do."

"And she is--?"

"A silly and vain old fool."

"Is that his opinion of her?"

"Necessarily. But he's fond of her."

"Will he really try to remedy conditions, do you think?"

"Oh, yes. So far as that goes."

"Then I'd drop it."

"Print nothing at all?"

"Not a word."

"That isn't what I expected from you. Why do you advise it?"

"Loyalty."

"The paralytic virtue," said Banneker with such bitterness of conviction
that Io answered:

"I suppose you don't mean that to be simply clever."

"It's true, isn't it?"

"There's a measure of truth in it. But, Ban, you can't use Mr.
Marrineal's own paper to expose conditions in Mr. Marrineal's mother's
mills. If he'd even directed you to hold off--"

"That's his infernal cleverness. I'd have told him to go to the devil."

"And resigned?"

"Of course."

"You can resign now," she pointed out. "But I think you'd be foolish.
You can do such big things. You _are_ doing such big things with The
Patriot. Cousin Billy Enderby says that if Laird is elected it will be
your doing. Where else could you find such opportunity?"

"Tell me this, Io," he said, after a moment of heavy-browed brooding
very unlike his usual blithe certainty of bearing. "Suppose that lumber
property w