an hour after the smoke of the salt lake train was lost in the blue sky, the special car bearing the candidate whirled off in another direction, deep into the wonderland of the mountains. now white peaks were on one side and mighty chasms on the other; then both chasm and peak were lost behind them, and they shot through an irrigated valley, brown with the harvest, neat villages snuggling in the centre. but always, whether near or far, the mountains were around them, blue on the middle slopes, white at the crests, unless those crests were lost in the clouds and mists.
the people in the car were more quiet than usual, the candidate absorbed in somewhat sad thoughts, the state politicians respecting his silence, and the correspondents planning their despatches. but all missed mrs. grayson and miss morgan, who, whether they talked or not, always contributed brightness and a gentler note to their long campaign. "king" plummer, too, with his loud laugh and his large, sincere manner, left a vacancy. every one felt that there was now nothing ahead but business--cold, hard business--and so it proved.
every campaign enters upon successive phases, in which the contestants advance, through politeness and consideration, first to wary feint and parry, and then to the stern death-grip of the battle which can mean nothing but the victory of one and the defeat of the other. they were now approaching this last stage, and great piles of eastern newspapers, which reached them in utah, reflected all the progress of the combat.
it was obvious to all of those skilled readers and interpreters that the breach within the party was widening, and that this breach could become a chasm before the election. the _monitor_ and other papers, the chosen or self-appointed champions of vested interests, were almost openly in revolt; in harley's mind their course amounted to the same thing; they printed in their news columns many things derogatory to grayson, and likely to shatter public faith in his judgment, and in nearly all of them appeared signed contributions from members of the wealthy faction led by the honorable mr. goodnight, attacking every speech made by the candidate, and intimating that he was a greater danger to the country than the nominee of the other side.
"the split will have to come," was harley's muttered comment, "and the sooner the better for us."
the journals of the rival party were a singular contrast to those of grayson's side, as they expressed unbounded and sincere confidence. in all that had occurred they could not read anything but victory for them, and harley was bound to admit that their exultation was justified.
but amid all these troubles the candidate preserved his remarkable amiability of disposition, and harley witnessed another proof that he was a man first and a statesman afterwards.
the train was continually thronged with local politicians and others anxious to see mr. grayson, and at a little station in a plain that seemed to have no end they picked up three men, one of whom attracted harley's notice at once. he was young, only twenty four or five, with a bright, quick, eager face, and he was not dressed in the usual careless western fashion. his trousers were carefully creased, his white shirt was well-laundered, and his tie was neat. but he wore that strange combination--not so strange west of the mississippi--a sack-coat and a silk-hat at the same time.
the youth was not at all shy, and he early obtained an introduction to mr. grayson. harley thus learned that his name was moore--charles moore, or charlie moore, as those with him called him. most men in the west, unless of special prominence, when presented to jimmy grayson, shook hands warmly, exchanged a word or two on any convenient topic, and then gave way to others, but this fledgling sought to hold him in long converse on the most vital questions of the campaign.
"that was a fine speech of yours that you made at butte, mr. grayson," he said, in the most impulsive manner, "and i endorse every word of it, but are you sure that what you said about canadian reciprocity will help our party in the great wheat states, such as minnesota and the dakotas?"
the candidate stared at him at first in surprise and some displeasure, but in a moment or two his gaze was changed into a kindly smile. he read well the youth before him, his amusing confidence, his eagerness, and his self-importance, that had not yet received a rude check.
"there is something in what you say, mr. moore," replied jimmy grayson, in that tone absolutely without condescension that made every man his friend; "but i have considered it, and i think it is better for me to stick to my text. besides, i am right, you know."
"ah, yes, but that is not the point," exclaimed young mr. moore; "one may be right, but one might keep silent on a doubtful point that is likely to influence many votes. and there are several things in your speeches, mr. grayson, with which some of us do not agree. i shall have occasion to address the public concerning them--as you know, a number of us are to speak with you while you are passing through utah."
there was a flash in jimmy grayson's eye, but harley could not tell whether it expressed anger or amused contempt. it was gone in a moment, however, and the candidate again was looking at the fledgling with a kindly, smiling, and tolerant gaze. but churchill thrust his elbow against harley.
