go out."

He rushed away, and I waited--working with the leaders of three
far-western states. At the end of two hours, I won them by the spectacle
of the arriving Goodrich. He came in, serene, smiling, giving me the
joyously shining eyes and joyously firm hand-clasp of the politician's
greeting; not an outward sign that he would like to see me tortured to
death by some slow process then and there. Hypocritical preliminaries
were not merely unnecessary but even highly ridiculous; yet, so great
was his anger and confusion that he began with the "prospects for an
old-time convention, with old-time enthusiasm and that generous rivalry
which is the best sign of party health."

"I hope not, Senator," said I pleasantly. "Here, we think the fight is
over--and won."

He lifted his eyebrows; but I saw his maxillary muscles twitching. "We
don't figure it out just that way at headquarters," he replied oilily.
"But, there's no doubt about it, your man has developed strength in the
West."

"And South," said I, with deliberate intent to inflame, for I knew how
he must feel about those delegates we had bought away from him.

There were teeth enough in his smile--but little else. "I think Burbank
and Cromwell will be about even on the first ballot," said he. "May the
best man win! We're all working for the good of the party and the
country. But--I came, rather, to get your ideas about platform."

I opened a drawer in the table at which I was sitting and took out a
paper. "We've embodied our ideas in this," said I, holding the paper
toward him. "There's a complete platform, but we only insist on the five
paragraphs immediately after the preamble."

He seemed to age as he read. "Impossible!" he finally exclaimed.
"Preposterous! It would be difficult enough to get any money for
_Cromwell_ on such a platform, well as our conservative men know they
can trust him. But for _Burbank_--you couldn't get a cent--not a damn
cent! A rickety candidate on a rickety platform--that's what they'd
say."

I made no answer.

"May I ask," he presently went on, "has ex-Governor Burbank seen
this--this astonishing document?"

Burbank had written it. I confess when he first showed it to me, it had
affected me somewhat as it was now affecting Goodrich. For, a dealer
with business men as well as with public sentiment, I appreciated
instantly the shock some of the phrases would give the large interests.
But Burbank had not talked to me five minutes b