minor
 
 He was "vivified with a spark of her own soul."
 
 THE 
 
 SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY CLAY HANSBROUGH 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS 
 
 THE HUDSON PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 1911
 
 Copyright, 1911 by 
 
 THE HUDSON PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 All Rights Reserved.
 
 Believe not each accusing tongue, 
 
 As most weak persons do; 
 But still believe that story wrong 
 
 Which ought not to be true. 
 
 Sheridan. 
 
 There is an old proverb, also, which tells us that "Quack- 
 ery has no friend like gullibility." Montaigne declares "No- 
 thing is so firmly believed as what we least know." 
 
 2135979
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. THE RETURNED TRAVELER 1 
 
 II. AN UNRECORDED VOTE 11 
 
 III. WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 24 
 
 IV. THE SENATE DAZED 35 
 
 V. A WEDDING 44 
 
 VI. MARGARET HOLT'S DOUBTS 54 
 
 VII. SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 63 
 
 VIII. BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 79 
 
 IX. UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 93 
 
 X. THE MYSTERY is INTENSIFIED 104 
 
 XI. A POLITICAL SLANDER 117 
 
 XII. A HEROIC WOMAN 129 
 
 XIII. A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 140 
 
 XIV. THE NEW CAESARISM 153 
 
 XV. THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 167 
 
 XVI. RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 179 
 
 XVII. AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER..., 192
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 XVIII. "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 207 
 
 XIX. LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 220 
 
 XX. "LovE is EVERYWHERE" 233 
 
 XXI. WOMAN'S APPEAL TO WOMAN 249 
 
 XXII. THE HAIR TRUNK 257 
 
 XXIII. FRESH COMPLICATIONS 267 
 
 XXIV. MRS. HOLT'S CAMPAIGN 279 
 
 XXV. A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 288 
 
 XXVI. THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 301 
 
 XXVII. A DOUBLE CARNATION 316 
 
 XXVIII. MARTHA GIDDINGS 329 
 
 XXIX. READJUSTMENT 341 
 
 XXX. FINIS . 354
 
 CHIEF CHARACTERS 
 
 Scenes laid in Washington, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, 
 Mexico, the Blue Ridge region, and in a western state. 
 
 Time ? 
 
 Senator CORNELIUS TWAIN; Senators FORDYCE, BRADY, BUR- 
 RILL, BROOKE, Altrocrats. 
 
 Senators BAXTER, HALSEY, PAINE, PACKENHAM, KOPPINGER, 
 WALLBRIDGE, Conservatives. 
 
 RALPH BOLSTON, a rare Briton. 
 
 ARTHUR GREY, Altrocratic editor. 
 
 PAGE BANNISTER, Altrocratic President. 
 
 NICHOLAS MIKLESKOFF, a titled Russian. 
 
 RICHARD BOSTWICK, chief of detectives. 
 
 ANDREW HOLT, millionaire manufacturer. 
 
 STEPHEN HOLT, ardent and erratic youth. 
 
 ADELBERT ROBERTS, adviser of troubled consolidators. 
 
 EPHRAIM Fox, the Come Quick Danger's attorney. 
 
 SAM IVES, WILLIAM GIDDINGS, ANDY AKERS, lobbyists.
 
 CHIEF CHARACTERS 
 
 JOHN NOGGINS, sea captain. 
 
 DON JOSE GUERRERO, village alcalde. 
 
 ENID GREY, Twain's sweetheart. 
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS, victim of politics and perfidy. 
 
 MARGARET HOLT, sunny natured and wealthy. 
 
 JUANITA GUERRERO, in love with Bolston. 
 
 MRS. HOLT, practical woman and generous. 
 
 MRS. GREY, Enid's mother. 
 
 SUSIE NOGGINS, the sea captain's little daughter.
 
 THE SECOND AMENDMENT
 
 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE RETURNED TRAVELER 
 
 When the steamer came within land view one of the Japanese 
 passengers remarked that the Americans were "flying very large 
 kites." Several airships were skimming the ragged edges of 
 the mountain range beyond the Straits of Fuca. The Jap was 
 the first to see them; he was industriously using a pair of ma- 
 rine glasses. An hour later the airships were plainly visible 
 to the naked eye. It was my first sight of a flying machine, 
 for when I sailed for the Orient the Wright brothers had not 
 made their demonstrations of the aeroplane at Ft. Meyer, Vir- 
 ginia, and the first Zeppelin dirigible was just being construct- 
 ed in Germany. 
 
 Nor had the wireless telegraph been put into practical serv- 
 ice. Automobiles were not out of the experimental stage as 
 yet, and the tallest skyscraper in New York did not exceed 
 twenty-eight stories. Still, this last achievement was thought 
 to be very great. And yet, in the midst of so many wonderful 
 evidences of man's inventive genius and constructive skill, the 
 eager, rushing, palpitating multitude had quite forgotten about 
 the telephone, the most marvelous of all of them a contriv- 
 ance, indeed, which even Edison had been unable to explain 
 or to understand fully; for who among all the scientists and 
 discoverers can accurately account for the mysterious workings 
 of an instrument that conveys the human voice a thousand
 
 2 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 miles in less than the hundredth part of a second and returns 
 the answer before the questioner's lips have closed? 
 
 In the domain of politics a single individual had long been 
 in control of the Democratic party, which was fast going to 
 wreck on the rocks of artificial prosperity that the Republicans 
 had erected out of the selfishness of man. But this was in 
 consonance with the industrial expediency of the day. Insur- 
 gency was then in embryo, and the wild beasts of the African 
 jungle had not yet been laid under political tribute. 
 
 Wherever I traveled in the Far East I was deeply impressed, 
 not to say sorely depressed, by the slothful customs and other 
 evidences of decay to be seen on every hand. Even the new 
 buildings, the few that fell under my eye, and the young peo- 
 ple as well, were old in outward appearance; the dust of the 
 dead ages seemed to have settled permanently upon everything, 
 and soon I came to feel that I, too, was aging under the pre- 
 dominant influence of the pervading "sere and yellow leaf." 
 
 Very naturally, after a considerable period in a reactionary 
 atmosphere, the perspective faculty is dulled, and one is prone 
 to relapse into an unprogressive state of mind. Such was my 
 mental condition when I embarked at Yokohama, I and my 
 baggage ticketed and checked for America, my battered trunks 
 and out-of-date bags profusely plastered with the quaint labels 
 of oriental hotels. 
 
 But what a change was here, my countrymen ! The first ob- 
 ject that aroused my dormant enthusiasm was a fresh, crisp copy 
 of a newspaper published daily on shipboard. It was called 
 "The Morning Vibragram," for the reason, I presume, that it 
 was devoted chiefly to the reproduction of wireless dispatches 
 from all civilized parts of the globe. One of these messages 
 of the air, bearing a Washington date line, told of the con- 
 cluding negotiations between Great Britain and the United 
 States whereby Canada was becoming a political part of the
 
 THE RETURNED TRAVELER 3 
 
 American Union in exchange for the Philippine Islands, an- 
 nexation by the corporation or reciprocity route having failed. 
 Another announced the completion of the new sea-level canal 
 across the Isthmus of Panama. This was in consequence of 
 the mysterious and wanton destruction of the Gatun Dam in 
 the old lock canal. A "Vibragram" editorial on the subject 
 referred scathingly to the part that some Japanese fanatics 
 were believed by many Americans to have played in the Dam 
 incident. However, the story was not officially credited in the 
 United States. The editorial concluded: "Thus has a great 
 national crime been avenged by a stroke of diplomacy which 
 rids us of one alien people, not of our blood, in exchange for 
 one that belongs to the common stock from which we sprang. 
 Thus is the ambitious and aggressive Mikado brought to face 
 a reinforced, if not a belligerent power in the East. And here- 
 after our own navy may pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
 without being obliged to negotiate the top of a mountain." 
 
 It was from the patriotic editor of "The Vibragram," Arthur 
 Grey, who was on board, that I acquired much valuable in- 
 formation in regard to America and some important events 
 occurring during my absence. He was also the owner and pub- 
 lisher of "The Morning Record," the leading daily paper at 
 the National Capital. Grey, then a young man, was just enter- 
 ing the journalistic field in Washington at the beginning of my 
 public service. He knew American politics and politicians, 
 and had a wide reputation for rare wisdom as well as for im- 
 peccable honesty. Among other things, he was famous for 
 having followed strictly and consistently the policy of "editing 
 his newspapers upstairs instead of in the counting room." 
 
 Grey, it should be said, was not a believer in things Utopian ; 
 nor was he an advocate of fads. He knew the weak spots in 
 politicians and in new party movements, and had refrained 
 from lending unlimited encouragement to Insurgency and its
 
 4 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 corner stone in the temple of political issues the primary elec- 
 tion system. He had great respect for the courts, and yet it 
 was difficult for him to conceal his disgust for those tribunals 
 that had upheld the constitutionality of that provision in most 
 of the primary laws under which certain state legislatures had 
 been weak enough to delegate to the state-wide electorate the 
 legislative duty of choosing United States senators for that 
 is the net result of all such statutes. He did not believe in 
 widespread distribution of responsibility. 
 
 He also knew the people, although in the abstract he did 
 not distrust them. The people were all right, he declared, if 
 they had the good fortune not to be misled. According to his 
 view they were in as great danger of being deceived by one 
 faction as by another, or by one party as by another. 
 
 "And they seem to like it, too," said he. 
 
 So, from the very beginning of the agitation against corpo- 
 rate domination in politics, and throughout the reign of Popu- 
 lism, Insurgency and the like, his exceptional forsightedness 
 enabled him to see that nothing was to be gained by temporiz- 
 ing or compromising as between party factions; that if the 
 times were out of joint and he had some misgivings on this 
 score there must be a complete regeneration in public policy. 
 If a new party was needed it must stand for something on its 
 own account, not for its service to monopoly, and have a ring- 
 ing title that meant literally what it implied. It must have a 
 paramount issue that was not galvanized with antiquated "prin- 
 ciples" worn to a frazzle by either or both of the parties which 
 the new one was designed to supersede. 
 
 "A three-ringed circus," said he, "may be just the thing, but 
 you cant' have a three-ringed political party ; nor do I believe in 
 political side shows. In politics there is always the danger that 
 the clamoring 'outs,' when they get into power, should this hap-
 
 THE RETURNED TRAVELER 5 
 
 pen, will fall into the same undesirable ways the 'ins' had been 
 pursuing." 
 
 Then he went on to explain the reason for the Altrocratic 
 party ; told me of the struggle its founders were undergoing and 
 that might be expected to continue, and gave me an interesting 
 account of its aims and purposes, analyzing the great Purchase 
 bill that embraced the issue upon which the new party based its 
 hopes of permanent success. Thus it was that I became famil- 
 iar with the course of legislation and with administrative policy 
 as these had progressed while I was away from my native land. 
 
 Little did either of us imagine, as we discussed matters to- 
 gether on shipboard, what was in store for the greater Republic 
 in consequence of pending policies; the nature of the startling 
 events so soon to take place at the very seat of government. 
 Scarcely can I realize, even now, what has happened, it is all so 
 very strange, although it is entirely plausible. I know, how- 
 ever, that Arthur Grey, at the time I began this story, was a 
 changed man broken in health and sad at heart; yet he had 
 not lost his iron nerve ; men of his type never wholly despair of 
 the future of their country, however much they may be dis- 
 pleased with the trend of politics, or the seeming madnesses in 
 what constitutes modern popular government. 
 
 So deeply engrossed were we over the stirring prospects and 
 the uncertainties of affairs of state and domestic development 
 with the Canadian country and the frozen north coming into 
 the Union under the Stars and Stripes, and all Europe, encour- 
 aged by our abandonment of the policy of protection for the 
 domestic farmer, demanding free trade, and with it an unforti- 
 fied canal it was not until after our Jap friend with the marine 
 glasses had discovered the flying machines and we were steaming 
 into Seattle harbor, that I found time to inquire particularly 
 after Grey's interesting little family at their home in Washing- 
 ton City.
 
 6 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Ah, you have not forgotten them," he exclaimed, proudly, 
 when I spoke of Mrs. Grey and her many courtesies toward me 
 during my public service. And his face beamed with a smile of 
 delight when I referred particularly to the budding little maid 
 that had so often stood at my knee and interrogated me concern- 
 ing "the big talking men in the big Capitol on the hill." Then, 
 in a confidential tone, he said : 
 
 "Enid is soon to be married." 
 
 I found it difficult to persuade myself that she could have 
 grown to the marriageable age, and yet, of course, several years 
 were passed since I had listened to her joyous, na'ive question- 
 ings. I was silent for quite a while, running over in my mind 
 the strange things that come on the wings of time. Then I in- 
 quired : 
 
 "May I ask to whom?" 
 
 "To a brother senator of yours," he replied, laughingly. 
 
 "A nephew senator, more likely, Grey; my brother senators 
 are surely all dead, or have been defeated for re-election, by this 
 time." 
 
 Still, I congratulated him. Knowing the Senate as I had, I 
 felt that his daughter could scarcely make a mistake by choosing 
 a senator for a husband, notwithstanding the proclivity of the 
 scarlet press to satirize them and to create disagreeable impres- 
 sions concerning their gentlemenly qualities and honorable pur- 
 poses ; for, while I am aware that not all the senators that have 
 helped to make our remarkable history have been faultless, I am 
 equally certain that not in all history has there ever been a body 
 that contained so few unworthy men. If we accept current 
 criticism as being true, it is a body whose members are expected 
 to be something more than human. Yet, in truth, where a few 
 senators have failed to meet this expectation, may it not have 
 been due largely to the falsehoods and the nagging tactics of 
 ambitious, envious party rivals outside the Senate of those that
 
 THE RETURNED TRAVELER 7 
 
 are bent on getting into the Senate at any price to themselves or 
 at any cost in reputation to the incumbent? to the unfortunate 
 habit, forsooth, in this "land of the free and home of the brave," 
 of discrediting public servants, particularly those who attain to 
 distinguished positions and assume grave responsibilities ? And 
 how often the attack from the outside begins even before the 
 victims have had an opportunity to demonstrate their fitness. It 
 seems to be a national trait to undermine those in authority ; to 
 drive men great or small, good or bad from place and from 
 power. Only angels with wings large and strong ones could 
 be equal to eluding a persistent, heartless pursuit like this. 
 
 My interest in the Senate had not waned. Although I was 
 looking forward with no small degree of pleasure to the time 
 when convenience would permit me to visit the place of some of 
 the greatest trials as well as the greatest triumphs of my life, 
 after listening to Grey's energetic and hopeful words concerning 
 political conditions, I resolved to go to Washington after as lit- 
 tle delay as possible. Nor would my first call be at the Capitol ; 
 immediately on my arrival I would pay my respects at the 
 editor's home. I was curious to see the future wife of my 
 "brother senator." I had known the one as a child, but not 
 until my friend, the distinguished father of the girl, spoke his 
 name had I ever heard of Cornelius Twain. 
 
 The true American quickly adjusts himself to marvelous 
 things. I was by no means slow in getting accustomed to the 
 high-speeding automobiles that thronged the highways. 
 
 "It is in the state of Washington," remarked Grey, before we 
 left Seattle, "that more good roads are to be found than in any 
 other commonwealth. This is due chiefly to the efforts of my 
 energetic friend, Samuel Dale, who enjoys being called a good 
 roads crank. Where you find good roads there also will you 
 find the autochine in abundance." 
 
 Nor did I "duck" or "side-step," after a few days' experience,
 
 8 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 in order to avoid the airships when they came swooping down 
 for passengers or gasoline. And, as for being surprised at the 
 height of the skyscrapers, the sixty-story one at Seattle certainly 
 prepared my mind against anything of the kind that might be 
 seen when I came to New York. 
 
 There was no doubt but that by this time I was coming out of 
 the spell that oriental travel had put upon me; that I had 
 shaken off the dust of the dead ages, and was once more hope- 
 fully and buoyantly American in substance and in spirit. 
 
 Another thing, one that pleased me much, the places known 
 as the Twin Cities now one and inseparable, in spite of them- 
 selves had finished the work of putting their street car tracks 
 under ground, particularly in the congested centers. What a 
 relief! On this account I lingered in the consolidated metro- 
 polis, now one of the beauty spots of earth, for nearly a week 
 beyond my limit, so that I might enjoy the absence of noise. 
 
 I did not observe any great improvement in this regard in 
 Chicago ; but no one ever goes to Chicago expecting to find quiet 
 and rest, or anything else that does not appear to be overgrown, 
 including noise. 
 
 Coming to Washington from New York in an airship (time 
 two hours) , I was soon comfortably settled at the Hotel Willing- 
 ton, famous for its great court, its superior food and its fancy 
 prices. Grey was on hand with his "autochine" and whirled 
 me through Rock Creek Park to his comfortable residence in 
 the hills. It was here that I passed my first evening in many 
 years at the Capital ; that I again met "little Enid." She smiled 
 and shook her head when I thus greeted her. 
 
 "American girls develop rapidly, once they begin to grow," 
 said she, with a musical laugh. 
 
 Rarely has it ever been my good fortune to meet one possess- 
 ing such superlative beauty and charm. Surely the Graces had 
 delved lovingly here. It was a beauty that appealed to all the
 
 THE RETURNED TRAVELER 9 
 
 senses, making its intellectual appeal as well ; for even the shape- 
 liness of form and the fine pink coloring of her striking Grecian 
 face seemed to fade from view when she spoke a voice, indeed, 
 so sweetly and mellifluously attuned that no words of mine can 
 describe it; and her wonderful gray eyes were all alight with 
 incomparable expressiveness. 
 
 "I am sure you will like him," she replied when I had offered 
 my felicitations. And how easily she was drawn into enthusias- 
 tic praise of his admirable qualities. So, as I listened and 
 looked, almost dumbfounded in the effulgent glory of her pres- 
 ence, I determined to go the next morning to the Senate cham- 
 ber that I might see and know the wonderful, the fortunate man 
 who could capture this womanly prize. 
 
 But who, I asked myself when the body had been called to 
 order, are these strange men? Were they senators? It must 
 be so. Yet they were so unlike the old guard in appearance and 
 manner. Could it be that the primary system had wrought the 
 change? Then I recalled a flippant but forceful gibe I had 
 heard when the primary was first coming into vogue : "The 
 veriest nondescript may run for the Senate when that fad be- 
 comes effective, and at the finish the wealthiest and perhaps the 
 least competent man will take the prize, while not ten per cent of 
 the voters will have known beforehand any of the aspirants that 
 took part in the scramble." 
 
 There was much truth in this sarcastic quip. But many of 
 us have learned from sore experience that truth and party ex- 
 pediency are not usually on intimate terms ; wisdom and ragtime 
 politics, like oil and water, do not mix. 
 
 Yes, the change was very marked, and it was quite complete. 
 There were none with whom I had served no "brother sena- 
 tors," to use the editor's phrase ; so I consoled myself with the 
 thought that at least there was no harm in accepting them as 
 nephews.
 
 10 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 I asked an attendant to point out Senator Twain, but he was 
 not in his seat ; had not been there that day. The reason for his 
 absence was not hard to guess, for although, in my day as a mem- 
 ber of the body, there was a tradition that love was not condu- 
 cive to serious-minded statesmanship, I had known senators to 
 steal away from the dreary scene and drive in the parks with 
 fair ladies. Nor time nor changed political conditions and 
 policies would overcome this pleasing practice, against which 
 the sage of "Wolfert's Roost" had inveighed as a frivolous 
 habit. 

 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 
 
 I lingered about the chamber, hoping that Twain might come 
 in, without the least suggestion or suspicion in my mind that the 
 day was to be a memorable one in the annals of my country. I 
 had spent the greater part of the afternoon in the seat of an- 
 other absent senator, and was not following closely the sleepy 
 proceedings for they were of the dull, perfunctory, indefinite 
 sort that belong to listless legislation when my attention was 
 attracted by the noise of an unusual silence, as an epigrammatist 
 might say. In other words, there was a noticeable hiatus in the 
 speechmaking. All eyes were now focused on Mr. Packenham, 
 Conservative senator from Lower Alaska, who occupied the 
 floor. The Seward peninsula had but just been admitted to 
 the sisterhood of states, adding two stars to the blue field of 
 "Old Glory." 
 
 Sixty seconds of complete silence in the Senate will arouse 
 greater curiosity and interest than a whole month of routine 
 noise. Such was the last minute consumed by Packenham be- 
 fore he yielded the floor. He had stopped abruptly in his dry, 
 dispassionate speech, and taken a slip of folded paper brought to 
 him just then by a page. With his other hand he lifted a glass 
 of water to his lips, and, while he sipped sparingly of the con- 
 tents of the glass, by a dexterous movement of his thumb and 
 forefinger he unfolded the paper.
 
 12 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "You do not look well. Your argument conclusive." 
 
 These were the words in the note. They had been typewrit- 
 ten, as was shown by subsequent investigation, and the word 
 "conclusive" was heavily underlined. The page said the mes- 
 sage came at the request of a gentleman in the reserved gallery. 
 
 The senator was much paler now than before. He crushed 
 the slip of paper in his hand, rolled it into a small round ball, 
 dropped it into a waste basket and then returned the glass to its 
 place on his desk. After a furtive glance about the dull, pro- 
 saic scene, he said : 
 
 "Mr. President, I will not further impose my views upon the 
 patience of the Senate. I have done." 
 
 Most of the senators that were in the chamber looked sur- 
 prised when Packenham suddenly ceased speaking and sat down, 
 for, as I afterward learned, he was expected to talk at least two 
 days; he usually did when great constitutional questions were 
 being considered. On this occasion he had spoken less than two 
 hours ; and, too, he had closed his argument without indulging 
 in any oratorical flourish whatsoever. 
 
 "Surely," remarked a new senator near me, "this is not the 
 same Packenham to whom so many gallery visitors have listened 
 in the past." 
 
 The look of surprise on senators' faces gave way to one of 
 astonishment when the Vice President, standing in his place, 
 asked if there were further remarks on the pending bill, and no 
 senator rose to speak. The Vice President's inquiry was not 
 only superfluous and unnecessary it was unusual. It was evi- 
 dent that he deemed it necessary to proceed cautiously and de- 
 liberately, for the reason, presumably, that the whole country 
 was facing a most uncommon situation. Everyone knew the 
 two parties were so evenly divided in the Senate that a single 
 vote might easily determine the fate of the bill then under con- 
 sideration.
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 13 
 
 "Vote ! Vote !" 
 
 This demand came from senators on both sides of the cham- 
 ber. 
 
 For weeks, to the exclusion of nearly all other business, de- 
 bate had proceeded upon the great Purchase bill, with no pros- 
 pect of a vote being taken ; both the Altrocratic and the Conser- 
 vative senators were fearful of the result. Repeated attempts 
 had been made, first by the proponents and then by the oppo- 
 nents, whenever the conditions seemed favorable to either side, to 
 secure unanimous consent for a time to vote. These attempts 
 invariably failed; for it always happened that some senator on 
 the other side objected. Then the debate would go on. 
 
 Until the sudden turn came, when Packenham stopped talk- 
 ing, it looked as if the end of the long session of Congress might 
 be reached without definite action. Grey told me, as we came 
 eastward, that he expected such a result. Yet, at no time in the 
 history of the Senate had a great national question been disposed 
 of without a previous unanimous agreement that is to say, an 
 agreement on a definite time for a vote on the measure in which 
 the fate of that question was involved. 
 
 So, having no doubt in regard to the duty of the presiding 
 officer when debate comes to an end in the Senate (which rarely 
 happens), and being reassured by Senator Fordyce, the Altro- 
 cratic leader, who, from his place on the floor, was now nodding 
 his approval the Vice President, in a voice full of confidence, 
 exlaimed : 
 
 "The question is on the amendment to the pending bill." 
 
 "Which amendment, Mr. President?" This inquiry came 
 from several senators in unison ; there were many amendments. 
 
 After considerable parliamentary sparring it was agreed that 
 a vote should be taken on an amendment that had been offered 
 during the morning hour by Fordyce. 
 
 This pleased the Altrocratic senators, who were already evinc-
 
 14 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 ing great delight, for they were glad that debate was at an end. 
 And, too, they had no doubt of a majority of one on any test of 
 party strength that might occur. 
 
 Yet, they found it difficult to conceal their uneasiness, for the 
 Conservatives, who were expected to continue the debate indefi- 
 nitely, were now bestirring themselves for the important contest 
 at hand. By this time it seemed as if every Conservative sen- 
 ator was present and in his seat. They were noted for their 
 disciplinary methods. 
 
 "Behold the sereneness and composedness, the hopeful light in 
 Baxter's face," remarked Senator Paine. He was speaking in 
 an undertone to Senator Halsey, a fellow Conservative, who 
 showed by his manner that he was nervously apprehensive. 
 
 "One never knows what a smiling man is thinking about," re- 
 plied Halsey. "See ! Fordyce, too, is smiling broadly. He looks 
 too happy to suit me." 
 
 Indeed, both party leaders seemed to be pleased. 
 
 "Well, why not have it out now?" said Paine. "If we defeat 
 them that will end it for the present. If they succeed, the 
 courts will settle the question as it should be settled, for the bill 
 is unconstitutional." 
 
 "Undoubtedly," replied Halsey. 
 
 "Yeas and nays, Mr. President," came in chorus from the 
 senators. 
 
 Accordingly, the yeas and nays were ordered, amidst a scene 
 of confusion and excitement such as had never before occurred 
 on the floor of the Senate. Fortunate, indeed, was I to be 
 present and witness this culminating point in a momentous 
 issue. 
 
 The sonorous ring of the bells, signifying that a vote was at 
 hand, sounded ominously, imparting a metallic quality to the 
 depressing heat. Pages raced through the building in search of 
 absent senators. The galleries soon filled with spectators, who
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 15 
 
 were dawdling in the corridors and lobbies, hopeful that some- 
 thing of an exciting nature would take place on the floor, while 
 in the reserved stalls were gathered many consolidators and their 
 obedient chamberlains, who for months had infested the place 
 of legislative power with their artful and insinuating presence. 
 Even the Master Monger was there. At no time since the period 
 of "regulation and control," now obsolete, had their number at 
 the Capitol been so great. Was it the beginning of the end of 
 their reign of lawlessness? If so, the fact that it was at hand 
 did not seem to penetrate their calloused souls. 
 
 In the telephone booths the "whips" of the two parties were 
 contending for the wires, which appeared now to be vexatiously 
 crossed or shortcircuited. Senator Brady, the Altrocratic whip, 
 was especially interested in reaching Senator Twain. Some- 
 thing seemed to be wrong with everything just then. Finally, 
 when Brady succeeded in getting the wire and also the infor- 
 mation that it was "busy," his remarks, if I dared record them 
 as uttered, would be worthy of a place among the profane class- 
 ics as a model of succinct and forceful epigram. 
 
 "Damn these minions of money !" he exclaimed. "They 
 thwart us at every step." But this is only a sample, and was not 
 all that he said. 
 
 Impatiently returning the receiver to its bracket, he hastened 
 to the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, where he wrote a list of 
 Altrocratic senators who were absent, yet who were known to be 
 in the city, and directed that messengers be dispatched for them 
 forthwith. Then he rushed into the Senate chamber just in time 
 to answer to his name on the vote on the first amendment. 
 
 The result of the roll call, after the regular and the temporary 
 pairs had been announced, showed forty senators for the amend- 
 ment and forty against it, with one senator absent unpaired, 
 there being none with whom he could be paired. The absentee 
 was Senator Twain.
 
 16 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "The chair votes no," said the Vice President in a tone that 
 was scarcely audible. "The amendment is rejected." 
 
 A wave of unrestrained glee passed over the faces of those in 
 the reserved stalls. In the other galleries, where sat the prole- 
 tarian visitors, a serious and portentous silence ensued. 
 
 Fordyce then took the floor. He made the assertion, and 
 made it vigorously, that there had been no previous agreement to 
 take a vote. It was a strange proceeding at best, he declared. 
 Therefore, he made a motion for a recess of thirty minutes. 
 
 There was no doubt that his party followers, who were now in 
 a state bordering upon consternation, needed time in which to 
 collect their faculties and their forces. 
 
 "I hope the motion will be voted down," replied Baxter, the 
 Conservative leader. "The friends of the amendment knew 
 how to prevent a vote ; they could have gone on with the debate, 
 as they have been doing for months." 
 
 The Conservatives were anxious to proceed, for with the cast- 
 ing vote of the Vice President in their favor, Twain being away 
 and unpaired, they knew they could now defeat the Purchase 
 bill. 
 
 "We did not anticipate any sharp practice," responded For- 
 dyce with a ringing note in his voice. "It was a case of snap 
 judgment, nothing less. Senators on the other side will do well 
 not to push me to the proof." 
 
 Packenham's face colored. Baxter was about to reply, when 
 Senator Wallbridge, one of the senior statesmen a Conservative 
 in fact, for he believed in proper senatorial ethics rose and said 
 he hoped, in view of what had occurred, the request for a recess 
 would be acceded to. And it was, for Baxter knew the value of 
 party solidarity. He also knew of Wallbridge's tendency toward 
 independent action. 
 
 "That was the shortest speech Packenham ever made," Brady 
 exclaimed when the Altrocratic leaders gathered at the rear of
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 17 
 
 the chamber after the recess was announced. Brady was speak- 
 ing under suppressed excitement. He realized that his col- 
 leagues were not pleased with him; "Twain should have been 
 here," they growled. But what "whip" ever knew where all his 
 fellow partisans were when needed? 
 
 "And everyone on our side expected Packenham to make one 
 of his long speeches," added Burrill. 
 
 "Oh ! he was wound up to run until he got a sign to quit," 
 declared Fordyce, impatiently. "It is all clear enough now, 
 after the damage is done. Where is Twain?" 
 
 "I have a man at the 'phone trying to locate him," replied 
 Brady, " and have sent a messenger to Mr. Grey's house." 
 
 "A senator can't be in love and attend to his public duties too," 
 added Fordyce, scornfully. Tradition always and forever in 
 the Senate ! 
 
 It was near the hour of six when the Senate reconvened. By 
 this time the galleries, emptied in consequence of the recess, 
 were again filling up. There were now many members of the 
 House on the floor. Excitement over the unexpected develop- 
 ments was running high outside as well as inside the chamber. 
 All kinds of sensational reports were afloat. In the street there 
 was a wild rumor that the Purchase bill had been defeated ; that 
 Packenham was ill, being obliged to suspend his speech; that 
 Senator Twain was absent when the vote was taken, and that his 
 friends were gravely suspicious of him. Yet street rumors are 
 not always reliable. The most composed and confident persons 
 to be seen were the Conservative senators and the occupants of 
 the reserved stalls who agreed with them that the pending Altro- 
 cratic measure was both vicious and unwarranted. 
 
 Senator Brooke took the floor to debate the second amendment. 
 The confusion was so great that the reporters of debates could 
 not hear him; the Conservative senators did not want to hear 
 him, and the Altrocratic senators were interested only in con-
 
 18 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 suming time so as to admit of the return of Twain. So that 
 Brooke was in no haste to proceed, and when he did proceed his 
 deliberate and somewhat irrelevant remarks were not listened 
 to; nor did he nor any other Altrocrat care whether they were 
 or not. 
 
 After two hours of argument Brooke yielded for a motion to 
 adjourn. It was defeated. Then he went on like the Brooke 
 that he was. 
 
 It was the Conservatives who prevented an adjournment an 
 hour ago. Baxter now came forward with a proposal that he 
 would agree to an adjournment if the Altrocrats would stop 
 talking and permit a vote on the second amendment. It was 
 Baxter's amendment. The Altrocrats declared that it would 
 nullify the Purchase law, should it become a law with the 
 amendment in it. Still, they knew that under the rule they 
 could have the vote reconsidered, even within the next two 
 days, with Twain present; so they accepted Baxter's proposal 
 to take a vote on his amendment and then adjourn. 
 
 Although it was now considerably past the usual dinner hour, 
 the Altrocrats clung to the hope that Twain might yet appear. 
 
 Before the above-mentioned arrangement was suggested by 
 Baxter and acceded to by Fordyce, the party machinery in the 
 Senate had been put in motion. Over against the west wall of 
 the chamber, near the main entrance, stood a watchful employe 
 of the body. He owed his appointment to the Conservatives. 
 Just outside the door near him a page was stationed. Far down 
 at the end of the corridor was another page, and near the street 
 entrance of the building still another. This line of watchers 
 had been thus picketed, while Brooke was speaking, so that the 
 Conservatives could be apprised of the arrival of Twain. Had 
 the latter appeared at the street entrance at this critical moment, 
 word would have been quickly passed, and before Twain could 
 enter the cloak room, put his hat in his locker and come into
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 19 
 
 the chamber, the Conservatives would have time to secure an 
 adjournment for the day, thus, perhaps, saving the immediate 
 defeat of Baxter's amendment. 
 
 "Whip" Brady had his lookouts also. There was one at the 
 north window of the general reception room, another at the 
 entrance to the marble room and still another just inside the 
 northeast door of the chamber. Brady had no doubt that Twain 
 would approach the Capitol, if he came at all, from a certain 
 direction, so that Fordyce would get the signal from the inside 
 watcher as soon as the latter got it from those outside. Then 
 Fordyce would have Brooke stop talking, and permit a vote to 
 be taken on the second amendment. There was also an Altro- 
 cratic messenger at the Grey residence and one at Twain's lodg- 
 ings, both under instructions to use the telephone, if possible, in 
 case the senator came to either of those places. 
 
 All these arrangements and precautions, quite unusual it is 
 true, were entirely legitimate. They seemed to be necessary, 
 under the peculiar conditions then confronting the Senate, in 
 determining the fate of the most important party measure that 
 had come before the body in a half century. In all fairness to 
 the Conservatives, it may be said that they were not aware and 
 certainly the Altrocrats were not of another, a more myste- 
 rious and diabolical scheme, concocted outside the chamber, to 
 overcome the vote of Twain. 
 
 In the heated discussions over the extraordinary events now 
 stirring the people as never before, no one ever directly charged 
 the Conservative leader with a knowledge of what was about to 
 happen, although there were vague hints to that effect. Had the 
 accusation ever been specifically made, it is not at all likely that 
 Baxter would have denied it; he never denied anything only 
 smiled. To have wasted time in making denials would have 
 kept him or any other party leader very busy.
 
 20 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Mr. Baxter." (The clerk was now calling the roll, in ac- 
 cordance with the agreement to have a vote.) 
 
 "Ay," answered the Conservative leader, whose name was at 
 the top of the list. 
 
 Its being there was a mere coincidence ; alphabetically it be- 
 longed there. Baxter's political leadership, which was some- 
 thing entirely apart from the tally-sheet arrangement, was large- 
 ly in consequence of his ability, his courage, or, more properly, 
 his admirable audacity. And, too, it was supposed he represent- 
 ed the swollen fortunes of the country; so at least it was cur- 
 rently reported. From this distinction he never shrank for a 
 moment. Withal, he was believed to consider it an honor and a 
 duty. The multitude understood it, and censured him. Baxter 
 merely smiled. 
 
 It was Baxter's smile that gave no inconsiderable weight to 
 his name being at the top of the roll that and his undaunted 
 leadership. If a Conservative senator happened not to hear 
 Baxter's "aye" or "no," thus being in doubt as to what he was 
 expected to do, he had but to look at his leader's face. If Baxter 
 was smiling, that meant that all Conservatives were expected to 
 vote in the affirmative ; if he wore a serious expression, this fact 
 implied the negative. It sometimes happened that Conserva- 
 tives would vote "no" when Baxter had voted the other way; 
 whereupon the latter would smilingly remark in an undertone, 
 "Our vote's aye." 
 
 The term "our," as thus used, had its deeper significance a 
 sort of community-of-interest meaning, which is a corporate 
 quality. In the Senate this powerful thing has a potency, and 
 it is not to be either despised or ignored. All parties have used 
 it, and their successors will doubtless do so. Its fruit is party 
 prestige, which is extended to the states, in the form of patron- 
 age, about election time. It had long been relied upon and en- 
 joyed by the industrial and other mendicants of consolidation,
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 21 
 
 and was now being successfully used to put the brand of party 
 treason upon those who were even suspected of independent poli- 
 tical tendencies. 
 
 And as I sat there while the roll was being called on a mea- 
 sure that deeply concerned the welfare of a hundred millions of 
 people and their unborn descendants, on the one hand, and a 
 hundred thousand monopolists and their heirs on the other, I 
 was wondering just how far back it was in the faded ages that 
 the spirit of monopoly that is, the struggle for individual ad- 
 vantage had its inception. It must have been long before the 
 advent of the jack-knife, hopeful youth's implement of barter 
 and trade, before kites were invented, before spinning tops were 
 made. It may be that it was about the time that mankind was 
 first studying the fashions in animal skins; when Eve's daugh- 
 ters, "garmented in light from their own beauty," wearied of the 
 monotony of prevailing styles, were thatching themselves with 
 grasses from the Aryan plains. 
 
 Our earliest ancestors levied tribute upon one another in a 
 variety of ways. If one of them had anything that another one 
 wanted, the process by which the title passed between them was 
 very simple, and the late owner was left to sit on a limb and 
 chatter about his hard luck. The multitude sympathized with 
 the vanquished and yet paid obsequious homage to the victor. 
 Hence the modern proverb that "nothing succeeds like success." 
 Later, when mind had risen superior to matter, effective results 
 were obtained by negotiation, brute force being used only as a 
 last resort. But now, at the high noon of our "civilizing power," 
 we had combined the potential forces of greed, and pasted the 
 label of "party" on the consolidated product, "with naught set 
 down in malice," but with gain as the controlling motive. Spo- 
 liation was come to be an exact science an art in legislation 
 and a virtue in business pursuits. 
 
 Prosperity and monopoly were now accepted by many estima-
 
 22 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 ble persons as synonymous terms. What the Altrocrats were 
 insisting upon was that the two should not be confused, because 
 of the dissimilitude in their meaning; for, as they contend, in 
 the success of the one reposes the hope of the people, in the 
 other the certain destruction of the Republic all which has a 
 musical sound that will fall flat on the ear of selfishness. The 
 line of political division was well defined in the Senate, with 
 the Conservatives representing the underwritten policies of 
 artifice and privilege, the hopeful Altrocrats struggling mili- 
 tantly to establish a real, honest democracy. 
 
 However, these matters cannot now be discussed at length 
 not while the roll is being called. I may not discuss them at 
 all, having not the slightest desire to infringe upon the preroga- 
 tive of the sensationalist. 
 
 "Mr. Brady," continued the clerk. 
 
 "No," responded the Altrocratic "whip." 
 
 Just then a page bounded up the aisle to Brady's seat. The 
 senator listened intently to the youth's whispered message. After 
 a moment's reflection he rose and walked carelessly over to where 
 Fordyce was sitting. 
 
 "When the first pair is announced," said he in an undertone, 
 "get up and make a disturbance about it. Delay the roll call 
 even at the risk of your life. Twain is on his way in an auto, an 
 aero, or something; they have just 'phoned me from Grey's." 
 
 The opportunity for the "disturbance" came the next minute, 
 when the name of a Conservative absentee was called, and an 
 Altrocratic senator who had a regular pair with the absentee 
 proposed to transfer it to Twain. Although this arrangement 
 would have been quite in accordance with everyday usage, 
 strangely enough Halsey raised an objection, and supported it 
 by a short argument. He asked why the pair arrangement on 
 the vote taken on the first amendment was not the preferable 
 one, and far less complicating.
 
 AN UNRECORDED VOTE 23 
 
 He feared that a rearrangement might leave a Conservative 
 senator unpaired, thus imperiling the second amendment. 
 
 His objection to the proposed pairing of Twain gave Fordyce 
 the opportunity he sought to make a "disturbance," and he em- 
 braced it. Under the unwritten rule of unlimited debate, For- 
 dyce, if he chose, could talk until Twain appeared upon the 
 scene, be that the next minute or the next month. Then of 
 course Brady would give him a sign to stop. 
 
 But Twain did not arrive. And what is stranger still a 
 thing until then unprecedented in the Senate the vote on the 
 second amendment to the great Purchase bill, the roll having 
 been called, had not been announced by the presiding officer 
 when the body adjourned that night.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 
 
 When the first rays of the morning dawn came creeping 
 through the blinded windows of her dainty apartment, Enid 
 Grey was reminded that she had not slept. 
 
 Here, in seclusion and unutterable sorrow, her wonderful eyes 
 aflame and swollen with grief, her aching bosom surging against 
 a great weight of anguish, she was pacing the awful moments 
 away, waiting, hoping, silently praying for a message from her 
 father or from Mr. Bolston anything that would lift the ter- 
 rible cloud of despair from her anxious mind. 
 
 The very silence of her surroundings was oppressive, while the 
 least of noises assumed the magnitude of thunderbolts. The 
 incessant ticks of the clock, from its cozy recess on the mantel, 
 sank into her exquisite senses as thrusts from trenchant blades. 
 Yet, there was something in the resonant peals of the mellow bell, 
 as it solemnly marked the dragging hours, answering the music 
 of the reverberant chimes in the distant steeple, that aroused 
 activity and exalted the emotions; she knew by the last strokes 
 of the little timepiece and the growing light in the windows that 
 a new day had come. Would it bring relief ? Could the angels 
 in Heaven prevail against such injustice ? 
 
 Weary in body and mind, she yielded to the entreaties of her 
 faithful maid and lay down on the divan. Here Aimee soothed 
 her into fitful slumber.
 
 WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 25 
 
 At "The Morning Record" building the editor, Senator 
 Brady, and Ralph Bolston, far beyond the midnight, discussed 
 the strange events of the preceding evening and received the 
 vague, indefinite accounts and rumors brought in by the tired 
 reporters. Speculation at police headquarters was equally 
 dubious. 
 
 As a result of their efforts to unravel the mystery, Brady, 
 Grey and Bolston consoled themselves with the thought that 
 there was nothing tragically remarkable about what might turn 
 out to be only an unavoidable delay. Twain's failure to return 
 to the autocar in which he had set out for the Senate ; the pro- 
 bability that he, being engrossed in the business that took him 
 into the Wellington to meet his friend Splicer, had neglected or 
 even forgotten to send word to Enid, who was waiting for him 
 in the machine, and that, before he had finished with Splicer, 
 she, becoming alarmed or being moved by the impatience of 
 hunger, had wheeled away any or all of these could easily have 
 happened. Again, he might have heard of the adjournment of 
 the Senate, and, his presence not being required there, decided to 
 go with Splicer to his room. 
 
 Strange it was, nevertheless, that he failed to send word to 
 her as she waited outside, or to use the 'phone and advise the 
 much interested occupants of the Grey household of the cause 
 of his delay; it was not at all like Twain to permit even the 
 most pressing public duties to interfere with the commonplace 
 civilities of life. Moreover, Bolston's industrious efforts during 
 the evening to locate Splicer availed him not; indeed, no one 
 could be found that knew of his being in the city. 
 
 Woman's prescience is so much keener than is this same power 
 in man that she has frequently been misjudged. She has been 
 known to foresee and to foretell the coming of great calamities 
 without giving a logical reason therefor. This remarkable fac- 
 ulty was strong in Enid Grey.
 
 26 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 To this day she cannot account for the controlling motive that 
 impelled her to insist upon driving with Cornelius Twain to the 
 Capitol when they returned from their airing in the park, and 
 Twain was advised by the waiting messenger sent by Brady that 
 the Senate was voting on the Purchase bill. 
 
 Nor will she undertake to describe the prompting apprehen- 
 sions that came to her when, as the chauffeur was cranking the 
 machine the Brady messenger having hastened away another 
 messenger appeared, saying that Mr. Splicer had urgently re- 
 quested the senator to stop at the Willington on his way; that 
 Splicer would wait for him near the buffet that opens on the 
 great court near the fountain and would accompany him to the 
 Senate. 
 
 "At the Willington, did you say?" she asked the last messen- 
 ger. 
 
 "Yes, miss." He lifted his hat politely. 
 
 "And he is now waiting near the buffet?" 
 
 "Yes, miss," the young man again touching his hat. 
 
 "Thank you," exclaimed Twain. "I was not aware Splicer 
 was to be here," he added as the driver threw on the first clutch 
 and "honked" for right of way, for he had been told to test the 
 speed limit. "Something important, I am sure, or Bob would 
 have put it off until tomorrow." Splicer was one of his closest 
 friends, the editor of a leading paper in his state. 
 
 "You will pardon me, won't you?" she asked, laughingly. "It 
 is my foolish anxiety that prompts me." 
 
 "Your interest always pleases me," he replied. 
 
 "Will you have time?" she inquired, in a dubious tone. 
 
 "Oh, yes. It will take only a minute. Besides, calling the 
 roll in the Senate is slow work, and there will be so many pre- 
 liminaries to a vote it is doubtful if I shall be needed tonight." 
 
 "Do you know the messenger?" she inquired.
 
 WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 27 
 
 "The first one, yes; the other one well, I've often seen him 
 about the Capitol and the Willington." 
 
 "Oh, the first one I liked his manner; he has a good face," 
 she averred. 
 
 "You have some doubt in regard to the other one?" 
 
 "There was something in his voice and his look that disturbs 
 me. He was less sincere." 
 
 "Dear little girl !" exclaimed Twain, as he looked lovingly 
 in her face, "there are no two mortals alike. It was so or- 
 dained; else how could we know whom we love most?" 
 
 "I would know, even if all men were like you in physical ap- 
 pearance." 
 
 "But there is none other like you in any way, sweetheart," he 
 replied. 
 
 Arriving at a side entrance to the hotel, Twain gave her hand 
 an effectionate squeeze, and saying he would return immediately, 
 passed quickly across the pavement into the corridor. It was 
 the dinner hour, and there were few people in the hotel lobby to 
 impede his rapid progress toward the great court, which had been 
 constructed so as to accommodate not only a considerable num- 
 ber of carriages and automobiles, but also the dirigibles the 
 pleasure craft that dropped down into the court from time to 
 time. 
 
 Her eyes followed the rather slight figure of the admirable 
 lover and friend until he disappeared at the end of the corridor. 
 Then her heart seemed to cease its functions, she knew not why. 
 Her first impulse was to follow him. Yet her better judgment 
 bade her wait. He would be absent only a minute, he said a 
 man's minute, too ; it is shorter than a woman's. 
 
 Hastily ungloving her left hand, she placed the two first 
 fingers at the pulse point of her other wrist. This was a habit 
 that was formed in her early girlhood. It was first resorted to 
 at school when, on an only occasion, her teacher required that
 
 28 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 she should remain standing sixty seconds in a conspicuous place 
 in the room a punishment for a slight infraction of the school 
 rules, something pertaining to her lesson in physiology. It was 
 by this lesson, perhaps, that she knew approximately the number 
 of pulsations in each minute. When the sixty seconds had ex- 
 pired and her teacher seemed to forget, the impatient girl made 
 bold to so inform her. This is a simple illustration indicating 
 Enid Grey's resolute and methodical temperament. It stood 
 her well in hand within the year. 
 
 She was surprised now to find her pulse bounding even more 
 rapidly than when she was at school, although nearly fifteen 
 summers had passed since her teacher's gentle admonition. 
 
 Ninety ! The minute's time had passed and more. Still, she 
 would give him another minute a woman's minute; an hun- 
 dred additional throbs of her heart should he have to finish with 
 his friend Splicer. At the end, and he had not returned, she 
 closed her eyes, slowly regloving her hand. The surging pulse 
 but marked her growing trepidation. 
 
 Surely the second messenger was genuine. Could it be that 
 Splicer ? she shuddered at the thought of such deception. And 
 yet she was familiar with the disturbed state of the public mind, 
 and had had some intimations of the desperation of men that 
 are engaged in subverting the facilities of government to so- 
 called business ends. These and kindred thoughts struggled for 
 solution, until her face burned and her temples throbbed; her 
 heart was sending the blood in riot to her brain. 
 
 Five minutes had now sped their everlasting course ! 
 
 The grinding whir of a great dirigible's wheels resounded 
 ominously overhead; like a wail of agony it was to her. Two 
 other airships, seemingly, of less power than the first, shot up- 
 ward like rockets from the dismal court, taking their way also to 
 the south. 
 
 The tendrils of her emotions relaxed; she felt a sensation of
 
 WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 29 
 
 nausea, then of pain. The noisy murmur of the streets was 
 now slowly dying in the fearful hollows of her ears. 
 
 The chauffeur had observed her deep anxiety. "I will go in 
 search of the senator," he said. His remark, as he hastily left 
 the machine, roused her from the impending swoon. 
 
 "Please, Ben; near the buffet you know," she replied, deject- 
 edly. 
 
 The driver's absence marked another age of suspense for the 
 suffering girl. There was no relief in Ben's report when he 
 came back. The place was almost deserted, he said two or 
 three carriages, their colored drivers asleep on their boxes; 
 three men in close converse on a seat near the buffet. 
 
 "One of them was the second messenger !" added Ben. 
 
 The next instant Miss Grey was on the pavement. Then she 
 passed quickly along the corridor into the court. 
 
 The three men had gone ! 
 