"oh, the child of the free and bounding west!" he murmured. "what innocence, and what a sense of majesty and power!"
harley did not deign a reply, but he made the acquaintance, by-and-by, of the men who had joined the train with moore. one of these was a county judge named basset, sensible and middle-aged, and he talked freely about the fledgling, whom he seemed to have in a measure on his mind. he laughed at first when he spoke of the subject, but he soon became serious.
"charlie is a good boy, but what do you think he is? or, rather, what do you think he thinks he is?"
"i don't know," replied harley.
"charlie thinks he's a spellbinder, the greatest ever. he's dreaming by night, and by day, too, that he's to be the west's most wonderful orator, and that he's to hold the thousands in his spell. he's a coming henry clay and daniel webster rolled into one. he's read that story about demosthenes holding the pebble in his mouth to make himself talk good, and they do say that he slips away out on the prairie, where there's nobody about, and with a stone in his mouth tries to beat the old greek at his own game. i don't vouch for the truth of the story, but i believe it."
harley could not keep from smiling.
"well, it's at least an honest ambition," he said.
"i don't know about that," replied the judge, doubtfully. "not in charlie's case, because as a spellbinder he isn't worth shucks. he can't speak, and he'll never learn to do it. besides, he's leaving a thing he was just made for to chase a rainbow, and it's breaking his old daddy's heart."
"what is it that he was made for?"
"he's a born telegraph-operator. he's one of the best ever known in the west. they say that at eighteen he was the swiftest in colorado. then he went down to denver, and a month ago he gave up a job there that was paying him a hundred and fifty a month to start this foolishness. they say he might be a great inventor, too, and here he is trying to speak on politics when he doesn't know anything about public questions, and he doesn't know how to talk, either; i don't know whether to be mad about it or just to feel sorry, because charlie's father is an old friend of mine."
harley shared his feelings. he had seen the round peg in the square hole so many times with bad results to both the peg and the hole that every fresh instance grieved him. he was also confirmed in the soundness of judge basset's opinion by his observation of young moore as the journey proceeded. the new spellbinder was anxious to speak whenever there was an occasion, and often when there was none at all. the discouragement and even the open rebukes of his elders could not suppress him. the correspondents, comparing notes, decided that they had never before seen so strong a rage for speaking. he took the whole field of public affairs for his range. he was willing at any time to discuss the tariff, internal revenue, finance, and foreign relations, and avowed himself master of all. yet harley saw that he was in these affairs a perfect child, shallow and superficial, and depending wholly upon a few catchwords that he had learned from others. even the former populists turned from him. but their sour faces when he spoke taught him nothing. he was still, to himself, the great spellbinder, and he looked forward to the day when he, too, a nominee for the presidency, should charm multitudes with his eloquence and logic. he had no hesitation in confiding his hopes to harley, and the correspondent longed to tell him how he misjudged himself. yet he refrained, knowing that it was not his duty; and that even if it were, his words would make no impression.
but in other matters than those of public life and oratory jimmy grayson's people found young moore likable enough. he was helpful on the train; now and then when the telegraph-operators had more material than they could handle, he gave them valuable aid; he was a fine comrade, taking good luck and bad luck with equal philosophy, and never complaining. "if only he wouldn't try to speak!" groaned hobart, for whom he had sent a telegraphic message with skill and despatch.
but that very afternoon moore talked to them on the subject of national finance, until they fell into a rage and left the car. that evening harley was sitting with the candidate, when an old man, bent of figure and gloomy of face, came to them.
"i beg your pardon, mr. grayson," he said, "for intruding on you, but i've come to ask a favor. i'm henry moore, of council grove, the father of charlie moore, who was the best telegraph-operator in denver, and who is now the poorest public speaker in colorado."
the old man smiled, but it was a sad smile, cut off early. jimmy grayson was full of sympathy at once, and he shook mr. moore's hand warmly.
