covered himself, and this time it was his voice that had the note of
ascendency.

"You are forgetting one point, Mr. Peck," said he.

"Yes?"

"Bruce's election will not mean a cent to you. You will get no
offices. Moreover, the control of your party machinery will be sure to
pass from you to him."

"You're right," said the old man promptly. "See how quick I am to
acknowledge the corn. However, after all," he added philosophically,
"what you're getting is really enough for two. You take the
senatorship, and I'll take the fifty thousand. What do you say to
that?"

"What about Bruce--if I accept?"

"Bruce? Bruce is just a fire to smoke the coon out. When the coon
comes down, I put out the fire."

"You mean?"

"I mean that I'll see that Bruce don't get elected."

"You'll make sure about that?"

"Oh, you just leave Bruce to me!" said Blind Charlie with grim
confidence. "And now, do you accept?"

Blake was silent. He still shrunk from this undesirable alliance.
Outside, Katherine again breathlessly hung upon his answer.

"What do you say?" demanded the old man sharply. "Do you accept? Or do
I smash you?"

"I accept--of course."

"And we'll see this thing through together?"

"Yes."

"Then here you are. Let's shake on it."

They talked on, dwelling on details of their partnership, Katherine
missing never a word.

At length, their agreement completed, they left the room, and
Katherine slipped from the window across into the trees and made such
haste as she could through the night and the storm to where she had
left her horse. She heard one car go slowly out the entrance of the
grove, its lamps dark that its visit might not be betrayed, and she
heard it turn cautiously into the back-country road. After a little
while she saw a glare shoot out before the car--its lamps had been
lighted--and she saw it skim rapidly away. Soon the second car crept
out, took the high back-country pike, and repeated the same tactics.

Then Katherine untied Nelly, mounted, and started slowly homeward
along the River Road.

CHAPTER XVI

THROUGH THE STORM

Bowed low to shield herself against the ever fiercer buffets of the
storm, Katherine gave Nelly free rein to pick her own way at her own
pace through the blackness. The rain volleyed into her pitilessly, the
wind sought furiously to wrest her from the saddle, the lightning
cracked open the heavens into ever more fiery chasms, and the thunder
rattled and rolled a