 O, prescient womankind! How well thy Creator hath en- 
 dowed thee for blessed motherhood ! thou who must guard the 
 way of thy toddling offspring. Is it strange, then, that thy ap- 
 prehensive mind encompasseth the uncertain steps and the vary- 
 ing fortune of all others within the horizon of thy affections ? 
 
 "I beg of you to compose yourself and return to your home. 
 It is best. I feel sure that the senator is safe." 
 
 Bolston had arrived at the Willington, by the merest accident, 
 to find her in a pitiable state of agitation. She had inquired of 
 the clerk if he had seen Senator Twain. Receiving a negative 
 answer, she went directly to the buffet and talked with "the 
 captain." Twain had not been there, the captain was sure, as 
 he knew him well. 
 
 She was hastening across the court to the telephone booths 
 when the young Englishman saw her. 
 
 "Pardon me, Miss Grey. Can I be of service to you?" 
 
 "Something terrible has happened, Mr. Bolston!" she ex-
 
 30 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 claimed. "Please notify my father and the Senate. He came " 
 
 "You mean Twain?" he inquired, quickly divining the cause 
 of her excitement. 
 
 "Every one seems to be asleep in this gloomy place," she con- 
 tinued. "No one has seen him, and yet he left me but a few 
 minutes ago, saying he would return immediately. It seems an 
 age ! And he was on his way to the Senate, too ; stopped only to 
 pick up his friend Mr. Splicer at the buffet. Where are the 
 officers?" 
 
 It was then that Bolston pleaded with her to be calm, and 
 offered to escort her to the machine, saying it would not be ad- 
 visable to raise an alarm. 
 
 With wide startled eyes she surveyed the dark, cavernous 
 court, then turned and moved reluctantly toward the corridor. 
 
 "I will go," she said, "if you will remain and make a thorough 
 investigation. He must be here or else " 
 
 "If he is here, rest assured I will find him," interrupted Bol- 
 ston in soothing tones. 
 
 "Please do not leave the court," she pleaded. "I will return 
 alone to the machine. I have implicit confidence in your judg- 
 ment." 
 
 The chauffeur was not surprised that she should sigh, that 
 she reeled and tottered as she passed from the auto to the door- 
 way of her home, nor that she dropped limply into a seat on the 
 veranda. He was offering to assist her when Aimee came. 
 
 The sun was pouring its first glory out of the east when the 
 maid was awakened by the moanings of her mistress. 
 
 "Who knows, Aimee? Who knows? Mr. Bolston is there." 
 
 "Ah, mademoiselle !" 
 
 "They had gone ! the messenger, Aimee." 
 
 "Ze poor face it is var hot ; ze hands also." 
 
 "The messenger, Aimee ! Ben saw him. Yet he was not 
 there"
 
 WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 31 
 
 "Quick, I have ze cool water for ze face." 
 
 "Listen, Aimee ! It is the balloons ! And he does not come 
 back to me !" 
 
 "Ah, Dieu !" moaned the maid. 
 
 Mrs. Grey came just then to find her despairing daughter in 
 the throes of delirium. Her father was summoned, and as 
 quickly as possible Doctor Richardson was called. 
 
 When the last pages of the morning papers were sent to the 
 presses there was nothing in them by which the mystery could 
 be measured. They contained no word on the subject that is 
 not already within the reader's knowledge, nor as much, for 
 Enid Grey's alarming illness was too recent for their columns. 
 Besides, it was a private matter. 
 
 Yet, there was enough of circumstantial detail in the news 
 columns, overlaid with decidedly suggestive headlines, to sup- 
 plement a theme long to remain of universal interest. It was 
 between the lines that the reader found the most information; 
 he could draw his own conclusions. 
 
 Before the end of the day there were few who did not feel 
 that a monumental wrong had been perpetrated ; that it was due 
 to the scandalous practices, recklessly followed in that day, of 
 permitting greed to control the Government; for it was this 
 that had aroused the Altrocracy of the country, and compelled 
 the delinquent remnants of the two old parties to combine under 
 one banner. And yet, combination had not saved the remnant 
 the loss of the House of Representatives, which passed the Pur- 
 chase bill a month ago by a big margin. How nearly they were 
 to losing the Senate has already been told. 
 
 What was of immediate concern to all was the whereabouts 
 of Senator Twain, the manner of his dramatic disappearance 
 and the identification of those responsible for it. 
 
 The remarkable event had plunged the Government into a 
 condition of paralysis. The President, although a Conserva-
 
 32 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 tive, and, as the public had been led to believe, in close sympa- 
 thy with the moneyed autocracy so long controlling the nation's 
 politics, seemed profoundly dazed. 
 
 The two houses of Congress met at the usual hour the next 
 morning, and soon adjourned. The Purchase bill was in mid- 
 air; also the suspended vote on the second amendment. The 
 Conservatives, under the existing dolorous conditions, did not 
 have the hardihood to press the advantage they had in the Vice 
 President's deciding vote, and the Altrocrats were laboring un- 
 der an obsession far too great to admit of their renewing the 
 debate immediately. 
 
 Without an agreed plan or understanding about it, the Senate 
 fell to considering other matters from day to day. Yet, both 
 sides were wary and watchful, lest somewhere at a critical mo- 
 ment a secret spring be touched, as happened when Packenham 
 stopped talking; when he read the note handed him, and, his 
 face paling to livid whiteness, he took his seat. 
 
 Before many sessions had passed a fierce discussion ensued. 
 It came about when Baxter criticised an item in an appropria- 
 tion bill which carried an unusually large sum of money for 
 secret service work. It had been put into the bill by the Altro- 
 crats of the House. 
 
 Baxter smilingly inquired if it was proposed to inaugurate a 
 widespread detective system "so as to bring private business 
 affairs under the supervision of the Government." 
 
 "Some portion of it may be used in recovering a stolen senator 
 whose vote appears to be necessary to the completion of a certain 
 roll call," replied Fordyce. 
 
 A dozen Conservative senators, eager to refute Fordyce's 
 pointed insinuation, were on their feet in an instant, clamoring 
 for recognition. The presiding officer, using his gavel valiantly 
 to quell the confusion, declared that Baxter had the floor. 
 
 The latter then went on to say that the words of the Altro-
 
 WOMAN'S PRESCIENCE 33 
 
 cratic leader were an insult to the entire Senate. He would not 
 call the senator to order, for he had no doubt the offensive lan- 
 guage would be withdrawn. 
 
 "We regret the show of impatience, not to say the agitation, 
 on the Conservative side," answered Fordyce. "I have not 
 charged the crime to any senator or set of senators. Personal- 
 ly, I believe and the country believes that Twain is being forci- 
 bly detained. There are those who think they know the pur- 
 pose of it all. His disappearance was at a time when his vote 
 was vital to the pending bill." 
 
 "Does the senator say," inquired Baxter, "that the absent 
 senator would vote for the bill in its present form were he here 
 to do so?" 
 
 "He favors the principles embodied in the bill," was the reply. 
 "I have no doubt about that. Nor has any other senator any 
 doubt about it." 
 
 "Is it not true that it was his purpose to offer a substitute for 
 the entire bill?" continued Baxter, pressing his point. "Does 
 any Altrocratic senator know the nature of the proposed sub- 
 stitute?" 
 
 Fordyce was unable to make a direct answer to this mystify- 
 ing question, for no one had seen the substitute ; Baxter himself 
 had only heard of it. Neither had Twain made a speech on the 
 Purchase bill, although it was understood he intended to do so 
 before it came to a vote. 
 
 The Conservative newspapers enlarged eloquently upon Bax- 
 ter's challenge of Twain's position. Quite a number of them 
 went further and declared the "stolen senator" might have been 
 conveniently out of the way on his own account when the voting 
 began. 
 
 Until now the public had been impatient of any suggestion 
 that Twain was not an honest, man. The great body of the 
 people, close readers of the scarlet press, were strong in the
 
 34 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 belief that certain agents of "the System" had spirited him 
 away. But when they analyzed Baxter's speech and read the 
 approving explanatory comments in the Conservative journals, 
 a cloud of questioning doubts came over them. Such is the 
 mobility of the mind of man.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE SENATE DAZED 
 
 When the roll is called by the presiding angel in the Great 
 Beyond there will be no delay in recording the result, for the 
 hosts of Heaven will not be alarmed, nor afraid ; and there will 
 be no absentees, nor chaos, nor confusion. The scene will be 
 one of celestial grandeur and splendor, of serenity and joy in- 
 effable transcending even the most exalted glory of earth. 
 Most of them that are impersonated in this veracious volume 
 will be present, and will answer unabashed as their names are 
 spoken. 
 
 Very often, in selecting an artistic painting to be hung on the 
 line, it becomes necessary to examine an inferior work, for the 
 visual powers of the connoisseur will be aided by thus contrast- 
 ing the two productions. Still, the true artist's comparison will 
 not inspire invidious suggestions. Nor can there be the slightest 
 resemblance between a roll call in Heaven and the melancholy 
 scene in the Senate which is now to be depicted. 
 
 The Senate prides itself, and justly, too, upon its perfect poise 
 and its methodical deliberateness. Yet, senators and their 
 helpers are of mortal mould, and may be discomposed by trying 
 circumstances. It is worth relating, therefore, how it came to 
 pass that the result of the roll call on the second amendment 
 was not announced by the Vice President and duly spread upon 
 the records. It was an extraordinary occurrence, in consequence
 
 36 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 of an extraordinary event. The moment also was psychological, 
 for those were stirring days in the arena of politics. 
 
 Fordyce, prompted by Brady, as has been related, was ques- 
 tioning the regularity of the pairs, and Baxter was anxious that 
 a vote should be taken. In the average parliamentary body 
 Fordyce would have been branded as a filibuster. Not so in the 
 Senate, where decorum has come to be a science ; where remark- 
 able results are often accomplished in a manner before then 
 unknown in deliberative bodies the solemnity with which a 
 senator makes plausible his astounding purpose, the while he 
 eloquently protests his reverence for the rules. Elsewhere this 
 would be called dissembling ; yet senators do not dissemble. In 
 passing, it may also be said that not a few of the elder statesmen 
 of the body are most proficient in construing the rules their way. 
 If a rule happens to bother them, by having it suitably construed 
 for the occasion, a new precedent is made; the precedent then 
 becomes the rule. 
 
 Behold, then, the gravity with which Fordyce resumed his 
 seat, after making a fruitless "disturbance" as each pair was an- 
 nounced. Note, also, how Brady was nodding his approval of 
 Fordyce's efforts, as a sign that Twain had not yet arrived, and 
 how every other senator seemed to acquiesce in Fordyce's dila- 
 tory tactics. 
 
 Why did not some senator call him to order? Because no 
 senator ever knows when he himself may wish to pervert the 
 rules. 
 
 Behold, also, Baxter's smile, deeper and broader than usual, 
 and the pleased expression on Conservative faces (Brady had 
 now abandoned hope), when the clerk, after twice checking the 
 names, turned to hand the long white tally sheet to the presiding 
 officer. 
 
 The next moment the vote would be announced. It would be 
 a tie. The Vice President would take the sheet, nonchalantly,
 
 THE SENATE DAZED 37 
 
 and assuming an air of unconcern (cautiously examining the top 
 of the roll to be certain in regard to the way Baxter had voted, 
 for it had been quite awhile since then, with Fordyce talking so 
 long), he would simply say, "The chair votes aye; the amend- 
 ment is adopted." 
 
 Then the occupants of the reserved stalls the consolida- 
 tors would nudge each other, as they sat there closely packed 
 together. They would smile, exchange knowing glances and 
 whisper their amens, as if a great truth in pious endeavor had 
 just been revealed. 
 
 But the clerk, taking another glance at the sheet, discovered 
 a trivial error in his check marks. Great care is always exer- 
 cised in this behalf. He faced his desk again, stooped and 
 picked up a pen with which to make the correction. One mo- 
 ment was enough for this duty, but the penholder eluded him, 
 and it took two. 
 
 The Vice President was now standing erect in his place, even 
 with his hand extended to take the sheet, his lips already pursed 
 to announce the vote. 
 
 Moments like these, when the result of a roll call is about to 
 be declared by the chair, notably so if it be a vote on an impor- 
 tant question, are moments of the greatest quiet in the Senate. 
 Everybody is still. Senators and others on the floor do not stir. 
 Occupants of the galleries, who tread softly as they enter or 
 depart, now make an effort against breathing, so they may hear 
 the important announcement. 
 
 Again the clerk was turning toward the presiding officer, and 
 extending his hand, the one with the tally sheet in it. 
 
 Was it a sudden breeze entering through the green baize door, 
 flying open at this instant, that swept the sheet from the clerk's 
 grasp ? for there it was at his feet. Impossible ! There is 
 never a breeze in the Senate none that enters through the green 
 doors. And Fordyce had stopped talking.
 
 38 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Was it the force of the almost flying body of the page that 
 came through the green door, and, with a single bound, landed 
 near the chair, that displaced the sheet and sent it noiselessly to 
 the soft red carpet below ? 
 
 None of these whatever. In verity, it was what the page said 
 to the Vice President in a subdued shriek ; all the clerks heard 
 it. It was the same that other pages that came through other 
 doors with the outside news on their lips were now saying to 
 senators, who were anxiously waiting for the concluding act in 
 the little drama, for they were in need of nourishment. It was 
 now long past the dinner hour, and there had been no break in 
 the proceedings so as to allow senators to refresh themselves. 
 
 The clerks and other employes about the Senate are the 
 brightest men to be found. They must know almost everything ; 
 not so much is required even of a senator. So, most of them 
 knew that Twain had been expected by the Altrocrats for hours ; 
 that the Conservatives hoped he would not arrive, perhaps never. 
 Of course they knew, too, that his vote would defeat the amend- 
 ment. The very .atmosphere of the chamber was now sur- 
 charged with this knowledge. Under these circumstances the 
 nerves of men are much overwrought and least prepared for a 
 great shock. 
 
 Therefore it was, when the first page exclaimed, "Senator 
 Twain is killed, or something horrible !" and other pages echoed 
 it, that the clerk, the sheet falling from his hand, stood as if 
 petrified; that Fordyce, always alert in his leadership, solemnly 
 moved to adjourn ; that the Vice President, after an awful sus- 
 pense, doubtfully and mechanically put the question ; that sen- 
 ators were so dazed they voted neither yea nor nay, but, recover- 
 ing themselves only when the gavel fell to mark the adjourn- 
 ment, gathered in little groups about the chamber to speculate 
 upon the terrible tidings. 
 
 This strange and startling proceeding took place soon after
 
 THE SENATE DAZED 39 
 
 Enid Grey bade Ben wheel away from the side entrance of the 
 Willington, and her woman's intuition had fathomed the mys- 
 tery to its lowest depths, leaving no doubt in her foretelling 
 mind in regard to the whole depressing affliction; after Aimee 
 had assisted her to her room ; about the time, alas ! that the 
 fever came to burn its debilitating course through her young 
 blood. 
 
 It was, moreover, not so very long after Ralph Bolston had 
 finished a thorough investigation of the Willington premises, 
 having met the bereaved girl in the great court and prevailed 
 upon her to return quietly to her home. It was after he failed 
 to find any trace of Twain, and, being now convinced that 
 Splicer had not been there at all, had gone to "The Record" 
 office to confer with the editor and tell him of his daughter's 
 piteous predicament, and of his own fruitless efforts to find the 
 missing senator. 
 
 It was then that Grey tried to get Brady at the Senate, and 
 was told that Brady was busy; then that he called up the 
 Sergeant-at-Arms, merely saying there was no doubt in his mind 
 that Twain had been abducted, and the Sergeant-at-Arms ex- 
 claimed to his assistant and the pages that were in the room 
 "Great God! Senator Twain has been foully dealt with! 
 Notify the Vice President and the senators." 
 
 Is it surprising, then, that the Senate, under these distressing 
 circumstances, should have been plunged into a state of confu- 
 sion, and that senators were so completely dazed that they voted 
 neither yea nor nay when Fordyce moved to adjourn? 
 
 There were many "disturbances" in the Senate during the ses- 
 sions that ensued. With the close division between parties, 
 amounting to a tie vote, with Twain absent and unpaired, each 
 party feared the other. In former days, before the two old 
 parties consolidated, when the Republicans were as two to one 
 of the Democrats, there was no danger of surprises ; it was as if
 
 40 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 there had been no Democrats so little were they regarded as a 
 political factor. And, having waxed powerful through devo- 
 tion to the fleshpots, the Republicans "played and frolicked in 
 the ocean of bounty" in total disregard of the minority, and with 
 as little regard for economic morality ; for it was an age of cal- 
 culators. 
 
 As time passed, the calculators came to be more considerate of 
 Insurgency than they had been of the more ancient and impotent 
 Democracy, until, finally, this militant force, supplemented by 
 unfettered Democrats, led the way to a formidable movement 
 based primarily upon altruism. From the regenerative effects 
 of the process, the Altrocratic party sprang into existence and 
 came to its present state of power Insurgency per se having 
 failed against the soulless reign of Greed. 
 
 It was but natural that there should come a realignment of 
 political interests; it was inevitable that this must occur, for 
 the old organizations had gone to seed; the propitious hour of 
 their bloom had passed. And, too, their patron saints were 
 dead; Jeffersonianism had degenerated to vacuous preachment, 
 and only a faint memory of the precepts of the immortal Lincoln 
 now survived. Party principles had been capitalized, and were 
 now the property of monopoly. There was no longer an issue 
 upon which Republicans and Democrats seriously disagreed. 
 
 It was during the slow transformation from the old to the new 
 dispensation, with Stalwarts and Insurgents both contending 
 for spoil, that Baxter rose to the zenith of his portentous renown ; 
 that he acquired the wonderful smile which served to tantalize 
 poor Fordyce almost beyond endurance. The Altrocratic leader 
 withstood the Conservative taunts in regard to Twain's non- 
 committal attitude on the Purchase bill with commendable 
 equanimity. He felt deep down in his heart, and the country 
 believed with him, that Twain was sound in principle or had 
 been, until his political light (if that were all) was snuffed out
 
 THE SENATE DAZED 41 
 
 by violence at the hands of evil men. Yet, in the most striking 
 passages of his speeches ; when the gallery visitors and senators, 
 too, were hanging upon his masterfully constructed sentences, 
 formulated from a boundless vocabulary of words, the while 
 Baxter's scintillating smile reflecting upon him like the blinding 
 flash of a searchlight, Fordyce all but lost his powers of elo- 
 quence. At the end of his daily effort to impeach the Conser- 
 vative leader there was only one solace for him well, in truth, 
 Fordyce was being speeded irretrievably to intemperance. 
 
 In the stirring debates to which Twain's remarkable disap- 
 pearance gave rise there were challenges and counter challenges, 
 accusations, denials and apologies. Strange how party lines had 
 changed. Where, during ante bellum days, the fiery southerners 
 were given to violent resentment of northern political domin- 
 ance, and voted their Democracy dogmatically; where the Re- 
 publicans, who, while building their party out of the cause and 
 the fruit of the Civil War, for years had looked upon their op- 
 ponents as descendants of demons, born of the succubi now, 
 old party lines were obliterated ; there was an amalgamation of 
 fresh political interests; an interlacing of new party ties; an 
 intermingling of views and a personal association and adhesion 
 that knew no division save that which marks the difference be- 
 tween the Altruist and the Egoist, between patriotism and 
 pelf. This new demarkation gave politics, especially in the 
 Senate, a transcendent coloring on the one side the cause of 
 Man; on the other the cause of Mammon; with the Conserva- 
 tives growing fewer and fewer in number until, owing to the 
 absence of a single senator, as we have seen, the Vice President's 
 vote alone saved them from complete overthrow. 
 
 The tragic aspects of the case made both sides pause. Under 
 the rules the suspended vote on the second amendment to the 
 Purchase bill was the "unfinished business." Being the unfin- 
 ished business, it should have been disposed of the next morning.
 
 42 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Yet, even Baxter did not call attention to this fact. The sub- 
 ject came up unexpectedly several days later, when, in the heat 
 of debate, Burrill ironically congratulated the Conservatives 
 upon their "respectful consideration for the absent senator, and 
 their recognition of the outrageous nature of the measures re- 
 sorted to in effecting his removal from the scene of his faithful 
 services." 
 
 That discussion would turn before long to a subject now on 
 the lips of all the people was inevitable; and that Burrill's 
 caustic words should arouse some indiscreet Conservative was 
 to have been expected. 
 
 Senator Koppinger, reputed to know more about stocks than 
 of statesmanship, challenged BurriU's remarks as an "undigni- 
 fied aspersion," and asked him to suggest a method whereby 
 the suspended roll call might be dealt with. Koppinger was 
 not familiar with the rules, that was evident; still, he was a 
 personal friend of Twain's, and for this reason, if for no other, 
 greatly regretted his absence. No senator, perhaps, was closer 
 to Twain than Koppinger was. 
 
 "Never !" exclaimed Burrill. "Let the unrecorded vote stand 
 as a fitting memorial always to remain in the Senate's archives 
 a yawning gap in the proceedings into which, down to the end 
 of all time, designing men may look to see the terrible conse- 
 quence of consolidation and its crimes. It will be an appro- 
 priate resting place, too, for the amendment offered by the dis- 
 tinguished Conservative leader." 
 
 This brought Halsey to his feet. 
 
 "The senator knows the rule," said Halsey. "Why did not 
 he close the gap by asking that the vote be recorded?" 
 
 "The amendment is not ours," replied Burrill ; "therefore we 
 have no affirmative interest in the unrecorded vote. Thank God 
 they are neither of them the property of Altrocracy !" 
 
 "The senator is jointly interested with every other senator in
 
 THE SENATE DAZED 43 
 
 the orderly procedure of the body," remarked Halsey, smoothly 
 and persuasively. "Being so greatly troubled about the matter 
 the senator might now ask that the vote be recorded." 
 
 "I prefer that it remain forever unrecorded," exclaimed Bur- 
 rill. "I will make no resistance, however, if some Conservative 
 asks it, though it be the author of the amendment himself." 
 
 "The author of the amendment is not in his seat at this mo- 
 ment, but if he were here I doubt if he would care to deprive the 
 other side of a theme of discussion," answered Halsey, sarcas- 
 tically. 
 
 "No Conservative senator will do it !" shouted Burrill. "Well 
 he knows the fate of his hazardous cause if he did." 
 
 "That remark will be accepted in certain quarters as the acme 
 of statesmanship." This was what Halsey said, not for the 
 reporters' ears, but for the edification of his seatmates and him- 
 self. 
 
 And no Conservative seemed inclined to accept Burrill's chal- 
 lenge. 
 
 Nor did the Vice President exercise his authority to declare 
 the result of the roll call, for that would have required the cast- 
 ing of his own vote to determine the fate of the second amend- 
 ment, now so intimately associated with the mysterious disap- 
 pearance of Cornelius Twain.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A WEDDING 
 
 But enough, for the present, of the Senate's tergiversations. 
 It may be necessary to return to the place of sublimated power, 
 famous for its sturdy imperturbability, at a later period in this 
 chronicle. 
 
 It is fortunate, too, that the big world outside takes itself less 
 seriously than the Senate, else there would be no end of material 
 with which to feed the American appetite for humor. Again, 
 the Senate as a whole is totally devoid of imagination, and it is 
 even doubtful if any member of the body will ever be able to 
 comprehend the almost ludicrous part taken by Andy Akers in 
 the disappearance of Twain. Nor did Akers himself realize the 
 far-reaching consequences of it, for he had only one purpose in 
 view, and a man with a single idea is too intent upon the execu- 
 tion of it to see the halter that may await his own neck. 
 
 He had been told it would be agreeable to certain gentlemen 
 with high brows and acute interest in legislative matters that 
 concerned the guild of graspers in the industrial and commercial 
 world if Twain could be detained from his duties in the Senate 
 chamber while the voting on the Purchase bill was in progress. 
 After that it was no matter. This information was conveyed to 
 Akers by the Honorable William Giddings, a former member of 
 a western legislature, where Giddings himself had had some 
 successful experience in this kind of business. Giddings, as
 
 A WEDDING 45 
 
 Akers well knew, represented Sam Ives, local counsel for the C. 
 Q. D. Railroad, who was close to the Honorable Ephraim Fox, 
 its general counsel. Fox had been the colleague of Giddings in 
 the legislature, but, on his accession to the position of attorney 
 in chief to the railway company, he preferred not to deal directly 
 with his old co-legislator. He put implicit confidence in Ives, 
 however, as Ives, who was a professional lobbyist, had never 
 failed him in getting favorable action upon such measures as 
 the company wanted put through, or in sidetracking bills that 
 were objectionable to it. In those eventful days Ives frequently 
 called Akers to aid him; but once it happened that Andy had 
 tied himself up, for a handsome contingent fee, in favor of a 
 bill introduced in antagonism of the company's interests. In 
 consequence of their diametrical purposes a breach resulted be- 
 tween the two lobbyists ; and when, finally, the bill was defeated 
 and Andy found himself financially stranded, he went outside 
 the capitol building where he could see the figure of Justice 
 holding her scales at the top of the dome, and, with eyes fixed 
 upon the brazen image, took a fearful oath that he would "camp 
 on Ives' trail" ever after. 
 
 Akers was a creature of moods, ugly ones for the most part. 
 He never forgave those who were unfortunate enough to balk 
 him in any of his schemes, however small, and was ready to 
 suffer loss, to the limit of his last dollar, imprisonment to the 
 end of time, if need be death even if by any of these he might 
 visit vengeance upon those that offended him. Such was his 
 vindictive nature, his relentless antipathy. 
 
 He did not fall in with Giddings' plan immediately. "I'll 
 consider it," he replied. "Come around tomorrow." 
 
 Then he wheeled away to his little farm in the hills just out- 
 side of Washington. Here several cronies and their female 
 companions joined him during the afternoon, among them Mrs. 
 Eva Farnum, buxom, blithe and horsy. Next to Andy Akers,
 
 46 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Eva loved the pretty roadsters of his modest stables. There 
 was a jest indulged by the jockeys of Bennings' track that ex- 
 plained this dual attachment. It was said her first husband, in 
 a horse trade with Andy, had managed to "throw in his wife to 
 boot." Be that as it may, Eva and Andy were comrades from 
 about that time, and on this very day they participated in some 
 kind of a joint marriage ceremony which was quite as binding, 
 no doubt, as had been her Reno decree of divorce as an instru- 
 ment of marital dissolution from Ben Farnum. 
 
 She was the recipient and conserver of Akers' confidences as 
 well, and, as they drove to her home in the city on this the first 
 evening of their honeymoon, he told her of Giddings' desire that 
 Twain should be kept away from the Senate. Greatly to her 
 surprise, he also said he intended to comply with Giddings' re- 
 quest. 
 
 "Have you thought of the consequences, my dear Andy, 
 should Giddings turn on you?" 
 
 "What! Bill Giddings?" he exclaimed, scornfully. "Do 
 you suppose I am relying upon him for protection should it come 
 to that? Not on your sweet life, Eva. This is a five-ply trans- 
 action, my dear; I am the first ply; Giddings is the second. 
 There are three more. Giddings does not know that I am on ; 
 he's a fool, a cheap one at that. Put all my eggs in one basket ? 
 You do me an injustice, Eva. Three more, my honey !" Then 
 he laughed sardonically. "And the higher up, my dear, the 
 greater the responsibility, or perhaps I should say the greater 
 the respectability. Besides, Sam Ives is one of them." 
 
 Years had passed since the legislative incident that turned 
 Akers against Ives. That was long before he met Eva, and she 
 knew nothing about it. Perhaps Akers preferred not to show 
 Eva this side of his unforgiving nature, lest she flee from him as 
 from a pestilence.
 
 A WEDDING 47 
 
 "The fifth-ply fellow will never permit your Andy 'to come 
 to grief, rest assured of that." 
 
 "But think of poor Enid Grey. She loves Twain, as I love 
 you, Andy, and it would break her heart. See ! There they go 
 now," she exclaimed, pointing to the senator and Miss Grey as 
 they rode together across the bridge and on to the Stone Mill 
 bridle path. "What a splendid chap he is," she added half 
 sorrowfully. 
 
 "Yes, I've seen them out here almost every day this spring," 
 replied Akers. "Twain does not look well. It may be his 
 mind is troubled. There is said to be a queer streak in the fam- 
 ily, way back yonder. Hope it's too far back to catch him. 
 He's a good fellow, and I would not like to have him go 
 dippy." 
 
 But this was mere gossip. One can hear almost anything 
 about a senator. 
 
 "And she is delightful, Andy, and so beautiful. I saw her 
 shopping this morning, and heard her talking to the manager 
 the sweetest voice I ever heard, Andy; just like fine music. 
 What a shame it would be." 
 
 Even "the Farnum," as she was called by her intimate ac- 
 quaintances long after her second marriage, was not devoid of 
 sentiment and womanly sympathy. And she indulged a liking 
 for Twain that always puzzled Andy. 
 
 "It's too utterly bad, Eva, but I'm no Christian Endeavorer; 
 you know that ; and there's big money in it, my dear, if it comes 
 out my way cash, my honey, cash !" 
 
 "Yes, I know, Andy; but will they let you get that close to it? 
 close enough to " 
 
 "Trust me ! If they knew even now, that I was wise Bill 
 thinks he knows it all ! why, that fifth-ply fellow would be 
 here in the morning with a satchelful of it." 
 
 "Call him on the long distance tonight, Andy, and tell him.
 
 48 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Don't trust Giddings in so delicate a matter as this." By now 
 her woman's sympathy was vanishing, and a perfect sea of big 
 new hats she saw that morning when she was listening to Enid 
 Grey's wonderful voice rose before her gaze. 
 
 "I may need your help, Eva, if I go into this. You know 
 some of the big people, and they talk over the card table. Keep 
 your ears open." 
 
 "And the wine flowing," she added. 
 
 Then they both laughed. 
 
 Eva Farnum was an adept in this regard, and an encyclopedia 
 in matters of social gossip. She knew, only by sight of course, 
 quite all the members of official swelldom in Washington. Her 
 home in the city was in a well known street running along the 
 lower ledge of the fashionable quarter. Among her nocturnal 
 visitors, besides a few choice beauties of her own sex, were sev- 
 eral gentlemen high up in society circles. One of these was a 
 Russian captain, Nicholas Mikleskoff by name, entitled under 
 European custom to the prefix of count. Another was the only 
 son of Andrew Holt, famed as the possessor of millions so fabu- 
 lous in number that his chief trouble was to find suitable invest- 
 ment of the increment, although the junior Holt, now coming 
 into his twenty-first year at a rapid gait, relieved his father of 
 much anxiety in this regard, his abiding passion being the gam- 
 ing table and the race track. 
 
 It was from the small talk of her visitors that Mrs. Farnum 
 was enabled to store her receptive mind with valuable knowledge 
 concerning the personal affairs of "the best people," while the 
 games of "bridge" and "draw," prominent among other ener- 
 vating pastimes at her richly-furnished residence, were going on. 
 
 How perfectly natural it was, then, that she should know, 
 almost at first hands, of the impecunious Russian captain's love 
 for Margaret Holt, heiress to a vast fortune ; of Andrew Holt's 
 ambition to win a seat in the Senate from the contending politi-
 
 A WEDDING 49 
 
 cians of a border state, where he lived in sumptuous style with 
 his family during the summer months ; of the prominent figure 
 Stephen Holt, supported by his good looks and his financial ex- 
 pectancies, was cutting among the belles of glitterdom. There 
 was much else that she knew. 
 
 Bantering remarks concerning these and kindred current top- 
 ics fell nimbly from the unguarded tongues of Mrs. Farnum's 
 special guests when the morning hours were waxing and the 
 wine was surging triumphantly in the blood. 
 
 So that Andy Akers, although he made it a point never to be 
 present at these hilarious meetings, nevertheless became a verit- 
 able repository for all kinds of secrets and confidences that put 
 him in close touch with inside life at the nation's Capital , and 
 gave him advantageous fitness for the duties of his peculiar pro- 
 fession. 
 
 Agreeable to the appointment that had been made, Akers 
 and Giddings met the next morning. They were together only 
 a few minutes, and when Giddings closed the door of Akers ? 
 dingy little office in an old-fashioned three-story building facing 
 the Pension bureau, he strode hopefully through Judiciary 
 Square toward the Capitol. Arriving at the great marble struc- 
 ture on the hill, he threaded the labyrinthian corridors until he 
 came to what was perhaps the most uninviting committee room 
 in "the Crypt" and there are many such in that part of the 
 building. The Crypt, so-called because of its subterranean 
 character, was constructed many years ago at enormous expense 
 for the accommodation of minority senators and members and 
 their clerks. It was here, in dampness and in gloom, until the 
 modern brilliantly-lighted and more airy office buildings were 
 erected, that newly-elected legislators were obliged to take their 
 first lessons in statesmanship the dictation of thousands of 
 answers to self-seeking, complaining constituents who imagined 
 that the life of a congressman was a bed of roses laid on a
 
 50 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 lambswool mattress with golden springs under it. But this was 
 only one of the enchantments that distance lent to the view. 
 And yet this disillusion had its compensation for the legislator, 
 for if he succeeded in persuading his people that his services 
 were too valuable to be dispensed with, one day he would be 
 graduated to better quarters on the upper floors, which was only 
 one of the poor fruits of long service. And when his minority 
 party had convinced the country that the last tariff law was 
 purposely loaded with vicious provisions that would "oppress 
 the multitude of consumers and make millions for the few," or 
 "bankrupt the capitalist and hunger the many" dependent, of 
 course, upon whichever party was in power; when the Crypt 
 dweller transformed or "reformed" the nation's politics and 
 turned the minority into a majority, he would then be entitled 
 to the "best" committee room and to additional clerks, along 
 with other perquisites that belonged to his new responsibilities. 
 And still, I have known senators who, after thus "coming into 
 their own," as was sometimes said, had expressed a desire to go 
 back to the simpler legislative life in the Crypt. Such is the 
 reward of ambition. 
 
 Giddings' object in going to the Capitol after his interview 
 with Akers was not of very great moment ; in a measure he al- 
 ready knew that a vote on the Purchase bill was near at hand, 
 but Akers had insisted that he must know positively, or as defi- 
 nitely as possible. There is no way by which knowledge of this 
 character can be reduced to certainty; and yet there are old 
 employes of the Senate who make a study of such things, and 
 have been known to indulge in some remarkably accurate opin- 
 ions. It was one of these ancient Moseses that Giddings sought 
 in the dingy committee room of the Crypt. Afterward he re- 
 turned to Akers' office and made report. 
 
 "One week is a very short time in which to get ready for a 
 business like this and carry it to a finish," was Akers' reply. "But
 
 A WEDDING 51 
 
 I'll do the best I can. Will Ives walk up to the gun, Bill, if 
 necessary? I know he's got nerve, but has he got enough for 
 this high class event? It won't be any clambake, this won't, 
 Bill. I'm not afraid of you; you're good grit. But if Sam gigs 
 we're gone that's all." 
 
 "It's the biggest thing Sam ever tackled, Andy, and you know 
 the bigger the boodle the harder Sam fights. He's sure safe. 
 But of course, Andy, there ain't going to be any violence ; only 
 a brief detention as it were a slight interruption of the treacle- 
 fest out at Grey's ; then he'll come back to her more loving than 
 ever, and be glad to. She won't know what happiness is till 
 then." 
 
 "That's all very fine, Bill; but you don't have to do the job 
 yourself. Getting him away from her is the sticker. Maybe 
 she'll have to go, too. Then old Grey would just pull the God- 
 dess of Liberty off the top of the bungalow up there. ( It looks 
 like an Indian chief anyway, but that don't signify.) Whew! 
 but wouldn't her father rip up things with that 'Record' of his? 
 And the Government would simply have to do something, 
 whether it was the right thing or not. Now, Bill, I'm going to 
 hold you personally responsible for Sam's conduct. If he quits, 
 you've got to kill him. If you don't, I'll " 
 
 "Don't say it, Andy. You won't have to do anything quite so 
 unparliamentary as that. Remember, we're dealing with a lot 
 of distinguished gentlemen, not highwaymen or the like. Sam 
 was alderman of his town for many years, and Twain's in the 
 Senate. See !" 
 
 Akers smiled grimly. 
 
 A full week passed before he again saw Eva Farnum. He 
 came in very late one night, after Eva's guests had gone away 
 and she herself was in bed, letting himself into the house through 
 a back entrance that led to the pantry. Andy had formed an 
 early habit of taking a late "snack." As he sat munching at
 
 52 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the scattered remnants of cheese and crackers and the remains 
 of a lobster Newburg, washing them down with a bottle of flat 
 beer that seemed to be waiting for him in the iceless cooler, Eva 
 came down. She squatted quickly on an old carpet-covered 
 hassock, drawing one small pink-white foot up under her, and 
 looked at Andy through wondering eyes somewhat bleared by 
 the long hours she had been keeping during his extended ab- 
 sence; and the Russian captain, Stephen Holt and their com- 
 panions had played long and hard the previous evening, linger- 
 ing over their midnight repast far into the morning to discuss the 
 strange happenings of the past two days. 
 
 "Did you do it, Andy?" she asked. 
 
 "That would be telling," he replied. 
 
 Then he lit a cigar and leaned back in his chair, puffing rings 
 of smoke and watching them complacently as they curled toward 
 the ceiling. Eva was greatly puzzled. How was it possible for 
 him to be so serene and self-satisfied, and all civilization agog 
 over the atrociousness of the crime the kidnapping of an Am- 
 erican senator and he, Andy Akers, her newest husband, the 
 immediate author of it ? 
 
 "I am sorry you told me anything," she said, and she looked 
 deeply hurt. 
 
 "Well, he's gone, isn't he?" remarked Akers. 
 
 "And I'm sorry for that, too, Andy." 
 
 Whereupon he pulled a thick package of crisp bills from an 
 inside pocket and slowly dealt five of them off the top. Return- 
 ing the package, which was altogether too large to admit of being 
 rolled, to the receptacle in his waistcoat, he laid the five one hun- 
 dred dollar bills on her lap. 
 
 "Say no more about it," said he, "but tell me how your friends 
 take it. Are they disturbed?" 
 
 "They talked of nothing else last night, and seemed greatly 
 excited. The Holt kid says it will bring on a political revolu-
 
 A WEDDING 53 
 
 tion, and there'll be more shooting and hanging than anything." 
 
 "Rot!" exclaimed Andy. "That youngster's mind wobbles, 
 what little he has." 
 
 "And the Russian declared that what this country needed was 
 a Siberia, where murderers, abductors and the like could be per- 
 petually penalized. Those were his very words." 
 
 "Satan rebuking sin," replied Andy, who had not learned this 
 by reading but by absorption. Giddings was inclined to be 
 bookish, and was full of pat proverbs. "What about the women 
 the Greys?" asked Andy. 
 
 "The kid says that Miss Enid is just plumb comfoozled, what- 
 ever that is. And did you see "The Record?" It says hell is 
 yawning for " 
 
 "Of course it would get excited," interrupted Andy. "Old 
 Grey's been reforming things in his paper so long he don't know 
 how to take a joke any more." 
 
 "A joke, Andy? I can't understand you, dear. But you 
 haven't yet told me if you " 
 
 "I'm going to bed, Eva; I'm sleepy." 
 
 And he must have been, for he was scarcely on his pillow until 
 he was snoring peacefully, like a man without even a shadow 
 of guilt on his mind. Eva was greatly distressed. She could 
 not fathom the cause of his optimism, but lay awake long after 
 daylight pondering the problem, holding the precious bank 
 notes tightly in her hand.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 MARGARET HOLT'S DOUBTS 
 
 Two weeks had now passed by since the disappearance of 
 Cornelius Twain. The public mind, so used to violent sensa- 
 tions, was again assuming a normal attitude, albeit the scarlet 
 press continued to cry to Heaven (at very long distance) for 
 avengement. 
 
 Poor Enid Grey, recovered from the first heavy blow, and 
 advised by Doctor Richardson, was taking the air, driving with 
 her mother, but not among the Maryland hills, as formerly. 
 She preferred unfamiliar places the unworked roads leading 
 through the solitudes of Virginia's deep woods, far beyond 
 Mount Vernon, where the first American President, more than 
 a century ago, followed the hounds over his vast estate, indulg- 
 ing hopeful meditations concerning the future glory of the new 
 Republic ! It is amidst such simple scenes as these that the 
 perturbed emotions are soothed; that the fevered mind is 
 cooled and strengthened ; that the spirit is reendowed. 
 
 She avoided discussion of the horrifying subject even with 
 her mother, and reluctantly asked the driver to turn toward the 
 city only when the shades of evening came to emphasize the 
 gloom of her despair. After a few days a note of cheerfulness 
 could be detected in her voice, and a new light in her eyes be- 
 spoke the slow return of healthful animation. Some mysterious 
 influence, best understood by psychologists, perhaps, seemed to
 
 MARGARET HOLT'S DOUBTS 5S 
 
 tell her there was hope. Until now she had listened dreamily 
 to her father's vague speculations mere attempts to console 
 her; how well she knew it and the many letters of sympa- 
 thy from her intimate friends remained unopened on her desk. 
 She saw no callers save Margaret Holt, who came each morn- 
 ing, bringing a great fresh rose. Better still, Margaret brought 
 the sunshine of her resplendent nature; yet her visits always 
 ended in tears for both of them and this but added to the 
 depression. 
 
 There had been nothing of serious moment in Margaret 
 Holt's happy life to stir the deeper emotions no disappoint- 
 ment nor other calamity to cause her to suffer. For almost 
 twenty-three years had she known the joy that envelops and 
 takes possession of healthful, wholesome creatures ; and she was 
 an only daughter, too, worshipped by indulgent and opulent 
 parents and beloved by all. Nor as yet had Captain Mikles- 
 koff's passionate, almost fierce protestations of love served to 
 rouse the corresponding response that surely abides in hearts 
 like hers. And if one reminded her of the existence of Page 
 Bannister, the Altrocratic aspirant for the Presidency, whom 
 she met at the home of Enid Grey only a month ago, so little 
 did she know of public men or care about public affairs, her 
 probable answer would not have been at all surprising: "He 
 is something or other in politics, I believe, but I cannot recall 
 just what. Oh, yes, he has aspirations to be a candidate for 
 office; that's it a very pleasant gentleman, indeed, with a 
 firm, serious face, suggesting the classical, and such a winning 
 smile." Margaret would at least have retained a faint recol- 
 lection of the striking features. And yet, she was not aware 
 of the deep impression she had left upon his busy mind. How, 
 then, could she be expected, in view of her exceptional lack 
 of sophistication anent the poignant experiences that come to.
 
 56 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 so many of us, to fathom the anguish that was tearing re- 
 morselessly at the heart of her disconsolate friend? 
 
 "One is so greatly depressed by this early Summer heat, 
 Enid, dear, as to be altogether miserable. Papa says it is 
 delightfully cool in the mountains. He sailed down from 
 Holtleigh in the dirigible this morning, and is trying to per- 
 suade mamma to return with him, but he will fail, for she 
 detests air machines and will not go near one of them, the 
 precious silly. Still, we are preparing to go to the mountain 
 home as soon as may be, leaving this sweltering place to its 
 fate. Come with us, dear, until Ashhurst is ready for you. 
 Please do not refuse." 
 
 "I had not given the mountains a thought, Margy, with all 
 else on my mind. Perhaps it will be better ; and I would miss 
 you so much. Yes, I will go. How kind and thoughtful you 
 -are always. Thank you, too, for the rose, which seems to nod 
 its approval of your plan." 
 
 So it was settled that the two dear, sweet friends one now 
 the epitome of sadness and the other the embodiment of 
 gladness would soon take themselves to the Blue Ridge region 
 for the remaining summer months. 
 
 Still, there were the many harassing things that must be 
 .attended to before they could be off, and even while they were 
 embracing each other as Margaret was taking her leave, the 
 telephone in Enid's "den" just off her sitting room began to 
 buzz. 
 
 "Oh!" exclaimed Enid, much startled at the sound. "The 
 maid must have switched the key in dusting the room this 
 morning. The vexatious, noisy thing has been shut off ever 
 since " 
 
 "Oh, Enid ! never suppress a telephone ; it's much worse 
 luck than to banish a cat. I would die of ennui if mine failed 
 to call. It gives me a thrill that is positively refreshing, and
 
 MARGARET HOLT'S DOUBTS 57 
 
 I grasp the receiver as I would the hand of a long lost friend. 
 Besides, but for the telephone and thoughtful people at the 
 other end who do not forget us, we should be obliged to depend 
 upon the sleepy old newspapers for matrimonial news en- 
 gagements, elopements, even divorces." 
 
 By this time the buzzing in the "den" had ceased, and Mar- 
 garet almost reproached Enid because she had not answered it. 
 
 "It's Enid, father. Pardon me for making you wait. What 
 is it? Oh! You are an old dear, anyway too indulgent in 
 my case, I fear. Yes? Oh! Some one to dinner tonight? 
 Most informally, of course. As you wish, father, but I'm 
 afraid I shan't be very interesting. Still, I'll do my best. 
 Margy is with me, and she has persuaded me to go with her to 
 the cool mountains very soon. Tell her what? Oh! That it's 
 much colder in Russia. What a tease you are ! Goodbye, dear." 
 
 "It may be cold in Russia, Enid, but I know a gentleman 
 of that country whose ardor belies the climate," said Margaret 
 with a sunny laugh. 
 
 "Paprika?" suggested Enid. 
 
 "Pungent cayenne mixed with vodka, rather," added Mar- 
 garet. 
 
 Enid was more cheerful now. How could it be otherwise 
 with her dearest girl friend as a companion? a perpetual ray 
 of irridescence, and never an obscuring cloud or shadow to 
 darken the enthusiasm of her pleasing temperament. 
 
 "Oh, I've something to tell you, Enid but not now," her 
 exhilarating laugh ringing melodiously through the rooms. 
 
 "Captain Mikleskoff, I am sure," exclaimed Enid. "Do 
 tell me. Has he" 
 
 "Yes no. Oh, Enid, such an ardent, tender speech! like 
 the onrush of a mighty torrent or it would have been " 
 
 "And you dammed the stream?" 
 
 "Like a silly," exclaimed Margaret. "But it was so unex-
 
 58 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 pected and the hour so late. Of course I could not refuse 
 his request this morning that he be permitted to come to Holt- 
 leigh. He looked quite undone as if he'd had a sleepless night. 
 It would be cruel to deny him. But isn't it jolly ! Think of it ! 
 To have stirred the emotions of a scion of nobility, a stolid 
 barbarian from the frozen zone no, he's quite civilized. Not 
 a word about it, Enid; no one must know only you and I. 
 Wouldn't the dowagers revel?" 
 
 "Oh, Margy, you haven't really " 
 
 "Neither the one nor the other, dear. Still, I suppose it 
 must come to that before long. He's so very interesting, so 
 different from Mr. what's his name? oh, Mr. Bannister; 
 Page Bannister a very simple name, isn't it? How would it 
 look on a visiting card? 'Mrs. Page Bannister' " 
 
 " 'White House,' " added Enid. 
 
 "Or 'Countess Nicholas MikleskofP " 
 
 " 'Tsarskoi-Selo,' Russia." 
 
 "That is too far away," said Margaret. "Ah, me!" 
 
 They were silent for a time. Then Enid, who was very 
 deeply interested in her friend's happiness, broke the silence, 
 saying : 
 
 "Mr. Bannister would seek you for the true, sweet girl that 
 you are, dear, and his love would be lasting." 
 
 "If only it might be tinged with the romantic, the have-me- 
 or-I-die quality, like the Captain's," replied Margaret with a 
 cheery laugh. "Brother Stephen says the Captain is no longer 
 interested in the games or the horses, but sits at night on a 
 hard wooden bench beneath the park trees and looks at the 
 moon. How absurd!" 
 
 "The poetic instinct, perhaps, my dear. It may not be love." 
 
 "Yet, his interpretations of fair Luna's vows but it is an 
 'inconstant moon,' isn't it? And lovers vow to the moon, not 
 the moon to lovers, the foolish things !"
 
 MARGARET HOLT'S DOUBTS 59 
 
 " 'At which time would I, being but a moonish youth, grieve, 
 be effeminate, changeable, longing and liking,' " quoted Enid. 
 "How well Shakespeare seemed to know of lovers' vows; 'lik- 
 ing,' he says, not 'loving.' And 'changeable,' too. May not 
 that be the possible difference between Mr. Bannister and the 
 Captain? Besides, Mr. Bannister is so distinguished. Father 
 says he is sure of election and is destined to be a great leader." 
 
 "Ah, me!" sighed Margaret again. "It is a great problem, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 "And one never knows beforehand of the tribulation in it," 
 added Enid, sorrowfully, a piercing pang in her heart. 
 
 "I would forego all hope for myself, Enid, dear, if I could 
 only lift the great burden that is crushing you." 
 
 "And I value your friendship beyond all measure, Margy. 
 Hence my solicitude for you. I would have you happy in your 
 choice. Let your heart decide, dear; that is the only way. 
 Do not forget that the Captain's imperial blood courses through 
 veins that may be swollen with tyranny and oppression, even 
 unfaithfulness. 
 