"i know your son," he said; "he is a bright boy."
"yes, he's nothing but a boy," said his father, as if seeking an excuse. "i suppose all boys must have their foolish spells, but he appears to have his mighty hard and long."
the old man sighed, and the look of sympathy on jimmy grayson's face deepened.
"charlie is a good boy," continued mr. moore, "and if he could have this foolish notion knocked out of his head--there's no other way to get it out--he would be all right; and that's why i've come to you. you know you are to speak at pueblo to-morrow night in a big hall, and one of the biggest crowds in the west will be there to hear you. two or three speakers are to follow you, and what do you think that son of mine has done? somehow or other he has got the committee to put him on the programme right after you, and he says he is going to demolish what he calls your fallacies."
harley saw the candidate's lips curve a little, as if he were about to smile, but the movement was quickly checked. jimmy grayson would not willingly hurt the feelings of any man.
"your boy has that right," he said to mr. moore.
"no, he hasn't!" burst out the old man. "a boy hasn't any right to be so light-headed, and i want you, mr. grayson, when he has finished his speech, to come right back at him and wipe him off the face of the earth. it will be an easy thing for so big a man as you to do. charlie doesn't know a thing about public affairs. he'll make lots of statements, and every one of 'em will be wrong. just show him up. make all the people laugh at him. just sting him with your words till he turns red in the face. roll him in the dust, and tread on him till he can't breathe. then hold him up before all that audience as the biggest and wildest fool that ever came on a stage. nothing else will cure him; it will be a favor to him and to me; and i, his father, who loves him more than anybody else in the world, ask you to do it."
harley was tempted to smile, and at the same moment water came into his eyes. no one could fail to be moved by the old man's intense earnestness, his florid and mixed imagery, and his appealing look. certainly jimmy grayson was no exception. he glanced at harley, and saw his expression of sympathy, but the correspondent made no suggestion.
"i appreciate your feelings and your position, mr. moore," he said, "but this is a hard thing that you ask me to do. i cannot trample upon a boy, even metaphorically, in the presence of five thousand people. what will they think of me?"
"they'll understand. they'll know why it's done, and they'll like you for it. it's the only way, mr. grayson. either you do it or my boy's life is ruined."
jimmy grayson walked up and down the room, and his face was troubled. he looked again and again at harley, but the correspondent made no suggestion; he had none to make. at last he stopped.
"i think i can save your son, and promise to make the trial, but i will not say a word just yet. now don't ask me any more about it, and never mind the thanks. i understand; maybe i shall have a grown son myself, some day, to be turned from the wrong path. good-night. i'll see you again at pueblo. harley, i wish you would stay awhile longer. i want to have further talk with you."
the candidate and harley were in deep converse for some time, and, when they finished, much of the trouble had disappeared from jimmy grayson's eyes. "i think it can be done," he said.
"so do i," repeated harley, with confidence.
the next day, which was occupied with the run down to pueblo and occasional stops for speeches at way-stations, was uneventful save for the growing obsession of charlie moore. he was overflowing with pride and importance. that night, in the presence of five thousand people, he was going to reply to the great jimmy grayson, and show to them and to him his errors. mr. grayson was sound in most things, but there were several in which he should be set right, and he, charlie moore, was the man to do it for him.
the fledgling proudly produced several printed programmes with his name next to that of the candidate, and talked to the correspondents of the main points that he would make, until they fled into the next car. but he followed them there and asked them if they would not like to take in advance a synopsis of his speech, in order that they might be sure to telegraph it to their offices in time. all evaded the issue except harley, who gravely jotted down the synopsis, and, with equal gravity, returned his thanks for mr. moore's consideration.
