ould get the applause the mob gives to "a well-meaning
fellow," but more than all he would be sneered at behind his back as "a
crank trying to reorganize human nature," and therefore to be shunned.
He had been mingling intimately with the chief men of the State; he knew
what kind of comment they had for others. Most of all, he knew that the
mild applause of the mob would not be loud enough to drown out those
familiar voices nearest him--he had heard those voices many times
before: there was his grandfather, there was Luke Presson, there were
the political associates with whom he had already begun to train on the
basis of compromise.

There was Luke Presson's daughter!

He strode into the lobby of the hotel, his face gloomy and his thoughts
dark. Linton stepped forward to meet him, hat and overcoat on. It was
evident that he had been waiting. The sight of him did not improve
Harlan's temper. From the first day of the session they had eyed each
other malevolently. They had bristled at every possible point of
contact. Linton's last exploit had been a speech favoring the railroad
tax rebate, a speech in which he scored those who opposed it as enemies
to the development of the State. The fervor of his eloquence had made
even Harlan Thornton doubt, sourly, whether a constitution that was
framed before the exigencies of progress were dreamed of should be too
rigidly construed. That was still another point where he and his
grandfather disagreed, and the cogent speech of Linton had been the
cause of further dispute between them. The Duke was disgusted because
his grandson could be so scrupulous that he could not be progressive.
For Harlan the straight path of rectitude was fringed with signs set
there by friends, every sign inscribed "Fool." From the first, Linton
had seemed to aggravate his difficulties, politically and personally.

"Can you give me a few minutes of your time?" he asked, stiffly.

"If it's business, and important, yes," returned Harlan, scowling.

"I should not bother you with anything except business. And as this is
of a private nature, I must ask you to invite me to your room."

Harlan led the way to the elevator.

Linton did not remove his overcoat when they were closeted together. He
stood with hat in his hand.

"It may surprise you to learn that my business concerns Miss Presson and
the legislative ball to-morrow evening," began Linton, but Harlan
indignantly broke in.

"You can have no possible