 First, with abundant gold are we constrained 
 
 To buy a husband, and in him receive 
 
 A haughty master. Still doth there remain 
 
 One mischief than this mischief yet more grievous, 
 
 The hazard whether we procure a mate 
 
 Worthless or virtuous. 
 
 Margaret made no reply. She, too, had misgivings in regard 
 to the Captain's real motive. Then, as if to change the drift 
 of discussion, she referred pleasantly to the informal dinner 
 which Mr. Grey had arranged for that evening. 
 
 "It will divert your mind, Enid; and I am quite sure that 
 splendid Englishman is to be one of the guests." 
 
 "Dear Mr. Bolston, yes, and Senator Koppinger also. 
 Father has a purpose in bringing them together at this time, 
 I have no doubt."
 
 60 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "That crusty old bachelor senator? How ever will he get 
 rid of all his money, Enid? No chick nor child to inherit it 
 and he a woman hater too, I am told. Such selfishness, for- 
 sooth !" 
 
 "He has an old maid sister," remarked Enid. 
 
 "And she is equally wealthy," added Margaret. "The sur- 
 vivor will get both fortunes. I do not believe in the law of 
 supply and demand. Isn't that what they call it?" 
 
 "But there is the inexorable law of compensation, Margy 
 of reward and punishment and it cannot be either repealed 
 or amended. Nor can riches escape it." 
 
 John Koppinger belonged to the class represented by the 
 occupants of the reserved stalls in the Senate galleries, when, 
 as has been shown in a previous chapter, and according to the 
 theory advanced by some of the newspapers, they seemed to 
 know that Packenham would stop talking and sit down at a 
 particular moment, and Packenham didn't disappoint them. 
 
 The millionaire senator was the possessor of vast properties, 
 and money was coming to him as easily as babies to the hovels 
 of the poor, where destitution is greatest. He had made early 
 investments in low-priced railroad stocks, and had converted 
 them at par, under an act of Congress, into many thousands of 
 acres of prairie lands in the west. Afterwards, these lands 
 had been exchanged, under other acts of Congress, for vast 
 areas of valuable timber. In fact, Koppinger was what at 
 one time was commonly known as a "lumber baron," and later 
 he was politely termed a "conservationist !" In common with 
 some other big timber men, when they came to own most of the 
 forests, he believed that such as they did not own should be 
 conserved withdrawn from market thus leaving the "barons" 
 to control the output and incidentally the price of lumber. In 
 furtherance of the policy of conservation, Koppinger became, 
 first a member of a forestry association, and subsequently he
 
 MARGARET HOLT'S DOUBTS 61 
 
 entered the Senate "on a raft," as a contemporary satirist de- 
 clared. Here, along with others of his sort, he was classed by 
 another writer of satire as one kind of an anarchist. But let 
 that pass. 
 
 Notwithstanding the common report upon which Margaret 
 based her opinion, he was a polished, agreeable person, and on 
 that account was a welcome visitor at the Grey home. Like all 
 his class, he distrusted the rule of the people and was strong in 
 his opposition to the rising Altrocracy. Had he lived at a much 
 earlier period he would have been written down as a Federalist. 
 
 Margaret was very still and pensive for a time. She was 
 thinking deeply, as if the philosophy in Enid's last remark dis- 
 turbed her. 
 
 "What a wonderful woman you are, Enid. . You always 
 make me think way back in my head. Until I am with you I 
 seem to be forever cutting my leaves with a hairpin, which is 
 a very primitive and thoughtless thing for a woman to do. 
 Please remember me to Mr. Bolston. I like him. He is so 
 different." Here she paused, but Enid finished the sentence: 
 
 "From others who come to us from abroad? Is that it, 
 Margy?" 
 
 "I'm afraid it is," she replied. 
 
 "I am so very glad you are considering the subject from this 
 point of view, Margy. Too many American girls see only the 
 'plenteous adumbrations' of rank and title on the manly breast 
 and do not pause to look within. It is no disparagement of Mr. 
 Bolston to say that his decorations are very meager." 
 
 "Yet he is of good family, no doubt. It must be so with one 
 of his exceptional qualities." 
 
 "The very best, father tells me old Irish ancestry." 
 
 "No matter, Enid; his deep interest in this sad affair, his 
 solicitude for you, is a touching tribute of loyalty to Senator 
 Twain, whose true friend he will prove to be."
 
 62 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "A nobleman without a title, Margy." 
 
 And with this encomium upon the scion of an impoverished 
 yet proud and worthy English family, Enid Grey and Margaret 
 Holt again embraced each other and parted in grateful tears, 
 to meet on the morrow and discuss preparations for the early 
 hegira from the heated Capital.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 
 
 Long before Margaret got home she had some shopping to 
 do her telephone was ringing. 
 
 "It is Enid, Margy. How stupid of me not to have asked 
 you to be with us at dinner. I feel terribly guilty. You will 
 understand. Don't refuse, please." 
 
 Margaret understood, if such were necessary. She did not 
 refuse, although on her return from down town a messenger, 
 with a note and a bunch of bloom from the Captain, was wait- 
 ing. The Captain implored the privilege of a call that even- 
 ing; there was something "very important" he wished to say, 
 and he was sure it would not keep until he could see her at 
 Holtleigh. So she dispatched an answer saying he might come 
 the next day at four thirty ; that she had an engagement for the 
 evening. Margaret's conscience did not reproach itself in the 
 least. Why should it? The Captain had no priority; she 
 disposed of her time as she pleased. Besides, she preferred 
 the Grey dinner to his company, for in the one case there would 
 be a feast of reason, in the other a mere repetition of so much 
 she had heard before. This was not a state of mind for one 
 suspected of being in love. 
 
 Under the peculiar circumstances, a sort of funereal reserve 
 might be expected to prevail at an informal dinner like the one 
 this evening at Mr. Grey's. But, as yet, the reader is not very
 
 64 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 well acquainted with this unusual man. Knowing him so well, 
 I shall enlarge upon him. As previously said, he was an 
 editor ; but I have not indicated the class of writers to which 
 he belonged. He was a thoughtful man, therefore he should 
 not be put down off hand as sympathizing unduly with the 
 scarlet press, much less as being a member of that guild of 
 devouring sensationalists. Remember, too, that he did not be- 
 lieve in "editing his newspaper in the counting room," nor 
 practice it. It was this that contributed to his other excep- 
 tional qualities and helped to make him powerful in the field 
 of journalism. But his dominant characteristic was in not say- 
 ing a thing editorially for the sake of rhetorical effect, intended 
 to stir the popular imagination into hysterical wrath. He 
 preferred to mould the public mind so that it would find its 
 way normally along the channels of common sense, even against 
 the lines of least resistance. Such was the patriotic purpose of 
 the editor, who had learned to control his passions. But with 
 Arthur Grey, the man, it was different. Indeed, there were 
 two Arthur Greys. The other one was imaginative, im- 
 petuous, and he would have been dangerous but for Bolston 
 and his own power of self-restraint when danger was imminent. 
 The public did not know this one; only his immediate friends 
 knew him, and among these his other self was not included: 
 the editor was a total stranger to the man, but the man knew 
 the editor very well. 
 
 Tonight we are not dining with the editor; he is in his 
 sanctum counseling moderation in dealing with the things called 
 trusts and monopolies, and advising these powerful elements in 
 our industrial economy to act on the square with the multitude, 
 the only method by which combinations of capital may survive 
 and be of lasting benefit to mankind. He does not even hint 
 at the popular theory that they are at the bottom of Twain's
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 65 
 
 misfortunes, so very cautious is he, while pleading for justice, 
 not to do injustice. 
 
 But our host has just lit a cigar, and is pacing the floor 
 between the table and large, ornate sideboard against the wall 
 of the ample dining-room. Mrs. Grey, a calm, gracious, white- 
 haired grand dame, and Margaret, Enid, Senator Koppinger, 
 Mr. Bolston and I have remained in our seats. My being 
 present was an afterthought of the host's. Koppinger has 
 been complimenting the editor on the dignified and conserva- 
 tive attitude of "The Morning Record." It was this, perhaps, 
 that moved the man Grey to rise rather unceremoniously from 
 the table. 
 
 "A newspaper's policy must be all of that, senator, if it 
 would maintain its respectability, come weal or woe to any of 
 its friends, or those even who are closer to us than mere 
 friends." Then, turning quickly so as to face Koppinger, and 
 with great emphasis, he said: "But, senator, should it turn 
 out that Cornelius Twain has been abducted and that the thing 
 called 'the System' is responsible for it there won't be room 
 enough in hell for the scoundrels I'll help to send there for 
 eternal punishment." 
 
 "Oh, Arthur!" "Father!" exclaimed Mrs. Grey and Enid 
 in unison. 
 
 "I quite agree with Mr. Grey," said Koppinger, quickly. "If 
 it turns out that way, the place he mentions would be too good 
 for them." 
 
 This put "the crusty old bachelor" on better footing in 
 Margaret's estimation, as her glad eyes bore witness. "Bravo !" 
 she exclaimed. Enid did not look up. Her gaze was fixed in- 
 tently upon the decoration of a storm-tossed ship in the concave 
 of a large dish on the table, and she was pale from suppressed 
 emotion. It was all suggestive of her harrowing thoughts, no 
 doubt.
 
 66 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "I apologize, of course, for my heated remark," said Grey, 
 "and my apology extends to whatever else I might say should 
 I give vent to my feelings tonight." 
 
 All eyes turned toward Koppinger, who was now smiling in 
 an incredulous way, for he placed no credence in common re- 
 port, and, on account of his business connections and great 
 wealth, he was expected to flout the idea of monopoly's imme- 
 diate responsibility for the much bruited outrage. 
 
 Notwithstanding his emphatic approval of the editor's pri- 
 vate view, it is not certain that had Koppinger been compelled 
 to take sides in the matter he would not have openly espoused 
 the cause of the Master Monger, and fallen in with the theory 
 of some Conservative newspapers that Twain had disappeared 
 of his own volition. This was a plausible theory, anyway, for 
 some politicians, however honest they may in reality prefer to 
 be, have been known to avoid disagreement with the powerful 
 interests that insist upon taking a hand in the business of 
 selecting senators, even under the primary system; which re- 
 minds me that Twain's term in the Senate would end on the 
 fourth of March following. Indeed, the campaign for the 
 choosing of his successor was already on, and Eph Fox, Sam 
 Ives and their satellites were on the ground laying the wires to 
 defeat him. 
 
 "The business interests of the country would not stoop to 
 such a thing as abduction," remarked the senator. 
 
 " 'The Record' has been endeavoring to encourage some one 
 to say that in the Senate," replied the editor. "No senator 
 seems inclined to do so, nor even to dispose of the unfinished 
 business now before the body ; and should it fall out that public 
 opinion is right about it, the Senate itself will be the greatest 
 sufferer, innocent though I believe it to be. That is the pity of 
 it, senator." 
 
 "All public men are under the ban nowadays, Mr. Grey, as a
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 67 
 
 result of the fierce storm of denunciation that is sweeping over 
 the land, and it requires rare courage, indeed, for any one to 
 attempt a defense, either of himself or the policies he believes 
 in. Whoever essayed to do so would merely invite a fresh 
 assault." 
 
 "True, senator," replied the editor. "With few exceptions, I 
 do not believe our public men are blamable for business condi- 
 tions. Except insofar as the multitude are finally persuaded to 
 accept as true what the politicians say about one another in the 
 heat of debate, I concede there is more smoke than fire. There 
 is another irritating element : The mails are crammed with pub- 
 lications that are far more dangerous than the politicians. In 
 order to enhance their circulation, that they may increase their 
 advertising rates, they print all manner of hysterical stuff, in- 
 dulging in a perfect carnival of adjectives about the general 
 rottenness of public affairs and the corruptness of public men. 
 Untutored minds that cannot read between the lines are thus 
 misled and confused, to the detriment of the vast army of men 
 who are striving to lead lives of righteousness." 
 
 "I'm so glad 'The Record' does not belong to that class, 
 papa," exclaimed Enid, her face brightening. 
 
 "Thank you, dear ; the editor of 'The Record' aims to be fair, 
 I believe. But there is a deeper reason, Senator Koppinger, for 
 the suspicion and discontent abroad in the land today. The 
 great cause is Money Madness. It had its inception in the 
 minds of a very few men, but it has gradually spread to almost 
 every class of humanity, until now it is a monster of such hide- 
 ous mien that only the Almighty One is strong enough to smite 
 it to a finish." 
 
 "And He will do it," added Mrs. Grey, hopefully. 
 
 "Yes," continued Mr. Grey, "He will do it. It is beyond the 
 power of man even those that blew the evil life into it." 
 
 "And 'The Record' will help to destroy it, Mr. Grey, will it
 
 68 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 not?" exclaimed Margaret, naively, her great blue eyes fixed 
 admiringly on our host. Even the Englishman laughed but 
 he was of Irish descent ! "Enid's father is just splendid any- 
 way," continued Margaret, her altruistic nature now thor- 
 oughly aroused. 
 
 This put an end, temporarily at least, to Grey's passionate 
 arraignment of things, and the little company retired to the 
 drawing room. I could but feel that it was the man Grey that 
 was talking, not the editor of that name, though the "man" had 
 spoken truthfully. 
 
 During the colloquy at the table my attention was drawn 
 to Bolston's quiet demeanor. He sat at Koppinger's right but 
 one seat removed from the senator. This seat was occupied by 
 Miss Holt, who almost turned her back upon the honored 
 guest of the evening (honored because of his official position) 
 the better to observe the host as he paced the floor behind and 
 to the left of the Englishman. Except to reply to the hostess 
 when she addressed him, parenthetically, once or twice, Bolston 
 had not spoken during the two hours or more we were in the 
 dining room. Although his head inclined forward as if he 
 were admiring the carnations and Jacqueminot roses scattered 
 loosely on a great center piece of Sevres, his eyes were turned 
 persistently upon Koppinger's immobile features. It is doubt- 
 ful if he had ever been more deeply absorbed in the study of 
 human nature at any time during his special service at Scotland 
 Yard, some years ago, under the immediate direction of the 
 Home Secretary, than he was tonight in reading the millionaire 
 senator's face. And when we were in the drawing room he 
 managed to sit in the shadow of a great bunch of chrysanthe- 
 mums that plumed themselves from a high Rookwood vase on 
 a heavy old mahogany table, from which vantage place he 
 continued his psychological research. 
 
 Koppinger, wary politician and business man though he was,
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 69 
 
 seemed quite oblivious to it all. He was now making himself 
 agreeable to Margaret, which turned out to be somewhat diffi- 
 cult, for she did not like him quite as well as she had thought 
 she might, after he coincided with Mr. Grey in regard to 
 crowding the Bottomless Pit with murdered monopolists, be- 
 cause he had laughed uproariously at her sympathetic sugges- 
 tion that 'The Record' would help the Almighty when the time 
 came to smite the Philistines, and Margaret was only waiting 
 for the moment when she could counter upon him for this 
 mirthful display at her expense. She saw her opportunity 
 when Koppinger, at a loss now how he should proceed further 
 in the face of Margaret's disconcerting manner, reached va- 
 cantly for a pretty volume on the teakwood stand near him. 
 
 "Have you read the Golden Rule, Senator?" she asked. 
 
 "N-no, but I've read criticisms of it in a literary periodical." 
 
 "Do tell me what they say about it," she exclaimed, deeply 
 interested, of course. 
 
 "Well, literary criticism takes such a wide range I do not 
 quite recall what this particular critic did say, but I think he 
 said it was crudely done." 
 
 Koppinger, looking as serious as a bishop, was now getting 
 on so well with Margaret that he was speaking loud enough 
 for the rest to hear him; but, taking a glance in the direction 
 of Bolston, he saw that the Englishman, from the shadow of 
 the chrysanthemums, was struggling to restrain himself from 
 laughing outright. Koppinger colored profusely ; yet his quick 
 wit came to the rescue just in time to save him. 
 
 "I intend to read the Ten Commandments as soon as I can 
 find time to get a suitable copy," he said, dryly. Then they all 
 laughed. 
 
 "By all means, senator," exclaimed Grey. "You will find in 
 the volume all there is on morals. And do not fail to read 
 Matthew nineteen, twenty-four."
 
 70 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "The story of the rich man and the camel, senator," added 
 Margaret, laughing merrily. 
 
 "A mere metaphor," replied Koppinger. "But who knows 
 the size of that particular needle's eye? In these days of big 
 things it may be quite large enough to accommodate even me." 
 
 "If not," remarked our host," "the American Spike Company 
 will see to it that one of ample dimensions is installed; and, 
 should the Spike Company need help, it will have only to apply 
 to the First Mortgage Bank, of New York, which assisted it a 
 few years ago, after a visit to the White House, in taking over 
 the Southern Soot Company, in violation of law, in order to 
 prevent a panic. Ye gods !" exclaimed Grey, who had been a 
 close observer of current events and was sometimes inclined to 
 sarcasm. 
 
 Bolston had withdrawn his persistent gaze from Koppinger's 
 direction and was now talking to Enid, in a modulated tone. 
 
 "Senator Twain has an aunt in Boston, I am told." 
 
 "Yes," she answered, "his father's half sister, who is very 
 greatly devoted to him, as he is to her." 
 
 "Do you know her?" he inquired. 
 
 "No, but he has often spoken of her to me. He visited her 
 for a week only recently." 
 
 "Have you her address?" 
 
 "Yes. She lives in Charles street, I do not recall the num- 
 ber, but I have it." 
 
 "Do you mind giving it to me?" 
 
 "I have it upstairs. If you will excuse me I will get it for 
 you." 
 
 "And her name?" 
 
 "I think he never called her by name." 
 
 Enid returned shortly and handed the Englishman a card 
 on which was written the address of Senator Twain's Boston
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 71 
 
 relative his only relative, he had told Enid, his parents being 
 dead, and he the sole immediate family survivor. 
 
 "This is the number from which he wrote me while he was 
 there. I assume it is the place of her residence. Your deep 
 interest, Mr. Bolston, has been a great support to me, and I am 
 depending upon you." This was spoken in a low tone, as she 
 leaned toward him from her place on the lounge, where he, 
 too, was now sitting. Then, in a half whisper, he said : 
 
 "I leave for Boston night. Please say nothing about it." 
 
 By this time Koppinger was watching the Englishman out 
 of the corner of his eye. Bolston knew it, and was now 
 convinced that the millionaire senator, if he chose to do so, 
 could throw a great flood of light on the problem that was 
 turning in the minds of everyone in the room. He was not 
 disposed at that moment to force Koppinger's hand, for he 
 feared that such a thing might cause an awkward revelation. 
 Indeed, so uncertain was he in regard to the nature of the 
 bachelor senator's knowledge on the subject he did not dare 
 betray his own suspicion. Koppinger's attitude might be entire- 
 ly proper, thought Bolston. There was the possibility a most 
 likely one, all things considered that it was an affair of the 
 heart, in which the millionaire was the solitary actor, for it 
 could not be that Enid Grey was cognizant of it. Besides, 
 there was no reason for haste ; he could await further develop- 
 ments. And yet, as he struggled with the thoughts which 
 Koppinger's attitude had aroused in him and in him alone, as 
 he hoped his noblest emotion pressed for action. Enid's con- 
 fiding words had impressed him deeply. This, with her super- 
 lative beauty, stirred his warm, chivalric nature. To merit 
 her confidence was a great privilege ; in the end, to deserve her 
 gratitude was to be forever blessed. 
 
 Koppinger thought it very strange that the old aunt had 
 not come from Boston or made an inquiry of some kind, for
 
 72 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 surely she could not be unaware of what had happened, with 
 all the newspapers devoting extra space to the subject. He 
 asked Mr. Grey how he accounted for the fact ; but the editor, 
 seeming to have no opinion about it, submitted the question to 
 his daughter. 
 
 Enid replied saying the aunt was quite old and feeble. Per- 
 haps those in whose care she was had thought it wise not to 
 shock her with the news. Besides, she had written to her, 
 
 addressing the letter "For the aunt of Senator Twain, No.- 
 
 Charles street;" yet no reply had been received. 
 
 "I will write the mayor of Boston first thing tomorrow," said 
 Koppinger. "I know him intimately. Will you give me the 
 number in Charles street, Miss Grey?" 
 
 "Pardon me," said Bolston in his quiet way, "but would not 
 such a course result in an official search being made, with the 
 usual publicity by the press?" 
 
 Koppinger eyed the Englishman closely. Then he replied: 
 
 "Perhaps you are right about it." 
 
 But Enid, not to appear rude, gave him the address. 
 
 "Then, you should go to Boston at once, senator," exclaimed 
 Margaret in her direct and enthusiastic way. 
 
 "Oh, but why, Margy, Senator Kopppinger is so well 
 known by everyone, his arrival in Boston would be the signal 
 for the wildest speculation," suggested Enid, "and that might 
 put the guilty ones on their guard." 
 
 "True, my dear," said her father, who was almost as guile- 
 less as Margaret, and no more than she had he observed the 
 diplomatic sparring that was going on between the millionaire 
 on the one hand and the Englishman and Enid on the other. 
 
 "A happy thought, Enid," replied Margaret. 
 
 But when the Boston special pulled out of Washington late 
 that night there were two important passengers on board. One 
 was John Koppinger and the other was Ralph Bolston.
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 73 
 
 Neither of them was aware of the other's presence, for Kop- 
 pinger preceded the Englishman to the station by a few 
 minutes, and was in his compartment with the door closed and 
 locked when the other came. Nor did they meet on the train 
 the next day, nor that afternoon when the special arrived. 
 Being admonished by Enid's "happy thought," the senator 
 remained in his snug quarters and had his meals served there. 
 When the train came to a stop in the Boston station he waited 
 fully five minutes before getting off. This he easily arranged 
 with the porter. He had dodged the newspaper boys similarly 
 on other occasions. Then he took a closed taxi and drove 
 
 straight to No. Charles street, coming to the quaint house, 
 
 which sat back of and considerably above the street level, just 
 after Bolston entered the door and it was closed behind him. 
 The Englishman sent his taxi up the street a little way to 
 wait for him; Koppinger did likewise. When the senator was 
 admitted, after using the old-fashioned knocker vigorously, he 
 saw Bolston standing in the hall. They glared at each other 
 almost fiercely, but neither of them spoke. For full a half 
 minute it was a duel between two pairs of eyes and two de- 
 termined natures. Nor would a blast from Gabriel's trumpet 
 have moved either of them, nor caused them to speak, nor even 
 to blink an angry eye. 
 
 The intense spell was broken by the appearance of an elderly 
 man whom the equally elderly looking maid that opened the 
 door had gone to fetch from the upper floor. He wore an 
 old pair of carpet slippers and was in very light and apparently 
 very cheap attire. Pushing by Bolston and backing up against 
 the dingy wall, he looked at Koppinger and then at the Eng- 
 lishman, who continued their fixed gaze, neither of them deign- 
 ing to notice him, until he'said, in a feeble voice : 
 
 "Won't you step into the room, gentlemen?" Then they 
 bowed and passed through a half-open doorway which the old
 
 74 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 man tried to make larger by pushing unsuccessfully at the 
 paneled obstruction. It would not slide, for age, dust and rust 
 had afflicted its grooves. 
 
 Inside the close and stuffy room, whose windows were tightly 
 closed, as were also the long brown weather-beaten blinds out- 
 side, the old man motioned the two strangers to seats. By this 
 time they both seemed to realize the ridiculousness of their 
 attitude toward each other. Bolston broke the silence : 
 
 "Proceed, senator. I presume we are here on the same 
 errand." 
 
 "Our spare room is for rent, gentlemen, but it is quite small," 
 said the old man. "Maybe two could manage to get along in it 
 somehow." 
 
 "At what price?" asked Koppinger. 
 
 "We get two fifty a week for one person," he replied. "For 
 two we would want three fifty, if that is not too much." 
 
 "We will take it for a week," said Koppinger, and he paid 
 the amount in advance. 
 
 The old man took the money with a grateful obeisance, turn- 
 ing so as to allow the dim light that fell into the room from the 
 hall to strike the silver pieces in his hand, and he clinked the 
 coins together as he examined them, in true New England 
 fashion. 
 
 "I will have Matilda put the room in order if you will ex- 
 cuse me," he said, "and she will come to show you the bathroom 
 and about the water." 
 
 When he had quit the room and was gone up the creaky 
 stairway at the rear of the lower hall, Bolston spoke: 
 
 "A queer place, senator, to find the one we are looking for." 
 "Are you sure about the number?" asked Koppinger. They 
 produced the cards upon which Enid had written the night be- 
 fore. There could be no mistake, at least on their part ; the 
 number was the same on each. Besides, they had come separ-
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 75 
 
 ately to the place, neither knowing the other to be in Boston. It 
 was plain enough to the Englishman that the millionaire was as 
 greatly puzzled as he apparently so and while they waited 
 in silence he half persuaded himself that, after all, perhaps he 
 had misjudged the senator. 
 
 A slight noise on the stairway and the rustling of starched 
 skirts in the hall announced the approach of "Matilda," and 
 when that person appeared in the doorway, her hand shading 
 her eyes as she peered through the darkness of the room at the 
 strangers, they rose and bowed politely. 
 
 Men who have been bred and trained to the ceremonious 
 ways of society seldom neglect its conventional requirements. 
 It was meet, under present circumstances, that they should 
 show due respect in the presence of a woman, though she might 
 turn out to be a mere scullion, rather than that they should 
 feel the necessity of chiding themselves afterward for having 
 failed to do so in the presence of Cornelius Twain's venerable 
 aunt. Nor had Scotland Yard manners, in the Englishman's 
 case, nor agrarian politics in Koppinger's had the effect of 
 blunting their understanding of the ordinary civilities of life. 
 
 "We will not go up just now, madam," said Koppinger, in 
 reply to her statement that the room was ready. "We may have 
 some business in the city first. Has the room been occupied 
 recently?" 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "We are not so very particular about it," he continued, 
 "but by whom?" 
 
 "He was a fine man, sir, and called me aunt Matilda, I don't 
 know why, because I haven't any nevvys, but I didn't care ; he 
 pays double." 
 
 "Had he been here before the last time?" inquired Bolston. 
 "Yes, sir; he's been here every spring these last four years,
 
 76 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 and stays a week, sometimes more, and then he pays for two 
 weeks if it isn't quite. I hope you'll like the room." 
 
 "Do you know where he comes from?" asked Koppinger. 
 
 "Down Washington way somewhere. He's something big in 
 the Government, I guess, as some of his letters don't have 
 stamps. They say "free" on the outside." 
 
 "And does he know anyone in the house here besides you?" 
 
 "Just my brother, David Hollister, that's all. We've lived 
 here fifty years comin' fifty-one in December no one else but 
 them that rents the room and Sam and Julie, the help." 
 
 "You will pardon us for asking about your roomers, madam. 
 Please show us up," said Koppinger. 
 
 "I'll call Sam, that's the colored man, to take your things." 
 Then she hurried away. 
 
 "Sam," said Bolston, after handing him a silver dollar when 
 they were in the room, "I hope we shan't give you any more 
 trouble than the last roomer did." 
 
 "Deed it ain't no trouble no how, ef you please. He was 
 spoty wid 'is money, too." 
 
 "Sporty?" repeated Koppinger. 
 
 "Yes, sah, just like you all, an' he talk fine about 'is sweet- 
 hea't an' 'is mammy an' daddy an' Miss 'Tilda, an' lots ob 
 fokes wat he know'd. I reckon dat man was mighty good an' 
 amount to sumpin in dis wicked worl', case he cry and take on 
 'korridgble like wen he git 'is sweethea't lettah dat cum eb'ry 
 mo'nin' ; an' he stay up all night and walk de flo' like he wait 
 fo' de nex' one." 
 
 The professional novelist would find in the foregoing quite 
 enough material with which to complete his story, for there 
 was much in it to suggest darkness and mystery. Yet, I must 
 see only through the eyes of John Koppinger and Ralph Bol- 
 ston, and relate what they thought about it. 
 
 So, when Sam was gone the "new roomers" took council;
 
 SOME DIPLOMATIC LYING 77 
 
 they were greatly nonplused. There could be no doubt upon 
 this they were agreed that the three occupants of the Charles 
 street house had told the truth. Twain had been in the habit 
 of coming here, but not for the purpose of seeing his aunt. Be- 
 yond these incontrovertible facts his two anxious friends would 
 not go at present. 
 
 But in what terms should this information be conveyed to 
 Enid Grey? She would be eager to learn from Bolston's own 
 lips the result of his investigations. The truth must be told. 
 Thus Bolston mused. 
 
 "We will go over the matter on the train," said Koppinger, 
 as if he were reading the Englishman's very thoughts. Then 
 he looked at his watch. "Five hours yet. Dismiss the taxis, 
 Mr. Bolston; you may go upon the streets without the hazard 
 of being recognized. We can remain here until train time and 
 then walk to the station a roundabout way. I know the city. 
 Get a few sandwiches while you are out." Koppinger was a 
 methodical man, and abhorred hunger. 
 
 Soon after Bolston left the house, "Matilda" rapped at the 
 door. She came with the letter that Enid had written. It 
 was unopened. "I didn't want to break it, sir, for I am not 
 his real aunt, and there is a law for them that opens other's 
 letters." 
 
 "Was the gentleman that had this room in good health, 
 madam?" Koppinger asked. 
 
 "Fine health, sir, and in good spirits. He laughed beauti- 
 ful like, and talked with us. At night he walked the floor a 
 good deal and seemed to be making speeches all to himself. I 
 reckon he was getting ready for what he had to do for the 
 Government, maybe." 
 
 En route next day Koppinger insisted that Bolston should 
 see Miss Grey as soon as they arrived. 
 
 "She knows that you went to Boston and will expect an
 
 78 THE SECOND AMENDMENT. 
 
 immediate report," said he, without looking up from the maga- 
 zine whose pages he was aimlessly turning. 
 
 The Englishman made no reply just then, for he did not 
 quite like Koppinger's positive way of saying that Miss Grey 
 knew in advance of his intention. Besides, how did Koppinger 
 know? He could not have heard what he said to her in the 
 lowest possible tone, at the moment that Margaret Holt was 
 indulging in an outburst of laughter and the others were talk- 
 ing. Had the millionaire guessed the truth? If so, then 
 there must be a hidden meaning in his cool assumption of a 
 secret understanding between them, which, indeed there was, 
 but it was no business of John Koppinger's. Besides, Kop- 
 pinger had not explained to Bolston nor anyone else why it 
 was that he took upon himself the task of finding Senator 
 Twain's aunt, leaving Washington hastily and secretly for that 
 purpose. 
 
 "Did Miss Grey tell you, senator?" asked the Englishman. 
 He knew, of course, that she did not tell him, as he had re- 
 quested her to say nothing about it ; yet there seemed no better 
 way of parrying the millionaire's gentle thrust than by putting 
 him on the defensive. 
 
 "Oh, not at all," he replied quickly. "I supposed that was 
 generally understood when you asked for the Charles street 
 number." 
 
 "Oh, of course," replied the Englishman. "I had forgotten 
 about that." 
 
 And both were lying beautifully, the one to the other, even 
 as distinguished diplomatists might have done under stress of 
 like circumstances.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 
 
 When they arrived in Washington each took his separate 
 way, after Bolston had extracted a promise from Koppinger 
 that the Boston episode should not be mentioned to anyone 
 outside the Grey family. The senator went to the Capitol, 
 direct from the great Union station which the Government do- 
 nated to the pauper railroads running to the Capital city. He 
 walked leisurely across the park, and entering the Senate 
 chamber took his seat among his colleagues with an air of un- 
 concern and repose that completely masked the unusual emo- 
 tions stirring in his breast. Several senators came to inquire if 
 there were any news concerning Twain. The close personal 
 relations so long existing between them gave the millionaire 
 statesman especial prominence as the medium through whom in- 
 formation on the subject was expected, and the secret service 
 officials who were working on the case came to him regularly 
 for advice. Dick Bostwick, the famous head of detectives, 
 met with him for consultation almost every day for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 "His whereabouts are still unknown," was Koppinger's 
 guarded reply to his colleagues. Until now his stereotyped 
 answer had been: "No new developments." 
 
 Next day, after the Senate convened, Baxter came along 
 and standing in the lower aisle leaned with his elbows on
 
 80 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the outer ledge of Koppinger's desk, which the guides will 
 tell you was the one used by Daniel Webster long ago; and 
 you will look at it with patriotic emotion expanding your 
 American breast, remembering the inscription you have read, 
 perhaps, on the granite statue in Central Park, New York: 
 "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." 
 Then you will visit the great, the beautiful Congressional 
 Library building and ask for Webster's famous speech in reply 
 to Hayne, for in the eager routine of your home life you 
 have not thought to read it, though it may be found in your 
 own bookcase. 
 
 Well, this brought Baxter's and Koppinger's heads close 
 together, physically at least. 
 
 "Any developments?" asked Baxter. 
 
 "Can you take luncheon with me in my committee-room at 
 one?" responded Koppinger, turning and looking at the big 
 clock over the main entrance to the chamber. The ominous 
 black hands of the time-piece indicated twelve forty. Nor had 
 these been disturbed since the closing hours of the last session, 
 when, as frequently happens, they were turned back by the use 
 of a long staff in the hands of the head doorkeeper, so that 
 the Senate might delude itself with the belief that the final 
 "legislative day" had not expired. This is only one of the 
 methods of killing time in the Senate. The old clock was 
 "right" today, and Baxter nodded his head. 
 
 When two senators take luncheon together in a committee- 
 room it amounts to a miniature executive session, and what is 
 said on such occasions is not for the wide world to know, any 
 more than are the proceedings of a real secret session of the 
 Senate; although, even unto the present day, the mysterious 
 "leak" in the big chamber has not been located, and never will 
 be; for which the Press Gallery will continue to raise its eyes 
 to Heaven with feelings of gratitude deeper and more fervent
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 81 
 
 even than those aroused over the annual turkey and cranberry 
 sauce in November. To repeat : committee-room luncheons 
 "for two" are of a very confidential nature, and no senator 
 participating in one of them will ever tell what was said, from 
 bluepoints to demi tasse. 
 
 No such inviolableness is maintained even at the White 
 House, where conferences, involving the fate of nations some- 
 times, are not spoken of forever after by the parties to them, 
 the newspaper boys being obliged to report them in the third 
 person, using the "it is said," "it is reported," and "one close 
 to the President is credited with saying," etc. Hence the im- 
 portance attached to the choosing of a secretary to the Presi- 
 dent who has a fine, artistic as well as "safe and sane" literary 
 style. 
 
 A speedy taxicab carried the Englishman from the station 
 to Grey's private room in "The Record" building. The editor, 
 having examined a time table, was expecting him, for he was 
 sure it would be unnecessary for Bolston to spend many hours 
 in Boston in finding Senator Twain's aunt. Imagine his sur- 
 prise, then, on learning that no such person existed, so far as 
 had been ascertained. 
 
 "Enid must not be told," said the editor, very much dis- 
 turbed by Bolston's report. "It would undo her completely." 
 
 "You know best as to that, my friend," replied the English- 
 man, "yet she is the one most deeply interested in knowing the 
 truth." 
 
 "It would shake her faith in him, I fear, and that would 
 break her heart." 
 
 "But she knows that I went to Boston and will expect me to 
 tell her. Not to do so would excite suspicion a lack of con- 
 fidence in me even, and in you also, I fear, for your daughter 
 understands, of course, that there are no secrets between you 
 and me."
 
 82 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 The editor paced the floor of his sanctum for a few moments 
 in silence. Then he touched a bell-button. 
 
 "Ask Mr. Smith," said he, when the messenger came, "to 
 give you the 'copy' I handed him awhile ago the article 
 marked 'must' in blue and fetch it to me. There," he ex- 
 claimed when the "copy" was brought to him and he had put 
 it in a little drawer in his desk, "you may sleep for awhile, but 
 not too soundly, for I'll have to use you before long." 
 
 Then, turning to Bolston, he said: "In that article I have 
 charged the mongering System with criminal responsibility 
 for the abduction of Cornelius Twain. I have yielded to your 
 advice, so often given, not to make such an accusation, but 
 damn their pachydermatous hides, Bolston, I believe I am 
 right about it. As soon as you got away I couldn't desist 
 longer, so I just lifted up a few square inches of their thick 
 cuticle and put some salt and vinegar under it. The article 
 would have been in tomorrow's 'Record.' Under the circum- 
 stances it will keep." 
 
 In the absence of the Englishman the man Grey had over- 
 come the circumspect editor of that name and was upon the 
 point of launching "The Record" in the scarlatiniform sea of 
 journalism, where, thereafter, it must perforce build its circu- 
 lation on the slimsy foundation of sensationalism, thus inviting 
 the approval of a clientele of thoughtless people. 
 
 "I'm glad the Boston express didn't run off the track, Mr. 
 Grey," remarked Bolston with a kindly smile. 
 
 "So am I, on your account." 
 
 "But, about the aunt?" inquired the Englishman. 
 
 "We are putting our summer home at Blue Ridge in order. 
 It will be ready in a few days. Page Bannister is coming to 
 visit us. You must come also. By then we can decide what 
 is best to do. Enid is now at Holtleigh with Margaret. Poor 
 child! My heart bleeds for her." And he went over to the
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 83 
 
 open window and looked dejectedly out upon the hurrying 
 throng on the heated sidewalks. 
 
 Ashhurst, the summer home of the Greys, reposed snugly 
 in the midst of a great forest of chestnut trees on the west 
 side of the Blue Ridge mountains, overlooking the panoramic 
 and historic Cumberland Valley. 
 
 The house had been reconstructed and modernized out of a 
 quaint two-story frame bunding with a profusion of gables 
 and dormer windows, such as belonged to the architecture of 
 the early half of the nineteenth century. During the Civil 
 War it was the residence of a prominent Maryland family, 
 consisting, after the war, of the mother and four daughters. The 
 men that belonged there had been in the service on both sides of 
 the fratricidal contest and they never returned. Indeed, the 
 house was divided against itself. One son, the youngest, was 
 in the Union army; the father and two of the elder sons were 
 fighting with the Confederates. One of these had remained at 
 home for a time with his mother and four sisters to direct the 
 negroes in the work of cultivating two or three hundred acres 
 of fertile lands in the valley below. While Lee's army was 
 passing northward through the valley toward Gettysburg the 
 young man, who thus far had remained loyal to the Union 
 cause, took the best horse in the stables, rode to a neighboring 
 school house where the Stars and Stripes waved in the breeze 
 from the top of a fine beechwood pole erected by the patriotic 
 citizens for the previous Fourth of July celebration, and, cut- 
 ting the halyard with his bowie knife, he severed the flag in 
 twain, wrapped one half of it about his body and made a dash 
 for the marching columns of the Confederacy, yelling as he 
 went: "I'm a rebel from hell and am after the Yankees with 
 fire !" His bones lie buried somewhere near Little Round 
 Top, overlooked by the granite monuments of the Reunited 
 States. Soon after the wild flight of this Hotspur into tha
 
 84 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 jaws of death, a Union officer came to the gabled house, from 
 which he proceeded to observe the movements of the Confeder- 
 ate forces, reporting to General Hooker and the latter to Gen- 
 ral Halleck. At the close of the war the officer returned, for 
 he had fallen in love with the belle of the Maryland hills, one 
 of the four sisters, on the occasion of his first expedition. But 
 that is another story. 
 
 Ashhurst was now a spacious, comfortable abode, with broad 
 porches on three of its sides, a small garage and a luxuriant 
 flower garden at the rear. Here the hummingbird came to 
 suck the nectar of the blossoms and bathe in the sun's rays re- 
 flected from the mingled dark and light of his tremulous ves- 
 ture. Cock robin, with vest of red and cutaway coat, strutted 
 proudly on the well clipped lawn at the house front, turning 
 his head ingeniously to catch the gnawing sound of the grubs 
 in the grassroots ; and below, in the thickets and brush-clumps 
 of the deep ravines, the hermit thrush warbled his inimitable 
 song. The place was in the midst of ideal surroundings. 
 
 A narrow roadway led up a steep hill, all astir with ferns, to 
 another and broader highway that wound through the forest, 
 skirting now and again the crumbling edges of rocky declivi- 
 ties which made one's head swim. 
 
 A three-mile run over this picturesque highway brought the 
 traveler to Holtleigh, more magnificent, perhaps, than anything 
 hitherto attempted in the way of summer residences. Nor 
 shall I undertake to describe it ; words refuse to tell of its ex- 
 ceeding splendor. I must content myself, therefore, with say- 
 ing and Holt minor told me himself that it cost two and a 
 half million of dollars. In these days of haste and waste, 
 and according to our way of estimating the artistic, that is 
 description a plenty! I should say, however, that Holtleigh 
 was just over the line in Pennsylvania the Mason and Dixon
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 85 
 
 line as well as that which separates Maryland from the Key- 
 stone commonwealth. 
 
 It was here, then, at this unequalled palace, that Enid Grey 
 was being entertained by Margaret Holt until such time as 
 Ashhurst should be in readiness. 
 
 Across a deep gorge to the north, supported by a wide area 
 of croquet and tennis grounds, there was an elaborate hotel, 
 well patronized by summer visitors, among whom Captain 
 Nicholas Mikleskoff, who, on account of his military bearing, 
 his handsome, rugged face, no less than by reason of his dis- 
 tinguished lineage and his matrimonial aspirations, was quite 
 the most leonine personage in the veranda parades that is, 
 when he suffered himself to mingle with the other guests. 
 This happened all too seldom to be entirely satisfying to the 
 minds of the marriageable maidens who bedecked themselves 
 appropriately for such occasions and practiced their little co- 
 quetries with amazing results upon susceptible elderly gentle- 
 men, but without the desired effect upon the titled Russian. 
 Ambitious matrons who had daughters to exchange for distinc- 
 tion understood it, and looked reprovingly upon the frequent 
 visits of the junior Holt and two or three boon companions 
 with whom the Captain spent long hours in his quarters on the 
 top floor, where the clicking of chips and the wild outbursts of 
 laughter could be heard through the thin partitions of the sum- 
 mer resort too frequently far into the night. And it some- 
 times happened that Margaret Holt herself came in the family 
 car with her brother or her mother, or both, to deposit the 
 Captain at his hotel after he had made an evening call at 
 superb Holtleigh. 
 
 Still, the privilege of bestowing his name and the title of 
 "countess" upon any young lady whose parents could be per- 
 suaded to exchange a few millions for an alliance with nobility 
 could not be seriously denied to Nicholas Mikelskoff. It is
 
 86 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 one of the hardships that belong to hereditary distinction to be 
 at least suspected of designs of this nature. Yet, so long as 
 young Holt insisted upon learning the numerous foreign games 
 of chance with which the Captain was familiar, and so long 
 as the Captain himself wished to take lessons in our national 
 game of poker, he was not inclined to be disturbed by any 
 gossip imputing to him an ulterior motive in his attentions to 
 the multi-millionaire's daughter. 
 
 In the end, his efforts to teach and to learn the games ap- 
 pear to have been rewarded by several thousand dollars, ena- 
 bling him to reestablish agreeable relations with his tailor and 
 the haberdasher who were contributors to his necessities in 
 darker days. 
 
 So, in due time, Page Bannister came to Ashhurst. Ralph 
 Bolston arrived two days later. He was delayed on account 
 of a pressing engagement with Dick Bostwick, who was just put 
 in charge of the Government machinery now in motion for the 
 recovery of the stolen senator. The great detective, first com- 
 ing to me with the thread of a faint clew, I had sent to the 
 Englishman, whom I knew to be young, alert, active and force- 
 ful ; for what could be accomplished by me, who was con- 
 siderably past the meridian of life, with the lethargy of an 
 oriental sojourn in my sluggish blood, toward solving a prob- 
 lem that required quickness of thought and sprightliness of 
 movement? Moreover, I was aware of the sorrowful fact that 
 in Washington life there are none who are quite as helpless, 
 even useless, none so painfully impotent in achieving results 
 as those who, having once held influential station under the 
 Government, find themselves, as private citizens, facing extra- 
 ordinary duties; for it is here that the "political pull" is all 
 powerful, and without it one is simply in the way. I had seen 
 many pathetic instances in which former members of Congress 
 had located at the Capital to practice their profession or to
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 87 
 
 engage in other business in order to eke out a livelihood, in the 
 belief, no doubt, that their prospects would be enhanced in 
 that, not so long ago, they were more or less distinguished 
 officially; and I had seen almost as many complete failures. 
 Wherefore I say unto my fellow "exes :" Be content with your 
 lot as squeezed lemons, for statuary hall is already over- 
 crowded with marble heroes. 
 
 Again, I could not imagine a situation that would admit of 
 failure in the heroic purpose so apparent in Ralph Bolston's 
 determined eyes when he came to consult me a few days back 
 in regard to certain legal phases of the case and his own status 
 as a rescuer of abducted statesmen. Under the influence of 
 these reflections I was easily reconciled to the part, the only 
 part for me in this strange national tragedy ; I could merely 
 advise and suggest, after asking many questions, thus demon- 
 strating the force of the maxim, "old men for counsel, young 
 men for war." 
 
 Moreover, I was at the great disadvantage of having been 
 away several years, and in that time a complete revolution in 
 business methods and in public affairs had taken place. All 
 the great interests and industries, except agriculture, were now 
 under one formidable control, and the Master Monger of them 
 all had raised himself, by sheer force of relentless and im- 
 perious energy, to a position of lordly domination over millions 
 of his fellow creatures, the institution of government itself 
 falling helplessly under his heartless sway. 
 
 "Ah, yes," said Grey to me one day, "it is here, in the invit- 
 ing atmosphere of the nation's Capital, no matter what party 
 is in power, that the 'captains of industry' collaborate in the 
 interest of statutory privilege. It is here, too, that the great 
 Colossus of Finance and Trade one foot on the lid of admin- 
 istration and the other on the stock market, his sombre right 
 hand displayed as if gripping the coddled industries of the
 
 88 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 east, his face turned in confident expectancy toward the 
 bountiful west and the fruitful south, the better, perhaps, to 
 observe his network of railroads gathering tribute for his vast 
 coffers, already overflowing with spoil it is here that the very 
 ground quakes, until even the gold hoardings in the National 
 Treasury are commoved, when this modern Croesus comes to 
 town. And when he has talked plainly to the statesmen, lest 
 they forget; when the Treasury is more deeply indebted to 
 him than ever; when the kow-towing of sycophants and sup- 
 pliants has ceased, and the kind of "prosperity" that he last 
 prescribed, be it conservation or reciprocity, is supposed to have 
 taken root, he will cross the wide ocean, and, mayhap, he will 
 venture to spend some of the hard-earned dollars extracted 
 from the sweat of a grateful people's brow in the purchase of 
 works of the old masters ; after which he will again receive the 
 plaudits of the multitude, but now, forsooth, in recognition of 
 his artistic taste! Thus it is that some of the most powerful 
 of our 'self-made men' build their own monuments." 
 
 Have not I said elsewhere that Editor Grey was a man of 
 rare imagination? 
 
 "I am in need of help," said Bostwick, when he came to me 
 and I sent him to confer with the more active Englishman. 
 "I fear the worst, for I have just succeeded in unearthing an 
 important chain of ugly facts. For the present the matter 
 must be treated in the strictest confidence. I know tliat you 
 can be trusted. At the outset let me say that no senator is 
 responsible for the unfortunate affair, not even Packenham, 
 who is being terrifically censured, as you know. He is pros- 
 trated with remorse for the part he is charged with having 
 taken in it. I have talked with him. Still, he knows nothing 
 of what I am about to relate." 
 
 This exculpation of Packenham and of the body of which I 
 had been a member pleased me ; for it was the fashion to make
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 89 
 
 the gravest accusations against the American Senate, as it had 
 been in the time of Julius Caesar and of Cneius Pompey to lay 
 all the ills of the times at the door of the Roman Senate. 
 
 Yet, why blame the people for their lack of confidence in 
 public men? Has not even our boasted system of "trial by 
 jury" been practically superseded by one of accusation in the 
 public prints? by demagogic indictments drawn in heated 
 imaginations and delivered from political rostrums? from 
 Rome to Chicago! "Yer guilty anny way," as the Irish 
 justice remarked; "now procade to put in yer ividince, if ye 
 have anny." Such is the new mode of judicature; such the 
 onslaught upon the American Senate, because it refuses to be 
 stampeded by clamor. 
 
 So, as I have said, Page Bannister and Ralph Bolston came 
 to Ashhurst as the guests of the Greys. If Bostwick's dis- 
 covery in regard to Andy Akers was entitled to credence it did 
 not remove the conviction in the Englishman's analytical mind 
 that John Koppinger knew more about the mystery than he 
 was willing to tell; either that, or his interest was of another 
 kind. But the Englishman kept his own counsel and assisted 
 the Greys in entertaining the distinguished Altrocratic leader. 
 
 One evening, after a Lucullan feast at the Holts in honor 
 of Bannister, Captain Mikleskoff ventured the opinion that, as 
 a preliminary to unearthing the real culprits in the abduction, 
 someone should be either hanged or guillotined. 
 