"i knew you wouldn't want to miss it," said the youth, "i come on late, you know, and, besides, i remembered that the difference in time between here and new york is against us."
mr. moore, the father, was on the train throughout the day, but he did not speak to his son. he spent his time in the car in which jimmy grayson sat, always silent, but always looking, with appeal and pathos, at the great leader. his eyes said plainly: "mr. grayson, you will not fail me, will you? you will save my son? you will beat him, and tread on him until he hasn't left a single thought of being a famous orator and public leader? then he will return to the work for which god made him."
harley would look at the old man awhile, and then return to the next car, where the youth was chattering away to those who could not escape him.
the speech in pueblo was to be of the utmost importance, not alone to those whose own ears would hear it, but to the whole union, because the candidate would make a plain declaration upon a number of vexed questions that had been raised within the last week or two. this had been announced in all the press on the authority of jimmy grayson himself, and the speech in full, not a word missing, would have to be telegraphed to all the great newspapers both east and west.
in such important campaigns as that of a presidential nominee, the two great telegraph companies always send operators with the correspondents, in order that they may despatch long messages from small way-stations, where the local men are not used to such heavy work. now harley and his associates had with them two veterans, barr and wymond, from chicago, who never failed them. they were relieved, too, on reaching pueblo, to find that the committee in charge had been most considerate. some forethoughtful man, whom the correspondents blessed, had remembered the three hours' difference in time between pueblo and new york, and against new york, and he had run two wires directly into the hall and into a private box on the left, where barr and wymond could work the instruments, so far from the stage that the clicking would not disturb jimmy grayson or anybody else, but would save much time for the correspondents.
the audience gathered early, and it was a splendid western crowd, big-boned and tanned by the western winds.
"they have cranks out here, but it's a land of strong men, don't you forget that," said harley to churchill, and churchill did not attempt a sarcastic reply.
they were both sitting at the edge of the stage, and in front of them, nearer the footlights, was young moore, proud and eager, his fingers moving nervously. his father, too, had found a seat on the stage, but he was in the background, next to the scenery and behind the others; he was not visible from the floor of the house. there he sat, staring gloomily at his son, and now and then, with a sort of despairing hope, glancing at jimmy grayson.
there were some short preliminary speeches and introductions, and then came the turn of the candidate. the usual flutter of expectation ran over the audience, followed by the usual deep hush, but just at that moment there was an interruption. a boy in the uniform of a telegraph company hurried upon the stage.
"you must come at once, sir," he said to harley. "mr. wymond hasn't turned up. we don't know what's become of him. and mr. barr has took sick, sudden and bad. the pueblo manager says he'll get somebody here as quick as he can, but he can't do it under half an hour, anyway!"
the other correspondents stared at each other in dismay, and then at the hired stenographer who was to take down the speech in full. but harley, always thoughtful and resourceful, responded to the emergency. he had noticed moore raise his head with an expression of lively interest at the news of the disaster, and he stepped forward at once and put his hand on the fledgling's shoulder.
"mr. moore," he exclaimed, in stirring appeal, "this is a crisis for us, and you must save us. you have eaten with us, and you have lived with us, and you cannot desert us now. we have all heard that you are a great operator, the greatest in the west. you must send mr. grayson's speech. what a triumph it will be for you--to send his speech and then get upon this stage and demolish it afterwards!"
the feeling in harley's voice was real, and the boy was thrilled by it and the situation. every natural impulse in him responded. it was the chivalrous thing for him to do, and an easy one. he could send a speech as fast as the fastest man living could deliver it. he rose without a word, his heart beating with thoughts of the coming battle, in which he felt proudly that he should be a victor, and made his way to the telegraphers' box.
moore had lived in pueblo, and nearly everybody in the audience knew him. when they saw him take his seat at one of the instruments, their quick western minds divined what he was going to do, and the roar of applause that they had just given to the candidate, who was now on his feet, was succeeded by another; but the second was for charlie moore, the telegraph-operator.
the fledgling had no time to think. he had scarcely settled himself in his chair when the deep, full voice of jimmy grayson filled the great hall, and he was launched upon a speech for which the whole union was waiting. the short-hand man was already deep in his work, and the copy began to come. but the boy felt no alarm; he was not even flustered; the feel of the key was good, and the atmosphere of that box which enclosed the telegraph apparatus was sweet in his nostrils. he called up denver, from which the speech would be repeated to the greater cities, and with a sigh of deep satisfaction settled to his task.
