ersation upon Bruce's candidacy.
He told her that matters were going even better than he had hoped; and
informed her, with an air of triumph he did not try to conceal, that
Blind Charlie Peck had been giving him an absolutely free rein, and
that he was more than ever convinced that he had correctly judged that
politician's motives. Katherine meekly accepted this implicit rebuke
of her presumption, and congratulated him upon the vindication of his
judgment.

"But I came to you to talk about your affairs, not mine," he said as
they turned into Main Street. "I half thought, when you left, that you
had gone for good. But your coming back proves you haven't given up.
May I ask what your plans are, and how they are developing?"

Her eyes dropped to the sidewalk, and she seemed to be embarrassed for
words. It was not wholly his fault that he interpreted her as
crest-fallen, for Katherine was not lacking in the wiles of Eve.

"Your plans have not been prospering very well, then?" he asked, after
a pause.

"Oh, don't think that; I still have hopes," she answered hurriedly. "I
am going to keep right on at the case--keep at it hard."

"Were you successful in what you went to New York for?"

"I can't tell yet. It's too early. But I hope something will come of
it."

He tried to get a glimpse of her face, but she kept it fixed upon the
ground--to hide her discomfiture, he thought.

"Now listen to me," he said kindly, with the kindness of the superior
mind. "Here's what I came to tell you, and I hope you won't take it
amiss. I admire you for the way you took your father's case when no
other lawyer would touch it. You have done your best. But now, I
judge, you are at a standstill. At this particular moment it is highly
imperative that the case go forward with highest speed. You understand
me?"

"I think I do," she said meekly. "You mean that a man could do much
better with the case than a woman?"

"Frankly, yes--still meaning no offense to you. You see how much hangs
upon your father's case besides his own honour. There is the
election, the whole future of the city. You see we are really facing a
crisis. We have got to have quick action. In this crisis, being in the
dark as to what you were doing, and feeling a personal responsibility
in the matter, I have presumed to hint at the outlines of the case to
a lawyer friend of mine in Indianapolis; and I have engaged him,
subject to your approval, to take charge of the matter."