 "This," said he, "would flush the covey, as you say here, and 
 send the rascals to cover in mortal fear. After that the au- 
 thorities would have no trouble in putting their hands upon 
 them." 
 
 Grey was inclined to agree with the Russian, but Bannister 
 inquired if there was not the danger of sacrificing the life of 
 an innocent person. This did not appeal to the Captain's un- 
 American conscience, and he replied :
 
 90 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "The world is filled with worthless people, anyway." 
 
 "Shocking!" exclaimed Margaret. "Is that the custom in 
 your country, Captain?" 
 
 "I must admit," he answered, as if to soften his previous 
 remark, "that we go in for results, Miss Holt, thus maintaining 
 the integrity of the Government." 
 
 "I fear the compensation is not enough," was her reply, as 
 she looked appealingly, and, as Enid thought, admiringly at 
 Page Bannister. 
 
 Bolston was wondering if, in pursuance of his policy of 
 propitiation, the Captain would select his victim from the Far- 
 num tribe, but he said nothing. 
 
 Bannister's short stay in the Blue Ridge mountains was en- 
 livened by much sightseeing. He was greatly interested in the 
 people, and Grey managed to bring him in contact with several 
 of the homespun residents of the Cumberland Valley. On one 
 occasion, as they were descending toward Waynesboro in the 
 seven-passenger car, Mrs. Grey asked the driver to stop. 
 
 "Here comes good old Mr. Smyser," said she. "He is on 
 his way to Ashhurst with a basket of fresh berries. We will 
 take them in and save him climbing the hill. Good morning, 
 Mr. Smyser." 
 
 "Howdy all?" inquired the sinewy, swarthy old resident. 
 Smyser owned a few acres of land where his forebears had 
 lived and died. He maintained a little orchard in which a 
 variety of fruits were grown, and a duck pasture where he 
 fattened the web-footed fowl on celery and sold them to the 
 wealthy resorters of the Blue Ridges. He was also the local 
 philosopher of the Waynesboro region and always had the 
 right of way in any political arguments that arose in the com- 
 munity. "It's right smart warm today," said he, wiping the 
 beads of water from his bronzed forehead with a red bandanna. 
 
 "Shake hands with the next President, Mr. Smyser. This
 
 BANNISTER AT BLUE RIDGE 91 
 
 is Mr. Bannister," said the editor, "and you've met Mrs. Grey, 
 Miss Margaret Holt and my daughter Enid, of course, and this 
 red-headed man here is Mr. Bolston, from London, but he's 
 fast coming to be Americanized." 
 
 "I've hearn tell about him, sir, as how he's just cuttin' out 
 that Roosian over to Andy Holt's. I hope he does. I ain't 
 got no use fer them furriners that come here to take our purty 
 gals away." 
 
 And the ladies fairly screamed with laughter, for here was 
 a piece of local gossip that not even the Greys nor the Holts 
 had heard before now. By this time the Englishman's face 
 was redder than his beard, and that was redder than his hair. 
 Margaret, too, was blushing appropriately, but not to the ex- 
 tent of confirming the report, as Page Bannister, who was a 
 close observer, was quite sure, and he was eyeing her intently. 
 "Besides," he mused, "she is a pronounced blonde and has 
 such Heaven-blue eyes, out of the same piece of sky, perhaps, 
 that Bolston's were plucked; and blonde, blue-orbed persons 
 are said to mate with those having dark hair and eyes." Ban- 
 nister's own were brown. 
 
 "I'm mighty glad to meet you, Mr. Bannister," continued 
 Smyser, "but I might as well tell you, sir, that I won't vote fer 
 you nohow. Beain't you the one that's runnin' for the new 
 party what's got that elevatin' name?" The Smysers were orig- 
 inally from Vermont, but came to Maryland many years ago. 
 This one was proficient in the vernacular of both these states, 
 and knew the Pennsylvania dialect also. 
 
 Bannister nodded his head and answered smilingly: "I 
 admire your frankness, Mr. Smyser; hold to your political be- 
 liefs, whatever they may be." 
 
 "Yes, sir; I'm right set. There ain't nothing wrong with 
 the country, sir; it's the politicians that's to blame. All they 
 want is to get in, and there ain't much difference in men. Mr.
 
 92 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Grey's paper has got it about right, sir. It says things should 
 be allowed to simmer along without bilin' over." 
 
 Bolston, whose face was now less red than his hair, looked 
 at Grey and smiled. He was thinking of the peppery article 
 that was in the cold storage drawer of the editor's desk. 
 
 "I agree with Mr. Grey's paper in the main, Mr. Smyser," 
 said Bannister, "but this is a growing country and politics 
 must be made to keep up with it." 
 
 "I want to know !" exclaimed Smyser. "Well, sir, the coun- 
 try'll have to go some to keep out of their way, believe me. 
 Senator Koppinger made a speech up here last fall and said so." 
 
 Bolston looked at Enid, but her gaze was fixed listlessly 
 on some far away object, and she seemed not to hear. 
 
 "But, sir, you've got a good-looking noodle on your should- 
 ers," Smyser went on, "and there's knobs on it. I reckon if 
 them trusts struck it they'd slide off and git themselves hurt. 
 Maybe you're all right, Mr. Bannister. I'll read what Grey 
 says and govern myself accordingly."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 
 
 Now, if all the characters in this chronicle, particularly those 
 we have met in the luxurious seven-passenger car as it speeded 
 among the Blue Ridges on that fine June morning, when old 
 man Smyser disposed of his berries, had been of one mind in 
 regard to the momentous problem around which this tale is 
 being woven, they would be of no use whatever to the novelist. 
 But for the very great disparity that exists in the view points 
 of men and women ; if there were no disagreements, no strifes, 
 no contentions among the mortals of earth, the many good 
 people who now feel the call to indulge in fiction-making 
 might have no better occupation than that of proving the 
 millennium a failure. And, with a good healthy millennium 
 at hand, there would be no need of novels, perhaps, particularly 
 of political novels. 
 
 But at the time of which I write we were far, very far from 
 the millennium. Indeed, mankind was now more widely at 
 variance in its beliefs and disbeliefs than ever before, and, 
 paradoxical as it may seem, it is doubtful if at any period in 
 the world's history had there ever been so little hunger and 
 want. Teeming Nature had not faltered in its prolific bounti- 
 fulness. There was neither famine nor plague, and, so far as 
 wars were concerned, all Christendom was at peace, one nation 
 with another.
 
 94 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Yet, the land was filled with discord. Personal animosities 
 and petty bickerings prevailed in every avenue of life. Men 
 were gripping at one another's throats in the market places; 
 women tore their sisters' reputations to shreds in the home 
 sanctuaries. There were few exceptions to the rule, and even 
 these exceptional cases were vanishing before the resistless tide 
 of excessive endeavor that was sweeping everything before it. 
 
 And all for what? For temporary possession of advantage 
 and of power, which, being attained, were not enjoyed, for as 
 contention grew more tense the fruits of it became less perma- 
 nent and more unstable. 
 
 The reason for these strange conditions, as has been suggest- 
 ed, took rise in selfishness, the ancient arch enemy of all hu- 
 mankind, for it is by no means new ; it is only more acute and 
 also more ferocious and wicked. Finally, I fear, when our 
 intense struggle for individual supremacy, under the mastery 
 of money, comes to divide the multitude into many warring 
 factions, if indeed that day is not already here; when, speci- 
 fically in the realm of politics, it comes to pass that, as a 
 remedy against this money evil, we shall be called out to cast 
 our ballots in order to determine our daily course of action, 
 even to the kind of food our neighbors shall eat or the raiment 
 they shall wear, and a great people, once organized into adhe- 
 sive units for mutual helpfulness and national protection, are 
 rended into disorganized mobs thus weakened and "reformed" 
 into scattered and impotent particles, under the self-constituted 
 leadership of talebearers and mischief makers, the great tyrant 
 hand aforementioned, and now waiting its opportunity, will 
 reach out and gather in the wasting spoils. 
 
 But this is preachment, always a poor instrument against im- 
 pending disaster a useless remedy in the cure of a diseased 
 body politic, once the deadly germ of greed, abetted by antag- 
 onism and hatred, has entered therein.
 
 UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 95 
 
 Not even the complimentary allusion of old man Smyser to 
 the conservative course of "The Morning Record" had served to 
 stem the torrent of wrath that was now coursing through the 
 mind of Arthur Grey, for the more he talked with Page Ban- 
 nister on the issues of the pending Presidential campaign the 
 more certain his conviction that he had made a mistake in 
 withholding that editorial charging "the Monger System" with 
 direct responsibility for the abduction of Senator Twain. 
 
 Yielding to Bolston's advice, he told his daughter of the 
 result of the Englishman's investigations in Boston. Had she 
 divined it? It must be so, for she was unmoved by her father's 
 nervous and hesitating recital of the facts, and surprised him 
 with this remark, intended, as he must have felt, to compas- 
 sionate him : 
 
 "There may be some mistake about it, father ; we must con- 
 tinue to hope for the best." 
 
 Thereafter Enid betrayed no sign of disappointment, but 
 thanked Bolston in optimistic words for his unsolicited effort, 
 and assumed, as he thought, an air of unwonted relaxation, as 
 if, in part at least, her deep anxiety had been allayed. This, 
 coupled with Koppinger's peculiar actions, threw about the 
 situation a new shade of mystery, which took on additional 
 color when she asked the Englishman if the millionaire sena- 
 tor had accompanied him to Boston. 
 
 "Then you were aware he was to go that night," said Bol- 
 ston, almost sharply, without replying directly to her question. 
 
 "No, but I had a note from him after he returned telling 
 me" 
 
 "Pardon me for my abrupt remark, Miss Grey. Yes, we 
 went by the same train, but I did not know it until the senator 
 arrived at the house in Charles street. We returned together. 
 En route homeward the senator was kind enough to propose
 
 96 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 that I should personally give you the particulars. Does his 
 account coincide with my own?" 
 
 "Very closely," she replied, looking inquiringly into his face. 
 "Except that Senator Koppinger expresses some doubt about 
 the entire sincerity of those in the house with whom he talked." 
 
 Koppinger had expressed no such doubt to him, and Bolston 
 could not resist a feeling of annoyance, not to call it by a 
 stronger term, to learn from Miss Grey herself that his own 
 efforts were disappointing to her. At least this was the mean- 
 ing he read in her reply and her inquiring look. After a mo- 
 ment's hesitation he said: 
 
 "An afterthought of the senator's, perhaps, or he would have 
 told me, I am sure. I will see him immediately on my return 
 to Washington tomorrow." 
 
 Of one thing Bolston was now certain: John Koppinger's 
 interest was neither altruistic nor Platonic. But he could not, 
 he would not, believe that she, being engaged to Cornelius 
 Twain, reciprocated the millionaire senator's feelings. It 
 must be, therefore, the Englishman reasoned, that Koppinger's 
 attachment antedated that of Twain's. Perhaps she was en- 
 gaged to him before Twain came upon the scene. This thought 
 aroused sinister doubts in Bolston's mind in regard to Kop- 
 pinger's fidelity to his absent friend, and as he analyzed the 
 incidents of the preceding week he could not resist the conclu- 
 sion that Dick Bostwick, with all his astuteness in apprehend- 
 ing criminals, had been too hasty in his suspicions concerning 
 Andy Akers. For the present, however, he would not permit 
 himself to believe that Koppinger was particeps criminis to 
 Twain's disappearance, nor that he was even cognizant of the 
 means by which it had been accomplished, should it turn out 
 that force had been used, as Grey verily believed. Nor would 
 he go directly to the editor with his conjecture, much less to 
 Miss Grey herself for confirmation of the fact, now firmly
 
 UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 97 
 
 fixed in his mind, that John Koppinger was in love with her, 
 for that was unnecessary, and in time he was sure the whole 
 truth would be revealed. 
 
 One evening, near the end of Page Bannister's stay at the 
 Greys, a final dinner was given in his honor. Among the 
 guests were Captain Mikleskoff, the fair, delightful and naive 
 Margaret, the spendthrift Stephen, his opulent father and his 
 devoted and indulgent mother. Senator Koppinger was also 
 invited, and Bolston secretly wondered at whose suggestion 
 this was done ; but, when Grey, having received a message from 
 Koppinger, expressed his regret that urgent duties in the Senate 
 precluded the millionaire bachelor from the feast, the English- 
 man, who aimed always to be just, even in his private opin- 
 ions concerning those he could no longer trust, was almost 
 upon the point of accusing himself of jealousy, at which 
 thought he laughed outright. 
 
 "I wanted to bring the confirmed plutocrat and the proleta- 
 rian leader together," said Grey, when he got Koppinger's 
 telegram, "but Andrew Holt will be here instead of Kop- 
 pinger to represent the country's moneybags and meet Bannis- 
 ter on neutral ground." 
 
 Margaret Holt was placed to the right of the Altrocratic 
 leader when the guests assembled at the table, and she took the 
 first opportunity to rally him anent old man Smyser's some- 
 what vitriolic allusions to the new party a few days before. 
 Bannister smiled and said this was the land of free speech, and 
 that the homespun philosopher and berry peddler was a man 
 of honest and positive opinions. 
 
 "I fear that speech is too free in your country, Mr. Bannis- 
 ter," remarked the Russian. "Only yesterday I heard a gentle- 
 man of some distinction at the Capital make the statement 
 publicly that it would be a good thing for the people if the
 
 98 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 entire Senate were abducted, and there were those present who 
 agreed with him." 
 
 "Such fools should be deprived of the privilege of the ballot," 
 said Holt. 
 
 "Oh, no," replied Bannister. "They are necessary evils 
 under our system of democracy. That kind of talk ought 
 really to move men of wisdom to do their duty at the polls." 
 
 "The Captain would send these horrible examples into exile," 
 exclaimed Margaret with a merry laugh. 
 
 "Siberia wouldn't be big enough to hold them all, together 
 with the consolidators," suggested Grey. 
 
 "And the scarlet press, too, from which the multitude get 
 their dangerous views," remarked. Bolston, who, since coming 
 to Ashhurst, had been much disturbed by Grey's radical out- 
 bursts ; he feared an early change in the policy of "The Morning 
 Record." Not that he would shield "the Monger System," but 
 rather that he would save his friend the editor from what 
 might prove to be an ill-advised step at a most critical moment. 
 
 Nor did the Russian Captain invite further expressions from 
 the great Altrocrat, with whom the adorable Margaret seemed 
 inclined to agree, sitting there at his side and giving undivided 
 attention to all Page Bannister was saying. Indeed, the Cap- 
 tain showed no little impatience when, soon after the guests 
 arose from the dinner table, Margaret and Bannister, comfort- 
 ably ensconced on a wicker settee just large enough for. two 
 persons and occupying a retired nook on the great porch, seemed 
 never to break off their wooing for in the Russian's estima- 
 tion it was nothing less than that. 
 
 What they were saying he was unable to hear, even had he 
 been rude enough to have listened, for Mrs. Holt, who adored 
 foreigners on account of what she called their exquisite man- 
 ners, had captured the Russian and was plying him with a 
 rapid fire of questions concerning the Europeans and their
 
 UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 99 
 
 customs. So persistent was she in holding his distracted atten- 
 tion he was convinced she, too, was in the conspiracy to de- 
 prive him of Margaret's society. He had the good fortune, 
 however, to be carried to his hotel in the Holt auto that even- 
 ing, and to occupy a seat in the tonneau beside his inamorata, 
 whispering his devotion into her ear and sighing like a furnace. 
 How he hoped she would speak of her tete-a-tete with the 
 distinguished Bannister and rave about his classical features, 
 for well he knew the meaning of a woman's praise of a rival 
 suitor. But she did not give him even this satisfaction, and, 
 so intent upon the subject was he, after a short silence he ven- 
 tured some compliments of his own that she might be led into 
 an expression concerning him. 
 
 "A very clever man, Captain, I grant you," was the full 
 extent of her comment the "I grant you" in a tone of acqui- 
 escence that was almost chilling, leaving the smitten alien to 
 infer that, had he spoken of Bannister as a political mounte- 
 bank or a western stage robber, she would have agreed with 
 him entirely. 
 
 And all the while Margaret Holt was measuring the deco- 
 rated Russian at her side by the splendid American who so 
 charmed her with his superior qualities during the few short 
 minutes she was permitted to be with him alone at Ashhurst. 
 Even this much, but for night's protecting veil, were readable 
 in the heightened coloring of her beautiful face and the newly- 
 awakened light in her glorious eyes. She was not thinking of 
 Captain Nicholas Mikleskoff. 
 
 From Ashhurst, after a week's freedom from the impor- 
 tunities of politicians and platform builders, Page Bannister 
 went direct to his home in the west. Here he awaited the 
 action of the Altrocratic convention, the first national gather- 
 ing of the new party, by which he was duly nominated for the 
 Presidency. It was a notable assemblage, made up from the
 
 100 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 dissatisfied elements of the two old parties, which were now 
 combined in a common cause under the banner of Conserva- 
 tism a title that suggested political asylum for the "captains 
 of industry," the "advance agents of prosperity" and the pro- 
 moters of financial and industrial interests generally. 
 
 On the other hand, if I may go back to an early incident in 
 Altrocratic annals, Page Bannister and his immediate ad- 
 visers, in choosing a name for the new party, struck the key- 
 note of popular sentiment, and it was soon to be heard through- 
 out all ruraldom. Failing to find in any of the dictionaries or 
 encyclopedias a word that expressed the embodied principles in 
 which they believed, they coined a term for the occasion. In 
 furtherance of their quest for a ringing title by which to em- 
 phasize their altruistic purpose, and having several university 
 professors among their adherents, the task was imposed upon 
 the scholars of the new party. After the professors agreed 
 upon the term "Altrocratic," Bannister was called in to give his 
 approval. He was a cautious man, and knew with what zeal 
 and enthusiasm intense partisians, roused by attractive theories, 
 sometimes push their cause; and there was so much in the 
 country's politics of the unpractical kind, so many catchy 
 phrases and high-sounding resolves, that he asked the text-book 
 statesmen for a few days time in which to consider their deci- 
 sion, promising to pass on the question long before the date 
 of the convention, which was more than six months away when 
 this happened. 
 
 Bannister, far-sighted as well as cautious, at once wrote to 
 his friend Grey, who was then in Nagasaki, Japan, told him 
 of the professors' etymological endeavor and asked for his 
 opinion. 
 
 "Admirable ! Admirable !" wrote the editor, whose reply to 
 Bannister's letter I was permitted to read on our way across 
 the Pacific. "With that title for your new party," the letter
 
 UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 101 
 
 continued, "there will be no need of a platform. Literally, the 
 whole story is told in a single word. An Altrocrat, I take h% 
 is one who puts love of country and the good of his fellow 
 man above party and personal gain. Such is the political ap- 
 plication of the wo'rd." 
 
 I was about to remark at this point that altruism and 
 politics were opposing forces, and like oil and water would not 
 mingle, but the next sentence in the letter made this unneces- 
 sary : 
 
 "Altruism is the positive and politics the negative. By fric- 
 tion that is by agitation the two may be brought into har- 
 mony. The ancients believed that a body having the quality 
 of attraction was possessed of a soul. Altruism having regard 
 for the well being or best interest of others has the force of 
 attraction. It is of divine origin; it has a soul. Science tells 
 us that all bodies are susceptible of electrical excitement. Why 
 not experiment with the institution of politics, in the hope of 
 imparting to it the positive or spiritual qualities of which it ia 
 now wholly devoid? I have some doubt, my dear Bannister, 
 about trusting too far to the average scholastic mind in mat- 
 ters of a strictly practical nature, for I have known so many 
 men just out of the universities and colleges who were gone 
 daft in theory ; yet, in the matter of diction, of word construc- 
 tion, we must admit their superiority. Yes, the word Altrocrat 
 has my complete approval for the purpose which you intend to 
 use it. A Democrat could easily be a member of either of the 
 old political organizations if there were nothing better for him 
 to follow, for the principles of the two parties were alike be- 
 fore they combined. Happily, he may now find the complete 
 expression of his sentiments within the Altrocratic party, whose 
 theory is the very groundwork of true democracy under a 
 republican form of government. A party postulated upon the 
 precarious doctrine that greed and selfishness shall be the deter-
 
 102 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 mining forces is a party of Autocracy. The party which in 
 practice puts man before the dollar and keeps him there is 
 necessarily the party of Altrocracy. The people will not at 
 once comprehend the meaning of the new word, but when they 
 do it will sink into their consciences. It has- substance, and will 
 grow upon the mind. I may refer to you as a Plutocrat and 
 you to me as a Populist or an Insurgent. These terms are 
 more or less offensive, and, when loosely applied by or to 
 those of opposite political opinions, give rise to feelings of 
 retaliation. If you refer to me as an Altrocrat I accept the 
 appellation as a badge of honor. The word conveys a distinc- 
 tion of dignity; it is uplifting, ennobling. By its use as a 
 party title it will have a decided tendency to lift politics out 
 of the mire. No one could proudly boast that he was not an 
 Altrocrat ; it would reflect credit upon any man to own that he 
 was one." 
 
 But all this was said months before Cornelius Twain disap- 
 peared. Yet, it served to reassure Page Bannister. He had 
 great confidence in Grey, conceded to be the leading editor of 
 the country. "With such thoughtful men as he proclaiming 
 for the adaptability of the new word," said Bannister to me, 
 "it will be difficult, I imagine, for the humorists and cartoon- 
 ists to turn it to ridicule. They may even abandon the elephant 
 and the donkey, whose grotesque counterparts in the funny 
 papers and colored supplements are training young America 
 toward flippancy instead of philosophy." 
 
 And, now, how the long, dull hours of these flagging sum- 
 mer days were dragging by at Ashhurst ! Poor Enid Grey, so 
 close to being misjudged by Ralph Bolston, though she did 
 not even suspect it, was nursing her unspeakable grief in her 
 silent chamber, where, far into the night time, long after the 
 lights in the windows of the Blue Ridge hotel across the gorge 
 went out, and darkness had spread its pall over the quiet scene,
 
 UNFOUNDED SUSPICION 103 
 
 she sat peering through the open lattice into the wild spaces 
 of the mountainside, with no sound but the echoing notes of the 
 whippoorwill or the occasional flutter of the nighthawk's wing 
 to wake her from sad reverie. Could Bolston have seen her 
 thus, although he might have gone on indulging misgivings in 
 regard to John Koppinger, no longer would he include Enid 
 Grey in his distrustful speculations. It is doubtful, indeed, if 
 he did include her, except as her fate is involved in all these 
 pages. It was her welfare that he was interested in, for he 
 was devoting himself unselfishly to the unravelling of a mys- 
 tery the end of which deeply concerned a warm and worthy 
 friend who had fallen into unusual misfortune, and was not 
 here to fend against those who would destroy him. He hoped 
 John Koppinger was not one of these. If it should turn 
 out that he was, then the Englishman had already dis- 
 covered the bachelor senator's purpose, and he conceived it his 
 duty, as he would have had Twain do also unto him, to prevent 
 the consummation of an object so perfidious. Was not this a 
 motive that entitled him to high rank among altruists? But 
 there are too many who will say it was only the Scotland Yard 
 instinct.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 
 
 The day following Bolston's return from Ashhurst he met 
 Captain Mikleskoff at the Cosmopolitan Club, where a member 
 was telling them in a whisper of Dick Bostwick's suspicions in 
 regard to Andy Akers' connection with the Twain abduction, 
 the story being known to but very few. Most of the club 
 members knew Akers, on account of his good judgment of 
 horses. Doubtless, they had heard also of Eva Farnum. 
 
 "It isn't at all likely they will hang him or send him into 
 immediate exile," said the Englishman, smilingly. 
 
 "No," replied the Captain, for whom the remark was intend- 
 ed. "The courts will dilly dally, and hysterical women will 
 send flowers to him. Unlike criminals in your own country, 
 Akers will be a hero here." 
 
 "And Mrs. Farnum's friends will testify to his good charac- 
 ter," added Bolston, laughing dryly. 
 
 But even this did not seem to disturb the stoical, fatalistic 
 Russian. 
 
 Now, there were two important appointments which Bolston 
 had decided upon, entirely on his own account, for as yet the 
 persons whom he meant to see were not aware of his inten- 
 tions. One was with Senator John Koppinger, his whilom 
 companion on the return trip from Boston ; the other with the 
 husband of Eva Farnum. Very few of her acquaintances 
 knew her by any other name, and Akers made no objection.
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 105 
 
 When the Englishman called at the senator's committee 
 rooms in the elaborate office building of the Capitol he was 
 told that Koppinger was in New York. The millionaire 
 statesman was in the habit of going to the metropolis half a 
 dozen times a year. He was a director of several corpora- 
 tions whose affairs are supposed to be passed upon quite regu- 
 larly by boards of directors gathered about long tables in 
 richly appointed quarters either in Jersey City or in Newark, in 
 compliance with the laws of New Jersey, under which, for 
 reasons quite familiar to my readers, a vast number of these 
 concerns have been organized. For the sake of convenience, 
 the meetings of these boards are arranged so that the members 
 of them, those who are on several or many boards, may attend 
 all or most of the sittings the same day. Usually, the meet- 
 ings are of short duration, the directors remaining only to re- 
 ceive their checks for twenty-five, or fifty, or one hundred dol- 
 lars for each meeting, according to the size and importance of 
 the corporation. These payments are for attendance, not for 
 services, which are readily performed by low-salaried clerks, 
 under the president or chairman of the board, who receives a 
 fabulous sum for his Napoleonic talents. At the close of their 
 arduous labors, after attending from one to a dozen board 
 meetings and drawing their pay, the directors hasten to their 
 homes in New York: they have been away a whole day! 
 And, to the average New Yorker, even New Jersey is a long 
 ways off. 
 
 I once met a New Yorker on a west-bound train just as we 
 crossed the line between North Dakota and Montana, and 
 rarely has it been my fate ever to have met a more miserable 
 man. "For God's sake !" he cried, addressing the porter, 
 "don't tell me how many million miles I am away from home, 
 but bring me something to drink so that I may forget it!" 
 Then, turning to me, he asked: "Is there no end to this
 
 106 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 road? I never expect to see my family again." He was great- 
 ly distressed ; and while I have tried to' convince myself that it 
 was because no liquor could be had in North Dakota, as. every- 
 one knows, still I am bound to believe that he was serious, if 
 not entirely sober, for he was one of the very few New Yorkers 
 I had happened to meet so far away from home. 
 
 Well, Koppinger was attending a series of these meetings in 
 Jersey City or Newark and was therefore in New York. And 
 so Bolston came away from the Capitol and sought Andy 
 Akers at his dingy little office opposite the Pension building. 
 Akers was out, and the colored janitor said he was to return 
 directly; that he had just stepped into a room on the same 
 floor "to see a ge'man." Bolston handed the janitor a quarter 
 and asked him who "the ge'man" was. 
 
 "Ah doa'n' know, sah, but ah reckons he is Mistah Giddums 
 wat cums heah mos' eb'ry day, sah.' This sable factotum, like 
 the rest of his tribe, was skilled in the art of imparting desired 
 information, under favorable financial conditions, with the "ah 
 doa'n' know, sah," as a precautionary premise; so that, had 
 Akers questioned him later, he might truthfully have answered : 
 "Ah tole de ge'man ah doa'n' know, sah." 
 
 The Englishman entered Akers' office and sat down, saying 
 to the janitor he would wait. Here he looked at the cheap 
 print pictures of jockeys and famous horses tacked on to the 
 narrow dirty walls, until his eyes fell upon a poster some two 
 feet square, conspicuously displayed over a small oaken table 
 near the single window. On the poster, which was of heavy 
 cotton cloth, were the words in bold display: "One Hundred 
 Thousand Dollars Reward for the Recovery of Cornelius 
 Twain. Fifty Thousand Dollars for Information Leading to 
 his Recovery. By order of the President. Calvin Clements, 
 Secretary of State. Richard Bostwick, Chief of Detectives, 
 Washington, D. C." These bills were not uncommon. They
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 107 
 
 might have been seen at this time on almost every board fence 
 in the country. Just to the right of the poster, there was a 
 campaign lithograph, a fac-simile of Senator John Koppinger ! 
 
 The humorous coincidence caused the Englishman of Irish 
 descent to smile broadly, and, but for footsteps in the hall 
 just then, he might have laughed audibly. It was the janitor. 
 He came to say that "Mistah Akus" would be there very soon. 
 
 Making a movement as if searching in his pocket for another 
 quarter, Bolston asked one or two misleading questions, fol- 
 lowed by this one : 
 
 "Whose is the picture over there, Sam?" It was Sam's com- 
 ment he wanted. 
 
 "Dat, sah, is Senator Koppi'ger. He's a mighty good frien' 
 of Mistah Akus. But ah reckons he ain't lak dat one dey 
 kotch in der gerloon ; he's mo' smaht, ah spect, sah." 
 
 "You mean Senator Twain?" 
 
 "Yes, sah de one dat was shanghaied an' dey gib de money 
 to fine. Ah reckons Mistah Akus gits dat money, sure. Mis- 
 tah Koppi'ger been heah to see 'bout it." 
 
 Then Sam's eyes were lowered to the region of Bolston's 
 pocket, but the Englishman did not respond, for that would 
 have made the purpose of his questions altogether too apparent. 
 
 "Mistah Bostic, de chief, he been heah too, sah. Ah reckons 
 you alls 'ill get 'im bimeby," the janitor was saying when he 
 heard Akers coming leisurely along the hall. 
 
 The meeting between Bolston and Mrs. Farnum's husband 
 was marked by an air of indifference that each must have 
 known to be assumed by the other. The Englishman was at 
 greater ease than Akers, for, by the use of the kind of diplo- 
 macy that goes far with the enfranchised African, he had 
 derived more information from the janitor than he expected to 
 get out of Andy Akers, all told. He knew of Bill Giddings 
 through common report, which classed that gentleman with
 
 108 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the high rollers of the local stock market ; had heard his opin- 
 ions quoted by those members of the club who admitted their 
 familiarity with such intricacies of the Exchange as "puts and 
 calls," "visible supply," "foreign demand," "domestic produc- 
 tion" and the like. Giddings, besides a wide range of knowl- 
 edge concerning politics and the crops, was also accepted as 
 authority on the curb as to railroad shares this, presumably, 
 by reason of his close relations with Sam Ives, the trusted 
 friend and political and business associate of Eph Fox, general 
 counsel of the C. Q. D. Railroad, which was now coming out of 
 the hands of a receiver, Ives, by the way, with a volume of 
 apparent earnings that sent the stock to a prodigious height. 
 
 And Giddings was with Akers only a few minutes ago. To 
 know all this in advance of his contemplated talk with him, 
 and also that Koppinger was in the habit of consulting Akers, 
 was to be doubly fortified for the parley. Still, the English- 
 man was at this disadvantage : If Akers was culpable, he 
 alone knew it, no matter if the crime were directly his own or 
 whether it belonged elsewhere, he being privy to it. This, 
 above all, was what Bolston wished to find out, independently 
 of Bostwick's line of investigation. In this light, it was all 
 the more necessary that the former Scotland Yard man should 
 proceed with extreme caution; and yet he must come to the 
 point in a way that would at once put all cavil to rout. 
 
 Bearing in mind Enid Grey's commission to find her lost 
 lover a duty, in Bolston's estimation, more sacred to him than 
 if he were a sworn officer of the law ; remembering her appeal- 
 ing look never to be forgotten when she spoke to him on 
 the subject that evening at her father's house, and putting 
 behind him for the present all suspicion as to John Koppinger, 
 his courage, always invincible, was now at high tension. 
 
 "Mr. Akers, I am a very close friend of Mr. Grey's and his 
 family, as deeply interested as they in the recovery of Senator
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 109 
 
 Twain. It is far more important to us that he should return 
 alive than that his persecutors, if there be such, should receive 
 their legitimate reward at the hands of the law. This can be 
 arranged " 
 
 "Stop !" commanded Akers, raising his hand and pulling 
 himself out of the deep old trap of a chair into which he had 
 dropped on entering the room. Ambling to the door, which 
 was somewhat ajar, he closed and locked it, shutting also the 
 dusty transom window above. Then he came back to where 
 Bolston had been sitting for by this time the Englishman 
 was on his feet. Looking his visitor straight in the eyes, Akers 
 said: 
 
 "What if I should tell you, sir, that I am the one that 
 planned and carried out the abduction?" 
 
 "I should say, in that case," coolly replied the other, "that 
 either you are a fool, or that, being guilty, your conscience 
 was smiting you, and you had resolved to pay the penalty." 
 
 "And you would be wrong on both propositions. Fool ! 
 Conscience! Bah!" And he snapped his fingers scornfully. 
 
 "Have you said as much to Chief Bostwick as to me?" 
 asked Bolston. 
 
 "I have said nothing to Bostwick. He is a nice man, but all 
 that is wanted by any officer that wears a star is to get a man 
 into the toils any man will do, guilty or not. They're like 
 some of the newspapers." 
 
 "And you prefer that he should not know?" 
 
 "Prefer nothing ! Tell him, if you like." 
 
 "No, I will not mention it to any one," replied the English- 
 man. 
 
 "Of one thing you may rest assured, sir I will not run 
 away. My office hours are from nine to four every day. From 
 five to six I am at my farm near Chevy Chase. Evenings I 
 am home."
 
 110 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "At Mrs. Farnum's?" 
 "My wife's; yes, sir." 
 
 A gentle rap at the door put an end to further talk between 
 them. Akers unlocked and opened it, and the Farnum, a sad 
 expression on her haggard face, stepped into the room. 
 
 "My wife, Mr. Bolston," said Akers. Then, after the 
 Englishman and Mrs. Akers had shaken hands: "Eva, will 
 you part with the dapple grey? I think Mr. Bolston would 
 like to have him." 
 
 "Not for any money, Andy; no, indeedy!" 
 
 "I would not deprive you of your pet, madam," said Bolston, 
 gallantly. 
 
 That night, when Eva and Andy were preparing for bed, 
 she asked him why the door was locked and the transom shut 
 when she arrived at the office. Her curiosity was aroused, 
 and she knew intuitively there was something more serious than 
 mere horse talk going on before she came. 
 
 "Force of habit, my dear," he replied. 
 
 "And I saw Giddings leaving the building as I drove up," 
 she added. "There is something in the wind, Andy, that you 
 do not want me to know. Have I ever betrayed you?" 
 
 Always, when Akers was hard pressed for an answer, he 
 would hang his head and say not a word. This was a never- 
 failing sign of discomposure in him, and Eva knew it. 
 
 "I asked a question, Andy, and you do not reply. Have I 
 ever betrayed you?" 
 
 "I'm so sleepy, Eva, I can't think. Forget it." 
 
 "Surely," she thought, as she lay there awake far into the 
 morning, turning the problem in her mind, "it can't be so 
 awfully serious, or he wouldn't sleep so soundly." 
 
 Still, Andy Akers was the greatest human enigma ever she 
 had known. She verily believed that if he were condemned to 
 die at a given hour of the morning, he would not allow the
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 111 
 
 matter to interfere with slumber the night before not Akers 
 and on awaking, even while the hangman was at his cell door, 
 he would turn to the priest praying by his side and ask about 
 the condition of the grey gelding at the farm. 
 
 It must be that his last thoughts before falling asleep that 
 night were of Sam Ives and Eph Fox, for when he awoke next 
 morning he asked, drowsily : 
 
 "Where are they, Eva?" 
 
 "I am not sure St. Louis, I think; Fox is, most always," 
 was her immediate answer. 
 
 Some marvelous psychological results have been noted in 
 consequence of the appropinquity, for a period of several hours, 
 of two healthy bodies such as Eva's and Andy's. One of these 
 days someone _ whose specialty it is to deal with the abstruse 
 question will discover that the three-quarter bed too often it 
 is even narrower than that is responsible for a large percent- 
 age of the divorces that are being granted, particularly those 
 for incompatibility of temper. 
 
 Eva Farnum, so called, and Andy Akers had not taken to 
 the modern habit of separate repose; they slept in the same 
 bed, as the matrimonial archives in the Recorder's office will 
 show they had a perfect right to do. A very large bed, it was, 
 too, almost square in its dimensions ; but the mattress on which 
 they slept was afflicted with prolapsus medii, by consequence of 
 Eva's excessive avoirdupois and singleness during her widow- 
 hood. 
 
 So that Eva and Andy, being subject to restlessness, and 
 the nights being warm, inviting slumber near the far edges, 
 awoke mornings to find the inexorable law of gravity had 
 tumbled them together into the trough of their broad and 
 spineless couch. In this situation, as they slept peacefully on 
 through the night, the imperceptible electrical currents of the 
 separate bodies, after revivifying thousands, yea, millions of
 
 112 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 depleted micro-organisms, were now flitting from one body to 
 the other, thus equalizing the magnetic forces of both, Eva 
 supplying those chemical ingredients of which Andy was de- 
 ficient, and vice versa. 
 
 I may stop here to suggest that, perhaps, children jporn of 
 such a bed are likely to be strong and hardy, possessed of good 
 mental equipment, on the theory that a perfect physical basis 
 is surety for normal brain development. But I will not em- 
 bark on this broad sea of speculation; we are considering only 
 the case of Mrs. Farnum and Andy Akers, who as yet were 
 childless, and we are concerned just now particularly about 
 the possibility of the transmission of thought a priori between 
 man and wife whose bodies are mutually en rapport, ut supra; 
 which bright idea, I am free to confess, came to me with un- 
 wonted spontaneity when Eva, just waking from the soundest 
 of slumbers, gave immediate answer to her spouse's first morn- 
 ing question, which pertained to two dubious citizens who are 
 to become prominent in this volume, and about whom neither 
 Mrs. Farnum nor her loving husband had said a word for 
 many days back and gone. "Where are they, Eva?" "I am 
 not sure St. Louis, I think. Fox is, most always." Whom 
 else could Andy have had in mind when he awoke? And, 
 but for the stimulating effects of the condition of appropin- 
 quity surrounding Eva and Andy at that moment, how other- 
 wise could she have known that he was referring to the Hon- 
 orable Samuel Ives, whom Akers detested above all men, and 
 the Honorable Ephraim Fox, about whom personally he cared 
 not a fig, except in respect of Fox as a possible contributor to 
 future bad fortune for Ives? 
 
 At the breakfast table, an hour later, the probable where- 
 abouts, as well as the present state of mind and financial re- 
 sources of the distinguished C. Q. D. lawyer and his lobbyist 
 friend, were discussed more at length. Akers was aware of
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 113 
 
 the fact that his wife possessed an itching palm. He knew 
 also that as a girl, the daughter of respectable Boston parents, 
 who gave her a good education, she had been courted assidu- 
 ously for a time by Eph Fox. It was not for him to inquire into 
 the secret of Fox's change in sentiment and his connivance at 
 her subsequent marriage to Ben Farnum, who was a worthless 
 sort of chap that followed the races as a "booky." What in- 
 terested him now was whether Eva, still buxom and gay, 
 would be able to exert, with due precaution for his own recent- 
 ly-acquired rights, something of her old-time influence over 
 the railroad attorney. Moralizing thus, he casually remarked : 
 
 "You are an old friend of Eph's and wouldn't object to go- 
 ing with me to St. Louis, would you?" 
 
 "Delighted!" she exclaimed, her face glowing with sudden 
 animation. 
 
 "I must know everything that he says to you, of course." 
 
 "Oh, Andy ! Surely you do not already distrust me." 
 
 "Purely a matter of business, Eva," said he. 
 
 "It is sweet of you to put it that way. Yes, I will tell you 
 everything, Andy, and gladly." 
 
 So it was arranged that they would leave for the Mississippi 
 metropolis the next day; and the first thing Akers did was to 
 find Bolston and tell him of his intended trip to the west, 
 and where he could be found if wanted. He wasn't "running 
 away." But he said nothing about the nature of his business 
 in St. Louis. 
 
 By this time Senator Koppinger was back from New York. 
 Intent on going forward with his self-assumed task of pene- 
 trating the mystery now revolving about John Koppinger's 
 peculiar conduct, Bolston sought an early interview with that 
 gentleman. Meeting him casually at the club, he made known 
 his purpose, and the two went to a private room on the upper 
 floor of the building. Koppinger himself coolly locked the
 
 114 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 door when they were inside, as if it were he who had business 
 with the Englishman, and before the latter could say anything 
 the senator began: 
 
 "Your close relations with the Greys entitles you to an ex- 
 planation from me, Mr. Bolston." Then he referred to the 
 note sent by him to Miss Grey on his return from Boston, for 
 he knew of the Englishman's and Bannister's sojourn at Ash- 
 hurst (the papers had recounted that incident with much 
 speculation as to its significance), and must have guessed that 
 Bolston discussed the subject of his Boston investigations with 
 Mr. Grey and his daughter, as, indeed, Koppinger himself had 
 requested him to do in respect of Enid. 
 
 "My sending the note," he continued, "was prompted by a 
 desire not to alarm Miss Grey. After leaving you it occurred 
 to me that it would soften the blow if I expressed a doubt 
 about the entire truthfulness of the occupants of the Charles 
 street house. Furthermore, on my return I talked with Sena- 
 tor Twain's confidential secretary in regard to the old aunt 
 not the pseudo aunt, but the real one for he has an aunt in 
 Boston; I have seen a letter from her to her unfortunate 
 nephew, written since we were there. She does not live in 
 Charles street, but in Cambridge." 
 
 This straightforward recital by Koppinger restored him, in 
 part at least, in Bolston's confidence, and the Englishman 
 secretly hoped that before the interview was over the restora- 
 tion would be complete and lasting; but it was not, for at the 
 end he still believed John Koppinger's interest in Enid Grey 
 was more than a friendly interest. 
 
 "And now," continued the senator, "I will give you some 
 family history, with the understanding that it is not to be re- 
 peated to anyone, for obvious reasons." Bolston nodded his 
 head. "Above all, the Greys must not know it. About ten 
 years ago a cousin of Senator Twain's, a beautiful girl, the
 
 THE MYSTERY IS INTENSIFIED 115 
 
 daughter of the Cambridge aunt, met with a reverse in a 
 love affair. It was supposed she was engaged to a promising 
 young attorney, and that for reasons which were said to in- 
 volve her integrity he broke with her. Current gossip imputed 
 dishonorable conduct to him. In her desperation she married 
 a man she did not love. About a year ago she divorced him 
 through the Reno process and soon afterward remarried. Her 
 home is here in Washington, where she is known as Mrs. Far- 
 num. Her present husband is a man of the name of Akers." 
 
 "I have heard of him ; indeed, I have met him," interrupted 
 the Englishman ; "also his wife." 
 
 Koppinger gave him a quizzical look, and then went on : 
 
 "Having told you this much, I ought to add that the mother 
 renounced her daughter and has never forgiven her. Twain's 
 parents being dead, he appears to have centered his affections 
 upon his Cambridge relative and to have tried to bring about 
 a reconciliation between them. The mother has remained 
 obdurate, and when the girl married Akers, Twain ceased 
 his efforts, continuing, however, his visits to Cambridge. All 
 this was confided to me by Twain himself, who during the 
 past few years has been much cast down, for he has or had 
 a most sensitive nature and was jealously vain of his family's 
 good name." 
 
 "You say had, senator; do you believe Twain to be dead?" 
 asked the Englishman. 
 
 "I have no belief about it," answered Koppinger. 
 
 "You know Akers?" said Bolston, with an inflection that 
 could have been interpreted as being either a remark or an 
 interrogation, for it was both, and it had the desired effect. 
 
 "Y-yes," replied Koppinger. Then, after a considerable 
 pause : "He has done some political work for me." 
 
 Why this hesitating admission? thought Bolston. And in 
 truth it was not as frank and straightforward as the rest of
 
 116 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Koppinger's statement. Still, it may be that he was not dis- 
 posed to boast of his acquaintance with Mrs. Farnum's hus- 
 band. Could there be another reason? Or were Bolston's ap- 
 prehensions the fruit of fantasy? 
 
 Then the Englishman, thanking Koppinger for the mark of 
 confidence in giving him the details of Mrs. Farnum's "ro- 
 mance," came away. If he had made any progress with John 
 Koppinger and Andy Akers, it was in unexpected directions; 
 nor had Koppinger, by any word or action, betrayed himself. 
 As for Akers, Bolston was quite sure that he had not admitted 
 his complicity in the crime to anyone else. This was strongly 
 evidenced in Akers' closing of the door and the transom before 
 admitting it to him, and in his suddenly changing the subject 
 when his wife came. And yet, why had he thrown himself 
 upon the Englishman's mercy? Surely, he could not thus go 
 on defying the law and expect to remain at liberty. And 
 should he ever come to trial what was there for him but a plea 
 of guilty? Scotland Yard had not furnished anything like 
 this!
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A POLITICAL SLANDER 
 
 Margaret Holt has just arrived to take Enid and me in her 
 car for a wild run among these miniature Parnassi the Blue 
 Ridges only we three. How delightful! I shall now learn 
 from Margaret herself something about the sentimental side 
 of Page Bannister. Won't it be fine! And what a piece of 
 good fortune, thought I, to occupy a seat between these radi- 
 ant queens of many hearts. Oh, pshaw ! Here comes Enid's 
 father, for whom I immediately recalled Margaret's fondness. 
 But, of course, he will sit beside the driver, and, being so fleshy, 
 will soon tire of turning to engage in the conversation. Strange 
 that we I mean middle-aged gentlemen like Grey seldom 
 realize how much they are sometimes in the way ! 
 
 As we are about to start, Enid's attention is attracted to an 
 auto which has just turned in from the common highway on 
 the mountain side and is now coming down the narrow private 
 road toward the house. The tonneau is empty, but in the 
 seat forward there is a man, linen clad and wearing a modish 
 Panama hat. It is John Koppinger. He was not expected, 
 but being, as we have already seen, a close friend of the Greys, 
 I thought nothing of his suddenly appearing on the scene. It 
 would have been different with my friend the Englishman, 
 had he been present ! 
 
 "Don't miss your ride on my account," said Koppinger. "I
 
 118 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 will wait on that cool and inviting porch over there until your 
 return." 
 
 "Come with us, senator," said Enid and her father in the 
 same breath. 
 
 So it came about, on Enid's insistence, that Margaret sat 
 between the senator and me, while she took one of the little 
 swinging seats on the side directly in front of the newcomer. 
 
 After a run of some fifty or more miles through the great 
 natural parks of chestnut, beechwood and soft-maple, along 
 wide winding roads leading around and over thickly wooded 
 promontories; swinging now and again from the huge mouth 
 of some forest gap on to fertile, highly-cultivated plateaus 
 which the owners have staked off and are selling at fabulous 
 prices for residence sites, we came, on our return, to superb 
 Holtleigh, where we took leave of the fair Margaret, who, 
 after all my little selfishnesses, had devoted herself to me so 
 assiduously that, besides being much flattered by her attentions, 
 I almost wished the foreign Captain could have seen us ! And, 
 as for Grey, he was so wedged in the front seat he found it 
 quite impossible to turn and look back at all. At the end of 
 the run he would have had much difficulty in getting out, but 
 for the assistance of the chauffeur. How sad, thought I, that 
 age was dealing so harshly with him ! The elderly gentlemen 
 who read this chronicle, if ever they have been similarly sit- 
 uated, a most beautiful girl in the tonneau or anywhere else 
 near by and still out of sight, will know how to sympathize with 
 my editor friend ; but not I ! 
 
 I felt intuitively that there must be some unusual reason for 
 Koppinger's unexpected coming to Ashhurst, with the Senate 
 hastening a rare thing for that body to do to close the long 
 session so that its members, of both parties, might attend the 
 big conventions soon to come together in Chicago, and the dire 
 necessity of senators being constantly present to prevent sur-
 
 A POLITICAL SLANDER 119 
 
 prises in the consideration of the Purchase bill, for the second 
 amendment was still in midair and the unrecorded vote on 
 it had not yet been announced. But I was not sufficiently in 
 his close confidence to learn the nature of his mission to Ash- 
 hurst, and did not know about it until the editor called me 
 into consultation the next morning, after Koppinger left for 
 the Capital. Nor did I permit curiosity to lead me into in- 
 quiry. 
 
 "The cephalopodic Monger System," said Grey, "is planning 
 to defeat Senator Twain for reelection, assuming that he is 
 alive. Not only that, but its miserable agents have concocted 
 and are circulating a vile slander calculated to smirch his good 
 name. Koppinger came up to tell me about it. The dastards 
 would blacken his reputation even though he were dead." 
 
 "Such, my friend, is modern politics," I suggested. 
 
 "But a decent regard for him in his extraordinary misfor- 
 tunes would seem to be his due. They are poisoning the pub- 
 lic mind in his state with the story that by remaining away 
 from the Senate he is serving the sordid interests." 
 
 "And once the story is believed," I added, "it will follow 
 him to the eternal oblivion of his grave. Such is the recep- 
 tivity of the masses." 
 
 "That is the detestable part of it," he replied. "Now, I 
 want you to assist me in refuting it, by your wise advice, at 
 least." 
 