they tell yet in western telegraph circles of charlie moore's great exploit. the candidate was in grand form that night, and his speech came rushing forth in a torrent. the missing wymond was still missing, and the luckless barr was still ill, but the fledgling sat alone in the box, his face bent over the key, oblivious of the world around him, and sent it all. through him ran the fire of battle and great endeavor. he heard the call and replied. he never missed a word. he sent them hot across the prairie, over the slopes and ridges, and across the brown plains into denver. and there in the general office the manager muttered more than once: "that fellow is doing great work! how he saves time!"
the audience liked jimmy grayson's speech, and again and again the applause swelled and echoed. then they noticed how the boy in the telegraphers' box--a boy of their own--was working. mysterious voices, too, began to spread among them the news how charlie moore had saved the day--or, rather, the night--and now and then in jimmy grayson's pauses cries of "good boy, charlie!" arose.
harley, while doing his writing, nevertheless kept a keen eye upon all the actors in the drama. he saw the light of hope appear more strongly upon old man moore's face, and then turn into a glow as he beheld his son doing so well.
the candidate spoke on and on. he had begun at nine o'clock, but that was a great and important speech, and no one left the hall. eleven o'clock, and then midnight, and jimmy grayson was still speaking. but it was not his night alone; it belonged to two men, and the other partner was charlie moore, who fulfilled his task equally well, and whom the audience still observed.
but the boy was thinking only of his duty that he was doing so well. the victory was his, as he knew that it would be. he kept even with the speech. hardly had the last word of the sentence left jimmy grayson's lips before the first of it was on the way to denver, and in newspaper offices two thousand miles away they were putting every paragraph in type before it was a half-hour old.
the boy, by-and-by, as the words passed before him on the written page, began to notice what a great speech it was. how the sentences cut to the heart of things! how luminous and striking was the phraseology! and around him he heard, as if in a dream, the liquid notes of that wonderful, golden voice. suddenly, like a stroke of lightning, he realized how empty were his own thoughts, how bare and hard his speech, and how thin and flat his voice! his heart sank with a plunge, and then rose again as his finger touched the familiar key and the answering touch thrilled back through his body. he glanced at the audience, and saw many faces looking up at him, and on them was a peculiar look. again the thrill ran through him, and, bending his head lower, he sent the words faster than ever on their eastern journey.
at last jimmy grayson stopped, and then the audience cheered its applause for the speech. when the echoes died, some one--it was judge basset--sprang up on a chair and exclaimed:
"gentlemen, we have cheered mr. grayson, and he deserves it; but there is some one else whom we ought to cheer, too. you have seen charlie moore, a pueblo boy, one of our own, there in the box sending the speech to the world that was waiting for it. perhaps you do not know that if he had not helped us to-night the world would have had to wait too long."
they dragged young moore, amid the cheers, upon the stage, and then, when the hush came, the candidate said:
"you seem to know him already; but as all the speaking of the evening is now over, i wish to introduce to you again mr. charlie moore, the greatest telegraph-operator in the west, the genius of the key, a man destined to rise to the highest place in his profession."
when the last echo of the last cheer died, there died with it the last ambition of charlie moore to be a spellbinder, and straight before him, broad, smooth, and alluring, lay the road for which his feet were fitted.
but the words most grateful to jimmy grayson were the thanks of the fledgling's father. the little drama of the side-box and the telegraph-key was known to but five people--the candidate, harley, the two operators, and happy mr. moore. the old gentleman, indeed, said something about mr. grayson having helped him, but it was taken by the others to mean that a mere chance, a lucky combination of circumstances, had come to his aid, and they failed to see in it anything of prearrangement or even intention. hence there appeared on the surface nothing to be criticised even by churchill, ever on the lookout for an incident that seemed to him incongruous or irrelevant.
