try it, however, and contented himself by saying,
"Don't you never darken my door again, young man."

But in general Bradley's life moved on uneventfully. He applied himself
studiously to his work in the office. He was getting hold of some
common law, and a great deal of common sense, for the Judge was strong
on both these points.

"Young man," said the Judge one day, after Bradley had returned from a
sleigh-ride with Nettie, "I see that the woman-question is before you.
Now don't make a mistake. Be sure you are right. In nine cases out of
ten, back out and you'll be right."

Bradley remained silent over by the rickety red-hot stove, warming his
stiffened fingers. The Judge went on in a speculative way:

"I believe I notice a tendency in the times that makes it harder for a
married man to succeed than it used to be. I think, on the whole, my
advice would be to keep out of it altogether. More men fail on that
account, I observe, than upon any other. You see it's so infernally
hard to tell what kind of a woman your girl is going to turn out."

"You needn't worry about me," said Bradley a little sullenly.

"That's what Mrs. Brown said. I just thought I'd say a word or two,
anyway. If I've gone too far, you may kick my dog over there."

Bradley looked at the sleeping dog, and back at the meditative Judge,
and smiled. He sat down at his work and said no more upon the subject.

XII.

THE JUDGE ADVISES BRADLEY.

It was at the Judge's advice that he decided to take a year at the
law-school at Iowa City. He had been in the office over a year and a
half, and though he had not been converted to Democracy, the Judge was
still hopeful.

"Oh, you'll have to come into the Democratic camp," he often said. "You
see, it's like this: the Republicans are so damn proud of their record,
they're going to ossify, with their faces turned backward. They have a
past, but no future. Now the Democratic party has no past that it cares
particularly to look back at, and so it's got to look into the future.
You progressive young fellows can't afford to stand in a party where
everything is all done, because that leaves nothing for you to do but
to admire some dead man. You'll be forced into the party of ideas,
sure. I aint disposed to hurry you, you'll come out all right when the
time comes."

Bradley never argued with him. He had simply shut his lips and his mind
to it all. Democracy had lost some of its evil associations in his