 Just then Enid came upon the porch where we were sitting. 
 She wore a look of sadness, and, as I thought, one of appre- 
 hension as well. I rose and offered my chair, but she thanked 
 me, saying she came only to ask her father if Senator Kop- 
 pinger brought any news from the city and why he had re- 
 turned so hastily. 
 
 "It seems to me, my dear child, that no news would be far 
 better."
 
 120 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Please, dear father, I would be very much happier if you 
 were not so despondent," said she, stroking his gray hair and 
 kissing his forehead, as if he were the one most in need of be- 
 ing comforted. Such was her compassionate nature. 
 
 Then, in the gentlest tone and words at his command, he 
 told his daughter of the situation in Senator Twain's state. 
 Her face paled and her lips quivered, but in another instant 
 the color returned and her eyes almost gleamed with a light 
 that I am sure no one had ever seen there before. It was the 
 fire of indignation now burning relentlessly at the very win- 
 dows of her white soul. 
 
 "Father," said she, "I shall enter the campaign in person, 
 and at once. Whatever the nature of the charge against him, 
 I know it is a base falsehood that is being used to destroy him. 
 It must be answered. I will hurl back the infamous accusa- 
 tion ! You will approve, I am sure." 
 
 "I do approve, Enid, and I will go with you. You are a 
 brave, honest girl," exclaimed her father, in a voice that 
 trembled with suppressed emotion. In another moment he 
 had folded his daughter in his arms. 
 
 Love, it is said, cannot see; it is blind. A love like Enid 
 Grey's needs no eyes; its vision is through the heart. She did 
 not wait to learn the details of the slander ; it was enough that 
 his character had been assailed. To defend him in any event 
 and under all circumstances was the highest duty she could 
 perform. 
 
 Vacancies occur in senatorial seats through various causes 
 by death, by defeat, seldom by resignation, but never until now 
 by abduction. Yet Twain's seat was not vacant unless he 
 were dead. This dread possibility was as yet only a matter 
 of harrowing surmise on the part of his friends, and of cold 
 political speculation among those who would be glad to suc- 
 ceed him.
 
 A POLITICAL SLANDER 121 
 
 It was several days after Twain's disappearance before it 
 dawned upon the public mind that his term of service would 
 expire on the fourth of March following. There was so little 
 thought of his not being returned as his own successor that the 
 fact of the approaching close of his first term had seemingly 
 escaped even the alert members of the Press Gallery. It was 
 first suggested by a news item to the effect that Hiram 
 Knotter (a suggestive name, indeed), whose talents as a pro- 
 moter of industrial consolidations had earned for him a wide 
 if not an emulative reputation at home and abroad, and who 
 was now being spoken of in some of the public prints as a 
 shining example of the self-made man one who, finding noth- 
 ing further to do in his peculiar line, had resolved to enter 
 upon the philanthropic task of proving to the masses that 
 monopoly was a good thing that Hiram Knotter, as a pre- 
 liminary step in this his fanciful beneficence, which, as his 
 adulatory champions were saying, would ultimately entitle him 
 to a place in the Hall of Fame now the far away Mecca of 
 repentant consolidators and vicarious reformers had decided 
 to permit his friends to choose him for a seat in the United 
 States Senate, as the successor of Cornelius Twain. All this 
 acquired additional color by reason of the activity of the cor- 
 porations and other powerful interests in behalf of Mr. Knot- 
 ter. Of course Twain's seat would remain vacant until the 
 fourth of March, unless he should have the good fortune to 
 return to it in the meantime, or unless he should die. In the 
 latter case the governor would appoint a successor. 
 
 Two other aspirants had announced themselves James Par- 
 sons, an Altrocrat, and a champion of the Purchase policy, and 
 Samuel Sloane, who published a platform in which he declared 
 that if elected he would examine the Purchase bill thoroughly 
 and vote "as his conscience dictated;" also, that should Twain 
 return, even after March fourth, he (Sloane) would resign from
 
 122 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the Senate so that Twain might be appointed by the governor. 
 This was a strong and wily bid for the support of Twain's 
 friends. It would be difficult to overcome it. 
 
 And, as an earnest of Sloane's promise, his friend, the Honor- 
 able Richard Sheridan, ycleped "the farmer-orator," announced 
 himself for governor on the Sloane platform, pledged to ap- 
 point Twain. Under the state law the matter was to be sub- 
 mitted to a vote of the people, the primary to be held in Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 All of which was of deep interest to Hiram Knotter, who, 
 meantime, was deluding himself with the belief that his philan- 
 thropic purposes, as outlined above, would win him the support 
 of the people ; he knew, of course, that he would be satisfactory 
 to the gigantic concerns which were the fruit of his consolidat- 
 ing genius. But, as yet, Mr. Knotter was by no means a free 
 agent, even in politics; being a large stockholder in the indus- 
 trial combinations he had been so successful in putting to- 
 gether, he still owed something to their success, and would not 
 do anything that might sacrifice his prospect of dividends. 
 And there was the danger, too, that his aspirations would result 
 in the success of Parsons, the thing above all else the con- 
 solidators didn't want. 
 
 "I'm sorry, Mr. Knotter, but from reports we get things 
 don't look good for you. We mustn't lose this fight. The 
 big fellow east who took the last issue of C. Q. D. bonds 
 won't stand for political mistakes. In order to close the deal 
 we had to give the Monger a majority of our common stock, 
 mere water of course. He will try to put it to par. If there's 
 no adverse legislation, he says, he'll do it. So you see how 
 important it is that we don't lose the senator here." 
 
 Eph Fox always spoke by the card. As counsel for the C. 
 Q. D. road he knew what was expected of him as the political
 
 A POLITICAL SLANDER 123 
 
 manager for the company. He was in his private car, "on a 
 tour of inspection," the papers said. 
 
 Sam Ives was also on board. Sam was the political agent 
 for Sloane, now dubbed "the resigner" by the Parsonites. Ives 
 got on the Fox special at a little town way back along the line. 
 Knotter had been picked up at a way station. These things 
 always take place with exceeding care and caution, so as to 
 keep the railroads out of politics ! 
 
 "Are you quite sure of Sloane?" asked Knotter. 
 
 "What about it, Ives?" Fox was wary in regard to pledges. 
 He liked to have other people make them, but didn't mind 
 being a witness. 
 
 "I'll vouch for him; he will 'play the game,'" was Ives' 
 reply. 
 
 "If you're satisfied, Mr. Fox, I am," said Knotter, after a 
 painful pause. "But how about his resignation if Twain 
 comes back?" It was not like Hiram to overlook details; and 
 he was suffering dreadfully from senatoritis. It's a persistent 
 disease ! 
 
 "How about it, Ives?" Fox looked blankly out of the win- 
 dow. His mind was not on the possibility of Sloane's good 
 intentions. There were dark visions before him, among them, 
 doubtless, the faded face of the once beautiful Eva, with whom 
 we are somewhat acquainted, and the hard visage of Lawyer 
 Roberts, with whom we are to meet in subsequent chapters. 
 
 "If he don't come back there'll be no need of resigning," 
 replied Ives, oracularly, and in measured phrase. Then Ives 
 smiled knowingly upon both of his companions. Yet, at heart 
 he, too, was sorely perplexed, for certain ugly rumors in regard 
 to the state of mind of one Andy Akers had reached him only 
 that morning. 
 
 "Is that answer satisfactory, Mr. Fox?" 
 
 "Entirely so, Mr. Knotter."
 
 124 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Then I'll pull out of the race," said Knotter, resignedly. 
 
 In the game of poker that followed, they called each other 
 
 Eph, Hy and Sam, all the way to B , which was Bill 
 
 Giddings' home. Here the special car was sidetracked until 
 quite late that evening. Meantime Fox made a long visit at 
 the Giddings residence, although he was aware that Giddings 
 was away from the city, in Washington, as a matter of fact, 
 keeping an eye on Mrs. Farnum's husband. Mrs. Giddings 
 had died ten years ago, leaving to the lonely child the memory 
 of a character fine and strong. Only Martha Giddings, the 
 sole occupant of the Giddings residence that night, and by far 
 
 the most beautiful girl in B , can tell how heroically she 
 
 struggled not to forget her mother's last admonitions, and to 
 what end. 
 
 In his speeches Parsons was charging the misfortunes of 
 Twain upon the Conservatives, the opponents of the Purchase 
 bill. Sloane was advising the people not to be led away by 
 the declamations of "a radical mountebank" who was too ready 
 to pledge himself to support any measure, whether he had 
 examined it or not, or whether he would know anything about 
 it after he had examined it. 
 
 How could the people really know who was right and who 
 was wrong? Each candidate had his partisans and his organi- 
 zation, his glee clubs, his newspapers and his brass band a 
 few of the luxuries of a senatorial campaign under the primary 
 law. Both sides denounced the monopolies and lauded Cor- 
 nelius Twain. In the whirlwind of excitement, the hurricane 
 of human endeavor, there were few who gave pause to the 
 ethical consequences of the contest. It was faction against 
 faction, with the patronage that would be distributed among 
 the faithful as the inviting prize of success. 
 
 Public sentiment was pretty equally divided between Par- 
 sons and Sloane. Orators came from all quarters to tell the
 
 A POLITICAL SLANDER 125 
 
 people what to do. The excitement throughout the state was 
 intense. Merchants closed their stores, professional men left 
 their offices, farmers flocked to the towns and working men 
 asked for leave of absence all to parade the streets with 
 flying banners and shout themselves as hoarse as baseball 
 "fans" in behalf of their favorites. 
 
 The comments indulged in by the tired, husky-throated par- 
 tisans furnished some evidence of the popular confusion and 
 displayed a variety of singular and amusing views on the pend- 
 ing issues. Men sat about the hotel lobbies far into the night 
 indulging their opinions concerning public questions. 
 
 "That man Smith that talked tonight is a nabob. He don't 
 know a toothpick from a harrow tooth," said one enthusiast. 
 
 "Well, he's got the other fellow beat a mile, and can turn 
 round and run home before Jones gets to the end of the string," 
 replied another. It was merely a question, it will be observed, 
 of which was the most thrilling spellbinder, Smith or Jones. 
 
 "Ain't either of you knows a cornsheller from a hayrack," 
 remarked a third. "Why don't you get down to bed-rock 
 principles? This ain't a hoss race." 
 
 "Gentlemen, a great public question is being discussed," pro- 
 claimed a fourth. "It is the most important issue since one of 
 the old parties tried to extend slavery to the territories. My 
 father was a Freesoiler." 
 
 "Speech! Speech!" Then the Freesoiler's son would be 
 boosted to a barrel head or a goods box ; there would be more 
 fireworks in the form of oratory, after which the enthusiastic 
 partisans would adjourn to a convenient drug store, the state 
 having gone "dry" at the last election. It will be observed 
 that at least one of these partisans knew the true import of the 
 momentous issue at hand. 
 
 Thus the contest waged. The mails were gorged with cam- 
 paign literature. Local editors called one another bad names.
 
 126 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 In several instances families became temporarily disrupted, 
 ambitious sons taking issue with Conservative fathers who be- 
 lieved in "playing the game." History was repeating itself. 
 Men's minds, coming into conflict in the clash over an epoch- 
 making problem, were "striking fire" kindling a light by 
 which future generations might find their way. 
 
 In point of excitement and sensational incident the campaign 
 had scarcely begun, for a new and unexpected feature was 
 developing. The women of the state, until now in a quiescent 
 mood, were about to lay aside their household duties and join 
 the surging throngs of male workers. Female suffrage had 
 not yet asserted itself as a moral force in that commonwealth. 
 Until now the gentler sex had been content with those lighter 
 affairs of life belonging to the domestic culinary and the nur- 
 sery, supplemented by the recreative pastime of the strawberry 
 festival, the sewing circle or "penny bridge." But the Twain 
 affair his mysterious disappearance and Enid Grey's love for 
 him gave the campaign a tinge of real romance, and romance, 
 someone has said, is woman's controlling virtue. 
 
 The white-heat stage of politics was reached when a copy of 
 an anonymous campaign circular was received through the 
 postoffices by every voter in the state. This document came 
 from an unknown quarter, but subsequent investigation showed 
 that it had been carried into the state in great quantities ready 
 for simultaneous distribution. It bore no imprint or other 
 mark of identification. 
 
 It conveyed the startling information whether true or un- 
 true mattered little, so long as it was surcharged with serious 
 accusation that Cornelius Twain's attitude in regard to the 
 Purchase bill was due to the fact that he was in the pay of 
 monopoly ; that he himself, with the sanction of his employers, 
 had planned the scheme of "abduction" as a cover for his 
 recreancy, and was now hiding in disguise. The story was
 
 127 
 
 well written and in circumstantial detail had about it the air 
 of plausibility. Here, then, was substantiation, by way of sug- 
 gestion, of the Conservative insinuation when Baxter chal- 
 lenged Fordyce in the Senate to show that Twain would have 
 voted with the Altrocrats had he been present. 
 
 Those who have had experience in politics know of the 
 damaging effects of this kind of campaigning, and how difficult, 
 even impossible, it is to overcome the wicked influence of a 
 carefuly concocted falsehood. It is this sort of thing that has 
 brought politics into disrepute and blackened the character, 
 for the time being at least, yet all sufficient for immediate pur- 
 poses, of many a man who deserved better treatment from his 
 rivals and others who were envious of his success. 
 
 The average professional politician is easily the most adroit 
 fabricator in this regard. It must be that his estimate of the 
 character of other men is founded upon his own shortcoming, 
 which furnishes the criterion by which he puts his crooked 
 practices into execution. To blast a reputation, though it have 
 "the probity of the Apostles," is an accomplishment that be- 
 longs to those of his calling who have reached the last stage of 
 desperation in the accomplishment of evil ends. It is a safe 
 assumption, therefore, that the anonymous and scurrilous cir- 
 cular reflecting upon the integrity of Senator Twain had its- 
 inception in the resourceful mind of Sam Ives, and was ap- 
 proved by Eph Fox. 
 
 While it may be true that the prevarications of Ulysses were 
 imposed upon the Phoenicians because they were a credulous 
 people, we have the assurance of Milton that 
 
 No falsehood can endure 
 Touch of celestial temper, but returns 
 Of force to its own likeness. 
 
 The falsehood under consideration met this fate, but not 
 until it had served to bring the sweet personality of Enid Grey,.
 
 128 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 a sorrow-stricken woman, into the limelight of factional poli- 
 tics. But for her heroic endeavor it is doubtful if the name 
 and fame of the man to whom she was tenderly devoted would 
 have escaped the blighting consequences of the calumny that 
 was now being sedulously used to destroy him, socially and 
 politically. 
 
 If Twain were dead, even his memory was not to survive 
 untarnished; if he were alive, all the more reason why decent 
 consideration should be denied him. To these appalling straits 
 had modern politics come. To this end had the degenerated 
 forces that too often dictate the fate of our nation at last ar- 
 rived.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A HEROIC WOMAN 
 
 But, not many pages since, I was telling you of the effect 
 upon Enid Grey's resolute and heroic mind of the doleful 
 report brought up from the Capital by John Koppinger, who, 
 as we have seen, missed no opportunity to serve her. If she 
 had guessed the reason for his attentions, it is quite likely Kop- 
 pinger himself did not know it, and that he was trusting to 
 fate in the hope that ultimately his purpose would be revealed 
 to her and would be understood. 
 
 Here, then, was a strange field of endeavor for Enid Grey. 
 Not until she met Senator Twain and their interest in each 
 other became mutually important, had she known anything of 
 dubious politics, nor of the insistence of certain lines of indus- 
 try upon favoring legislation, nor of the necessities of am- 
 bitious reformers. Until now the circle of her friends and 
 acquaintances had extended but little beyond those excellent 
 persons whose minds, like her own, were absorbed in esthetical 
 pursuits and pleasures. She knew the poets and philosophers 
 from the books in her father's library, and the painters and 
 sculptors by their works in the galleries of Europe, where she 
 had traveled and studied with a keen appreciation of the beau- 
 tiful. She spoke the modern languages with precision and 
 ease an exceptional equipment that well fitted her for the 
 linguistic demands of a cosmopolitan life in Washington.
 
 130 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Their first meeting was at a dinner of state given at the 
 White House, less than a year ago, and what took place on 
 that occasion is worth the telling. There were gathered at 
 this function a considerable number of the most influential and 
 distinguished persons of official Washington brilliant and 
 beautiful women, learned judges, diplomats and legislators. 
 The young senator was easily the center of attraction. Pol- 
 ished in manner, with a face that beamed intellectuality from 
 its superfine lineaments, and a voice and vocabulary that com- 
 manded attention, serving to divert the flow of small talk that 
 predominates at such gatherings, next to the President himself 
 Twain was the most prominent personage in this assemblage of 
 accomplished ladies and notable gentlemen. 
 
 He had observed her presence at the very moment that he 
 came into the reception room. Surely, his eyes would have been 
 in eclipse had he overlooked one of such surpassing qualities. 
 When the guests were seated at the great oval table, being at 
 the side of a cabinet member's wife, Twain asked her who the 
 young lady was. 
 
 "All senators read "The Morning Record," and most of them 
 know and admire its editor," said he, "but I must have been 
 greatly preoccupied these five years not to have known before 
 something of his charming daughter." 
 
 "Miss Grey has been abroad during most of that time, sena- 
 tor." 
 
 "Ah! That being the case I shall not accuse myself fur- 
 ther. Had she been here I would deserve to be classed as a 
 misanthrope." 
 
 "With her permission, senator " 
 
 "I shall be greatly indebted to you, madam, for your kind- 
 ness." 
 
 It may well be imagined that this opportunity to be presented
 
 A HEROIC WOMAN 131 
 
 to her, after the guests had assembled in the blue room, was 
 not overlooked. 
 
 Nor did the little group of dowagers, as they leveled their 
 lorgnettes in the direction of the absorbed couple, fail to 
 animadvert upon the more than passing interest that Senator 
 Twain was taking in his new acquaintance. 
 
 "Isn't she beautiful? and he so handsome and distin- 
 guished," exclaimed the first dowager. 
 
 "What a match it would be !" suggested the second. 
 
 "Oh, but haven't you heard?" asked a third. 
 
 "Indeed, no; do tell us, dear. Is she engaged? I'm almost 
 sorry. To whom?" inquired the youngest, who was just out 
 of her first habiliments of sorrow and was now beginning to in- 
 dulge in searching scrutiny of eligible men. 
 
 "They say that Captain Mikleskoff " 
 
 "Impossible ! Why, he's quite in the throes of bankruptcy," 
 exclaimed the first dowager, whose burial of two wealthy hus- 
 bands gave her views great weight. 
 
 "Senator Twain has no money, you know," said the second. 
 
 "But his position, my dear." 
 
 "And Miss Grey is said to be wealthy," remarked the third 
 exhibit. 
 
 "Oh, the young Russian was the first to discover that fact ! 
 This should entitle him to special consideration, of course, 
 dear." 
 
 And many similar speculations and exclamations from the 
 delightful collection of monitors that shape the destinies of 
 Capital society. 
 
 It was in the midst of this brilliant and inspiring scene that 
 the son of Venus first whispered his paramount message into 
 the willing ears of Enid Grey and Cornelius Twain. Hence- 
 forth, for a time at least, Cupid would lead them through 
 blossoming fields into realms of hope and happiness.
 
 132 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Then, alas ! by some mysterious power of demoniacal intent, 
 the god of love would be superseded in his tender offices and 
 they engulfed in an abyss of woe and pain. Yet, while the 
 spark of life continued to glow, their hearts would not cease to 
 yearn, nor Cupid to fan the flame of their undying affection. 
 
 Now, if this narrative were dependent upon the musty files 
 of the local newspapers for the least bit of the material out of 
 which it is being constructed, it would suffice to say that a 
 great crowd of enthusiastic citizens gathered at the auditorium 
 on a memorable evening not long after Miss Grey and her 
 
 father arrived at M ; that Mayor Alton presided at the 
 
 meeting, and that the speeches that were made served to tinge 
 the political horizon with some strange hues. But a statement 
 of these facts alone would fall far short of accounting for all 
 that really happened; for, even while the distinguished editor 
 and his heroic daughter were speeding toward the west, 
 preparations of an unusual nature were in progress for their 
 reception. 
 
 In the first place, it must not be forgotten that Grey had 
 long been familiar with the game of politics; had studied it 
 from close range for more than a score of years. Many a man, 
 aspiring to be a statesman, had shown the editor his "hand" 
 and asked him confidentially what he thought it was worth; 
 and rarely had the great editor made a mistake in his estimate 
 of its real value. He knew intuitively, therefore, that when 
 
 they arrived at M it would be unwise to "put the pipes 
 
 agoing," as is said in the figurative speech of the Scotch; that 
 is, it were best not to rush immediately into print with a de- 
 fense of the absent senator's character; for that would only 
 arouse resentment and precipitate an editorial dispute in rival 
 local newspapers. He knew also that public opinion is seldom 
 if ever the original product of the masses ; that, no matter what 
 the "common people" may think on their own account in re-
 
 A HEROIC WOMAN 133 
 
 gard to any important question, there are many ways by which 
 the trend of their thoughts may be diverted, too often, unfor- 
 tunately, in wrong directions. Himself a moulder of public 
 opinion, Grey knew, also, the secret of preparing the minds of 
 the people to accept the truth. He was aware of the danger, 
 should the public "get off on the wrong foot," and of the dif- 
 ficulty of getting it back in step again. 
 
 And so, if factional division and discord were to be avoided, 
 it would be well to first enlist the sympathies of the real 
 moulders of local sentiment : that is, the mothers, wives and 
 sisters, who, in the aggregate, and in their own way, generally 
 exert the greatest influence in any community. 
 
 Having thought out all these details on the way to M , 
 
 he had sent Mayor Alton a telegram suggesting a plan of pro- 
 cedure. But to put Grey's suggestions into successful opera- 
 tion without engendering local friction would require most 
 uncommon tact on the part of the mayor; for already one of 
 the editors at M , who was afflicted with a jaundiced tem- 
 perament, and who had opposed Alton's election a few months 
 ago, was now advancing reasons in his paper why a city official 
 should "hold himself aloof from state politics;" why "the 
 people," whose true interests, of course, the bilious local editor 
 was deeply concerned about, except in the matter of monopolis- 
 tic printing, were "opposed to bosses," and so forth and so on. 
 Yet, Alton, being a man of peace as well as sagacity, would 
 doubtless effect desired results without transgressing the code 
 of morals set up by the editor for the rest of the community to 
 follow. And he did, with the assistance of his saintly mother 
 and his loving wife. 
 
 The Altons were at the station with a carriage to meet the 
 visitors when they arrived. Although they were strangers, in 
 some seemingly inexplicable way that only psychologists can 
 fathom the editor and the mayor recognized each other quite
 
 134 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 readily, and shook hands as if they had been chums from boy- 
 hood. And Mrs. Alton, some veracious persons have since 
 averred, would have kissed Enid Grey then and there but for 
 the fact that the good lady was quite short of stature and Miss 
 Grey quite tall. 
 
 When they reached the Alton home a large frame structure 
 in the center of a spacious square of ground studded with 
 stately elms and emulous box elders a group of bright-eyed 
 children, very curious about "the strangers from Washington 
 where the President lives," anxiously awaited them. Midmost 
 amongst them indeed, they were clinging lovingly to her 
 skirts and apron strings was a beautiful woman with wavy 
 snow-white hair. A woman? Angel would be more appro- 
 priate. She was fair of skin, and her face beamed with ser- 
 aphic sweetness. It was her face, indeed, among many other 
 graces, that made Grandmother Alton famous for miles and 
 miles around. Everyone loved her, and her presence was like 
 a benediction. 
 
 Soon Grey was vainly trying to accommodate all the children 
 at once on his short lap, and they were asking him many ques- 
 tions about "the great Capital." 
 
 "Zat's where Uncle Sam lives?" inquired Paul, the five-year- 
 old, who was already noted for his proficiency in imitating 
 the local caricaturist. 
 
 "Your Uncle Sam in symbol, my boy," the editor answered. 
 
 Paul did not comprehend his meaning, but Thomas Alton, 
 junior, several years Paul's senior, and an unconscionable icono- 
 clast, made it quite plain with this unsentimental remark : 
 
 "Oh, I guess there ain't any Uncle Sam; he's like Santa 
 Claus, maybe !" Whereat Grey was moved to exclaim : 
 
 "How these western boys do progress !" 
 
 "The west is the seat of Progressivism, Mr. Grey," replied 
 Alton with a laugh.
 
 A HEROIC WOMAN 135 
 
 During the past two days Grandmother Alton, who was not 
 a minute older than she felt, being the director of social 
 amenities at the Alton household, had called at the homes of 
 numerous leading citizens; which accounts for the reception 
 room being none too large to accommodate the many good citi- 
 zens who came to pay their respects that evening. It was here 
 that Enid Grey was taken to the very bosom of substantial 
 society at M , and that she and her father won the admira- 
 tion and sympathy of a wide circle of intelligent citizens, 
 against whose opinions, now firmly fixed, the "reform" editor 
 of printing contract fame would hesitate to take issue. 
 
 "We thought you would be glad to meet our neighbors," re- 
 marked Mrs. Alton to Miss Grey, as she busied herself mak- 
 ing the ladies comfortable. 
 
 There could be no doubt about the absolute sincerity of 
 these excellent men and women. There is a marked absence of 
 reserve among western folk that is in distinct contrast with the 
 air of exclusiveness that seems to have settled about the daily 
 life of the older and more wealthy communities of the east. 
 It was in this sympathetic atmosphere that Enid Grey opened 
 her heart to Mrs. Alton's neighbors. She told them frankly 
 of her love for Senator Twain, and of the terrible consequences 
 to her of his misfortunes. Most of them had been moved to 
 tears before she was half through with the sorrowful story. 
 
 Then Grandmother Alton spoke, in gentle and encouraging 
 tones, her benignant countenance all aglow with hopefulness : 
 
 "It is God's way, my child. Be not cast down. His wis- 
 dom and love are far more powerful and mysterious than the 
 combined wickedness of all mankind." 
 
 By this time the gentlemen, having considered the practical 
 phases of the situation, came from the smoking room to join 
 the ladies in the parlor. They had decided upon a plan of
 
 136 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 action, Mayor Alton having been chosen to explain the course 
 it was thought best to pursue. 
 
 "Your father has told us, Miss Grey, that you have positive 
 knowledge of Senator Twain's attitude in regard to the Pur- 
 chase bill. This knowledge, of course, is very precious to you. 
 We appreciate its sacred character." 
 
 "But his reputation, Mr. Alton, is even more sacred," she 
 replied. 
 
 "There is nothing in this world more precious to all his 
 friends, my dear girl. His good name must be protected, his 
 integrity vindicated against slanderous assault. It is our pur- 
 pose to do it, if you will assist us, or if you will indicate how 
 we may assist you." 
 
 "The proof is here," she exclaimed in tremulous accents, as 
 she drew from the mysterious folds of her raiment a tear- 
 stained envelope. "You may read it to our friends, for it is 
 no longer mine alone ; it belongs now to a misguided public." 
 
 Her smothered sobs and streaming tears but added to the 
 dramatic climax. By this time Grandmother Alton came to 
 console her, leading her tenderly to a secluded corner in an 
 adjacent room. 
 
 "An anxious note in your dear letter which came this morn- 
 ing prompts me to reply before I sleep," wrote Twain from 
 the Charles street house in Boston only a few days before his 
 disappearance. "Be not alarmed, beloved one, about the fate 
 of the Purchase bill. On my arrival here last night I found 
 my good aunt greatly improved. She declares that she will 
 soon be well again if she can have me near her for a few days 
 more. So, when I have been permitted to be away from her 
 bedside, I have devoted the time in drafting a substitute for 
 the pending measure and thinking out a speech I expect to 
 make in favor of it here, in the quiet of Boston Common, 
 away from the Senate's turmoil. I have every confidence that
 
 A HEROIC WOMAN 137 
 
 it will meet with the approval of my colleagues, as the bill 
 now under consideration has many objectionable features. 
 Still, it is based upon sound principles, and these principles 
 must ultimately prevail, for they are just and proper. 
 
 "This is more than I have said to anyone else, for reasons 
 that not even the most precious woman I know would be able 
 to fully comprehend; yet I withhold no secrets from her. 
 
 "But for your apprehensions I would not trouble you with 
 sordid politics, while there is so much in my heart I would have 
 you feel as I feel it. Nor would I care ever to return to my 
 public duties but for your sweet assurances of requital in that 
 which thrills my mortal part with happiness and exalts my 
 soul with a hope it never knew before. 
 
 "To be near you soon again, to read the meaning in the 
 depths of your eyes, to breathe the sanctified atmosphere of 
 your presence and hear your pleasing voice ah! to me, one 
 moment of such a privilege were worth all else on earth." 
 
 Long before the doors of the great auditorium had been 
 opened to admit the surging crowd that gathered to greet the 
 visitors, the contents of the precious missive had become known 
 
 to most of the inhabitants of M ; for it is doubtful if 
 
 anyone who had the good fortune to be in the parlor of the 
 Alton home when the mayor read the Twain love letter went 
 away unimpressed ; nor did they ever forget the burning words 
 it contained, nor neglect to give them wide-spread circulation 
 the following day, expressing their entire approval of Miss 
 Grey and enlarging upon her wonderful beauty and her sub- 
 lime devotion. 
 
 It seemed as if all the notable people in the state had come 
 
 to M to attend this remarkable meeting, and that most of 
 
 them tried to find seats on the auditorium stage. Grandmother 
 Alton was there, well to the front, and a great bunch of Ameri-
 
 138 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 can beauty roses adorned the little table near the footlights, 
 furnishing a rare picture, indeed. 
 
 The mayor presided, and when he rapped for order someone 
 in the great audience rose and said, sarcastically, that if such a 
 thing were not out of place at a politcal gathering, "it might 
 be well to open the proceedings with prayer !" This touch of 
 seriousness put the audience in a sober frame of mind, and the 
 prayer that followed must have entered their souls, for it was 
 an invocation such as had seldom been heard since those early 
 days of the Republic when the hand of Providence, instead of 
 the power of money, was recognized as the great contributing 
 factor in all undertakings. 
 
 And the speeches, also. All the local orators and not a few 
 of the visiting statesmen were called upon for remarks. It was 
 a nonpartisan gathering, too. And what could the speakers 
 say? with the perfume of the roses in their nostrils, and 
 Grandmother Alton, she of the billowy snow-white hair and 
 seraphic visage, on the platform what, indeed, could they 
 say that was not eulogistic of the absent senator and compli- 
 mentary to the woman who had lost her heart to him? 
 
 It was a rare experience for the people of M . 
 
 The climax of human emotion and sensation was reached 
 when the mayor, with deep feeling and in a choice selection of 
 words for he possessed the dramaturgic faculty, and his heart 
 was enlisted in the effort when he told of the love letter which 
 he had been privileged to see, and of the purport of its con- 
 vincing contents. But this did not suffice to quell the commo- 
 tion nor stay the enthusiasm. 
 "The girl ! the girl !" 
 "Fetch her out !" 
 "We must see her !" 
 
 These and like exclamations came from every part of the hall. 
 Nothing less would appease the excited assemblage.
 
 A HEROIC WOMAN 139 
 
 Grandmother Alton herself brought Miss Grey from her se- 
 clusion in the dressing room and stood beside her on the plat- 
 form. It was enough. 
 
 The great throng rose with a mighty shout, and went into a 
 fury of excitement. It was then, indeed, that every one in the 
 big hall felt and knew that the good name of Cornelius Twain 
 had been rescued from calumny. 
 
 Men there were few exceptions climbed upon the seats, 
 and the very walls of the building seemed to bend and crack 
 with their thunderous applause. Women waved their handker- 
 chiefs; some of them tore the white scarfs from about their 
 fair necks and shoulders to waft them aloft again and again. 
 The disturbing factional storm had passed ; so also the ominous 
 calm that follows. The sweeping tornado of emotion that 
 sometimes moves a people in a great and just cause was now 
 arrived. 
 
 A change in sentiment was noticeable on every side the fol- 
 lowing morning. Where, only a few hours before, all had been 
 bitterness and strife, and reputations, even of women, were be- 
 ing assailed, now a more generous feeling of respect and toler- 
 ance, not only for all womankind, but for men as well, was 
 manifest among every class of society. 
 
 Was it the love letter which every one had heard about, or 
 was it the very presence of the fair, graceful Enid Grey, that 
 wrought the remarkable transformation? No doubt it was 
 both. Either would have sufficed, for even to this day the ex- 
 pressions of admiration evoked by her beauty and character are 
 treasured among the proud traditions of M .
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 
 
 This was a novel and yet a trying experience for Enid Grey. 
 Still, before she arrived at Ashhurst again she was destined to 
 meet, somewhat abruptly, too, with another one equally new to 
 her. It came about in consequence of one of those harrowing 
 occurrences we read about almost daily, whenever two railway 
 trains attempt to pass each other on the same track a head-on 
 collision in which engineers and firemen are suddenly ground 
 to quivering pulp, or slowly burned to death in the wreck of 
 two monster locomotives, and others of the train crews are 
 either killed outright or maimed for the rest of their lifetime. 
 Fortunate, indeed, are the numerous passengers, particularly 
 those of the underworld who are obliged to travel in the for- 
 ward coaches, if they escape mutilation, being spared to shud- 
 der always when they recall the shocking catastrophe and think 
 of the barbarous methods of management that brought it 
 about ; the heedless and heartless race for dividends at the in- 
 evitable expense of innocent human beings. 
 
 So that Enid and her father, when they had crawled unin- 
 jured through the window of their apartment in the over- 
 turned sleeper and heard the agonized cries for help, hastened 
 along the track of twisted rails to the seething mass of iron and 
 steel and the burning coaches ahead, intent upon aiding their 
 less fortunate fellow creatures. To their great surprise they
 
 A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 141 
 
 met Chief Bostwick, who was coming from the opposite direc- 
 tion. Several others were also hastening to the rescue. Soon 
 there were gathered about the scene all the passengers of the 
 two dismantled trains who had escaped injury, and they were 
 working, vainly enough, to relieve the sufferers. 
 
 After hours of effort, the fire having burned the wreck to 
 cinders, cremating a score or more of victims, the tired, be- 
 grimed and half-clad workers withdrew to save their own be- 
 longings in the stranded coaches that had escaped the devouring 
 flames. Afterward they assembled in the shade of the trees on 
 the hillside, there to await the coming of a special which would 
 give them a fresh start toward their respective destinations, 
 where, on the morrow, they would read of "a railroad accident 
 in which several lives are supposed to have been lost, but owing 
 to the destruction of the wreck by fire the casualties could not 
 be ascertained. The railway company soon cleared the debris 
 from the track," the news report will go on to say so as to assure 
 the public that it wasn't much of an accident anyway, "and 
 traffic was resumed without serious interruption. The cause of 
 the accident is unknown." So there would be no suspension of 
 dividends ! 
 
 At a station twenty miles away the passengers on the special 
 were set down until the regular trains came along. Meanwhile 
 Enid, her father and Chief Bostwick repaired with others to a 
 small eating house for refreshments. Here, remarkable though 
 it may appear to be, they were seated at the same table with 
 Andy Akers and Eva Farnum. Bostwick knew them of course. 
 He also knew that they were on the west-bound St. Louis 
 express before the collision, and his feelings concerning them 
 had now undergone a decided change on account of the humane 
 exertions they made at the burning wreck. He hesitated about 
 presenting them, although he was aware that accidents some- 
 times make strange acquaintances. Still, fearing that Andy
 
 142 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 and Eva might suspect his motive if he did not do so, he intro- 
 duced them in a most informal manner. 
 
 "Mr. Grey, this is Mr. Akers," said he. 
 
 "My daughter, Mr Akers," added Grey. 
 
 "My wife," responded Akers. 
 
 Then they fell to discussing the horrors of the accident, and 
 after the meal Enid and Mrs. Farnum went to the ladies' wait- 
 ing room, a rather uninviting place, it is true, but there was a 
 vacant seat near the open window through which a cool breeze 
 was blowing, and they sat down. Andy, who always avoided 
 company, if possible, strolled away alone, whereat the Chief 
 felt relieved. 
 
 Mrs. Farnum lost no time in telling Enid that she knew her 
 quite well by sight, and that she had been much attracted by 
 her musical voice as she had heard it in the Washington shops. 
 The conversation was running on quite pleasantly when Eva, 
 moved by some sudden impulse that she herself might not have 
 been able to fathom had she been put to it, remarked casually : 
 
 "I also know Senator Twain." 
 
 Before Enid had recovered from her surprise at the an- 
 nouncement, Mrs. Farnum added : 
 
 "We are related half first cousins." 
 
 But there was something in the woman's manner, a hesitancy 
 in her speech, a downcasting of the eyes, perhaps, that seemed 
 to put Enid on her guard. Still, having heard this much, and, 
 surmising that Mrs. Akers would not have mentioned the 
 matter at all had not she known in some way of the tender 
 relations existing between the absent senator and herself, Enid 
 realized the necessity of a reply. Besides, being constantly 
 alert in the hope of learning something which might lead to a 
 solution of the depressing mystery, she was impelled to question 
 her new acquaintance.
 
 A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 143 
 
 "How strange that we should have met under such circum- 
 stances." 
 
 "Quite so," replied Mrs. Akers. "I sympathize with you 
 deeply. There is not an hour that I do not think of your situa- 
 tion and pity you, and Ihave been greatly tempted to make my- 
 self known so that I might tell you a very great secret. You 
 will not betray me, I am sure, for it concerns my husband." 
 
 "Do not give me your confidence, Mrs. Akers, I beg of you, 
 if 
 
 "My woman's heart prompts me that it is my duty. Besides, 
 I feel the facts must come out, and that you should know be- 
 forehand." 
 
 Then Eva Farnum told Enid Grey all she knew about It, 
 adding that she did not believe her husband was guilty of the 
 crime that must sooner or later be charged against him. 
 
 "He has some hidden motive in permitting me to feel that 
 he had a hand in it, but I do not believe him. If I did I should 
 leave him and then expose him to the world, for Cousin Cor- 
 nelius has been kind to me and to my mother. Yet, I will not 
 burden you with the details. All that I will say further is that, 
 should anything occur which might make me serviceable to you 
 and to Senator Twain, you may rely upon me " 
 
 At this point Grey came into the waiting room to say the east- 
 bound express was pulling into the station. 
 
 "Not a word to anyone; I am your friend," whispered Eva 
 as she and Enid walked out upon the platform. 
 
 When the west-bound limited came along an hour later Andy 
 and Eva, accompanied by Dick Bostwick, renewed their journey 
 to St. Louis. 
 
 Whoever had been watching closely would have discovered 
 that the winged goddess of allotment, the daughter of Erebus 
 and his erring sister Nox, had been hovering near Mr. Fox's 
 offices for several days back; yet the railroad lawyer was not
 
 144 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 aware that Nemesis was present. Nor was he expecting Eva 
 Farnum, a wingless daughter of pleasure and vanity, comely of 
 feature and form, who had just arrived from the Capital. Mrs. 
 Farnum suspected that Mr. Fox would be surprised to see her ; 
 but of one thing she was quite certain: he would not refuse to 
 admit her to his sumptuous apartments, even during business 
 hours, and she was quite as certain he would have her remain 
 for a time afterward. 
 
 "Delighted!" he exclaimed, when she had succeeded in get- 
 ting her card through the hands of the retinue of doorkeepers 
 and messengers, and was arrived at his desk. "Be seated. How 
 beautiful you are, Eva! Allow me to assist you." 
 
 The room was warm and she unbuttoned her jacket, asking 
 if she might take it off. She knew now that she was welcome. 
 Had it been otherwise, instead of saying he was delighted and 
 remarking upon her beauty, he would have asked, "What can I 
 do for you?" and looked coldly upon her. She knew Fox! His 
 attitude toward her made a deal of difference in regard to the 
 manner in which she would approach the subject in hand. He 
 being so affable, she would not waste time on the niceties of 
 language, nor dally with diplomatic terms, but would come to 
 the point with such directness that even Fox must be pleased 
 with her for her knowledge of the art of expedition. 
 
 "I have brought them with me," she said, after thanking him 
 for assisting her. 
 
 "Them? Whom do you mean, Eva?" 
 
 "The ones that did the work or overdid it, to be more 
 exact." 
 
 "I do not catch your meaning," he replied scrutinizing her 
 face closely. 
 
 "Giddings and Akers." 
 
 "Giddings and Akers? I've heard of Giddings. Oh, yes, I 
 know a man of that name, but not the other one."
 
 A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 145 
 
 Neither did he know that Eva was again married, and she 
 did not tell him. 
 
 "Then, ask them to come in; they're outside," said she. 
 
 "But first tell me what the business is." 
 
 "You are too utterly dense, Eph," she replied, impatiently. 
 "You've been drinking champagne again." 
 
 "I have not tasted a drop within a month, Eva." 
 
 "But you've had business with Giddings in that time?" 
 
 He looked at the ceiling; his brows contracted. Then he 
 answered; "Not in a year that is, not directly. Are you sure 
 you've not been drinking, Eva? You don't look it." 
 
 "I would like a cold bottle this minute," she replied with a 
 laugh. 
 
 Fox touched a button. Then they went into an adjoining 
 room, a luxurious place, with rich oriental rugs on the floors 
 and costly paintings and hangings on the walls. 
 
 "This is a recent importation, a special vintage, sent me by 
 a friend who has a wonderful vineyard in fipernay. It is dry 
 too dry for you, I fear. See how it sparkles like your wit, 
 Eva. I drink to your lovely blue eyes ; may they never fade." 
 
 "From your memory, Eph? That's what you used to say. I 
 married poor Farnum because you asked me to do so, and you 
 knew that I loved you." 
 
 "Ah, yes ! That was years ago." 
 
 "When you were more gallant than now, Eph." 
 
 "Pardon me, Eva; you are not a day older." 
 
 "We are forgetting about Giddings," she suggested. 
 
 "Do you like the wine? Let me fill your glass. I have 
 drunk two to your one, and am thirsting like a sultry glebe." 
 
 "How remarkable ! I remember when it would have been 
 four to my one." 
 
 "I will have them sent away a message from you. Say 
 you'll see them tomorrow. Then I will order dinner, just you
 
 146 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 and me. We'll have a good old-time visit. But, Eva, you seem 
 to be depressed. Drink your wine. I'll be back right away." 
 
 Acting upon the thought of disposing of Giddings and Akers, 
 Fox excused himself, and going into his office he called his 
 secretary. 
 
 "There are two men outside. Say to them, with Mrs. 
 Farnum's compliments, that she will see them tomorrow morn- 
 ing at her hotel, 1 1 o'clock. And take this message : 'Come 
 on first train without fail.' Put it in cipher; sign my cipher 
 name, and send it to Sam Ives." 
 
 "They will think it strange that I did not see them in per- 
 son," she said, when Fox returned to the room. But she had 
 emptied her glass, and her depression was now at the vanishing 
 point. 
 
 "Yet, they will not object," replied Fox, leaning over and 
 kissing her, "because the message is from the sweetest woman in 
 the world. They will be only too glad to serve you." 
 
 Fox was at his office at an unusually early hour the next 
 morning. Indeed, he did not quit the C. Q. D. building after 
 Eva arrived. He was anxious to see Sam Ives, and it may be 
 that he remained up all night for that purpose. Ives, as I have 
 said, was a sub-political manager. He took orders from Fox 
 and lived in Senator Twain's state, where he contributed to the 
 comfort of the statesmen that broke into the legislature now 
 and again. How legislators do prize railroad passes ! He also 
 made life pleasant for other state officials, and the C. Q. D. 
 Company paid the freight. 
 
 "Trouble is brewing," said Fox to Ives when the latter ar- 
 rived and they were closeted in the adjoining room. 
 
 "Looks like it had happened right here," replied Ives, with a 
 sweep of his hand so as to indicate the wreck of special vintage 
 bottles. 
 
 "It did, or would have, but she liked the wine, and by the
 
 A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 147 
 
 time she was ready to go away she was in a condition to have 
 forgotten all about your two friends." 
 
 "My two friends? who?" 
 
 "I do not know. You will remember I was not to know. 
 You had the thing in hand; yet I'm afraid you overdid it, Sam. 
 That's what Eva says. Now, I sent for you so that you might 
 put things in order and get them away from here she and her 
 companion, whoever he may be." 
 
 "One is Giddings," said Ives. 
 
 "So she said, but I do not want to know about the other one." 
 
 "And Martha came with her father." 
 
 "The you say !" exclaimed Fox. "If those two women 
 
 meet there'll be more trouble. Take hold of it, Sam, in your 
 best style. It won't do for me to leave the city while they are 
 here, especially Eva ; she'd say I was afraid and ran away. I'll 
 keep quiet, and it won't be easy for anyone to get at me until 
 the trouble's over. You understand, Sam?" 
 
 "I must see you from time to time, Eph, to report progress. 
 And Martha? " 
 
 "Bless her heart! Of course she can come here, if she 
 wishes. Yet, that will never do. Eva will my eyes, Sam! 
 how she did put it out of sight last night. I doubt if she's able 
 to be about much for the next two days. It's always so with 
 her. And my own head isn't any too clear today. That's why 
 I sent for you to think for me." 
 
 "All right, Eph, I'll do the best I can. Why did she bring 
 that bungling Akers? He's the one that overdid the business." 
 
 "I don't know a thing about it, Sam; please do not forget 
 that fact." 
 
 "How about Martha? She may want to see you. Her 
 father brought her along for that purpose, I imagine." 
 
 "Whether he did or not, I want to see her. If she's stopping
 
 148 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 at the Southern have her change to the new hotel ; Eva's at the 
 Southern. Then I can slip over this evening, tell her." 
 
 During the next two days Sam Ives was a busy man. He 
 had five very important persons to keep in touch with two of 
 them women. One of these was in love with Eph Fox, or had 
 been not many years ago. The other one well, Fox would have 
 given his prospects in Heaven, if he had any, for the love of 
 Martha Giddings. Yet, she had told him repeatedly that she 
 did not love him, and had asked him to cease his attentions. 
 She did love her father, however, and the fact that he was 
 completely under the thumb of Fox, through Ives, accounted 
 for Martha's presence at this time. Giddings had come on a 
 telegram from Mrs. Farnum to meet Akers in St. Louis. 
 
 "I'm afraid your man bungled it," said Ives to Giddings, 
 after leaving Fox. 
 
 "It looks like it," replied Giddings, humbly. "I told him 
 not to make a serious mess of it only to get him away from 
 the Senate for a few hours until after the vote was taken." 
 
 "Don't give details," said Ives. "I don't want to know the 
 particulars or anyone in the deal except you. Remember that. 
 Whoever he is, get him away from here and make him quit 
 talking. And look out for that Farnum woman. Don't make 
 any more mistakes, Bill." 
 
 Then Giddings went to see Andy Akers. By this time the 
 Farnum had come to herself, and was clinging to Andy more 
 affectionately than ever, for even the dullest of persons must 
 see that by this time Andy was become a valuable asset. After 
 much effort on the part of Giddings, Mrs. Farnum was induced 
 to go to Fox's office, although, as she declared, her head was 
 "greatly tousled inside." At Fox's office she was told the 
 railroad lawyer was ill ; that he had to go to bed, and couldn't 
 be seen. This she could easily believe. 
 
 "Champagne will be his ruin," she exclaimed. But before
 
 A RELATION OF TWAIN'S 149 
 
 she got back to the Southern Giddings had talked to Akers, and 
 the latter had made a deep impression on Giddings' perceptions. 
 
 "You must go back and take her with you," said Giddings. 
 "Too bad you gave her your confidence." Nor did Giddings 
 seem to know of Andy's new relations to the Farnum. 
 
 "Too bad!" exclaimed Akers. "I was to do the best I could, 
 but not to let him go to the Capitol till after the vote on the 
 bill. I knew from the first it wouldn't be possible to get him 
 away from that Grey girl without taking him away. Now, I 
 also figured it out that no vote would be had on the Purchase 
 bill for a month. So he went where he won't get back by that 
 time, unless I'm greatly mistaken." 
 
 "Don't give me any particulars," replied Giddings. "I don't 
 want to know the details." 
 
 "Of course not ! We were not to know each other after we 
 met that night when you got me to agree to do the job, and 
 here we are you trying to evade responsibility, and I suppose 
 the fellows higher up are doing the same thing, while poor 
 old Andy must carry the load." Then, after a long pause, 
 Akers went on: "Say, Bill, suppose he comes back, won't he 
 make things hum !" 
 
 "That's the devilish part of it," replied Giddings. 
 
 "Say, Bill," after another pause, "suppose he don't come 
 back, eh?" 
 
 "Who will stop him?" 
 
 "That wasn't what I asked." 
 
 "What did you ask, Andy?" 
 
 "I said, Say, Bill " 
 
 "That's what you said." 
 
 "That wasn't all." 
 
 "Not all?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "It was enough."
 
 150 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "It won't be if he comes back." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 Akers lit a cigar, after handing one to Giddings. Then he 
 resumed : 
 
 "Say, Bill. People soon forget when people don't come 
 back, and if they don't it's because they do." 
 