harley made it an excuse for something that he wished very much to do. about this time mrs. grayson, returning from salt lake city, rejoined them, but she did not bring sylvia with her, leaving her in the mormon capital for a further stay with relatives. but harley wrote a long letter to sylvia, beginning with the story of the spellbinder, and he told her that his admiration for the candidate steadily increased, because mr. grayson was able, at all times, even in the heat of the hottest campaign that the union had ever known, to put the highest attributes of the human heart--mercy, gentleness, help--before his own political good or even that of his party. mr. grayson might be beaten, but he would make a record that must become a source of pride, not to his party alone, but to the whole country. in fact, mr. grayson belonged to humanity, and the race might lay claim to him as one of its finest types.
then from mr. grayson he glided to the other, and, to harley, greater topic--herself. he told her that nothing had occurred to make him change his wishes or his hopes; since her absence began his resolve had grown. he felt more than ever that the claim of mr. plummer upon her, though of a high and noble nature, even if he did hold her promise, must yield to the love of the husband for the wife. mr. plummer would come to see this, and he would come to see it in time. he had no desire to interfere with the natural affection of the man who had done so much for sylvia, nor did he feel that he was making such interference.
harley was not sure that he would receive a reply to this letter, but it came in due time, nevertheless, and it was jimmy grayson himself who handed it to him. the handwriting of the address was known, of course, to mr. grayson, and he could scarcely have failed to notice it, but he said nothing, and apparently the fact passed unheeded by him.
sylvia, in the course of her letter, confined herself to impartial narrative, and began with the event of the spellbinder, which harley had told to her in detail. indeed, it seemed to harley that she devoted a very remarkable amount of space to its consideration, especially as she agreed with him that mr. grayson's action was right; nevertheless, she discussed it from all points of the compass, and then she wrote with almost equal amplitude of her sight-seeing in salt lake city.
harley knew that mormons were no novelty to sylvia, as she had seen many of them in idaho, but she seemed to feel it necessary to describe with particularity all the great mormon buildings, and also to speak fully of the manners and customs of the people. all this might have been very interesting to him at another time and from another pen, but now he saw only the handwriting and wished her to devote attention to that little codicil in his own letter in which he so earnestly avowed again his love and his belief in its ultimate triumph. she made no allusion whatever to it, and he felt his heart sink. nor did she speak of "king" plummer, and he could not gather from the letter whether he was yet in salt lake city or had gone back to idaho. she had carefully avoided all the subjects on which he hoped she would write, and as he closed the letter and put it in his pocket he was still rather blue.
but reflection put him in a different and much more pleasant frame of mind. the fact that she had replied was a good omen, and her very avoidance of the most delicate of all subjects was proof that she did not forbid it to him. harley was a bold man, and, being ready to push his fortune to the utmost in a cause that he believed righteous, he resolved to write her another letter in a few days, and to repeat in it much that he had said in his first, or to say words to the same effect.
meanwhile his countenance assumed a joyous cast, which was noticeable because he was habitually of grave demeanor, and his associates, observing the change, taxed him with the fact and demanded an explanation, hobart in particular wishing to know. harley lightly ascribed it to the rarefied air, as they were ascending a plateau, and the others, though calling it the baldest and poorest of replies, were forced to be content.
but one man who noticed harley, and who said nothing, guessed much closer to the cause. it was mr. grayson himself, who had seen the address on the envelope, and it aroused grave thoughts in him. nor were these thoughts unkind to sylvia or harley. it was the custom of the candidate to subject himself at intervals to a searching mental examination, and now he made james grayson walk out before him again and undergo this minute process.
he was extremely fond of sylvia, whose grace, intelligence, and loyalty appealed to the best in him, and he was anxious to secure her happiness and her position in life, on which, in a measure, the former depended. for these reasons he had received with pleasure the news that sylvia was going to marry mr. plummer. despite the disparity of ages, the match seemed fitting to him; he knew the worth and honor of the "king" to be so great that the happiness of any young girl, especially that of one who owed so much to him, ought to be safe in his keeping. but now the doubts which had begun to form were growing stronger. he saw that nature was playing havoc with mere material fitness, and there came to him the question of his own duty.
