ext two hours,
with the help of another doctor, trying to restore consciousness to
Stephen Strong in a little room that opened off the town-hall. Within
half an hour Mrs. Strong arrived.

"He still breathes," I said in answer to her questioning glance.

Then the poor little woman sat herself down upon the edge of a chair,
clasped her hands and said, "If the Lord wills it, dear Stephen will
live; and if the Lord wills it, he will die."

This sentence she repeated at intervals until the end came. After two
hours there was a knocking at the door.

"Go away," I said, but the knocker would not go away. So I opened. It
was my agent, who whispered in an excited voice, "The count's quite
correct, you are in by seven."

"All right," I answered, "tell them we want some more brandy."

At that moment Stephen Strong opened his eyes, and at that moment also
there arose a mighty burst of cheering from the crowd assembled on the
market-place without, to whom the Mayor had declared the numbers from a
window of the town-hall.

The dying man heard the cheering, and looked at me inquiringly, for he
could not speak. I tried to explain that I was elected on the recount,
but was unable to make him understand. Then I hit upon an expedient. On
the floor lay a Conservative rosette of blue ribbon. I took it up and
took also my own Radical colours from my coat. Holding one of them in
each hand before Strong's dying eyes, I lifted up the Radical orange and
let the Conservative blue fall to the floor.

He saw and understood, for a ghastly smile appeared upon his distorted
face. Indeed, he did more--almost with his last breath he spoke in a
hoarse, gurgling whisper, and his words were, "_Bravo the A.V.'s!_"

Now he shut his eyes, and I thought that the end had come, but, opening
them presently, he fixed them with great earnestness first upon myself
and then upon his wife, accompanying the glance with a slight movement
of the head. I did not know what he could mean, but with his wife it
was otherwise, for she said, "Don't trouble yourself, Stephen, I quite
understand."

Five minutes more and it was over; Stephen Strong's dilated heart had
contracted for the last time.

"I see it has pleased the Lord that dear Stephen should die," said
Mrs. Strong in her quiet voice. "When you have spoken to the people out
there, doctor, will you take me home? I am very sorry to trouble, but I
saw that after he was gone Stephen wished me to turn to you."