 "Andy, you are a trump, fit to be at the top in your profes- 
 sion," said Giddings, slapping Akers on the "back. "But here 
 comes the Farnum; I'll see you tonight." 
 
 Mrs. Farnum announced that she was going to bed ; that Mr. 
 Fox could not be seen until tomorrow. So Giddings sought 
 Sam Ives, and that was precisely what Akers wanted him to do. 
 
 "You've got to let me give you some important particulars of 
 recent events," he said to Ives. "If I'm a good guesser, it's a 
 hold up, and a big one. The Farnum's in it. She's at the 
 bottom of it. Akers is willing to be told what to do, but I 
 think it will be costly." 
 
 "It has been costly already, Bill," replied Ives. "How much 
 more will be required?" 
 
 "I have no idea. It's only a surmise as yet. Akers says it 
 will be dangerous if he returns." 
 
 "Well, that's logical," Ives replied. 
 
 "And that if he doesn't return people will soon forget." 
 
 "More logic," added Ives. "They don't care much unless 
 they're stirred up, the people don't. Feed 'em well, and they're 
 happy." 
 
 "That's what he says." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 They looked at each other intently; there must have been 
 complete harmony in their thoughts. Then Ives broke the 
 silence : 
 
 "Get his idea as to what should be done."
 
 A RELATION OF TWAINS 151 
 
 "I've got it," replied Giddings. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "That he must not be allowed to come back !" 
 
 "Monstrous !" exclaimed Ives. 
 
 "That's what I think, too. But which would be the most 
 convenient for us? I'm afraid he'll start something if he re- 
 turns." 
 
 "I'll see you later. Don't let that bungler get away," Ives 
 whispered. 
 
 If Akers had bungled the business in the first instance, he 
 was now making amends by handling the case with skill. That 
 was evident, even to Ives, who had no trouble now in reaching 
 Fox. That gentleman's head had cleared up somewhat; it was 
 perfectly clear when Ives put the question: 
 
 "Do you want Twain to come back?" 
 
 "Who wants to know?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "Who else?" 
 
 "You were not to know anybody else in this deal except me.' r 
 
 "True, my boy, true. Do I want him to " 
 
 "That's it." 
 
 "After a long silence Fox asked : 
 
 "Where is Martha, Sam?" 
 
 "At the new hotel." 
 
 "God! But I wish everybody was as innocent as she." 
 
 "It's a little late," added Ives, impatient of Fox's evasiveness. 
 
 "What's late? Who's late?" 
 
 "Eva, Andy and Giddings seem to be on time, Eph," replied 
 Ives. "But you haven't answered my question." 
 
 "Fire and brimstone, Sam ! Can't you settle some things 
 yourself?" 
 
 "Yes."
 
 152 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Then settle them ! Here's the key. It fits the upper right 
 hand box. The vault's open. I am going to bed." 
 
 On his way home, when the noise of the streets had muffled 
 the echo of Ives' question although it continued to ring poign- 
 antly in Fox's ears he thought of Martha, and, in the re- 
 pentant mood of that moment, took oath he would never tempt 
 her again. How well he kept his voluntary vow may be wholly 
 dependent upon Martha. 
 
 That night the 1 1 :40 train carried Eva and Andy back to 
 the Capital. They were happy, for she had in her hand-bag 
 that which duplicated many times the five large bills Andy 
 gave her one night only recently; while Akers' joy and bliss 
 could be measured by nothing more accurately than the present 
 wretchedness of Sam Ives. 
 
 The next morning Martha and her father went west, and 
 two days later Fox and Ives were in New York. They were 
 there to consult the best lawyer in the land not as defendants ; 
 at present they only wanted advice from Mr. Roberts, the ad- 
 visor of troubled agents of consolidation.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 
 
 Now, all these things, and there was much more I am sure 
 he did not tell me, came from Chief Bostwick's private diary, 
 which I was permitted to examine on his return from St. Louis. 
 In another day he was off for New York; nothing could have 
 turned him from his quest of Twain's assailants. 
 
 At once I was seized with the fear that the Chief's next move 
 must certainly involve, even now, the very social center of the 
 gigantic and merciless system of mongers in whose interest the 
 stupendous outrage had seemed to be necessary ; for it could be 
 nothing short of fear that prompted my present emotions a 
 sickening apprehension that when the whole truth were known 
 it was inevitable innocent hearts would be made to bleed out 
 of very shame. Who could predict the far-reaching conse- 
 quences of the impending revelations? How many stately 
 dames, yea, how many lofty daughters and vainglorious callow 
 sons, the offspring of our peculiar American "nobility," would 
 be bowed in mortifying sorrow ? Such, alas ! is the wages of 
 greed, which persists in overleaping itself. 
 
 But the period of hortation was passed; seemingly, that 
 powerful force human selfishness had got beyond the pale 
 of warning admonition. So, come what might, let guilt find its 
 victims where it would, Bostwick must press forward in his 
 campaign of investigation, for by this time, with many news-
 
 154 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 papers and magazines still crying for avengement against a 
 monumental wrong, the public mind had become intently fixed 
 upon the theory that Twain had been abducted. Everyone be- 
 lieved it, of course; and what everyone believes must be true. 
 Is not this the essence of pure democracy ? So that, if the public 
 can be persuaded only to believe, however little foundation 
 there may be for the thing believed in, have not we established 
 a superior brand of government ? no matter whether it be gov- 
 ernment by monopoly, government by a subservient press, or 
 government by law the latter, seemingly, being the least popu- 
 lar just now and the others more directly and immediately 
 profitable for those engaged in it. 
 
 In the cavilling times of which I write public affairs had 
 sunk to luckless straits. Healthful and honest competition had 
 been superseded by a heartless scramble for wealth and 
 power not a struggle in which the fittest would survive, but 
 one instead that invited soulless endeavor, devouring greed and 
 a new kind of ambition for corporate sway over all the things 
 of the earth. The inevitable result was that as the individual 
 succeeded he was forced into combination with others of his 
 kind. Thus the science of consolidation soon became suffi- 
 ciently exact and endurable to command considerable admira- 
 tion and to excite no small amount of emulation, particularly 
 amongst those who believed in "doing things" and accepted 
 this rule of business as the acme of human aspiration. 
 
 And, notwithstanding the laws enacted with a view to re- 
 straining voracious combination, the work of consolidation 
 went on unabated, until, finally, every line of industry came 
 under control of a single management. Here, then, was a 
 government of monopoly, by monopoly, for monopoly. Mean- 
 time, the noble profession of the law had been perverted from 
 its original purpose of doing justice, though the heavens fall, to 
 the baser end of circumvention ; to the interpretation and con-
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 155 
 
 struction of solemn statutes so as to suit the convenience and 
 ensure the further enrichment of predaceous wealth. 
 
 But our friend Grey has already given this subject no small 
 attention, and few men understood it as well as he; none, per- 
 haps, was quite as free to tell the truth about the tortuous thing 
 as the editor of "The Morning Record," which, thus far, had 
 preserved its independence, although the Englishman was in 
 constant dread that Grey was in danger either of succumbing 
 to the enticements of wealth or of going over to the ranks of 
 radicalism, in toto. 
 
 In this situation, with Bostwick indefinitely away, and, 
 owing to my own recent absence from the country, being un- 
 familiar with the intricate workings of the modern political 
 and business machine, I was left to meditate, to philosophise 
 and to wait. What else was there for me to do? I had lost all 
 interest in the Senate's proceedings, so tame and tedious had 
 they become; and as for society and its empty, frivolous de- 
 mands, I cared nothing. So that my thoughts were soon ab- 
 sorbed in an effort to justify the evil consequences in this 
 strange affair, to adjust them to their, basic causes, and to in- 
 dulge in speculation as to whether I was living in an age of 
 healthy progress or in an era that portended a new kind of 
 paganism. 
 
 Two days later I had a visit from an old friend a Philoso- 
 pher whom I had not seen in a number of years, although we 
 had kept in touch with each other by letter during most of that 
 time. He came to my lodgings yesterday, and, I being out of 
 my apartment, he left word that he would return at this very 
 hour. Philosophers are always most punctual in keeping their 
 appointments. And yet, had not I been aware that he was com- 
 ing, I would know whose footstep it is on the uncarpeted stair ; 
 surely, whose methodical rap it is on the thin pine door that 
 now opens to admit the sapient old sage to my humble quarters.
 
 156 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Aut Caesar aut nullus," he cried, "for indeed, sir, as it was 
 in the days of the ancient Romans, so it is now ; it is Caesar 
 or it is nothing." 
 
 Thus he greeted me, without even taking my proffered hand ; 
 yet, that was not an uncommon thing for my Philosopher friend 
 to do. He was not an emotional man, and seldom went further 
 in the matter of salutation than to make a stiff bow. 
 
 "Yes, sir," he continued, "again the world has its Caesars. 
 But these modern tyrants are interested in erecting a new kind 
 of dominion. Where the old ones disposed of their antagonists 
 by breaking them on the rack, casting them into the Tiber, 
 hurling them headlong on the rocks from towers and parapets, 
 or put them to death by poison, by strangulation, by the sword, 
 these new Caesars break the spirits and the hearts of the teeming 
 millions by the slower and more unhuman process of sophistry 
 and extortion ; by picturing to them the beauties of independ- 
 ence, only to deprive them of its fruits through statutes that 
 may be interpreted for the benefit of privilege." 
 
 Whereupon the Philosopher, ignoring my request that he take 
 a seat, paced the floor solemnly, his hands clasped tightly at his 
 back, his fine head poised loftily and his faultless features all 
 animate with newly aroused indignation. I wondered but did 
 not ask him what it was that had stirred him to such depths. 
 
 "Sir," he went on, after sitting down, "I am just from a 
 meeting of the Yellow Dog Club, where we discussed the prin- 
 ciples of Altrocracy. We are all of one mind, for as there are 
 no millionaires amongst us, only yellow dogs, remember, selfish- 
 ness never enters into our proceedings. Not one of our mem- 
 bers believes that Twain was abducted, but everyone does be- 
 lieve he would have been but for his mysterious disappear- 
 ance at the very moment when he was to have been carried 
 away. Still, we wasted little time on this comparatively trivial 
 matter, over which the multitude is now in a state of delirium.
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 157 
 
 The Yellow Dog Club, sir, deals with the greater problems 
 the abstract question, the abridged inquiry, of whether this 
 money-mad generation is merely setting the pace for its suc- 
 cessors, and how long the Republic is to endure under modern 
 Caesarism." 
 
 Then the Philosopher gave me an interesting review of the 
 essential things that had happened during my sojourn in the 
 Far East, referring with vivid causticity to the early achieve- 
 ments and later failures of one of our Presidents of whom, he 
 said, much had been expected and nothing fulfilled. 
 
 "But, sir, it is the part of philosophy to be charitable. To 
 err is human, and this makes the descent to hell an easy one 
 for those who are willing to depart from truth in quest of 
 power." 
 
 Here I may pause to remark that it was under these condi- 
 tions that the Hon. Ephraim Fox, counsel for the Come Quick 
 Danger Railroad, rose to a position of importance in the man- 
 agement of politics in those states which had been "shot with 
 steel" by his railway company, and that Mr. Adelbert Roberts 
 also acquired his great prominence as the special legal adviser 
 of the Master Monger, and the adjuster of affairs at the 
 nation's Capital. 
 
 As the Philosopher was about to proceed there came a rap at 
 my door. It was Chief Bostwick, who, having had little diffi- 
 culty in following the devious trails of Fox and Ives, had made 
 some important discoveries in New York. Bostwick was un- 
 usually outspoken this morning. In fact, and to my surprise, 
 he talked freely in presence of the Philosopher, and while run- 
 ning over his notes, having mentioned the name of Mr. Roberts, 
 the Philosopher smiled. 
 
 "Ah !" he cried, "you made the acquaintance of a very great 
 man, sir. It was he who spun the web in which the President 
 I spoke to you about," addressing me, "was enmeshed. Roberts
 
 158 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 is a great man, sir, and combines the highest wisdom in expedi- 
 tion and caution. He can weigh a problem with such nicety 
 that his clients can violate the law with impunity ; it is all right 
 if Roberts says so. Judges and lawmakers alike, not a few of 
 them, in the leisure of their dignity, rarely question the opinion 
 of this sapient man; because, to the knowing ones, it is under- 
 stood he guards the interests, on important occasions, of an 
 aggregation of men whose combined capital reaches far beyond 
 the ten-billion mark. Anyone in distress, if he belongs to the 
 Mongers' Guild, need not bother himself about the cost of 
 advice. It is all in the family." 
 
 Here the Philosopher indulged in a laugh, a rare thing for 
 him to do. Then he apologized for his levity and arose as if he 
 would take his t leave, but the Chief and I persuaded him to re- 
 main. 
 
 "Your knowledge concerning Roberts," said Bostwick, "is 
 too important to be dispensed with. Do sit down, Professor, 
 while I go over my notes. You may find much in them that 
 will be of interest to you." 
 
 "You are very kind, sir, to give me your confidence, which I 
 believe you know will not be violated. And yet I am not sure 
 that the detective's profession holds much interest for me. 
 I've always avoided police courts, lest the revelations should 
 shatter my ideals and disturb my reflections. I mean no dis- 
 respect, Mr. Bostwick, for either you or your calling." 
 
 The Chief bowed gravely, saying that detectives were not at 
 all sensitive. Then he referred to Mr. Fox's part in this tragi- 
 comedy. 
 
 "You understand, of course, that he is a member of the 
 Mongers' Guild to which you have referred, Professor, and that 
 he had a very ugly experience in St. Louis in connection with a 
 recent visit to that city of one Andy Akers and a woman by the 
 name of Farnum."
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 159 
 
 But the Philosopher declared he was not concerned about the 
 hoi polloi in this case. Still, he did feel an interest in Lawyer 
 Roberts, whom he knew personally. 
 
 "Well," continued Bostwick, "Fox is just now greatly in 
 need of Roberts' help. He never found any great difficulty 
 in solving ordinary legal problems to the satisfaction of his 
 company, but now he, too, is in want of expert opinion, about a 
 matter the like of which never before fell within the pale of hi& 
 legal investigations." 
 
 So, with due apology to my readers, and also to my Philo- 
 sopher friend, for indulging the sordid recitals of the muse 
 that presides over this part of my story, I will tell you of the 
 experiences of Mr. Fox and Mr. Ives after they arrived in 
 New York. Men of Lawyer Roberts' attainments, familiar as 
 they must be with the motives and aspirations of their fellow- 
 kind, waste little time in preliminaries. 
 
 "Good morning, Mr. Fox," said he as soon as the C. Q. D. 
 counselor had entered the door. 
 
 "Howdy, Mr. Roberts." 
 
 Fox's familiar salutation indicated his good standing as a 
 clansman. Ives had remained in the ante room. Bostwick 
 says it is a rule of men of the like of these never to have a 
 third party present during conferences of a delicate nature. 
 
 "Did you bring the girl?" asked Roberts, coming at once to 
 the point. 
 
 "The girl? Which" 
 
 "Miss Giddings." 
 
 "N-no." Fox was puzzled, and his face took on a glow of 
 sudden color. 
 
 "Is she discreet?" 
 
 "Discretion personified," replied Fox in a confident tone 
 "But why Miss Giddings?"
 
 160 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Does she know when not to talk?" asked Roberts, ignoring 
 Fox's question. 
 
 "She is a very sensible girl," was the answer. 
 
 Then Roberts looked through the open window, breathed 
 in the invigorating salt breeze that came up from the bay, and 
 played a tattoo on the edge of his big mahogany desk with his 
 long fingers. Turning so as to look Fox straight in the eyes, 
 he asked : 
 
 "Does she love you, Mr. Fox?" 
 
 "Damn it, Roberts, why indulge in ambiguities?" 
 
 "It is important, my friend; I must know." 
 
 "If she loves me?" 
 
 "To be sure." 
 
 "I am a married man, sir," replied Fox. 
 
 "That does not signify." 
 
 "Frankly, she does not ; so she says." 
 
 "Unfortunate! You have questioned her?" 
 
 "Y-yes." 
 
 "That being true, I shall not ask if you are in love with her." 
 
 "If you should I would decline to answer," rejoined Fox, 
 sharply. 
 
 "It would be unnecessary to call any other witness," said 
 Roberts, with an effort at a smile. "But we are wasting valu- 
 able time," he continued. 
 
 "And making little progress," added Fox, sententiously. 
 Roberts ignored the remark. 
 
 "As to her character, Mr. Fox her good name. I must 
 know without any quibbling." 
 
 "Of the highest order," replied Fox, positively. 
 
 "That is fortunate." 
 
 "But I did not come here to discuss Miss Gidding," ex- 
 claimed Fox, by this time very red in the face again.
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 161 
 
 "We will not discuss anyone else not now; that is to say, 
 she must play the leading part in this miserable tragedy." 
 
 "Tragedy!" exclaimed Fox. The redness had left his face, 
 even suddenly. Instead, he was now quite pale. 
 
 "It may turn out to be a tragedy," replied Roberts. 
 
 "I hope not." 
 
 "So do I, sincerely. It was an awkward piece of business, 
 Mr. Fox." 
 
 "I had no part in it, Mr. Roberts." 
 
 "That goes without saying. Confessions must be avoided." 
 
 "I have nothing to confess." 
 
 "One more question, Mr. Fox. Who does the girl love?" 
 
 "Her father, above all men, I believe." 
 
 "Ah ! Fortunate again. Her father is connected with your 
 company?" 
 
 "In a political way, yes." 
 
 "You can control him, of course?" 
 
 "I've always been able to do so, through others." 
 
 "How many others?" 
 
 "One Sam Ives." 
 
 "And Ives? Is he straight?" 
 
 "Perfectly so." 
 
 "Won't sell you out, nor run away?" 
 
 "Nothing could shake my faith in him." 
 
 "Except the act itself, perhaps," added Roberts, parentheti- 
 cally. "Now, you and Ives, being entirely innocent of any 
 wrong doing, must stand together. You must know where he 
 is and what he is doing every minute. Keep in close touch 
 with him, Mr. Fox." 
 
 "He is here now in the ante room." 
 
 "Ah, indeed ! Step into the room over there for a few min- 
 utes and close the door, Mr. Fox. I want to talk with Ives, 
 alone."
 
 162 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Touching the bell, Roberts gave directions that the gentle- 
 man in the ante room be admitted. 
 
 "I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Ives. How are the crops in your 
 state this year?" 
 
 "Poor," answered Farmer Ives. "We had hot winds, con- 
 siderable hail and then an early frost. There must have been a 
 comet around; anyway our climate was all upset this year." 
 
 "Makes a difference in politics," suggested Roberts, with a 
 twinkle in his eyes. 
 
 "Yes. When the people have plenty they're not hard to 
 manage ; when crops fail, politics is like war." 
 
 "Full stomachs make easy consciences, Mr. Ives." 
 
 "Just so; and empty stomachs make mischief." 
 
 "It's a sin to be idle or to go hungry, Mr. Ives. Why, I've 
 more work than I can do, and I met a hundred shiftless men in 
 the streets this morning, some of them begging for food, but 
 none of them asking for work." 
 
 Roberts' economic perspective was limited to his immediate 
 surroundings. His philosophy was not permitted to stray into 
 the field of economic morality. Having settled the great ques- 
 tion of equal opportunity to his own satisfaction, he rose, ex- 
 tended his hand to Ives and said: 
 
 "I heard you were here, and wanted to get acquainted with 
 you. Glad to have met you. I may see you again later." 
 
 "He seems a square kind of fellow," remarked Roberts, when 
 Ives had retired and Fox came in again. 
 
 "I'm glad you like him, Mr. Roberts. He can be depended 
 upon in any kind of an emergency." 
 
 "In your own way, Mr. Fox, keep Giddings sweet. Above 
 all else his daughter must not talk with anyone, except her 
 father, until she gets instructions. Then she must do pre- 
 cisely as directed. If she is the kind of girl you indicate, I can 
 see a way out."
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 163 
 
 "May I know your plan, Mr. Roberts?" 
 
 "It is best that you know nothing about it; you are an inno- 
 cent party, of course." 
 
 "Of course," replied Fox. 
 
 "One other inquiry, Mr. Fox. Miss Grey, I am told, is a 
 most admirable woman, very much in love with Senator Twain. 
 It is reported she was prostrated for many days after it hap- 
 pened; that she is of Quaker blood, tender, sympathetic, for- 
 giving. What is your knowledge on these points?" 
 
 "I have no personal knowledge about it; yet my informa- 
 tion is the same as yours. I am very sorry for her." 
 
 "Her deep sorrow may be valuable, Mr. Fox. I will send 
 for you if you are needed. We must wait for further develop- 
 ments. So good-day." 
 
 At this point in Bostwick's recital the Philosopher inter- 
 rupted to remind us of his statement a while ago that Roberts 
 was a genius of superior mould. Then Bostwick went on to 
 unfold his discoveries. 
 
 "For the life of me, Sam, I cannot understand that man 
 Roberts," said Fox, when he and Ives were behind closed 
 doors at their hotel. 
 
 "He only asked me about the crops, and he put idleness and 
 hunger in the list of sins," replied Ives. 
 
 "And his talk with me was quite as foreign to our subject as 
 the crops. Most of it was about Martha. He wanted to know 
 if she loved me, and insisted upon an answer. God ! but I wish 
 she did, Sam. I'd give up everything for her." 
 
 "Maybe she will love you, after we're all out of the woods," 
 replied Ives. "What is our next move?" 
 
 "Roberts, after his enigmatical talk, said we must wait for 
 further developments ; that Giddings must keep still and Mar- 
 tha, too." 
 
 "That's reasonable," Ives replied.
 
 164 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "I fear it is too simple a remedy for a serious disease. He 
 also spoke of Miss Grey's Quaker blood, her forgiving nature." 
 
 "Oh!" exclaimed Ives, "he would have Martha throw her- 
 self upon the mercy of the Grey girl, appeal to her for assist- 
 ance in saving her father and herself from disgrace. Splendid ! 
 Splendid! Roberts wouldn't be where he is if he didn't have 
 brains, plenty of them." 
 
 "He must be a wonder," added Fox. 
 
 "Why, they tell me," Ives went on, "that when he hasn't 
 anything to do here he goes to Washington as a sort of recrea- 
 tion and adjusts the whole of the Government machinery the 
 way he wants it, as a clockmaker adjusts a clock. He is the 
 most expert conservationist I know of! He's got a wire run- 
 ning into every department over there and buttons at this end of 
 them. He knows which one to touch and when to touch it. 
 If an official gets gay with our crowd you'll hear a buzz in 
 Roberts' office. The official will be transferred or removed, or 
 maybe he'll be allowed to resign, if he's high up, and then a 
 new man goes in who has to learn the ropes. This takes time, 
 but time is money in our pockets. We can do a great many 
 things while the Government is talking about them and getting 
 ready. And you know that if a senator isn't good to us, he's 
 defeated for reelection. Roberts superintends this department 
 also." 
 
 "Oh, we've got a great system," exclaimed Fox, "from the 
 top to the bottom." 
 
 "The top principally," was the laconic reply. "With the 
 top all right, the bottom and all the way up will come right." 
 
 "Caesar ! What a pull Roberts must have." 
 
 "It's tremendous!" exclaimed Ives. "Yet, the hardest job 
 he ever tackled was holding that bucking President down. He 
 had to have assistance. Even then he was almost a nervous 
 wreck_ when he got through ; but he succeeded in doing it."
 
 THE NEW CAESARISM 165 
 
 "Superman against superman," replied Fox. 
 
 "Yes, and the other fellow had all the patronage and the 
 veto power," added Ives. "But Roberts had the campaign 
 fund in his vest pocket, and all our people were behind him. 
 He also had helpers in the various departments, who assisted 
 him obsequiously. He would have lost out in the days when 
 the railroads were fighting one another, and the other corpora- 
 tions were competing for business. Consolidation is a great 
 thing, Eph." 
 
 "No doubt about it, Sam; it's a great power. But how can 
 one man cover so much ground? That's what puzzles me." 
 
 "Oh, it's easy for a man like Roberts, with the help he has. 
 You could do it, Eph. Why it's understood beforehand, no 
 matter what party is in power, who are to fill the high places 
 in the Government. That's the machine that does the busi- 
 ness. Have any of our people ever been hurt? There's been 
 a lot of fourflushing by the Government, but we've got all the 
 chips, haven't we?" 
 
 "It's a great game, Sam, but where do we come in, and 
 how?" 
 
 "Oh, we'll come in all right. Roberts will take us through, 
 but as to how he will do it I can't say. I'll bet the wheels 
 are going around right now. We don't hear them; they're 
 muffled and have ball bearings." 
 
 "We're under his orders, Sam. Now, you take the next train* 
 home. See your man Giddings at once, for that seems to be 
 what Roberts wants done. Have him talk to Martha, bless 
 her heart ! She'll do anything for her father ; anything to keep 
 him out of trouble or to get him out. If he tells her he is sus- 
 pected in this matter, and that she can save his reputation and 
 her own as well, Martha will find a way to do it. She's mighty 
 wise, Sam. Besides, she is proud and ambitious. And Gid- 
 dings must stay close by that man Akers, and keep a watch
 
 166 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 on the Farnum woman. They've got enough to keep them 
 going for a while, perhaps, but if, as you say, she can't play 
 bridge a little bit, she will soon lose her part of it, even if 
 Akers was square and divided with her." 
 
 Bostwick, having placed his memorandum book in his pocket, 
 looked inquiringly at the Philosopher, and waited for him to 
 give his opinion, which he did thus : 
 
 "Sir, I am not an expert in the casuistry of your profession; 
 still, I would admonish you of one thing that occurs to me 
 at this moment. In dealing with this problem you will doubt- 
 less discover that the average politician is not as bad as he is 
 said to be, and the average reformer is not as good as he ought 
 to be. There is not a vast difference in men. But, sir, you will 
 find that Roberts is abler than all of them; I do not say he is 
 more honest."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 a 
 
 THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 
 
 What a coarse, cruel, unfeeling world it is, to be sure, 
 thought I, as I sat with a friend in the orchestra circle of a 
 leading Chicago theatre, enjoying the sweet notes of a foot- 
 light favorite who, to maintain her hold upon the pleasure- 
 loving public, as my friend hinted, was obliged to do some 
 rather stunning steps as a danseuse. Perhaps, to be entirely 
 accurate, I should say it was not "steps" alone that drew the 
 crowd, for she was riotously nimble of limb, and shapely withal. 
 It was her dancing, for the most part, that evoked the greatest 
 applause. Still, she was earning an honest living. And the 
 throngs came nightly, even daily, during her engagement, to see 
 the graceful creature, against whose rare charms, it was under- 
 stood at all the clubs of swelldom, that a prominent member 
 of the monger aristocracy had set a million in cash take it or 
 leave it, as she pleased. "A cool, round million, my honey," 
 were the words that rumor insisted were whispered in her ear. 
 But she spurned it indignantly, ordering him never to speak 
 to her again. Still, one false report invariably begets a meaner 
 one. So that, finally, the exchange was made. Thus the 
 gossipers rolled the morsel under their mischievous tongues: 
 wearying of the daily and nightly applause, her heart longing 
 for something her head could not fully understand, the poor 
 girl, moved by an undefinable rashness and the lure of gold,
 
 168 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 threw herself at him, and was soon devoured. One had but to 
 see her and listen to her sweet melody to know that the story 
 was untrue, for she had retained her voice, her beauty, and 
 her striking modesty, returning, after a month's rest, to the 
 footlights. It could not be so with one who had the misfortune 
 to fall under the destroying spell of a million cash. 
 
 But this lesser story, as the reader will see, has little connec- 
 tion with the one I set out to tell months ago. It comes to me 
 as a reminder of some of the temptations in these money-mad 
 times and as an incident of my observations long before impulse 
 and duty moved me to make this chronicle ; nor is it a figment 
 of the imagination. 
 
 I became interested in this young lady's singing while wait- 
 ing in the big convention city for the assembling of the lead- 
 ing politicians of the country, having arrived from the Capital 
 for the latter purpose in company with my friends the Phi- 
 losopher and Chief Bostwick. I was the guest that evening of 
 an old acquaintance who, being a thorough cosmopolitan, was 
 familiar with the gossip of the stage and the clubs of quite all 
 the great cities. 
 
 Congress had adjourned a week ago, at the end of its long 
 session, with the usual charge at its door that it had not ful- 
 filled the essential promises in the platform of the party in 
 power. But such accusations, like the one concerning the 
 pretty singer's character, appear to be quite as common as they 
 are sometimes unjust. The President's numerous messages to 
 the body, wherein he made certain recommendations that met 
 only with ephemeral approval, were now as "leather or pru- 
 nella," for new issues were rising and new platform pledges 
 were incubating, crowding old ones back into the dusty domain 
 of forgotten political faiths. 
 
 So that public interest was rapidly shifting to the two great 
 conventions soon to convene in the big city of the lakes, and
 
 THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 169 
 
 many senators would be present. One of these conventions was 
 to be the first national gathering of the Stalwart hosts of the 
 two old parties, now combined and consolidated, as I have said, 
 under one banner, across which was emblazoned the word "Con- 
 servative" a term which many deeply interested persons be- 
 lieved would have a sort of anesthetic effect on the public mind. 
 A humorous poet, with a vein of irony in his nature, had per- 
 petrated a musical skit symbolizing the commercial spirit of the 
 party and of the age as well. The prodigies who love wine and 
 song and who infest such gatherings with their noise, turned the 
 serious proceedings into ridiculous burlesque by singing the lines 
 unctuously and uproariously. It deserves a place even in this 
 historical work. It was called "The New Golden Rule." 
 
 Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes ; 
 
 To be without money is the worst of crimes. 
 
 Keep all you get, get all you can, 
 
 Is the first and the last and the whole duty of man. 
 
 "Delightful, delightful!" exclaimed Burrill to a little knot 
 of Conservative senators who were there to see that the plat- 
 form of the political amalgamation was written so that it could 
 be "properly construed" at the next session of Congress. 
 "You should put that in your platform," continued Burrill. 
 "It typifies your principles; it voices your policy. It is blithe 
 and expressive, and might well have been used as libretto to 
 the vibrant strains of Nero's fiddle when he played in burning 
 Rome." 
 
 Baxter smiled; he had been classed with Nero on several 
 prior occasions. Then Paine, the pundit of the Senate, said: 
 
 "That was a flight of fancy of one Suetonius. More reliable 
 commentators say that Nero was not on the tower, and more- 
 over that he was not musical." 
 
 "Yet, after the Christians were crucified and burned in the 
 gardens, Nero drove his chariot by the light of the flames, and
 
 170 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 built his golden house at the cost of robbery and extortion," 
 replied Burrill, who knew history, too. Elsewhere I have said 
 the Senate was devoid of imagination, but there were some 
 individual exceptions among its membership. 
 
 "It was a conspiracy that roused him," replied Paine, blankly. 
 
 "So, also, with Altrocracy," answered Burrill, sharply. 
 
 The wise and learned Paine had lived to a very ripe old 
 age not in years, but in esthetical observation and study. 
 Still, the range of his thoughts was somewhat contracted; he 
 knew "the common people" and their aspirations principally 
 by what other scholars had said about them in books. 
 
 "Come ! come !" exclaimed Andrew Holt. "We're all good 
 fellows, and must be generous with one another. You'll pass 
 your Purchase bill. I'm going out of business. Already my 
 monopoly, as you call it, has taken steps to dispose of its con- 
 stituent plants. We intend to sell or to lease them to responsi- 
 ble employes. So, you see, you will not be able to confiscate 
 our property when your new law becomes operative." 
 
 "Good for you, Holt!" shouted Brady, slapping the million- 
 aire on the back." "If all monopolists would do that, a Pur- 
 chase bill might be unnecessary." 
 
 "It would not be necessary until the purchasers or lessees 
 combined," suggested Halsey, with a sarcastic laugh. "Human 
 nature is stubborn ; you can't legislate greed out of its system." 
 Halsey's philosophy was almost brutal. 
 
 "True," replied Brady; "yet, when human nature becomes 
 perverted, it should be effectually penalized. Without efficient 
 laws against the common highwayman no one would be safe on 
 the streets. We rarely fail to apprehend the transgressor in 
 little things ; but it is seldom those who commit a certain class 
 of greater crimes are caught." 
 
 "My dear friend," replied Halsey, "I admit your assertion is 
 true in part, and it is in close accord with predominant public
 
 THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 171 
 
 opinion, but public opinion is too often misdirected for politi- 
 cal ends. It is an easy matter for them that are engaged in pro- 
 moting new policies, based largely upon theory, to stir the 
 people to a ferment of passion. The spectacular thing is 
 always popular, but even the statesmanship that comes out of 
 Dreamland may not be the wisest. From my old-fashioned 
 way of thinking there is positive danger in political delirium. 
 How many of the really great men of history, think you, were 
 equal to putting handcuffs on an hippopotamus, or to roping a 
 rhinoceros, or even to riding a broncho? How many, I ask, 
 could lariat a jack-rabbit or drive the beasts of the jungle to 
 cover in terror?" 
 
 "There has been but one," interposed Fordyce, solemnly 
 and in a tone of regret. 
 
 "You answer well," responded Halsey, "and how many men 
 have succeeded in monopolizing the precious article of civic 
 virtue, putting the brand of crookedness on all the rest, either 
 directly or by implication?" 
 
 "A rare art, I must confess," said Fordyce. This partial ad- 
 mission encouraged Halsey, who continued: 
 
 "There are two serious and forbidding elements in mod- 
 ern politics Hysteria and Lethargy. Politicians are to blame 
 for the one and the people for the other. What is most needed 
 for the repose of our country is Equipoise, national and indi- 
 vidual, supplemented by Renunciation and Tolerance. Unfor- 
 tunately, human perfection is to be found only in novels. 
 Again, the man that parades his own honesty by attacking the 
 integrity of them that may disagree with him, or with whom 
 he may choose to disagree, is not likely to be a safe leader. 
 Some day the people, tiring of political vaudeville, will gladly 
 come back to these trite maxims. Then we shall have a period 
 of repose and genuine advancement." 
 
 But Halsey had many such odd notions as these ; in fact, he
 
 172 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 had been accused of being "an old fogy." It was true, also, 
 that he preferred, as he declared, "the sublime music of Beeth- 
 oven to the frenzied, debilitating ragtime of that rhapsodical 
 period." 
 
 "What disturbs me more than all else," remarked Fordyce, 
 who was a just man, "is whether, under prevailing conditions, 
 we are not to have a new 'Marseillais' to stir into deep hatred 
 the smouldering sentiment against oppression and arouse the 
 frivolous millions to bloody deeds. Our great Republic has 
 ripened more quickly than even the most optimistic sociologist 
 ever dreamed of, and the greatest concern of real patriots, it 
 appears to me, is the nature of the inevitable harvest. Are we 
 to find the answer in the results of these conventions? Will 
 the new party and the new political leadership overcome the 
 power for evil that is now being exercised in the interest of 
 consolidation? make the accumulation of the world's wealth 
 by a few men impossible? allay or even dissipate the uni- 
 versal dread of artificial financial panics, for these have been 
 at the bottom of most of our public ills? If these desirable 
 things are to be achieved, it would seem that no President 
 should ever extend the hospitality of the White House to the 
 malefactors who are responsible for certain disreputable busi- 
 ness methods. Instead of calling them there to consult v/ith 
 him in regard to public policy, why not incarcerate them for 
 their glaring misdeeds? Instead of listening to their threats 
 to lock the doors of their banks if the consolidators are not to 
 be allowed to go on violating the law, why not put the arro- 
 gant and impudent knaves in jail and prohibit the sending of 
 flowers to their cells. A radical remedy, did you say? Truly, 
 but no worse than the cancerous disease now eating at the 
 vitals of the nation, nor as bad." 
 
 And Fordyce was not drinking, either; Baxter's smile had
 
 THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 173 
 
 ceased to haunt him to further inebriety, and he had acquired 
 a reputation for being quite sensible, when sober. 
 
 As usual, on such occasions, several prominent members of 
 the Graspers' Guild were there to take observations. Notably 
 amongst them were Andrew Holt and Ely North, whose com- 
 bined wealth was sufficient almost to stagger the imagination. 
 We have already had an intimation of the aspirations of Mr. 
 Holt, who long since found it impossible to understand why 
 his importance in the financial world did not entitle him to a 
 seat in the Senate. As for Mr. North, who, no doubt, was 
 laboring under a like delusive conviction, he was acquiring 
 public distinction by the entirely unique method of lecturing 
 the agriculturists, enlarging upon national extravagance and 
 the profligacy of the people. A corpulent humor had he ! 
 
 And yet, with all their millions, these men were not happy. 
 Indeed, I have sometimes thought the veriest pauper was less 
 miserable than they, or any of their kind. As an illustration 
 of what I mean : It is something to have a comfortable share, 
 if we do not make ourselves uncomfortable wanting it all ; yet, 
 it must be the sum of complete wretchedness to possess a great 
 fortune and spend our days in a soulless struggle to strip our 
 fellows of all their belongings. Still, there is a misery, I 
 imagine, that is more intense even than this : Having succeed- 
 ed in beggaring a small empire of men of their independence 
 and manhood, by our avariciousness, and, through despotic 
 measures, laid a vast community under perpetual tribute, we sud- 
 denly awake to a realization that our stupendous gains have be- 
 come a burden to ourselves, and that we have gone too far to 
 find a resting place even in restitution. It is then that we be- 
 gin to look about us for an opportunity to justify our covetous 
 course. By this time our neighbors have come to regard us for 
 our grasping qualities alone; and no matter if we spend the 
 remainder of our days expounding the code of morals, reciting
 
 174 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the evils of avarice and bewailing the hollowness of a life of 
 greed, no one will believe what we say. However much we 
 prate of patriotism or declaim about proper national ethics, 
 those that know of our previous misdeeds and those who see 
 and feel only the effects of them do not credit us with the 
 smallest particle of sincerity, and the whole world laughs us to 
 scorn. This, then, is but the period of dry rot in a career of 
 cruel cupidity. 
 
 Such was the fate of Ely North, who was now eking out a 
 sordid existence of isolation. With the hard judgment of his 
 unsympathetic fellowmen already upon him, what would be 
 his reward when, robed in his pocketless shroud, he should 
 appear for final sentence? Surely, it would not be, "Well 
 done, thou good and faithful servant." Still, by then, per- 
 haps, the Northern Spike Company will have erected a needle 
 with a great eye, through which even he, like Koppinger, may 
 pass, unhampered by worldly sins. 
 
 And yet it may be that Mr. North was not bothering his 
 mind about spiritual matters, else, perhaps, he would not 
 concern himself anxiously with the details of Altrocratic inten- 
 tions, or grow red in the face when Senator Brady, whom he 
 had just berated for his radicalism, expressed this opinion 
 about him: 
 
 "Oh, you're too busy cutting coupons to be patriotic." 
 
 "Quit dreaming, my boy; quit dreaming. Go home and be 
 good," was North's soothing rejoinder. 
 
 "Go home and be good; quit dreaming. This is the advice 
 invariably given to those who, if they wish to remain in 
 politics, must 'play the game' with the pack of cards duly 
 'gummed' by the Guild." This was the parting shot that 
 Brady gave the magnate. 
 
 Just before the Altrucratic convention adjourned, a resolu- 
 tion, condemning "the criminal degeneracy of a cause that finds
 
 THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 175 
 
 justification in abduction" and sympathizing with "those near 
 and dear to Cornelius Twain," was adopted unanimously. 
 Enid Grey was now a national figure, Cornelius Twain a 
 martyr and the Altrocratic party a promising political force. 
 
 If Eph Fox had any purpose in lingering in the city of the 
 lakes while the lithographs and general litter of the two great 
 conventions were being swept up, it must have been on account 
 of his extreme anxiety to see Sam Ives, who had gone to Wash- 
 ington to confer with Bill Giddings, and was expected to 
 return as soon as possible. Giddings was at the Capital so as 
 to be near Andy Akers. 
 
 Had Andy and Eva been sufficiently placated? 
 
 This question, sufficiently comprehensive to Fox's mind, was 
 now infesting his mentality sorely and persistently. Nemesis 
 was surely arrived again. Ah! if it were only Martha Gid- 
 dings instead of Nemesis ; for, although Fox had not been able 
 to fathom Roberts' plan of action, neither could he resist the 
 wicked emotions of his unhallowed heart when he thought of 
 Martha and his unrequited protestations of love the night he 
 sidetracked his private car at B . 
 
 Ives returned promptly to say that Giddings was alert and 
 active, that Andy and Eva were happy, for they were at the 
 sea shore, jostling the Boardwalkers "the lenders, the givers, 
 the spenders, whose motto is Easy Goes." But Ives' breast 
 was filled with dire apprehension. He had seen Ralph Bolston. 
 
 "Of course," said he, "the meddling Englishman don't know 
 me. That being the case, I had an opportunity to look him 
 over, to study him. He is a big fellow, with reddish hair and 
 beard and a powerful underjaw. Looks like he'd shoot or do 
 anything that he had to. I didn't admire his confident air ; he 
 seemed to be too well satisfied with himself." 
 
 And there were rumors, too, that Bostwick was on the trail 
 of several suspects, whose apprehension could only be a ques-
 
 176 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 tion of a few hours' time, but Ives did not learn who the sus- 
 pects were. 
 
 Then Fox relapsed into a thoughtful mood, and drummed 
 softly on the arm of his chair. Finally he said : 
 
 "We leave for New York at once, Sam. We must see 
 Roberts." 
 
 Now, when Akers and the Farnum got back from the west, 
 taking counsel with each other on the way, they were greatly 
 encouraged over the possibilities of the future. They were in a 
 frame of mind not unlike that of a prospector, who, after be- 
 ing grubstaked most of his life, suddenly comes upon a rich 
 vein of shining ore that juts out in globules as if it were so 
 plenty that the quartz rock couldn't retain it. The old miner's 
 dream has been realized at last ! He knows that the rhino is 
 there, plenty of it, although the exposed shoot has not yet been 
 developed. How beautiful the world now appears to him! 
 How sweet the memory of his years of hardship ! Already he 
 is a millionaire ; he'll buy Jem Smith's "joint," remove the slab 
 counter and give the boys free access to the red liquor. After 
 that he will go east and show the swells how to enjoy life. In 
 fact, the prospector is happier than if he were a real millionaire. 
 
 So, Andy told Eva they would now proceed to follow their 
 newly discovered lead to the bottom of the earth. 
 
 "Just leave it to me," he said. "I'll be square. You'll wear 
 more diamonds than you ever saw before, and you can raise the 
 bridge limit so high it will shut out the pikers." 
 
 "You know that I love only my dear old Andy, don't you, 
 dear?" said she in mellow tones. 
 
 "I've sometimes thought so, and again I've had my doubts, 
 Eva." So might Eph Fox have had his doubts not many days 
 agone ! 
 
 "How can you be so cruel as to misjudge me, Andy !" Eva 
 was deeply hurt.
 
 THE NEW GOLDEN RULE 177 
 
 Then they retired to the dining car and cracked another cold 
 bottle, for they were flush with spoil. 
 
 After Ives left Giddings in Washington, beseeching him to 
 keep an eye on the Englishman, Giddings sent for Akers to 
 come over from the shore. He told him of Ives' apprehensions 
 and of his own investigations and surmises. 
 
 "And Sam Ives is getting nervous, is he?" said Andy, laugh- 
 ing in exultant fashion. "Maybe they will find him, Bill. 
 Maybe they will." 
 
 "It looks like it," replied Giddings. 
 
 "Maybe they will," repeated Akers. 
 
 "And if they should?" inquired Giddings. 
 
 "Say, Bill, do you want him to come back?" 
 
 "Someone higher up does," replied Giddings. 
 
 "Then someone's a fool!" exclaimed Akers. "I don't; no 
 more do you. We're partners, Bill, all of us. My liberty's 
 sweet; so's yours; so's theirs. Already the people are forget- 
 ting about it. They will take notice again, if he comes back." 
 
 "What is your plan?" inquired Giddings, nervously stroking 
 his chin. 
 
 "It's working now; it's been at work two weeks. He won't 
 come back, Bill!" 
 
 This announcement by the man who had had the nerve to 
 undertake Twain's abduction produced the desired effect upon 
 Giddings. He didn't reply, except to say that Andy was a 
 masterpiece of erudition. Again he told him that he had 
 enough brains to be at the top of his profession. Giddings 
 wanted time in which to think; yet he didn't tell Akers of his 
 forebodings, nor chide him for the measures he had seemingly 
 adopted on his own account to prevent the return of Twain. 
 
 And now, for a short time, we must take leave of Mr. Akers 
 and his pals. Fox and Ives would not enjoy this distinction. 
 If it could be managed otherwise, they nevermore would appear
 
 178 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 in these pages. And, although they may not be brought to 
 account for their transgressions, not in the usual way, by court 
 processes, with bailiff and bondsmen to help them, it is well 
 that there are other ways of apprehending abductors, with 
 Nemesis never asleep and men of the like of Arthur Grey, 
 Ralph Bolston and Dick Bostwick always awake.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 
 
 Forearmed denizens of Washington provide early against the 
 coming of the "dog days." By the time this period of flaccidity 
 arrives those who can afford to take themselves to the near-by 
 mountains or the more northerly summertime resorts along the 
 seacoast, or by the great lakes, have closed their houses or 
 abandoned their apartments in the hotels, having first deposited 
 milady's furs and fine rugs at some place of safety supposed to 
 be proof against the cupidity of burglars and the voracity of 
 moths. 
 
 I am speaking now of the unofficial set of those that have 
 no public duties who are free to come and go, with no cen- 
 sorial eye to follow them, nor critical constituents to please. 
 This set in Washington enjoys its exclusiveness. It is non- 
 partisan and non-political because of its disfranchisement ; the 
 people of Washington do not vote ; they are not troubled with 
 elections. Therefore, they need take no personal interest in 
 politics a happy lot, indeed ! In their estimation, one adminis- 
 tration is as good as another. Nor does the coming of a new 
 one except as its foreshadowed policies may affect dividends 
 on their bonds and stocks or the price of suburban acres in 
 which they may have been induced by realty agents to put some 
 ready money concern them perceptibly. 
 
 I cannot say the female members of this aristocratic class
 
 180 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the old families that pride themselves upon their freedom from 
 snobbishness do not partake of the common interest in the 
 latest mistress of the White House, who has been heralded as 
 the most beautiful and refined of ladies. (This is always true 
 of the President's wife.) And so they will all be there when 
 the winter receptions come round, provided they have succeeded 
 in being remembered when the invitations are sent out, to see 
 for themselves, reserving their opinions, to be sure, for their 
 own exclusive circle, where the pomp of this administration 
 will be compared with that of former ones as far back as the 
 time when Dolly Madison's beauty and brilliancy enthralled 
 the statesmen that hung admiringly about her throne. 
 
 And how generous these very excellent people ! seldom con- 
 demning anyone, but rather commending everyone for their 
 fortitude, under trying circumstances; always sympathizing 
 with "the first lady of the land" and the wives of the various 
 secretaries who assist her in doing the honors at the great func- 
 tions an example of good breeding, indeed, in these cavilling 
 democratic times, that deserves recognition. 
 
 Then, there is another set, the most considerable in number 
 at the Capital the government employes, some thirty thou- 
 sand at least that must have its summer holiday. These work- 
 ers go no great distance away, for most of them have a hard 
 time of it all the year saving enough from their not over large 
 salaries for railroad fare and the upset rates at the resort 
 boarding houses, where, to be sure, they must indulge seasonable 
 finery, else they, particularly the women, will be overlooked in 
 the passing throng. 
 
 If we have found something to admire in those having the 
 means to be "nice," here, alas ! are we met with much to excite 
 our pity. What an institution it is that invites you to a life of 
 servitude as a government clerk ! How poor the compensation, 
 even though it does "keep the wolf away," if men are to be
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 181 
 
 unmanned and women condemned to oldmaidhood ; for that, 
 after all, is the fearful price one is likely to pay in such service. 
 The man, if he would keep his name on the payroll, must have 
 no opinions about anything, not even his work, for this is done 
 under rules that come out of a machine as does a bolt of 
 calico. 
 
 Once a friend of mine was descanting to me upon the per- 
 fection of the linotype, the wonderful thing that sets the letters 
 for these pages. 
 
 "Isn't it marvelous," said he. "It fairly thinks." 
 
 It is different, let me say, with that piece of mechanism that 
 makes rules and prescribes the duties of government clerks, for 
 this one does not think; it acts automatically, and, considering 
 that its parts are all human, the action is most unintellectual. 
 Hence the automatic nature of its product the thirty thou- 
 sand who consider it a reflection upon the involuntary insti- 
 tution, the Civil Service Commission, I might as well say it, to 
 which they owe their appointment, if they give overmuch 
 attention to the display of acumen. So that they become mere 
 machines. And who blames them? Not I. Their leave of 
 absence, their period of recreation, partakes of the same char- 
 acter as their life-tenure servitude, which is a sort of civilized 
 emasculation. If one of them marries another, the tenure of 
 the one or the other is put in jeopardy, with two mouths to feed 
 on a single salary, and the constant danger of family increase. 
 What an inducement to race suicide, too! more reprehensible 
 even than animal slaughter in the jungle. Yes, these poor 
 celibates have their holiday, too, and they are dreary enough. 
 