the candidate now knew well enough that sylvia did not love mr. plummer as a girl should love the man whom she is going to marry, but that she did love harley. he conceived it, too, to be a true and lasting love with both the young man and the young woman, and again came to him that question of his own duty, a question not only troublesome, but dangerous to him in his present situation. he knew that sylvia, despite all, would marry "king" plummer unless the unforeseen occurred, and make herself unhappy all her life. should he, then, tell "king" plummer, or have his wife tell him in the more indirect and delicate way women have, that the burden of the situation rested upon him, and that he ought to release sylvia? the candidate shrank from such a task; he could not meddle, even when it was his own niece whom he wished to save, and there was another thought, too, in the background which he strove honestly to keep out of his mind; it was the old apprehension lest the "king" in his rage, particularly when it was the candidate himself who took from him his heart's desire, should rebel, or at least sulk and put the mountain states in the opposing column. it was no less true now than in the middle ages that men disappointed in love some times did desperate things, and "king" plummer was a full-blooded, impulsive man.
brooding much upon the question, a rare frown came to the face of jimmy grayson, and stayed there so long that his followers noticed it, and wondered much. they decided that it was the revolt within the party, and did not disturb him, but his wife, more acute, knew that it was not politics, and, sitting down beside him, waited silently until he should speak, as she knew he would in time. a full hour passed thus, and scarcely any one in the train uttered a word. the candidate gazed gloomily out of the window, but he did not see the mountains and the canons as they shot by. most of the state politicians slept in their seats, and the correspondents either wrote or communed with themselves.
mr. grayson rose at last, and, saying to his wife, "i should like a word with you in private," led the way to the drawing-room. she followed, knowing that he wished to speak of the trouble on his mind, and she made a shrewd guess as to its nature.
"anna, it is something that i have been trying to put away from me," he said, when they were in the privacy of the drawing-room, "but it won't stay away. i suppose i ought to have spoken to you of it some time ago, but i could not make up my mind to do it."
she smiled a little.
"i, too, have been dreading the subject," she said, "if it is what i think it is. you are going to speak of sylvia, mr. plummer, and mr. harley."
"yes, harley has a letter from sylvia, and he will have more. she doesn't want to write to him, but she will. the girl is breaking her heart, and i am not sure that you and i are doing what we ought to do."
"and you do not think that mr. plummer would make a suitable husband for her?"
she regarded him keenly from under lowered eyelids--the question was merely intended to lead to something else.
"that is not the point. harley is the man she loves, and harley is the man she should marry."
"should she not decide this question for herself?"
the candidate studied the face of his wife. her words, if taken simply as words, would seem metallic and cold, but there was an expression that gave them a wholly different meaning to him.
"under ordinary circumstances, yes," he said, "but the circumstances in which sylvia finds herself are not ordinary, and i am not sure how far we are responsible for them."
"i undertook to act once, and i was sorry that i did so."
the candidate did not speak again for several moments, but mrs. grayson read his expressive face.
"you have thought of something else," she said, "that is or seems to be connected with this affair of sylvia's."
"i have, and i am afraid it is that which has been holding me back."
the eyes of the two met, and, although they said no more upon that point, they understood each other perfectly.
"anna," said the candidate, with decision, "you must write to mr. plummer. i do not shift this burden from myself to you because of any desire to escape it, but because i know you will write the letter so much better than i can."
her eyes met his again, and hers shone with admiration--he was not less brave than she had thought him.
"i do not know what will come of it," he said; "perhaps nothing, but in any event we ought to write it."
"i will write," she said, firmly.
the candidate said nothing more but he bent down and kissed his wife on the forehead.
when jimmy grayson returned from the drawing-room, they noticed that the frown was gone from his face, and at once there was a new atmosphere in the car. the sleepy politicians awoke and made new or old jokes; the correspondents ceased writing, and asked mr. grayson what he intended to put in his next speech. obviously the current of life began to run full and free again, and the incomparable scenery gliding by their car-windows no longer passed without comment. but mrs. grayson, in the drawing-room, taking much thought and care, was writing this letter, which she addressed to mr. plummer, in boise, where she heard that he was going from salt lake city:
"dear mr. plummer,--i want to tell you how we are getting on, because i know how deeply you are interested in the campaign, and all of us have enjoyed the way in which you affiliated with our little group. we have been so long together now that we have become a sort of family--speakers, writers, and well-wishers, with mr. grayson as the head in virtue of his position as nominee. you have had a large place in this family--what shall i call it?--a kind of elder brother, one who out of the fund of his experience could wisely lead the younger and more impulsive."
