ings made for age in heavy
retribution. He complained of the heat, of the cold; of his breathing
and of his digestion. A sense of suffocating fullness oppressed him as
he climbed the steep incline of the streets of the capital. Yet he
retained his pride in the English girl whom he had married, as he
avowed, to vent malice on her brother. His family affection was the one
redeeming sentiment of his life. When he was away from Butte not a day
passed that he did not communicate with his wife, either by post or
telegraph. He took pains that no newspapers speaking ill of him should
gain admittance to his house--a superfluous task, since politics were of
no interest to his home-loving wife.

William Moore sometimes looked meditatively at his old friend as he
fumed over trifles. Invariably after such reflection he saw to it that
his own private exchequer was bettered from the flow of gold streaming
from the millionaire's store. It was well to be on the safe side,
thought the ex-wolfer, sagely. Yet on the whole his arduous work as
Burroughs' manager was conscientiously done. These men had worked
together too long for Moore not to feel a personal pride in his work of
debauching a Legislature.

Other candidates there were, too, who used illegal methods to obtain
votes. Not that no reputable man was a candidate; not that honest,
incorruptible men could not be found in the legislative halls of
Montana; but Moore's extravagance in behalf of his chief shattered all
precedents, defied integrity and exposure and eclipsed the good that
would not be submerged. In fact, his prodigality defeated its purpose;
when men found that they could get five thousand dollars for a vote as
easily as one thousand, they held their decision in abeyance until the
consideration was increased fourfold. This not once, nor twice; not by
one man, but by the indefinite many, until it was current talk that
certain men had received one, five, ten, even fifteen thousand dollars
for their votes. Why should legislators talk of "their duty," or "the
principle of the thing," when a lifetime of ordinary business methods
and dealings would bring but little more than might be obtained by
speaking a man's name in joint assembly? To listen to any group of men
discussing the political situation one unacquainted with the law would
never mistrust that bribery in legislatures was a state's prison
offense.

So wary did members become that Burroughs, possessing small faith in