 But the most pathetic victims of Washington's heated term 
 are the wives and daughters of the Congressional circle, which 
 includes both houses; although some of my readers have 
 fallen into the habit of speaking of members of the House 
 as "Congressmen" which, indeed, they are. But the House
 
 182 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 is not the whole of Congress, dear reader, the Senate being one 
 branch of it; and the heat affects both houses alike, as was 
 demonstrated most painfully when thejSenate awaited the return 
 of Twain. As I have said, it falls largely to the women of 
 the Congressional set to do the social honors. To most of them 
 this is a very pleasant duty during the winter months ; but, 
 long before the sun has crossed the equatorial line, society's 
 demands have come to be tremendously irksome to those who 
 hail from the north. Washington summers, though, do not 
 drive the fair southerners away. The ladies whose husbands or 
 fathers, as the case may be, represent northeastern districts may 
 return to their homes with but little inconvenience or waste 
 of- time; but those from the far west, being new to the 
 business, as a rule, owing to the frequent changes under the 
 primary election system, usually remain until the end of the 
 long sessions of alternate years. Having now acquired a taste 
 for the shallow thing, and being so far away from home, they 
 stay on to the end. These, then, are the real heat sufferers. 
 
 Nor will sunstroke, even, discourage Mrs. Barleysheaf, of 
 the House. How perfectly one's attire sometimes fits one's 
 name ! Finding small opportunity, as she thinks, to satisfy 
 her social ambition as the wife of a mere member, long before 
 the trees have leaved upon her first Washington season she has 
 discovered that her distinguished husband really belongs in the 
 Senate, and this discovery has been duly imparted to him. At 
 first he does not take kindly to the suggestion, on account of 
 the expense. But soon he, too, makes a discovery, which is 
 that the House can never be anything more than "a mere mob." 
 Think of the numerous bills he has dropped into the big box at 
 the Speaker's desk, and as yet not one of them has come out of 
 committee ! Surely, this is no place for such genius as his. 
 
 Nor have the names of Representative and Mrs. Benjamin 
 Barleysheaf appeared as yet in the newspapers as the dinner
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 183 
 
 guests of the President, nor of any member of the Cabinet. 
 They have dined out but once since their arrival six months ago. 
 That was on the occasion of Millionaire Senator Koppinger's 
 elaborate spread at the largest hotel, when all of Congress were 
 present and many others of less consequence. It was very kind 
 of Koppinger to invite them, to be sure, but how else could it 
 have happened when the senator's secretary wrote the invita- 
 tions so as to include the names of all senators and members 
 and their wives or daughters as he found them printed out in the 
 Congressional Directory? 
 
 And the Honorable Ben Barleysheaf takes early counsel with 
 "Mrs. B." (his way of introducing her). We have known all 
 along that he would come to it ! 
 
 "It will cost us like blazes, my dear," he protests. 
 
 "Suppose it does; it's worth it. Besides, we may never have- 
 another chance, and what is money for, anyway?" 
 
 So the Honorable Ben is persuaded. He bustles about,- 
 reads the census statistics and the agricultural reports, getting 
 ready to make a great speech "to the mob on the hill." What 
 boots it if his colleagues retire to the cloakrooms while he 
 reads it nervously from his place on the floor? He will not 
 send out in franked envelopes to his constituents any less num- 
 ber of the great effort on that account, you may be sure. The 
 heat has no terrors for either of them now. They are running 
 for the Senate, which body, of course, awaits their coming in 
 deepest anxiety. So also do the politicians and the country 
 editors in the Honorable Barleysheaf's state. And Mrs. B. 
 plumes herself accordingly. She will show "those stuckups" at 
 the White House who haven't bidden the Barleysheafs to 
 dinner, so she will, and that Mrs. Ole O'Margarine from the 
 middle west, too, who gave a great reception recently that 
 Mrs. B. knew about only at second hand. 
 
 Well, the Barleysheafs were now come to the Senate. It has
 
 184 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 cost them nearly all of their life's savings, and still some of the 
 local editors at home persist in referring to the now dis- 
 tinguished statesman as "a mighty tight wad." Yes, they were 
 now in the Senate, and the Honorable Ben selected his com- 
 mittee-room far down in the Crypt, where Bill Giddings went 
 on a certain occasion to make sure, by the oracular word of an 
 ancient employe, that the body would take a vote on the Pur- 
 chase bill on a day certain. 
 
 And Mrs. B. lost no time, you may depend upon it, in mak- 
 ing her first official calls at senator's houses, and on the wives 
 of Cabinet ministers, and at the foreign legations, even at the 
 White House. She looks askance on her old acquaintances of 
 the House, and cuts Mrs. Ole O'Margarine dead the very first 
 opportunity. She is a senator's wife, and has begun to climb 
 the social ladder. When the heat comes again she will not 
 linger at the Capital, but will go to Atlantic City. Another 
 two years she will have learned that this is not considered to 
 be "en regie," or, perhaps, "au fait" and this time she will hie 
 herself to Bar Harbor, or, if the crops have been good at home 
 and the farmers have paid their interest at Barleysheaf's bank, 
 in such case she will go to Narragansett Pier, where she can 
 take a practical look at the Newporters. Sic iter ad astra, 
 which, for the convenience of Mrs. Barleysheaf, may be trans- 
 lated, "Such is the way to the stars." 
 
 So, also, did John Koppinger and Ralph Bolston make some 
 hasty plans against the coming of the dog days. They took 
 themselves to the Blue Ridge Hotel, near Ashhurst, but not on 
 the same train, as happened when they went to Boston; yet, 
 neither knew that the other intended to make this place his 
 home for the summer. Bolston, however, was not surprised 
 to meet Koppinger there, for he knew now of the senator's 
 hurried visit to the Greys to tell them of the slander that was 
 being circulated against Twain, and no longer had he any
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 185 
 
 doubt about the tender aspirations of the distinguished bachelor 
 senator, deplore it as much as he would. What nettled him 
 almost to the point of breaking with Koppinger entirely, and 
 frankly telling him so, was that the senator should not at least 
 make an effort to hide his infatuation, out of a decent regard 
 for Twain. After all, what business was it of Bolston's. he 
 asked himself? But was there any reason why he should lose 
 faith in Enid Grey? None whatsoever. Had she not rescued 
 Twain's name from calumny? Was there any act or word of 
 hers that suggested disloyalty? Not a move nor a sign upon 
 which John Koppinger could base the shadow of a hope for 
 recognition of his strange purpose his insinuating passion. 
 
 Thus the summer months went by, with no amelioration of 
 the depressing gloom enshrouding the minds of Cornelius 
 Twain's anxious friends; no surcease of pain in Enid Grey's 
 despondent heart. October came with its chill rains, and its 
 cloak of brilliant verdure enwrapping the silent woods. The 
 Greys and the Holts were among the last to quit the Blue 
 Ridges. Koppinger and Bolston, having maintained an agree- 
 able truce, so far as open expressions of their feelings were 
 concerned, and having seen less of each other all these weeks 
 than might be expected of two old acquaintances, departed 
 separately, as they had come, the Englishman returning to the 
 Capital and the senator going to New York, for the corpora- 
 tion boards were beginning to meet in Jersey City and Newark 
 again. 
 
 Out in the west, in Senators Twain's state, the primaries had 
 been held, Sloane receiving the nomination for senator. This 
 came about in a peculiar and somewhat unexpected way. As 
 has been said, there were two aspirants for the place Parsons 
 and Sloane. As the campaign progressed the people began to 
 ask questions. If both Parsons and Sloane were the true friends 
 of Twain that they said they were, why should either of them
 
 186 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 seek to displace him in the Senate? And yet, Twain was not 
 at home to personally file his petition as required under the pri- 
 mary law. 
 
 Now, with Dick Sheridan, the friend of Sloane, as the only 
 aspirant for governor, the Conservatives seemed to have the 
 advantage. Cyrus Shirley, Parsons' campaign manager, fore- 
 saw the danger and called his chief's attention to it. A hurried 
 conference of leaders was held, with the result that Parsons 
 withdrew from the senatorial race and filed for governor against 
 Sheridan, leaving Sloane a clear field. 
 
 It was extremely hard to make Parsons' many friends 
 throughout the state see and understand that this was a wise 
 thing to do, for there were several good federal jobs that a few 
 of the faithful Progressives wanted, and which they would be 
 unable to get if Parsons didn't go to the Senate. The people, 
 by now, were recovering from their surprise on learning that, 
 after all, the Progressives were in politics for the sake of the 
 offices. It had long been generally supposed that only the 
 wicked old Stalwarts would stoop to such base things, this 
 belief being freely encouraged by the Progressive leaders them- 
 selves. But there are many surprises in politics. 
 
 Well, Cy Shirley finally made his state, county and precinct 
 committeemen, and the Progressive editors as well, see that if 
 Parsons defeated Sheridan for governor there would be some- 
 thing in it for all of them when the plum-tree came to be 
 shaken at the state capitol in January. Besides, it was agreed 
 that a railroad tax bill should be introduced in the legislature. 
 This would have the effect of keeping the railroad lobby busy 
 against the choosing of a senator. 
 
 And Shirley had another motive, but this one he said nothing 
 about, not even to Parsons. The average person who reads 
 these lines may not guess it, but the shrewd politician will. So 
 I will not explain just now, because the dear average reader will
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE' 187 
 
 skip over this part of my story and rush on in the hope of find- 
 ing more exciting things in later chapters, while my equally 
 dear young friends who would measure the value of this vol- 
 ume by the amount of sentiment in it are likely to do the same 
 thing. And the matter being easily fathomed by the politi- 
 cians, why, indeed, should I dwell further upon the subject, ex- 
 cept to repeat that Sloane got the nomination for senator, and 
 to add that Parsons defeated Sheridan for governor? All this 
 is very simple to those who understand or care about it. 
 
 And so the twin nuisances, the dog days and the primaries, 
 being past, there was little to thrill the popular imagination 
 during the next few weeks, unless it be the dubious reports sent 
 out by brokerage houses in regard to the shortage in the grain 
 crop at home and the longage of it abroad, or vice versa; it 
 makes no difference, except to the honest trader, who believes 
 the morning bulletins on brokers' tables that tell you the for- 
 eign market is bearish or that it is bullish, but that the gross 
 earnings of the railroads have increased; and you buy or sell, 
 if you are in that kind of business, and regret it, whichever you 
 do, the next minute. 
 
 In another month, with the least amount of campaign con- 
 fusion and excitement that can be imagined, considering the 
 momentous issues involved, the great election was over, and 
 Page Bannister was the choice for President of the Republic. 
 Captain Mikleskoff was down from the Blue Ridge long be- 
 fore this. Indeed, he was at the Holt residence in Washington 
 when the news came, and watched Margaret's face as she read 
 the returns. He must have thought it very strange she should 
 evince such deep interest in the result, but when she remarked 
 that her brother Stephen had challenged her for a wager of a 
 dozen pairs of gloves that the Conservative candidate would be 
 elected and she had taken the bet, "just to punish Stephen for 
 meddling in politics," which she abhorred, perforce the smitten
 
 188 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Russian was obliged to believe her. Still, her anxiety in be- 
 half of her brother's tendencies gave the Captain some uneasi- 
 ness, and he made pretense of condoling with her ; whereat she 
 laughed joyously. 
 
 But Margaret's exultation over the winning of the box of 
 gloves from Stephen gave way to a feeling of great sadness 
 when, the morning after Page Bannister's election, word came 
 to her that Enid Grey was seriously ill. She went at once to 
 see her, and, canceling all other engagements, remained for 
 days at the bedside of her friend, dividing unselfishly with a 
 trained nurse the duties belonging to the sickroom an exhibi- 
 tion of friendship, indeed, only those who are stricken in body 
 and in heart, as was this long-suffering woman, can fully appre- 
 ciate. The nature of Enid's malady was not such as to give 
 rise to immediate alarm ; still, it was sufficiently grave to warn 
 her physicians, who advised a change of scene and air for her. 
 But this could not be effected at once; it would be unwise to 
 undertake her removal from the bed in which she now lay in a 
 pitiable state of physical debility and mental exhaustion. 
 
 Dame Gossip soon came to know of the Russian Captain's 
 disturbed state of mind; whereupon society's devotees, far in 
 advance of fact, as usual, folded their arms in patient waiting 
 for the announcement of Margaret Holt's engagement to the 
 President-elect. They also turned to analyzing its portentous 
 effects upon the body politic. Again the opinions and com- 
 ments of the dowager set, as when Cornelius Twain first met 
 and was attracted to Enid Grey, found interesting expression. 
 
 "It is quite shocking even to think of it," exclaimed one of 
 these delightful antiquaries, who was eking out an existence on 
 the income of something like twenty-five million of dollars. 
 This sum had been accumulated and considerately invested by 
 her late lamented husband, who, in his day, was a prominent 
 figure in the circles of consolidation.
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 189 
 
 "It is an alliance between democracy and decency under the 
 banner of Altrocracy a party that seeks to install the mob in 
 power," she continued. "It is a foretokening of the end of 
 Dividends, and soon one will be obliged to return to one's cast 
 off apparel if one would maintain respectability. Whither, alas ! 
 are we drifting?" 
 
 "Be not discouraged, dear," replied a sympathetic exhibit of 
 the glitter period. "If Margaret Holt has inherited the genius 
 of her indefatigable father she may redeem the place of politi- 
 cal power from the hands of the proletarian invaders and bring 
 about the redemption of the industrial empire now threatened 
 with dissolution." 
 
 "How fortunate, indeed," remarked a third, "if the new 
 President, under the Holt influence, is made to realize the error 
 of his way. In his infatuation for the charming blonde, he 
 may forget to confiscate our property, to be distributed among 
 the socialistic dreamers who brought about his election. May 
 she prove to possess the wisdom of Minerva. Let us continue 
 to hope. All is not lost." 
 
 If these delightful monitors, whose most arduous task, aside 
 from their appointments with their milliners and as the regu- 
 lators of heart throbs in Capital society, was the cutting of 
 coupons from gilt-edged securities with diamond-studded gold 
 scissors, were as near the mark in their predictions regarding 
 politico-economic conditions as in their present speculations 
 concerning Margaret Holt and Page Bannister, there would be 
 no disturbance in business circles none whatever. 
 
 It would not be in keeping with a few thoughts intended to 
 be conveyed in these pages, however, if it could not be said 
 that, with the coming of Altrocratic success, there came also a 
 noticeable abatement in the prevailing social gatherings of those 
 boorish displays so prominent during the heyday of glitter, sug-
 
 190 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 gesting the competitive spirit aroused at a county fair, where 
 prizes are awarded to the producers of abnormal vegetables. 
 
 Still, there was a modified continuation of those pleasing 
 functions of the more refined order, where were met the not- 
 ables of both sexes women whose striking beauty, charm of 
 manner and tasty gowns served to stir the cultivated, artistic 
 senses, and men distinguished for the public positions of honor 
 they occupied or upon whom other good fortune was bestowing 
 its benignant smile. 
 
 But there were fewer diamonds or other jewels about the fair 
 necks and arms and upon the beautiful hands of the ladies; 
 fewer and smaller tiaras in their hair irrefutable evidence, in- 
 deed, that "the coming of the empire" had been checked ; a sup- 
 porting contribution to the theory that, contrary to the views of 
 them that fail to distinguish between artificial prosperity and 
 actual progress, a Republic, if it is to endure, must have its 
 Lenten season a period of national sobriety, of mortification to 
 the headlong passions upon which injustice and oppression are 
 erected. 
 
 "A propitious era of simplicity," commented my Philosopher 
 friend. "No more do we see those hideous electric bulbs among 
 the evergreens, destroying the beauty of nature with their garish 
 light a flighty whim of the decorator, forsooth ! whose art con- 
 sists in measuring the extent to which he may lead his patrons 
 into the depths of showy extravagance; no wires stabbing the 
 hearts of the roses and carnations, supporting them with a 
 painful stiffness that leaves one to wonder if they are not im- 
 ported because of their greater cost, therein, to their purchasers' 
 minds, excelling the natural flowers." 
 
 "Precisely," replied my Philosopher friend's friend. "And 
 you must have noticed that Mrs. Kaffir Mine has discarded from 
 her throat the enormous gems that were rounding her plump 
 shoulders with their weight last season."
 
 RUNNING FOR THE SENATE 191 
 
 "It is said," answered my friend the Philosopher, "that she 
 has converted them to cash with which to endow an astronomical 
 institution for the education of the Esquimo, thus fitting these 
 benighted people as competent witnesses in future polar expe- 
 ditions." 
 
 "An altruistic and a most practical beneficence withal," wa* 
 the reply.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 
 
 Now, it came to pass, be it said generously and to their entire 
 credit, that the doctors had correctly diagnosed Enid Grey's 
 ailment, which the reader has already surmised was really of 
 the heart, and that they had prescribed wisely in directing she 
 be given a change of air and surroundings. Months of intense 
 grief and almost hopeless mental agony had reduced her to a 
 condition amounting almost to helplessness. Under the loving 
 care of the happy, light-hearted Margaret she was up and about 
 again, though the joy of living could never return against the 
 great weight that was bearing her down, unless the cause of it 
 were removed. To say the truth, Enid Grey was upon the point 
 of permanent invalidism. How sad a lot for one so young, so 
 talented and so beautiful ! How degrading of mankind the 
 means which brought her to this state! It was pitiful to see 
 her in affliction, and to know that even the very many kindnesses 
 at hand the readiness of her parents, of all her friends, par- 
 ticularly of Margaret, to assist her by every possible indul- 
 gence would fail ; to know what the inevitable end must be. 
 
 In such case the ministrations of a gentle mother, the cheer- 
 ful words of a fond father, are more soothing and helpful than 
 all else. These she had as few other daughters within my 
 acquaintance. Still, as medical men will tell you, even a very 
 great remedy, after long use in a given disease, will lose its
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 193 
 
 potency. It was so, I fear, to some extent at least, as to the 
 loving attentions of this devoted mother and this anxious father, 
 who spared themselves in nowise to cheer and encourage their 
 desponding child for by now she was but little more than a 
 child again; whereas, not so long since, a more complete and 
 perfect woman it would have been difficult to find. 
 
 About this time a vague rumor came from Tampico, Mexico, 
 that a strange man bearing some resemblance to Senator Twain 
 had been seen, more than two months ago, at that port, in com- 
 pany with an officer of a tramp steamer that sailed the coasts 
 of several southern Republics. The newspapers made much of 
 it for a brief time, overlaying the story with big red headlines, 
 and the little paper merchants cried their wares in the streets 
 vociferously "All about Sen'ter Wayne found." Similar sen- 
 sational announcements were quite common, but small credence 
 was given them. Such also was the fate of this the most recent 
 rumor. If these reports served any purpose it was to arouse 
 renewed hope in the breast of Enid Grey, only to have it dis- 
 pelled again. 
 
 Mrs. Andrew Holt came one day and sat with Enid fully an 
 hour, which was a long time for this good lady to give in any 
 cause, except her own and the fashionable charities in which she 
 indulged. It must have been a stroke of genius that prompted 
 Margaret to bring her, for where Margaret herself gently 
 coaxed the shadows to flee hence, her mother always compelled 
 them to vanish precipitately. 
 
 "Enid Grey, I am surprised!" 
 
 Thus she began, after some time spent in observing the pa- 
 tient. Enid looked inquiringly into her serious face, a face, in- 
 deed, that denoted perspicuousness and considerable determina- 
 tion. It is true, no doubt, that Mrs. Andrew Holt was more 
 practical than sentimental, and it was not so much what she said 
 as her way of saying it that counted. This Enid knew before-
 
 194 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 hand, but the good woman had never been quite so impressive as 
 now, the invalid thought. She knew also what Mrs. Holt 
 meant when she expressed her surprise, because, while there 
 was much emphasis on the penultimate of the last word in the 
 short sentence, there were no imperfect meanings about any of 
 it ; and Enid Grey was a percipient creature, too. 
 
 "I repeat," said she, after a pause that made the first remark 
 all the more important, "that I am surprised. How very ab- 
 surd, my dear, that a grown up woman like you should be sitting 
 here or anywhere else mourning herself sick about a man." 
 
 "Gently, mamma," said Margaret. "The poor dear has been 
 so very ill." 
 
 "Firmness is what is needed, Margaret. Think of what 
 would have happened to you, dear, had I permitted you to 
 mope your heart out over that Clarendon chap that afterward 
 ran away with his nurse." 
 
 "Oh, mother, but we were only school children, and he was so 
 badly hurt in that runaway accident " 
 
 "I know, Margaret, my dear, but you lost interest in every- 
 thing after that, and I was obliged almost to force you away. 
 When we got back from the Caribbean you had quite recovered 
 both your health and your reason, to be sure. Before that you 
 were an invalid, too." 
 
 "And am I an invalid, dear Mrs. Holt?" asked Enid in a 
 pathetic tone. She had not even imagined such a possibility 
 until now. 
 
 "Yes, Enid; you are an invalid. The truth should be told 
 always; besides, it is a matter that concerns you personally. If 
 I were about to die I should want them to tell me so frankly. 
 I would then show them that they were mistaken and get well. 
 It's your only chance, my dear." 
 
 "But, mother, Enid is not yet at the point of death," said 
 Margaret, laughingly.
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 195 
 
 "And if she were I cannot imagine a more unsatisfactory end- 
 ing than being killed in this way, merely by love for a man." 
 
 This plain, practical talk about invalidism and death must 
 have had the effect of arousing Enid from her trance of call- 
 ing her mind back from the clouds for thereafter she showed 
 greater spirit, and talked of going away to some place that 
 would not remind her of her misery. 
 
 "I have a splendid idea, mother !" exclaimed Margaret. "We 
 will go to the Caribbean again, and take Enid." 
 
 "Something ought to be done, to be sure; and I cannot see 
 why we should remain here the winter through, killing our- 
 selves with dinners, receptions and such other tomfoolery that 
 they call society. I detest it all. Besides, Andrew is away 
 most of the time in that awful dirigible of his. He alights 
 here once a week, perhaps, for breakfast, and by evening is off 
 again for the skies. And now Stephen, the reckless dear boy, 
 has one of the things, too, and will be sailing to Perdition, I 
 suppose, if there is such a place. The more wealth the less 
 happiness one has, as I have so often said to Andrew." 
 
 "And the yacht is so very comfortable, mamma," suggested 
 Margaret. 
 
 "To be sure," responded her good mother. 
 
 Then Margaret referred casually to the rumor, the subject of 
 the big red headlines, adding that there was the possibility of 
 learning something more definite about it when the "Penelope" 
 reached Caribbean waters. 
 
 Mrs. Holt had not read the story "there is so much in the 
 newspapers that is unreliable. But," she continued, "I have 
 even less faith in the government officials who are searching for 
 him, or pretending to do so. To be sure, Margaret, we can be 
 off by Monday morning, and I do hope that Mr. and Mrs. Grey 
 will come with us."
 
 196 , THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "I am sure father and mother will be greatly pleased," said 
 Enid. 
 
 Thus it came about that Enid Grey was to be carried to the 
 Caribbean for her health in the famous "Penelope," the magni- 
 ficent yacht of the multi-millionaire Holt. But the date that 
 Mrs. Holt had fixed for its sailing was so near at hand, Mar- 
 garet expressed some doubt about being ready by then. Per- 
 haps she had in mind the fate of the love-lorn Russian, who, 
 she well knew, would not permit a single precious day to pass 
 without seeing her, that he might pour out his devotion again 
 and again. She knew, too, he would be "terribly upset" on 
 learning that she was going away for an indefinite period of 
 time, and that he might even want to go with them, which she 
 at once decided must not be thought of seriously. Still, good 
 fortune seemed to favor her, for, even while she and her mother 
 were leaving the Greys, Stephen came speeding along in his 
 auto. Of course he did not know of the proposed Caribbean 
 voyage, and, being too intent upon his own plans to hear what 
 Margaret was about to say, he launched forth enthusiastically 
 on his new dirigible and his wonderful navigator. 
 
 "He's a Russian, Margy, a great artist in sailing the beautiful 
 airship, and has just been proposing that we fly to the north 
 pole. No little sparrow flights for him not for Ivan Petroff- 
 sky ! He wants to circumscribe the whole demnition globe, and 
 then circle her again !" 
 
 Poor Mrs. Holt . All that she could find tongue to say was, 
 "Stephen, Stephen, you reckless boy !" 
 
 "Why not go to the pole, Stephen?" said Margaret, encourag- 
 ingly. "It is strange that the Russians have not accomplished 
 it." 
 
 "By Jove !" he exclaimed. "What an opportunity for the 
 Captain to win laurels for his government and fame for him- 
 self. I'll suggest it to him."
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 197 
 
 His interest in the new airship had not diminished the next 
 morning, when he assured Margaret that "it's the north pole 
 or bust. Anyway, we're going to fly in that direction, even 
 though we do not go further than Etah. Who will know that 
 we didn't go all the way to the pole? If anyone doubts it 
 well, let him go there himself and look for our footprints in the 
 shifting snows." 
 
 When Margaret and her mother were arrived at their palatial 
 abode near Sheridan Circle, Clairisse, the housekeeper, was sum- 
 moned. Directions were given preparatory to the voyage, and 
 the captain of the "Penelope" was notified to have the vessel in 
 readiness promptly. 
 
 "I fear," said Margaret, "that poor Enid was not greatly 
 benefitted by being told she was an invalid and that the result 
 might be fatal to her." 
 
 "Pooh ! She is in no danger of dying, nor of being an in- 
 valid either, unless by too much pampering," replied the practi- 
 cal lady. "An excess of sympathy, Margaret ; all the world is 
 bemoaning her fate in the loss of her lover. I saw at a glance 
 that what she needed was to be aroused to her own predicament, 
 her mind diverted from him. Of course I pity her, for she is a 
 very sweet girl, but pity will not cure her heartache nor bring 
 him back. There is such a thing as common sense." 
 
 Ah ! but the good lady did not know the heart of Enid Grey. 
 How could she know it? In her own girlhood she had spent 
 much time day-dreaming of wealth, more than of love; and 
 when she married Andrew Holt it was after satisfying herself 
 that he was the one man who could contribute to her sordid 
 aspirations. Her dreams had now been realized in the fullest, 
 and much more ; but great wealth had long since begun to pall 
 upon her, and the only little happinesses coming to her in these 
 her days of affluence were such as I have already indicated
 
 198 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 directing the affairs of others and contributing to dubious small 
 charities. 
 
 "Besides," she continued, "I've been thinking of what the 
 papers said. I believe he is in Mexico, and that we shall find 
 him there. Who knows but that he is ill, more so than Enid, 
 perhaps, and needs our help? To be sure, we must provide 
 everything for his comfort. The patient sufferer must be fam- 
 ished for want of something good to eat," exclaimed the gen- 
 erous woman. "I am surprised that he is alive. Those Mexi- 
 cans live on peppers, corn meal, game cocks and maguey. 
 Think of feeding a sick man on those fighting birds with their 
 long steel spurs and their bleeding heads. Ugh!" 
 
 Whereupon Mrs. Holt touched a button. This brought her 
 housekeeper, who was again directed to get everything ready, 
 and see to it that there was a liberal supply of fresh fowl, jams, 
 jellies, pickles, hot- water bottles, an alcohol stove, a rubber bath 
 tub, sponges, towels, coarse and fine. 
 
 "Do not omit anything, Clairisse, that an invalid should have 
 about him, if he is to get well. Your experience as a nurse 
 will help you greatly in procuring what is needed." And Clar- 
 isse put in many things that even her mistress did not enumerate. 
 
 "Game cocks, indeed!" exclaimed Mrs. Holt, addressing 
 Margaret. "It's barbarous ! For meat, if he gets meat at all, 
 I suppose he is obliged to depend upon the trophies of the bull 
 ring. Ballooning, bull baiting and cock fighting! What a 
 world we're living in, Margaret." 
 
 And if the "Penelope's" hold was not amply stored with 
 extra provisions when the yacht sailed away on Monday morn- 
 ing, it was not the fault of the thoughtful Mrs. Holt. 
 
 Captain Mikleskoff was at the pier, and fanned the frosty 
 breezes with his white silk handkerchief until the yacht was out 
 of his sight. Margaret was on the deck in the meantime, and
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 199 
 
 was quite sure he used it also and repeatedly at his eyes. She 
 almost reproached herself for downright cruelty. 
 
 And now, in furtherance of my original intention that truth 
 should be the presiding genius of this tale, nor partiality, flat- 
 tery, exculpation nor deception to mar it, the fact must be re- 
 corded that Ralph Bolston and John Koppinger, leaving Cap- 
 tain Mikleskoff solitary and alone on the "Penelope's" pier, rode 
 away together for their accustomed haunts in the city. Neither 
 of them attached the least weight to the story from Mexico, 
 and they quite agreed that Mrs. Holt's ardor was due entirely 
 to her woman's way of persuading Enid Grey to go abroad a 
 pretext, indeed, for which they commended her. 
 
 But they were scarcely settled in their places the English- 
 man in the chancery of the British Embassy and the senator in 
 his committee-room at the Capitol when they were summoned 
 forthwith to the White House; for only a few minutes after 
 the "Penelope" sailed away for the south a queer visitor called 
 upon the President, and he came on an unusual errand. The 
 President was alone, and found it difficult to conceal his aston- 
 ishment that the very strict rules in regard to the reception of 
 strangers should have been overcome by this unusual visitor, or 
 any visitor, at that particular hour. 
 
 "I come by the cars, yer honor, as quick as I could, so I 
 could tell you I didn't know he was stole." 
 
 "To whom and to what do you refer, sir?" was the Presi- 
 dent's somewhat severe inquiry. 
 
 "That senator what I took south on the 'Myranda.' " 
 
 "Do you mean Senator Twain?" asked the President, making 
 an effort at composure. 
 
 "That's what the paper said his name was." 
 
 "And you carried him to Mexico?" 
 
 "But I didn't steal him, yer honor. He got aboard, some- 
 how, and I didn't know it till we was in the Lower Chesapeake
 
 200 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 next day. Then he comes on deck and says as how he was 
 hungry and wouldn't be carried for nothing, and paid me a fine 
 sum, yer honor, which I don't want. Here it is." 
 
 He threw a roll of bills on the big mahogany desk. Then he 
 went on : 
 
 "I meant no wrong, yer honor; didn't know what the game 
 was till I got round to Galveston months after and read the 
 paper about how the trusts stole him. So I jumps to the train 
 as quick as I could, not wantin' the sins of them tarnal things 
 on my soul. Besides, stealin' people is bad business, yer honor ; 
 that's how mine was took. I know the feelin'." 
 
 "And what is your name?" 
 
 "Noggins John Noggins Captain John Noggins, of the 
 'Myranda.' " 
 
 The President touched a button ; he touched it with unusual 
 vigor. His secretary came in haste. 
 
 "Get Chief Bostwick, Mr. Grey, or Senator Koppinger, or 
 Mr. Bolston right off," he whispered. "Lose no time about it." 
 Then, turning to Noggins, he said pleasantly : "Sit down, Cap- 
 tain." 
 
 Noggins looked around the room, in doubt as to which seat 
 to take. Indeed, the seats were so big and soft-looking that he 
 hesitated about taking a seat at all. When he did sit down, in 
 a most cautious manner, his two hundred and odd pounds sank 
 deeply into the wide, springy upholstered chair, and his short 
 legs would not permit his feet to touch the floor. He struggled 
 to rise, but seemed only to sink deeper into the Russia leather. 
 
 "Make yourself comfortable," said the President, when he 
 observed the Captain's embarrassment. 
 
 "Thank you all the same, yer honor, but this thing's kind o' 
 choppy, like a Caribbean sou'wester blowin' up Hatteras way." 
 
 The President directed his messenger to admit Senators Bax- 
 ter and Halsey, who were waiting outside. The two senators,
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 201 
 
 notwithstanding the fact that the scarlet press, whether right- 
 fully or wrongfully, had involved them in a cloud of suspicion, 
 were welcome visitors at the White House. The President 
 knew them ; the general public did not. They remained not to 
 exceed two minutes. Then other senators and several members 
 came in turn to discuss affairs of state with the chief executive. 
 "Affairs of state" is a high-sounding newspaper expression. 
 When a senator or member discusses affairs of state at the 
 White House there is an impression outside of Washington 
 that he must wear a high hat and Prince Albert coat, and that 
 he looks wise and consequential. But Baxter and Halsey wore 
 short coats and Derby hats on this occasion ; they were in work- 
 aday habit. And it was unnecessary for them to look wise and 
 consequential; their status in this regard had been fixed long 
 ago. Indeed, they were born statesmen. This is a great ad- 
 vantage to those who would enter on public life. Not all the 
 men who find their way to Washington as legislators are thus 
 endowed. Nor did these distinguished senators talk about 
 affairs of state; they only discussed the tariff the duty on 
 paper, perhaps, which they were in favor of increasing, the 
 President's objections to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 "Them fellers do business mighty quick, yer honor," said 
 Noggins, when the official callers had gone. "I've seen their 
 pictu'rs in the paper many a time ; feel almost acquainted with 
 'em. That's the way I knowed you. Hope I ain't introodin', 
 yer honor." 
 
 "Not at all, Captain. Make yourself at home," replied the 
 President as he proceeded to sign his name to a batch of impor- 
 tant commissions for a number of gentlemen just appointed to 
 office. 
 
 Noggins then fell to wondering how he happened to get into 
 such big company so very easily, and how different these men 
 were from his former conception of them. There were others
 
 202 _ THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 coming and going when he arrived at the White House, and 
 somehow he just drifted in through the ante-rooms with senators 
 and members, as if he had been a constituent of one of them, 
 until he found himself decidedly mixed up among the statesmen. 
 When the door of the President's private office room was opened 
 by the messenger and was left considerably ajar, while the 
 messenger stepped over to Senator Baxter to say the President 
 would see him in a few minutes, Noggins didn't hesitate to walk 
 directly in through the narrow opening. Before the messenger 
 could halt him he had arrived at the President's desk and was 
 talking. Of course no one familiar with the rules would have 
 done so ; but this was Noggins' first visit at the White House. 
 
 The President certainly was surprised; yet Noggins wasn't 
 abashed the least particle. It had been a habit of his to go 
 straight to headquarters with important problems. This was 
 one of the most important he had ever met with. Therefore, 
 when he read in the Galveston newspaper of the strange occur- 
 rence, he took the next train for Washington, first directing the 
 mate, when he sobered up and the "Myranda" had taken on 
 cargo, to proceed to other ports. 
 
 And so Koppinger and Bolston being summoned to the White 
 House, Grey having gone south, as we have seen, and Bostwick 
 being out of town, the President, holding the attention of Cap- 
 tain Noggins of the "Myranda," awaited them. The old skip- 
 per's story was soon told. 
 
 "And what did you do with him, sir?" asked Bolston of 
 Noggins, in a tone somewhat severe, and, as the Captain must 
 have thought, indicating authority. 
 
 "I didn't do anything with him, yer honor," replied the skip- 
 per, deferentially. "He quit the old tub at Tampico and 
 shipped on a little coastwiser running up Chorreras way. I've 
 been there, sir, and know the place?"
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 203 
 
 "Would you recognize him, do you think, if you should hap- 
 pen to meet him?" 
 
 "If I seen 'em I would, sure, and he give me his photograft 
 that was took by Howser, the 'Myranda' clerk, one day. Here 
 it is." 
 
 There was now no room for further doubt, and the next 
 train carried Ralph Bolston, Doctor Richardson, Captain John 
 Noggins and Neill Sproat, one of Bostwick's secret service 
 officers, to the south. They were ticketed for Galveston. By 
 direction of the President, a small cruiser of antiquated pattern, 
 then at New Orleans, was ordered to be in readiness to receive 
 them and to remain under Bolston's direction. 
 
 So intent was he upon following the clew, the Englishman 
 had not time even to advise Grey of the good news. John 
 Koppinger, however, attended to this duty, as it had been his 
 wont in the past to lose no opportunity in manifesting his in- 
 terest. 
 
 Noggins was an affable old sea dog ; not so old either fifty 
 or less. He had had two wives not at the same time, although 
 both were alive, as he supposed. One, the first one, had asked 
 for and secured separation and had then married a planter. 
 The other was in Mexico, the Captain did not know in what 
 particular part. She had gone there six years ago with another 
 man, without the due formality of a divorce from John Nog- 
 gins, by whom she had one child. Mrs. Noggins took the child 
 with her. Noggins followed them to Mexico, but after an ex- 
 tended and arduous search for the child failed to find her. 
 During the search he was at Chorreras and other points along 
 the Mexican coast. He would soon be on familiar ground, he 
 said to Bolston, who must have thought it strange he should 
 have known about Chorreras before. This fact raised vagrant 
 doubts in the cautious Englishman's mind, but they were soon 
 dispelled.
 
 204 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "To whom does the 'Myranda' belong? asked Bolston as they 
 sat together in the Pullman sleeper. 
 
 "She's mine for the most part." 
 
 "Would you like to sell her?" 
 
 "Never ! She's all I've got. A man has to have something 
 to love, or he wouldn't have any trouble; I've got no wife. I 
 am married to the old tub. I call her Susie, to myself." 
 
 "Why Susie?" asked Bolston. 
 
 "That's the babby's name." 
 
 Then Noggins went to the other end of the coach. In a few 
 minutes Bolston passed that way. The Captain was drying 
 his eyes with his big red handkerchief. 
 
 All doubt as to Noggins' sincerity was now at rest. He had 
 a heart. It was bleeding for the loss of his only child, as Enid 
 Grey's was bleeding for that of her lover. Bolston was re- 
 lieved; thereafter he did not hesitate in his confidences when 
 talking with the Captain of the "Myranda." 
 
 Besides, he liked him for other reasons. The Captain was 
 terse of speech. He could put a whole paragraph into one 
 sentence and a good volume into a paragraph. It was different 
 with Grey, Bolston mused; not that he found fault with the 
 editor for anything. On the contrary, he admired him for 
 everything. Yet, where Noggins had related the essential 
 event in his life's history in less than five minutes, it had taken 
 the man Grey two hours or more to tell of Autocracy and 
 Altrocracy. Still, these were widely separated questions ; like- 
 wise, there was a mighty difference in temperament and aspira- 
 tion between Arthur Grey and John Noggins. 
 
 Again, Grey was an editor, a newspaper writer. His style 
 was formal and inclined to profundity. The editorial style of 
 writing grows upon one, and if one is not watchful large words 
 will begin to crowd out the smaller ones. Grey's style of talk- 
 ing expanded in the same way. It was so unlike a banker's
 
 AN ANXIOUS SKIPPER 205 
 
 style, for instance, who would say : "We have money to loan. 
 Note must be indorsed. Ten per cent." 
 
 If it were Grey instead of the banker, he would insist upon 
 telling why he had money to loan, why the note must be in- 
 dorsed, why the rate of interest was ten per cent. This seems 
 to be necessary, because not everyone is able to read between 
 lines. And Grey's recital would possess literary merit ; it would 
 have an intellectual instead of a metallic ring, like the banker's. 
 So it is that I have given him, along with the Philosopher, 
 much space in these chapters, for he was dealing with the 
 greatest question of this selfish age. 
 
 The tedium of the dusty journey to Galveston was greatly 
 relieved by the Captain's quaint expressions and his amusing 
 description of his visit to the White House. 
 
 "Was them the law-makin' crew that come in afore you and 
 yer friend hove in sight?" he asked Bolston. 
 
 "They were senators and members, I suppose." 
 
 "A trim-rigged fleet they was fer sure," added Noggins. 
 "They talked most about postoffices. I reckon they'd lost some 
 billy doos in the mails. They're a smilin' lot. Maybe they 
 was laughin' at me, rollin' there in the trough of that big 
 leather barge. And the commodore he was smilin' broad and 
 sweet, like he was glad they dropped anchor alongside o' him." 
 
 "That's his nature, Captain," replied Doctor Richardson, who 
 enjoyed Noggins immensely. 
 
 "Don't he ever blow a gale and pipe squally at 'em?" 
 
 "Not during office hours when the statesmen are calling; but 
 he is less considerate of them in his messages to Congress, 
 where they are afraid to talk back at him, for that would 
 jeopardize their hold upon the patronage. Besides, the senator 
 or member that is not in executive favor in Washington, is 
 usually out of favor with his constituents at home." 
 
 All this was Greek to Noggins ; still, he replied : "Well, his
 
 206 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 honor couldn't navigate the 'Myranda' that way; he'd bust his 
 bilers afore he got out o' port. Must have a patent steam 
 chest and his guvners tied down."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY " 
 
 The time is not yet come for us to further examine the secre- 
 tive mind of Andy Akers, nor at this point to devote additional 
 space to exploiting the ruminations of Sam Ives and Ep'h Fox. 
 Suffice it to say, then, that, although Dick Bostwick was assidu- 
 ously watching the movements of Mr. Akers, which Andy well 
 knew, it is most likely he was in a condition of greater serenity 
 than were the two gentlemen aforesaid, to wit: Ives and Fox; 
 for, be it said again, their apprehensions of disagreeable dis- 
 closures closely concerning themselves continued to multiply 
 so much so, indeed, they deemed it necessary to dispatch one of 
 the Guild to spy upon Bolston's movements. -If Akers had 
 really planned to prevent the return of Twain, and the search- 
 ing party should find him and discover the plot, the most serious 
 complications might ensue ; the first offense could easily be over- 
 shadowed by the last one. 
 
 So that when the searching party were leaving Galveston, 
 being on board the cruiser, an old pleasure yacht attracted 
 Noggins' attention. It was steaming slowly outward. He 
 knew the vessel as one that had been in disuse for many months 
 not that it was unseaworthy; it had been out of commission 
 on account of the death of its former owner. It was now the 
 property of Sam Oakley, the former owner's son and heir. 
 Noggins recognized young Oakley, who, with glass in hand, was
 
 208 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 standing on the deck closely inspecting the government vessel, 
 or those abroad of her. He showed unusual interest. 
 
 The next morning, after a night's sail from Galveston, Oak- 
 ley's craft was again in sight. This fact disturbed Noggins, 
 and when at the end of the day the yacht was still hovering 
 near, he spoke to Bolston about it. 
 
 "The young feller's in bad as to morals," he said. "Would 
 like to be a sort of Captain Kidd, or something stagey. He's 
 short o' brains, but devilish." 
 
 So it was arranged that Noggins should remain on board the 
 cruiser to keep an eye on Oakley, while Bolston, Sproat and 
 the Doctor went ashore at Chorreras. 
 
 Here was a quaint town, if so much it could be called not 
 to exceed twenty adobe houses, mere huts. There was also a 
 church of the same material, a small structure with a very large 
 bell, whose tones must have been greatly restrained, for it was 
 almost buried in a deep alcove in the facade above the door. 
 
 Bolston always considered it a piece of good fortune that the 
 pleasant-faced old padre whom Giorgione and Titian would 
 have been delighted to paint came out of the church as he, the 
 Doctor and Sproat were passing by. He knew the French al- 
 most as well as the Spanish language, the padre did. Thus the 
 Englishman was enabled to learn that, although it was several 
 months back, a strange man, after remaining a week in Chor- 
 reras, had gone away; that he was accompanied by Pierre San- 
 chez, as interpreter and guide; that the strange man, whose 
 description answered quite accurately, as given by the padre, to 
 that of Senator Twain, had taken a westerly course toward the 
 San Madre mountains. 
 
 "It was an unusual way he came to get to the Capital," sug- 
 gested the padre. 
 
 "And he gave me this," interrupted a bright-faced blue-eyed 
 girl of nine years, perhaps so white and fair as to be in
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 209 
 
 marked contrast with the curious natives now gathering about 
 the group. She was with the padre, standing in the church 
 doorway. "I hope he did not take it wrongfully from the bank," 
 she added sorrowfully. 
 
 "No, he did not," said the Doctor, examining the souvenir. 
 "It is an American piece, five dollars, gold." 
 
 "Oh, I am so glad !" she exclaimed. She talked English al- 
 most perfectly. Her mother had been a teacher in a Louisiana 
 parish school, before her marriage, so Noggins afterward told 
 the Doctor. 
 
 "What is your name?" inquired Bolston. 
 
 "Susie." 
 
 "Sanchez' girl," remarked the padre. "She is with me until 
 her father returns." 
 
 "Have you no mother?" asked Bolston. 
 
 "She is dead," replied the child, crossing herself and genu- 
 flecting. 
 
 Returning to the launch, after some inquiries about the roads 
 leading west, they descried the Oakley yacht approaching the 
 cruiser. When they boarded the war vessel the pleasure craft 
 was moored alongside. Oakley was talking with Noggins over 
 the taffrail. Bolston heard Oakley say : 
 
 "Looking for that stray senator?" he asked. "Well, you'll 
 never find him here. Don't waste your time in these parts. 
 He's on the other side of the globe before now." 
 
 Oakley assumed to know what the cruiser's mission was, and 
 approached the subject directly and in a confident tone, so that 
 Noggins could not evade, if he would. 
 
 "And why be you in these bilge waters?" inquired Noggins. 
 
 "Fishing," answered Oakley. 
 
 "It is better far north this season of the year, up where Cook 
 and Peary said they went," was the Captain's reply. 
 
 Oakley did not respond to Noggins' suggestion, but suddenly
 
 210 > THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 changed the subject back to the quest of Twain. Yes, Nog- 
 gins was right; Oakley was a weakling, "short o' brains." He 
 could not help showing that he was no match for stronger 
 minds. His anxiety to discuss the abduction betrayed his pur- 
 pose in following the cruiser. 
 
 There was now no doubt that he belonged to the Consoli- 
 dators' Guild. His father before him had been a leading mem- 
 ber of it the dominant force, in fact, in a corporation that 
 controlled a vast chain of railroads in the south, several chains, 
 indeed, with a perfect network of branch lines. The consoli- 
 dation of all the lines had taken place in defiance of law, and, 
 although the courts had decided against the merger, the elder 
 Oakley, through a great financial concern in New York, had 
 managed to get possession of a majority of the stock of the 
 competing lines, thus overcoming the effect of the supreme 
 court's decision. 
 
 Young Oakley had been reared in the belief that it was the 
 legitimate part of railway managers and promoters of consoli- 
 dation to evade and disobey the statutes of their country. His 
 regard for the processes of judicial tribunals extended no fur- 
 ther than his ability to evade them. In his estimation, a judge 
 who insisted upon following the letter and spirit of the law was 
 unfit for the bench. Like most of his kind, he was bigoted, 
 intolerant and tyrannical. If the Guild had deemed it neces- 
 sary to corrupt the ballot, suborn witnesses, buy juries or abduct 
 a senator, it had his approval of the offense and could depend 
 upon his cooperation. Still, in his new capacity as the succes- 
 sor of his father, he would be short lived in the railroad world ; 
 for already the wolves of Wall Street had marked him as their 
 prey, and were now about ready to sit down to the feast. 
 
 Whoever engaged him to. shadow the searchers must have 
 been aware beforehand that the cruiser had been ordered to pick 
 them up at Galveston. In choosing Oakley to represent them
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 211 
 
 they were even less discreet than when they conceived the great- 
 er outrage, as we shall presently see. 
 
 Oakley's yacht was now steaming leisurely to the south. 
 Bolston had come up from below, and he and Noggins were 
 watching the disappearing craft. 
 
 "Fishin' in these waters now!" exclaimed the Captain, con- 
 temptuously. "More like he's anglin' for somethin' that ain't 
 got scales on." 
 
 "What, for instance?" asked Bolston. 
 
 "Somethin' to tattle." 
 
 "To whom?" 
 
 "Them as sent him I don't know. We'll get it afore he's 
 gone. He'll cruise 'round hereabouts, if we don't stop him." 
 
 Bolston was of a like conviction. Then he changed the sub- 
 ject by asking : 
 
 "Had you known that the 'Myranda' was carrying a man put 
 on your vessel surreptitiously, what would you have done?" 
 
 "Carried him back to his friends," was the prompt reply. 
 
 "After taking his money?" 
 
 "Money's nuthin' to me, not that kind, and I don't like 
 stealin' people. That's how mine went. I know the feelin'." 
 
 "Your wife?" inquired Bolston. 
 
 "And Susie," added Noggins, sadly. 
 
 Bolston, Noggins, the Doctor and Sproat, then going ashore, 
 were making the launch fast to a dilapidated pier, when the old 
 padre came along. Pierre Sanchez' girl was with him. The 
 Englishman was watching the Captain, who was in the boat 
 puttering at the propeller, which was fouled with seaweed. 
 When Noggins looked up and saw the padre and his com- 
 panion, he gasped an exclamation of astonishment, dropping 
 limply into the bottom of the launch. 
 
 "The poor man is sick !" said the girl in a voice full of sym- 
 pathy.
 
 212 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "No, my my little girl ! Not sick ! Not sick," he muttered, 
 staring at her in dazed fashion. "I I only hurt my hand on 
 the wheel." 
 