mrs. grayson stopped here and tapped her finger thoughtfully with the staff of her pen. "that paragraph," she mused, "should bring home to him the fact that he is old as compared with sylvia and mr. harley, and that is the first thing i wish to establish in his mind." then, dipping her pen in the ink again, she wrote:
"this, i think, is one of the reasons that our young people have missed you so much. you were always prepared to take your part in the entertainment of the day, but your gravity and your years, which, without being too many, become you so much, exercised a restraining influence upon them, and showed them the line at which they should stop. i think that you acquired over them an influence, in its way paternal, and it is in such a capacity that they miss you most."
the lady's smile deepened, and in her mind was the thought that if he did not wince at this bolt he was, indeed, impervious. then she continued:
"my interest in this campaign is not alone political nor personal to mr. grayson, which also means myself, but i have become much interested in those who travel with us--that is, those who have become the members of our new family. there is mr. heathcote, who was sent west as our enemy, and quickly turned to a friend. there is mr. tremaine, who is such a gay old beau, and who never realizes that he is too old for the young women with whom he wishes to flirt."
the lady stopped again, and her smile was deeper than ever. "now that was unintended," she mused, "but it comes in very happily." she resumed:
"and there is mr. hobart, who loves mysteries, especially murder mysteries, and who saved the life of that innocent boy. i find him a most interesting character, but, after all, he is read with less difficulty than mr. harley, who, though silent and reserved, seems to me to be deeper and more complex. his, i am sure, is a very strong nature--mr. grayson, you know, is quite fond of him, and in certain things has got into the habit of leaning upon him. mr. harley seems to me to be fitted by temperament and strength to be the shield and support of some one. he could make the girl who should become his wife very happy, and i am wondering if he will go out of our west without forming such an attachment."
"that surely," thought the lady, "will bring him to the question which i present to his mind, and he will answer it whether he will or not, by saying this attachment has been formed, and it is for sylvia." she continued:
"like mr. grayson, i am very fond of mr. harley, who has proved himself a true friend to us, and i should like to see him happy--that is, married to a true woman, who would not alone receive strength, but give it, too. in the course of his vocation, he has already roamed about the world enough, and it is time now for him to settle down. if i had my way i should select for him one of our fine western girls; about twenty-one or two, i think, would be the right age for him--there is a fitness in these things."
"i wonder if that is blunt?" she mused. "no, he will think it just popped out, and that i was unconscious of it. i shall let it stay." then she resumed:
"it ought to be a girl with a temperament that is at once a match and foil for his own. she should have a sense of humor, a gift for light and ironic speech that can stir him without irritating him, because he is perhaps of a cautious disposition, and hence would be well matched with one a little bit impulsive, each exercising the proper influence upon the other. she should be strong, too, habituated to physical hardship, as our western girls are. such a marriage, i think, would be ideal, and i expect you, mr. plummer, when you rejoin us, to help me make it, should the opportunity arise.
yours sincerely,
"anna grayson."
she folded the sheets, put them in the envelope, and addressed them. it was the second time that she had written to mr. plummer, but with a very different motive, and she had more confidence in the second letter than she had ever felt in the first.
"that will cause him pain," she reflected, "but the task cannot be done without it."
in her heart she was genuinely sorry for mr. plummer, thinking at that moment more of his grief than of her husband's risk, but she was resolute to mail the letter, nevertheless. she read it a little later to mr. grayson, and he approved.
"it is likely to bring 'king' plummer raging down from idaho, but it ought to go," he said.
a half-hour later, this letter, written in a delicate, feminine hand, but heavy with fate, was speeding northwestward.