 "Oh, let me see !" 
 
 She got into the launch, made her way to the seat near him 
 and sat down. Bolston engaged the padre in conversation as 
 he and the priest followed Sproat and the Doctor up the sandy 
 incline toward the village. 
 
 "It is not bad hurt; it does not bleed," said the girl, gently 
 laying her hand on his. 
 
 "No, no, my child! It is well now. You have made it 
 well." 
 
 "But I've done nothing." 
 
 "Yes, everything, but you don't know." 
 
 "Of course ; I don't know your name." 
 
 "No yes ! You was young then." 
 
 "I'm eight, soon to be nine." 
 
 "I knowed it! I knowed it! And your mother?" 
 
 "Poor mama is dead two years now. Papa is away." 
 
 Noggins closed his eyes as if to dispel a painful picture or 
 shut out a wicked thought. 
 
 "And you?" he inquired, after a pause. 
 
 "Oh, I live with the good padre." 
 
 "He is kind to you?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, very kind." 
 
 "Bless him ! Bless him ! Come," said he, "we will go to the 
 village. They're waitin'." 
 
 John Noggins' sagacity prompted him not to further disclose 
 the feelings which were now struggling for complete expression. 
 To give them vent might balk the only purpose of his life. 
 
 They strolled through the village, she and Noggins and the 
 rest, for some time, making numerous inquiries of the padre. 
 Arriving at the little church, Noggins motioned the English-
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 213 
 
 man aside. When they were behind the adobe structure he 
 clutched his arm with his powerful hand and was about to 
 speak. 
 
 "It is Susie, your daughter," interruped the Englishman. "I 
 knew it this morning, and brought you here so that you might 
 see for yourself." 
 
 "You don't know what you have done for me, Mr. Bossun," 
 exclaimed the Captain. "My life is yours, and the old tub, too, 
 if you want 'er." 
 
 "I congratulate you on your good fortune," replied Bolston. 
 "Now, the cruiser will go south at once. You will stay here 
 with her and keep watch." Then Bolston, the Doctor and 
 Sproat went abroad, leaving Noggins with Susie. After all, 
 there is an occasional ray of light even in the darkest night of 
 sorrow. 
 
 Early the next morning the cruiser anchored off San En- 
 rique, forty leagues to the south. Here, too, when daybreak 
 came, was the yacht. Oakley was still angling for fish with- 
 out scales. 
 
 During the next ten days the searchers covered the uninvit- 
 ing country far into the foothills and valleys, wherever horses 
 could go. Sproat could speak the native tongue; yet those of 
 whom inquiry was made evinced such reserve or was it wari- 
 ness? that his efforts were unsatisfying. The persistent Eng- 
 lishman felt certain that the quarry was near, or had been 
 near, and that certain wise natives were misleading him. At 
 the end of a week's search Bolston fell ill. Then they returned 
 to San Enrique. He was suffering from climatic fever. 
 
 He had left instructions for the cruiser to go back to Chor- 
 reras from time to time for news from Noggins. On its second 
 trip it brought the Captain and Susie. 
 
 "It's all regular, Mr. Bossun," exclaimed Noggins. "She's
 
 214 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 mine ! Our principal business now is to find the senator. I'll 
 tell you later how it happened." 
 
 Noggins had been ashore at San Enrique while waiting for 
 the searching party, and had met an old Spanish sailor who 
 talked a little English. From him he obtained a clew. An 
 Americano had come into the town early in the fall and sailed 
 for the south. So, by sunrise the next morning the cruiser 
 was in the harbor of Tampico. 
 
 Bolston's condition made it necessary for him to remain on 
 board and the Doctor, too. By nightfall Noggins and Sproat 
 were convinced that the man had sailed again on the coastwise 
 vessel that runs to Chorreras. No great number of people go to 
 Chorreras, only a few traders, now and then a govenment of- 
 ficial or two. The principal passenger traffic is no further 
 north than San Enrique, and this is so limited the steamship 
 agent remembers, everyone that applies for transportation. The 
 man in question attracted his particular attention. Besides, the 
 stranger had American money. The bills were quite new, just 
 like some that Noggins had left on the President's big desk at 
 the White House. 
 
 "Now, I'll tell you about Susie," said Noggins, as he sat by 
 Bolston's bunk in the cramped cabin of the cruiser. "It's a 
 short story. I bought her from the padre I mean I made a 
 contribution to the church! When I said that I was John 
 Noggins she remembered that her mother, just before she died, 
 told her about me. The padre was there and heard it. After 
 that it was easy." 
 
 The cruiser was now well out in the Caribbean, steaming aim- 
 lessly nor'nor'east. She was no longer shadowed by Oakley, 
 for one morning between San Enrique and Chorreras, when 
 Susie was with Noggins, a shrieking projectile across the yacht's 
 bow had served as a notice to the rich man's heir that the fish- 
 ing season was closed. It might have been an accidental shot ;
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 215 
 
 yet it was a suggestive warning to Oakley that his purpose was 
 understood, and Noggins made it plainer a few minutes later. 
 
 Oakley was duly indignant. How dare anyone insu.lt the son 
 and heir of a dead railroad magnate who had had the brain 
 power to consolidate many thousand miles of line and put a car- 
 load of common stock to par on the Exchange? How dare 
 anyone send a shell booming so near his pleasure yacht ? So, as 
 Noggins went on to tell the story, the craft was headed for the 
 cruiser, which slowed down that Oakley might come up. 
 
 "What do you mean?" he shouted at the officer on the 
 cruiser's bridge. The officer did not answer. 
 
 "What do you mean hangin' 'round all the time?" demanded 
 N oggins. 
 
 "None of your damnation business." 
 
 "The same to you," replied Noggins, "and many of 'em." 
 
 "I'll fix you for this, you old pirate!" 
 
 "Like you fixed that poor gal what you got tired of and they 
 couldn't find in Galveston harbor? Maybe the 'old pirate' 
 hain't testified in court yet, but maybe 'tain't too late. Go 
 home, boy, and larn to be good." 
 
 Oakley paled, even through his sea-bronzed complexion. 
 Then the yacht dropped away and was soon out of sight. It 
 never came back. 
 
 "I don't know nuthin' 'bout the gal," said Noggins to the 
 officer, "but I know that scamp Oakley. They never found the 
 body. But you'll not see him 'round here any more." 
 
 Bolston's health improved, but his mind was troubled. Thus 
 far the expedition had been a failure, in so far as any recent 
 trace of Twain was concerned. True, Susie had been restored 
 to her real father, and that was no small compensation. So, 
 after a consultation, it was decided to return to San Enrique 
 again, and the cruiser's course was now laid in that direction. 
 
 How comforting, especially to John Noggins, to have Susie
 
 216 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 on board. And how she made inquiries concerning the big 
 world that she had never seen. Her interest in the little war 
 vessel and its well-drilled and white-appareled officers and crew 
 absorbed her completely. She soon knew all about the turrets, 
 the funnels, the tubes and the torpedoes. 
 
 "I like this boat," she exclaimed, "but I don't like its killing 
 people. That's very cruel. People are made to be alive and 
 be good. You won't hurt Papa Sanchez, will you? He 
 wouldn't hurt you, Papa Noggins." 
 
 The old sailor had his doubts. He also had a heart, and 
 promised Susie that Sanchez should not be injured. 
 
 At San Enrique Susie was placed temporarily with Senora 
 Guerrero, wife of Don Jose Guerrero, Alcalde of the village. 
 They lived in a large, quaint stone house surrounded by great 
 palms and other tropical growths. It was on a hill back of 
 the village, and Noggins said, after leaving Susie there, that 
 the prettiest woman he ever saw lived in it. Yet those in quest 
 of Senator Twain were not searching for women. 
 
 By this time the "Penelope," now in wireless touch with the 
 cruiser, was sailing toward San Enrique with its interesting 
 invalid and the rest; the millionaire's yacht would be there at 
 the end of another two days. But before that time the cruiser's 
 crew made the somewhat startling discovery that Pierre Sanchez 
 was in town. This information was vouchsafed later to el 
 hombre principal by the Honorable Alcalde, who showed the 
 visitors much attention, making an official call upon them at the 
 village clerk's office, where most strangers repaired to rest them- 
 selves, there being no hotel, or other public place where this 
 might be done, unless it be the plaza, where there were no 
 seats on which to lounge, as in like resorts in the States. Be- 
 sides, on this particular morning, the air was damp and chill. 
 
 "Don't let me see that breed, Mr. Bossun," said Nog-
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 217 
 
 gins after learning that Sanchez was in town. "If you do I'll 
 have to kill him, maybe." 
 
 "And if I did, he would fall dead with fright, probably," 
 laughed the Englishman. 
 
 Here, then, were the two husbands of Betsy Blake, now eter- 
 nally asleep behind the adobe church at Chorreras the two 
 fathers of little Susie Noggins. Pierre had been a handsome 
 fellow. He was big and strong and had piercing black eyes. 
 Perhaps the comely Betsy was partly to blame, with her 
 Heaven-blue orbs. 
 
 "Just like .her mother's," the Captain replied, at Chorreras, 
 when Bolston spoke of Susie's pretty eyes. "And the white 
 skin too. Her mouth and nose? they are mine, thank the 
 Lord for that much !" 
 
 Two husbands did we say? It was even so; the padre had 
 insisted upon her marriage to Sanchez four years ago, for Susie 
 would soon grow up and come to know the painful circum- 
 stances that so closely concerned her innocent life. Of course 
 the marriage wasn't lawful ; yet the padre didn't know not 
 until just before she died, when she confessed to him and told 
 Susie who her real father was. 
 
 "Just like her," sighed Noggins. "I forgive her everything 
 after that, and now that Susie is mine again." 
 
 Although it adds to my already long list of characters, Susie 
 does not deserve to be omitted. And, now that she must ap- 
 pear, why not at Chorreras as well as at any other place? Be- 
 sides, isn't it good to have breathed life into such an one and 
 to make her heart glad with meeting her real father? The 
 Senora, too there are many like her. Strangely enough, they 
 always prefer to remain in seclusion. But you will know her 
 quite well henceforward, and her charming daughter, also, 
 whose name is Juanita. These new faces persist in revealing 
 themselves to my susceptible imagination like ghosts coming
 
 218 _ THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 to remind me that this is an oft-told tale. Still, we may forgive 
 them for crowding themselves in upon us, as they are very 
 estimable persons. I do not object, do you? And as for this 
 being an oft-told tale, what novelist ever undertook to prescribe 
 for the heartaches of men and women and succeeded in telling 
 an entirely new story? 
 
 Well, the good "Penelope" came in due time, after Pierre 
 Sanchez had related his peculiar experiences as the guide of. 
 poor Twain, who, traveling for days through the cactus-veiled 
 hills, fording or swimming swollen aroyos and sleeping fitfully 
 at night on sand dunes or in swamps, arrived, finally, at San 
 Enrique. Here he dismissed his guide, and, vouchsafing no 
 purpose in doing so, sailed on a vagrant sloop bound for no- 
 where. This happened in September, about the time that 
 Sloane was chosen at the primary election to succeed Twain in 
 the Senate. To follow him further would be fruitless, in the 
 opinion of Bolston, who also opined that, in view of the missing 
 icnator's erratic peregrinations during the past summer, as likely 
 as not he might turn up again at San Enrique, even in Decem- 
 ber or January, for the Christmas holidays were now at hand; 
 for which the sparse population of San Enrique were thankful. 
 Never before had they received so many or such rare presents 
 as came now, and liberally, too, from the "Penelope's" hold, by 
 direction of her generous commodore, Mrs. Holt. 
 
 And whether the nimbus of fame is to envelop the receding 
 brow of Samuel Sloane after he takes his seat in the Senate ; 
 whether the multitude is forever to abide pernicious slander, 
 accepting as gospel truth all that it reads in the scarlet press, 
 be it ever so plausible for the greater the plausibility in such 
 cases the more yellow untruth becomes ; whether Mrs. Farnum's 
 question, when she sat with one pink foot curled up under her 
 and asked Andy Akers, who was sipping stale beer and lunching 
 on midnight lobster, if he had done the deed, and he replied
 
 "A PLAY WITHIN A PLAY" 219 
 
 saying he was sleepy, is ever to be answered at all whether, I 
 repeat, any of these is to happen, even so, the altruistic and 
 patriotic Americanos now at San Enrique will pursue their 
 bent, laughing, sighing, weeping, to the end, relying for guid- 
 ance and good fortune upon the Immutable.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 
 
 It would be taxing the credulity of my readers altogether too 
 far if I chose to tell them that even after Captain Noggins left 
 Washington, having relieved himself from all taint of suspicion 
 in the matter ; after his visit to the White House, and after the 
 departure of the searchers for Mexico all the world knowing 
 these facts and believing, too, that Senator Twain had been 
 forcibly compelled to go upon the "Myranda," which then pro- 
 ceeded to carry him away it would be as if there were no ques- 
 tion whatsoever about your gullibility, dear reader, to say noth- 
 ing of my audacious boldness, should I ask your acceptance of 
 the unreasonable theory that, with all these things happening, 
 and Andy Akers' admission to Bolston that he himself was the 
 abductor, yet, nevertheless, the said Akers, whose regular habits 
 have heretofore been adverted to, had not as yet been taken into 
 custody. It would also be a reflection upon the vigilance, if 
 not the probity, of Dick Bostwick. 
 
 Hence, without further delay, the fact might as well be told 
 that on the same day the graceful "Penelope" dropped anchor 
 in the offing below San Enrique, Mr. Akers was put in jail in 
 Washington. 
 
 The surprising part of it was that he laughed so heartily over 
 the matter Chief Bostwick felt as if, after all, he had made a 
 mistake, a most ludicrous mistake at that ; for, in truth, while
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 221 
 
 the process was not unlike others upon which better men even 
 than Andy Akers had been locked up a mere "information and 
 belief" yet Dick Bostwick had never felt quite as cheaply on 
 like occasions as he did on this one, wholly on account of 
 Andy's convulsive merriment. 
 
 Nor did this cease when Eva came in great trepidation . to 
 console her husband, until, finally, she, too, broke into audible 
 smile; declaring upon her honor that, but for her positive 
 knowledge of Andy's absolute sanity, she would now know him 
 to be altogether and hopelessly crazy. 
 
 "Crazy !" exclaimed Andy, slapping his knees with his stubby 
 hands and rocking to and fro on the edge of the narrow iron 
 bedstead in his cell, continuing to indulge in excessive mirth- 
 fulness. Crazy!" he shouted again. "Well, Eva, my own 
 honey bunch, if your Andy is crazy, what's the matter with Sam 
 Ives? Ha ! ha ! ha ! In the classical phrase of a Maine dele- 
 gate, answering an inquiry from an Ohio delegate out in St. 
 Louis in 1896, 'everything's the matter with him!' Poor old 
 Mark ! I wish he were here now to laugh with me. How he 
 would enjoy it." Then, his face taking on a serious expres- 
 sion : "Quite a while ago, Eva, you asked me if I did it, and 
 I was too sleepy to answer. I'm wide awake now, as you see. 
 Yes, Eva, I did it, and they don't dare bring me to court. You 
 
 tell 'em so, Eva ; defy them, 'em. Your Andy's no coward, 
 
 but I know some who are, Eva, and they ain't yet locked up." 
 
 It was true, as opined by Akers, that there were those not 
 under lock and key at that moment who were much more un- 
 happy than he. For the present it will be necessary to deal 
 somewhat with one of these the Honorable William Giddings, 
 whose name, be it remembered, has not been mentioned by 
 Akers for a long time, not since he referred to the former legis- 
 lator and present associate of Sam Ives as "a fool, and a cheap 
 one at that."
 
 222 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Now, when Chief Bostwick arrived at B , far out in the 
 
 middle west, even beyond St. Louis, where the Farnum had 
 sipped special vintage with Fox, Bill Giddings was at home. 
 He had been there only a few hours, coming directly from the 
 great metropolis, the center of financial power and incorporated 
 wisdom. The business that had taken Giddings to see Sam 
 Ives in New York pertained to the last conference he had had 
 with Andy Akers in Washington, when Akers made the some- 
 what startling announcement that Twain would not come back, 
 and even Giddings had been shocked by the suggestion. 
 
 This anouncement had been conveyed by Giddings to Ives, by 
 Ives to Fox, and by Fox to Roberts, the legal adviser of 
 troubled consolidators. After this, Giddings started home. On 
 the way he read of the arrest of Andy Akers, and before he had 
 quite recovered from the shock this piece of news occasioned, he 
 received a dispatch directing him to return at once to New 
 York. It was from Ives. 
 
 If the author of the message had misgivings in regard to 
 Giddings' nerve and his fund of fortitude under trying circum- 
 stances he didn't betray them when Giddings and he were in his 
 room at the hotel. Quite to the contrary. 
 
 Still, it was good to see Giddings again, he declared, and to 
 look him in the eye. Until now Ives had not thought to tell 
 Giddings of the great compliment he had paid him when he 
 told Fox some weeks back that he (Giddings) was the truest 
 and most steadfast friend he had ever known. Giddings 
 thanked him for this expression of confidence. 
 
 "But who is Fox?" he queried. 
 
 "Fox?" exclaimed Ives. "Why, you know Fox." 
 
 "Never saw him in my life." And this was strictly within 
 the bounds of truth. 
 
 "You know of him, of course." 
 
 "Never heard of him."
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 223 
 
 This was not the truth. It was so far from it that Ives had 
 no difficulty whatever in seeing the point. After a short silence 
 he walked over to where Giddings sat and patted him affection- 
 ately on the back. 
 
 "Of course you never did, old man! What am I talking 
 about, anyway? I have so many things on my mind I get them 
 all mixed up sometimes." 
 
 "As I said to a certain party in Washington recently," re- 
 marked Giddings, nonchalantly, "when he asked me if I knew 
 Sam Ives, 'Never heard of the man,' I said. 'Who is he?' 
 And the other man said, 'I don't know.' " 
 
 In the art of improvisation the honors were now about equal, 
 and Ives breathed much more easily; Giddings' fable pleased 
 him. Confidence being thus restored, he and Giddings talked 
 further concerning matters and men they both knew about. 
 To be more exact, they talked freely of Akers' arrest and then 
 spoke of the consolidators' lawyer and his strange, persistent 
 reference to the important part that Martha Giddings might 
 be called upon to play in the "tragedy." 
 
 "Did he refer to it as a tragedy?" asked Giddings. 
 
 Ives nodded his head affirmatively. 
 
 "Well, it won't be a tragedy if Twain comes back, now that 
 he is in a fair way of being found," replied Giddings. 
 
 "And now that the man who said he wouldn't come back 
 has been locked up," added Ives. 
 
 Giddings was startled by the remark. Locked up ! In his 
 apprehensive ears he seemed to hear the prison door as it turned 
 gratingly on its rusty hinges. Neither of them spoke for sev- 
 eral minutes. Every minute seemed like an hour to both of 
 them. Perhaps Ives had heard the same noise that startled 
 Giddings. 
 
 When the latter boarded the train for the west that night 
 he had received fresh instructions from Ives ; but at no time in
 
 224 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 his precarious, erring career had he ever cared so little about 
 
 arriving at B ; nor had his purpose ever before been quite 
 
 as indefinite, uncertain, as now. 
 
 So, as has been said, when Bostwick arrived Giddings was 
 at home. 
 
 Now, the Chief of the Capital's detective service had never 
 
 before been as far west as B ; he was a stranger in a 
 
 strange place. Yet, the streets were named and numbered and 
 the town supported a city directory. Giddings' name, the name 
 of the street and the number of his house were all in the direc- 
 tory. During the afternoon the Chief walked leisurely through 
 the town. He saw many fine homes. Western folk are given 
 to these luxuries. 
 
 One of these homes belonged to Bill Giddings, so the direc- 
 tory indicated. On the broad front porch, in the cool shade of 
 a blue-striped awning, sat a young woman, who had just turned 
 her twentieth year. She was pretty; one might say she was 
 almost beautiful. I will leave it with you, dear reader : 
 Blond hair, fair skin, very fair, violet-blue eyes, statuesque 
 figure, vivacious; marvelous freshness of cheek and ripe red- 
 ness of lip. Isn't it the picture of a beautiful woman? Is it 
 any wonder that it should have commanded the admiration of 
 Ephraim Fox, even though he was more than twice as old as 
 she ? And yet, disparity in years, as in this case, is said to add 
 to some men's susceptibilities; therefore, it were the part of 
 charity not to judge Fox too harshly. 
 
 In a rocker near by, smiling, swinging to the rhythm of a 
 topical song the two were singing, sat a gentleman of thirty 
 summers, perhaps, one much nearer her own age, it will be 
 observed. He, too, was prepossessing; he was handsome. 
 When the song ended the gentleman leaned forward, his face 
 close to hers. He was now talking earnestly to her. Bost- 
 wick did not hear what he said, nor her whispered answers, for
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 225 
 
 both voices, only a moment ago quite audible, were now sub- 
 dued, low-toned, and the loving words were not for ears 
 other than their own. It is the old, old story, mused the Chief, 
 
 who was now sorry that he had come to B ; for here was a 
 
 "young dream" that was destined to have an early awakening. 
 
 A little later, while Bostwick was fanning himself with his 
 straw hat and standing in the shade of a wide-branched and 
 broad-leafed tree at the corner of the square on which the 
 house stood, the handsome young man rose from the rocker, 
 took the girl's small white hands in his, looked affectionately 
 into her eyes for quite awhile, and then came away. 
 
 "Be ready on time, Martha ; the curtain goes up promptly at 
 eight." This was said in a tone that Bostwick could easily 
 hear. 
 
 The young man, then taking his leave, walked rapidly 
 toward the business center of the town, and soon entered a four- 
 story office building. He unlocked a heavy oaken door. On 
 the glass pane in the door, after the young man had closed it 
 behind him, Bostwick read these words in gold-gilt letters : 
 "Asher Wells, Lawyer." After this the Chief went leisurely 
 to his hotel, for there was no hurry ; besides, he needed time in 
 which to think out what next it were best for him to do. 
 
 It was a few minutes before eight o'clock, soon after a car- 
 riage with two happy, hopeful persons in it had wheeled away 
 from the Giddings home, that Bostwick rang the bell. Bill 
 Giddings himself opened the door. Even the servants had 
 
 gone to the theatre, for good actors came not often to B , 
 
 and the play was one that had had a whole year's run in 
 Broadway. This fact overshadowed all that Walter Somers 
 had said about it, and Somers was a famous critic; he never 
 permitted the exigencies of the counting room to influence his 
 judgment of a play, or the fact that it was a Broadway favorite 
 to sway him in his criticisms.
 
 226 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 So, Giddings was the only one in the house when Bostwick 
 rang the bell. After as little ceremony as need be, the Chief 
 found himself in a bountifully-furnished sitting room, pleas- 
 antly engaged in conversation with the confidential friend of 
 Sam Ives. 
 
 Bostwick noticed that Giddings was somewhat ill at ease ; 
 yet he was polite and agreeable, and the Chief could see that 
 his was a confiding nature. He liked this manner of tempera- 
 ment much better than that of some other men he had met 
 under delicate circumstances of those, for instance, who, having 
 cause to be ill at ease, are defiant, blustering, pompous. So he 
 knew that Giddings would be reasonable about it, and it would 
 not be necessary to resort to unpleasant measures. It is more 
 than likely that Giddings even knew who Bostwick was, for 
 the Chief, as has been said, was famous in the east, especially 
 in Washington, and Giddings had spent several anxious days 
 in that city very recently. Surely, Akers was not unaware of 
 Bostwick's existence, nor of the business he was engaged in. 
 But, of course, Akers was not just then in a position to know 
 that Bostwick was now in B . 
 
 If it was true that Giddings knew who Bostwick was, then 
 he must have known what his mission was. All the more reason 
 therefore did Bostwick have for admiring him for his polite- 
 ness, his agreeableness and his confiding nature. And he pitied 
 him on account of the plight he was in ; for Bostwick, too, was 
 the proud and devoted father of a lovely daughter. She was 
 the idol of his heart, the solace of his declining years. 
 
 Therefore it was that he approached the subject gently, com- 
 passionately, and with a feeling that duty sometimes compels 
 disagreeable announcements. 
 
 "You have a daughter, Mr. Giddings?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "She is a beautiful girl ; I have seen her."
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 227 
 
 "And very dear to me," added Giddings. 
 "She is engaged to be married," continued Bostwick. 
 "That is," replied Giddings, hesitatingly, "yes; yet only 
 since yesterday. I cannot imagine how it could so soon be 
 known outside the family." 
 
 Among those that knew him Bostwick had a great record as 
 a guesser of riddles, and after he had seen a hopeful young 
 couple on the Giddings porch that very afternoon, the riddle 
 was not difficult of solution. Then Bostwick added this to his 
 last statement : 
 
 "To Mr. Asher Wells." 
 
 "Yes ; that is correct." 
 
 "He is the local attorney for the C. Q. D. railway," con- 
 tinued Bostwick. This fact Bostwick could know without 
 guessing it. 
 
 "A very fine man, Mr. Bostwick." 
 
 "Undoubtedly. You also maintain certain relations with 
 the company." 
 
 "I have looked after its local affairs to some extent, securing 
 right-of-way for it, and so forth." 
 
 "And legislation, under direction of Mr. Ives," suggested 
 the Chief. 
 
 Giddings did not reply. By this time he must have conclud- 
 ed that he was in the presence of an expert mind reader, one 
 with the "Scotch second sight." 
 
 "You are also acquainted with Andy Akers, of Washington," 
 said Bostwick, after giving Giddings plenty of time in which 
 to have replied to his previous remark. 
 
 "I have met him," replied Giddings. 
 
 "Of course you are aware of the trouble he is in?" 
 
 "I read of it in the newspapers." 
 
 "A friend of his mentioned your name to me just before I 
 came away, Mr. Giddings." This was somewhat indefinite;
 
 228 ;- THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 yet it proved effective. Who the friend was mattered little, 
 even though it was Eva Farnum, who had no great admiration 
 for Giddings to begin with. 
 
 "There are those who are not always accurate in their state- 
 ments, Mr. Bostwick." 
 
 After a long pause Bostwick continued : 
 
 "Perhaps it might be well if you would accompany me to 
 Washington. Akers is in deep distress; you should be near 
 him. You may need to consult with each other. I leave on the 
 midnight train." 
 
 "And Martha!" exclaimed Giddings. "She may not return 
 from the theatre before then." 
 
 "Your daughter will be here shortly," replied Bostwick in 
 kindly tone. "I have arranged for that with Mr. Wells, 
 through a third person. They will leave the theatre at the 
 end of the second act. 
 
 "Merciful heavens !" exclaimed Giddings, now on his feet, 
 standing near Bostwick. "She knows nothing about it." 
 
 "You will have time to explain matters when she comes. 
 I'm sorry, Mr. Giddings, yet it is unavoidable." 
 
 There could now be no question in Giddings' mind that his 
 connection with the supposed abduction was fully known to 
 those who had the lawful right to deal with such things, and 
 it required only a moment or two for him to realize the situa- 
 tion he was in and to determine upon a plan of action. It is 
 more than likely that, since leaving Ives in New York, he had 
 outlined a course to pursue, if it came to this. 
 
 Even while he was turning the problem in his mind, and 
 Bostwick was turning the pages of a magazine, waiting for 
 Giddings to reply, if he chose to do so, the rumble of carriage 
 wheels was heard through the open door. In another moment 
 Martha Giddings, bounding into the room, a scared expression 
 on her face, was at her father's side. She was about to speak,
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 229 
 
 when she saw Bostwick. Then Giddings moved slowly toward 
 an adjoining room, motioning Martha to follow him. 
 
 "Just a moment, papa; I'll ask Asher to wait on the porch. 
 We are anxious to see the last act." 
 
 When the door of the adjoining room was closed, Giddings 
 and his daughter inside, she exclaimed: 
 
 "Papa, what does this mean? Who is the strange gentle- 
 man? Why were we sent for?" 
 
 Categorical replies to the questions of some women are 
 necessary, though it is more than likely the replies will result 
 merely in additional inquiries before one-half the first ones 
 are answered. Not so with Martha Giddings; she had a logi- 
 cal mind. 
 
 "There is some very important business to be attended to, 
 my dear child," said her father; "I must go east on No. 2. 
 You will go with me ; I shall need you. Mr. Bostwick returns 
 on the same train. I will tell you all about it tomorrow." 
 
 "I must explain to Asher. Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" 
 
 Two hours later the Citrus Limited pulled out of the station 
 
 at B . Bostwick, Giddings and Martha were in the rear 
 
 sleeper. Of course Asher Wells was greatly surprised; yet he 
 was mollified in some degree by the lingering kiss he received 
 before Martha entered the coach, and the promise that she 
 would return to him "the very minute the nasty old business is 
 disposed of. But for papa's poor health, Asher, I would not 
 leave you." 
 
 En route the next day Giddings explained to her that a good 
 for nothing scamp he happened to know had been arrested, and 
 that he had connected the Giddings name with the Twain ab- 
 duction. 
 
 "How fortunate it is, Martha," he remarked with an encour- 
 aging smile, "that my standing among men is sufficient to pre-
 
 230 . THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 elude the necessity of a court process to bring me to Washing- 
 ton." 
 
 "A court process, father!" she exclaimed. "Surely, you 
 have had nothing to do with " 
 
 "Men who are in politics, Martha, are obliged to deal with 
 all kinds of people, and sometimes one must bear the burden of 
 others' deeds, especially their evil deeds; it is so easy for such 
 men to put the blame where it does not belong." 
 
 "Of course it is all a horrible mistake, dear father," she 
 replied, an interrogative note in her words. 
 
 "Yes, my child; it is a horrible mistake. But do not allow 
 it to trouble you for a single moment." 
 
 As soon as Bostwick saw the spacious Giddings residence the 
 evening before, and had made a mental photograph of Martha 
 and Asher, he felt that the family name would be a sufficient 
 bond of indemnity, and that it would not be necessary to go 
 through the formality of an arrest. 
 
 And Asher Wells, having been assured that it was "merely 
 an unexpected business trip," and Martha being convinced that 
 her father's vindication would be only a matter of form, she 
 tried to make herself comfortable by reading the latest love 
 story, several of them, indeed, as the red-bound books were 
 dropped into the seat of her section by the newsboy. 
 
 Yet, Martha's sad eyes could not be persuaded to follow the 
 lines of the book she was trying to read. They preferred to 
 gaze dreamily out of the window, until, finally, the view seemed 
 to be obscured, as if a sheet of rain had enveloped the window 
 pane. Still, the sun was shining brightly, and there were no 
 clouds against the sky. 
 
 Then Bostwick came along. He made a pleasant remark 
 and sat down opposite her. He could plainly see that the 
 obstruction to her vision was not the fault of the window 
 pane, for it was not raining. His heart was deeply touched.
 
 LOVE'S YOUNG DREAM DISTURBED 231 
 
 After a few moments, in the most cheerful manner possible, he 
 said: 
 
 "Your father is not well, Miss Giddings." 
 
 "He has been working hard of late, and is almost a nervous 
 wreck," she replied. 
 
 "He should enter a rest cure," said the Chief. "There will 
 be no obstacle to it." 
 
 "It is very kind of you, Mr. Bostwick." 
 
 "I know of a good one. We will drive there directly on our 
 arrival. You may come to my home, which is near the rest 
 cure. I have a daughter about your age. You will be wel- 
 come." 
 
 She thanked him and gave him her hand; there was the 
 clasp of sincerity and gratitude in it. Then she looked out of 
 the window again ; it was opaque, dimmed with moisture. 
 
 The following morning plus one, when she returned from 
 the rest cure to the Bostwick home, Martha Giddings was 
 greatly perturbed. She looked older by a decade than when 
 the Chief first saw her on the porch in the shade of the blue- 
 striped awning at B . 
 
 But how could Asher Wells' anxiety be appeased? What 
 would he say what would he do if he knew? What would 
 the gossiping world say? These were the disturbing reflections 
 that were running riotously in her mind. 
 
 Surely, necessity is the mother of invention. For Martha 
 Giddings the time had suddenly come when truthful invention 
 must give way to subterfuge. Her father had told her in sub- 
 stance, as he lay upon his little narrow bed for he was now in 
 a state of prostration of the instructions he had received from 
 Ives, that Ives had received from Fox and Fox from Roberts, 
 though he mentioned no names. Martha understood intuitively, 
 and assured him that she would share his misfortunes, come 
 what might, or weal or woe. She was as brave as she was de-
 
 232 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 voted, and, as Fox told Roberts on a certain occasion, she loved 
 her father "above all other men." 
 
 She wrote a long letter to Asher, telling him of her 
 father's serious illness, and what the doctors had said must be 
 done if his life was to be saved ; indeed, it would be necessary 
 to take him to a famous resort in Mexico. She showed the 
 letter, or the salient part of it, to Chief Bostwick, and he gave 
 the subterfuge his approval. 
 
 Martha Giddings had as little doubt about Asher Wells' love 
 for her and of his constancy as she had about her father's inno- 
 cence, and of this she entertained no doubt whatever. Did 
 Asher prove worthy of such a love? We shall see.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE " 
 
 Don Jose and Senora Guerrero, as became their official and 
 social station, were among the first to board the "Penelope." 
 They came to welcome Mrs. Holt and her guests to San Enri- 
 que, for it was the first time, perhaps, that so distinguished a 
 company, sailing in the yacht of a millionaire of many multi- 
 ples, had come to these shores. This function deserves a place 
 in our story. The ceremonious call occurred after a small 
 sailboat, carrying the Alcalde, his wife the Senora, Juanita and 
 Susie, had been made fast at the "Penelope's" starboard side. 
 
 The old Don, in bespangled, tight-fitting waistcoat and gold- 
 braided trousers, very wide at the bottom, and a gorgeous 
 sombrero; the Senora in a quaint cut of silk gown suggesting 
 medieval fashion plates, and the softest red and black shawl 
 imaginable, an heirloom no doubt, gracefully draped about her 
 shoulders; the Senorita Juanita in modern garb, very up-to- 
 date, and Susie in a new pale blue frock this was the interest- 
 ing picture as they came up the polished stairway leading to the 
 upper deck of the millionaire's yacht. 
 
 The ceremony, the courtly courtesy and politeness attending 
 this memorable call of state quite captured Mrs. Holt, and it 
 certainly impressed all of the visitors. Juanita, especially, 
 showed to advantage. Her culture and beauty surprised them 
 all, for Mrs. Holt had so bewailed the benighted condition of
 
 234 _- THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the Mexicans that the other members of the party had come to 
 feel they were arrived at Nomansland. 
 
 The "tea" at the stone house on the hill that evening, behind 
 the screened porticos, was "so different," Mrs. Holt observed, 
 "from the course dinners at the Capital. These plain people," 
 she remarked to Mrs. Grey, "appear to be very happy amongst 
 their simple surroundings, no display, no ostentation." 
 
 "The quiet, simple life, my dear," replied Mrs. Grey. "It is 
 much to be preferred." 
 
 "To be sure," affirmed Mrs. Holt. "No millions to vex one, 
 nor balloons to carry one's loved ones away. No great castles 
 filled with bickering, disagreeable servants, and so many other 
 responsibilities to fasten themselves upon one's nerves. After 
 all, Mexico may be quite endurable when one becomes accus- 
 tomed to it. Yet, there is such a lack of things hereabouts !" 
 
 "Mother is a darling anyway," said Margaret to Enid. "She 
 readily adjusts herself to everything; and I am so pleased to 
 see the deep interest she takes in the Senora and her fascinating 
 daughter. Mr. Bolston seems quite captivated by the fair 
 Juanita's charms. What a remarkable man so devoted to 
 Senator Twain." 
 
 "One in ten thousand, Margery," added Enid ; "a nobleman 
 without a title." 
 
 Yet, alas! how uncertain are the plans of man. In what 
 strange directions is his course unexpectedly laid. 
 
 During the past two days the worthy young Englishman, 
 with the purpose of consuming time against the arrival of the 
 "Penelope," and in the hope that some further investigations 
 might lead to additional developments, had been riding the 
 country far into the hills among the scattered haciendas, ac- 
 companied by Pierre Sanchez, whose accounts he was as yet in 
 no haste to credit. Returning after nightfall to the village, 
 and learning of the arrival of Mrs. Holt and her guests, he
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 235 
 
 hastened to the Alcalde's home to greet them. It was his first 
 visit at the stone house on the hill. 
 
 Susie was overjoyed. She was moved to many rapturous 
 exclamations when the Englishman came upon the broad ver- 
 anda, and made an effort to put her slender arms around his 
 neck; but he was so tall and unbending her attempt to do so 
 was not a complete success. 
 
 And how very pretty Susie looked in her dainty new frock! 
 Surely, there were tender and loving hearts and hands in this 
 household. 
 
 "Oh, I am so glad you came, Mr. Bolston; they wanted to 
 see you close by. We could look at you through the glass 
 you know, that you put to your eyes and saw you before you 
 went to the mountains." 
 
 "You saw me through the telescope. Is that it?" he asked. 
 
 "Yes ! That's its name. We saw you many times that way 
 in the village." 
 
 "And who are 'we' ?" he asked. 
 
 "Why, don't you know?" exclaimed Susie, with some sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "Well, you saw me for one, you say." 
 
 "And she saw you too, more than I did Juanita did, with 
 the long glass. Oh, but she is nice, and so beautiful. Come and 
 see her, Mr. Bolston. You will just love her ! I do." 
 
 If Don Jose had not appeared at this moment to lead the 
 way to the large sitting room, where the guests were assembled, 
 Bolston would have been presented to Juanita by Susie with the 
 least amount of ceremony; for already she had him by the 
 hand, and was pulling him through the doorway. The greet- 
 ings that followed were most cordial, as was to have been ex- 
 pected. 
 
 "How brown and fine you look," exclaimed Mrs. Holt. 
 
 He was welcomed, too, by the gracious and comely wife of
 
 236 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the Alcalde a woman of refinement, and, much to his surprise, 
 as white as he. Evidently she was of the pure Castilian blood, 
 and reminded him of the fair grande dames he had seen in 
 Madrid. She could speak English sufficiently to make the ser- 
 vices of an interpreter unnecessary. 
 
 The old Don -busied himself for a time smoothing Susie's 
 pretty blond hair, while Bolston, the Senora and the new 
 arrivals were engaged in conversation. Then he went to the 
 foot of the narrow stairway and called to "Juanita," who, it 
 may be supposed, was delayed, on this particular occasion, by 
 the niceties of her toilet. 
 
 "My daughtair," explained the Senora to the Englishman, 
 with an expression of pride. "Soon she come, and speak de 
 idioma well of your country, as yourself do." 
 
 No man is so completely steeled against feminine charm as to 
 successfully resist a thrill of pardonable pleasure when he 
 comes in sudden contact with a marvelously beautiful woman. 
 In the ordinary walks of life, where men and woman meet in 
 daily social intercourse, the mind is apt to become inured to 
 passing impressions, the eye satiated with recurring attractions, 
 however remarkable they may seem to be. 
 
 Nature has its own language, and a tender, fluent speech it is, 
 that needs no interpreter; and although the human emotions 
 may be subdued indefinitely compelled to dormancy by the 
 mind there is nothing that will stir one's soul like the joyous 
 chatter of a pretty little girl. Susie's exuberant demonstra- 
 tions and the touch of her soft small hands had brought Bolston 
 back to a realization that he still belonged to civilization 
 where fair women are, and where love predominates in triumph 
 over all the elements, particularly those of the poetic kind. 
 
 He was impressed with the pleasing presence of the Alcalde's 
 wife, but was not prepared nor even constituted to disguise his 
 astonishment, to say nothing of the strange agitation of his
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 237 
 
 heart, when he beheld the fascinating and almost supernaturally 
 beautiful girl that came forward, on the arm of her tawny 
 father, to take his hand and bid him welcome. 
 
 Nor did the music of her voice nor the swish of her silken 
 skirts cease to confuse him when the proud and courtly Alcalde 
 interposed to express his great admiration for the visitor, and, 
 through Juanita, to declare that "the brave, distinguished Eng- 
 lishman, in common with the others, did them honor far be- 
 yond their deserts in coining to the Guerrero home." Praises 
 and compliments were vain soundings in his ear, with this pic- 
 ture of surpassing loveliness before his very eyes. 
 
 It must have been about this time that the observant Mar- 
 garet noted his manner toward Juanita, calling Enid's attention 
 thereto. Yet, while he struggled to compose himself, far be it 
 from such a gentleman as he to overlook his earlier friends and 
 associates, to whom he related briefly his experiences and dis- 
 coveries. But of these, of course, they could speak more at 
 length on the morrow. 
 
 Heretofore, when in the presence of an attractive woman, 
 this rare Briton had succeeded in concealing all feelings of an 
 ardent kind. It had been an easy matter for him to preserve 
 an attitude of polite unconcern, and to assume the monkish air 
 peculiar to persons endowed, as he was, with great self-control. 
 
 He had always nursed the fear that some day he might 
 betray himself to the wrong woman. But, notwithstanding 
 his habitual reserve, it must not be assumed that his was an 
 adamantine nature. It was well, he had learned, that in the 
 presence of Enid Grey, for instance, he had been able to shield 
 his latent susceptibilities, for few women were more fascinat- 
 ing than she. He had not forgotten their first meeting, when 
 she shone with a radiance and beauty that would have stirred 
 any man not trained in extreme caution against feminine 
 charm.
 
 238 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 But now, without the least forewarning, under most incon- 
 gruous circumstances, he found himself feasting his eyes upon 
 a womanly vision whose dazzling and appealing beauty made 
 his astonished senses reel. For the first time in his eventful 
 life he was intoxicated, almost drunk with admiration of one 
 of the opposite sex. The monastic mien that heretofore had 
 never deserted him was gone. All his former resolutions not 
 to betray himself "to the wrong woman" had vanished. In 
 this helpless situation his words came falteringly in broken 
 sentences. He could not avoid the feeling that his perturba- 
 tion was observed; and yet, strangely enough, he did not seem 
 to care; for by this time, notwithstanding his own confusion, 
 he could plainly see that the charming Juanita, like himself, 
 was ineffectually struggling against newly aroused emotion. 
 There was a mutuality of feeling between them that Bolston, 
 for his own part, was not disposed to suppress, and this fact 
 but added to his bewilderment. 
 
 "Ah! how very fortunate that you came to Mexico to find 
 poor Mr. Twain," she exclaimed, when they found themselves 
 seated together, undesignedly, quite apart from the rest of the 
 company, the visitors being much taken up with the Senora and 
 her quaint expressions. "How very beautiful she is" (refer- 
 ring to Enid). "You have known her long ? And her charm- 
 ing friend, Miss Holt an exquisite type of the blond, is she 
 not?" 
 
 "I believe so," he replied, rather guardedly. "I have never 
 been able to distinguish between the different types, there are 
 so many shades, and my judgment, I fear " 
 
 "Cannot be deficient in the least," she interrupted, with a 
 merry laugh. "I am sure you must have seen many beautiful 
 women." 
 
 Here he interrupted her with a confession which must have 
 been more surprising to him than it was to her.
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 239 
 
 "And if I were to tell you that not in all my travels have I 
 ever seen one that compares with the daughter of Don Jose 
 Guerrero, would you believe me?" 
 
 "How very kind you are, Mr. Bolston, and how ungracious 
 it would be in me if I did not believe you," she replied, a 
 wondrous light coming into her eyes; "but of course you do not 
 tell me so. How can I answer?" 
 
 But even the compliment he had bestowed upon her did not 
 sway Juanita from the train of her inquiries, and she reverted 
 again to the striking qualities of Enid and Margaret. Her 
 insistence puzzled him. Why should she be so very deeply 
 interested in his appraisal of woman's charms? 
 
 Could this adorable woman with the wholesome olive com- 
 plexion and raven-black hair ; with eyes, mouth and voice so 
 perfectly in accord with all his previous conceptions of en- 
 trancing beauty; this lissom enchantress with the rich, fierce 
 blood of the Aztecs and the Castillians flowing in her veins; 
 with an ancestry distinguished in the earlier government of the 
 Republic, a grandfather having fought his way to the presi- 
 dency, and, on the maternal side, coming from a race that had 
 repelled the Moorish yoke in Spain could this captivating 
 girl, who had awakened his dormant feelings, be reading his 
 thoughts? Could it be that she was the one predestined for 
 him ? And was she, even now, contending with the demon that 
 would brook no rivalry for his affections? These were the 
 reflections that were now passing hurriedly through his mind, 
 as he struggled for a reply to her pressing inquiry. 
 
 So, again he began, with some hesitation, to say that Miss 
 Grey was famous for her many accomplishments, and that she 
 was engaged to be married to Senator Twain. But Juanita 
 must have known all this before. 
 
 "I trust that my request does not embarrass you, Mr. Bol-
 
 240 .- THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 ston," said she, laughingly. "If so I release you. It was 
 only a whim of mine." 
 
 King Solomon has failed to tell us of the ways of a maid 
 with a man. Yet, the period in which he sang was considera- 
 bly in advance of this Mexican maiden's time ; else surely his 
 muse had not omitted a few melodious strains by which to 
 interpret the subtleties of Juanita Guerrero's questionings. 
 
 The following day was spent by the gentlemen of the party 
 going over the events since the "Penelope" sailed for the Carib- 
 bean sea and the searchers set out from the Capital. The ar- 
 rest of Akers and the apprehension of Giddings bore no small 
 part in the conference, for these momentous events had been 
 recounted in cipher messages from Bostwick to Bolston. So, it 
 was agreed that the "Penelope" should remain at San Enrique 
 and the Englishman should go to Washington for a short con- 
 ference with Bostwick, Arthur Grey dwelling plenteously upon 
 its importance, for he continued to maintain that there were 
 those more culpable than the two men now in custody, and he 
 still cherished a desire to "run" that peppery editorial. Next 
 morning Bolston was carried to Tampico by the "Penelope," all 
 the interesting personages mentioned in this chapter accompany- 
 ing him. 
 
 "Steamer day" was one of the uncertainties of this thriving 
 Mexican city, and when it was found that the sailing of the 
 next steamship for the northern Republic was three days off, 
 Mrs. Holt and her guests could do no better than spend the 
 time in sightseeing. From one view point this must have been 
 a vexatious disappointment to the Englishman, who was anxious 
 to be about the business for which he had set out. From an 
 entirely different point of view, he was content to wait. Be- 
 sides, he would now have an opportunity to inquire into the 
 commercial conditions of this ambitious little city of thirty 
 thousand souls, where so many British ships came to load with
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 241 
 
 cotton, asphalt, lead, ixtle fiber, bananas, citrus fruits, and 
 other products of Mexico. If only Juanita would consent to 
 assist him as interpreter. Had he any doubt she would gladly 
 do so? In any event, the three days would be turned to both 
 pleasure and profit. 
 
 Before steamer day came around the party visited all the 
 places of interest in and about Tampico, including historical 
 points on the Panuco river, a stream somewhat famous under 
 the Huaxtec Kingdom until Nuno de Guzman came to lay the 
 country waste for the glory of Spain, three centuries before 
 General Guerrero, Juanita's great ancestor, proclaimed the 
 Republic at Vera Cruz and became its President. 
 
 Juanita found much pleasure in recounting the historical 
 incidents, Bolston listening with rapt attention. Visiting the 
 great steel pier the day before he sailed for the north, they 
 became so absorbed in each other, as they sat in a secluded spot 
 looking out upon the placid water, that the others lost sight of 
 them, and, after a vain effort to discover their whereabouts, 
 amidst the confusion of merchandise piled promiscuously about 
 the pier, gave up the search and returned to the "Penelope." 
 
 "They will find themselves," said Mrs. Holt, resignedly. 
 
 It was here that Bolston confessed something more than 
 admiration for this lovely descendant of one of Mexico's 
 bravest and most distinguished rulers. In her woman's way, 
 since coming to Tampico, she had succeeded, entirely through 
 suggestion, in conveying to his mind the fact that she was of 
 gentle blood, thus supplementing the overpowering beauty and 
 grace that already had carried the wary Briton into captivity. 
 
 After ever so long a time, short enough to them, no doubt, 
 spent in "finding themselves," during which Bolston left the 
 impress of his warm lips upon her sweet hand, thoughtfully 
 and silently they walked along the pier to the noisy street, his 
 arm locked close in hers. It was so perfectly natural that
 
 242 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Bolston and Juanita, he in pursuit of commercial information 
 for his government and she as his interpreter, should have 
 wandered in a different course from the others, in the maze of 
 coffee bags and cotton bales, that the incident required but 
 slight explanation when they reached the "Penelope." 
 
 Thus it happened, when the Englishman sailed away next 
 day for the north, that the millionaire's yacht followed in the 
 wake of the big steamer until the two vessels came almost 
 opposite San Enrique; and that a Mexican maid of high 
 degree and glowing temperament, when she reached the stone 
 house among the palms and found herself within the seclusion 
 of her own dainty apartment, threw herself upon the couch 
 and wept with ecstatic joy, exclaiming, "He loves me! He 
 loves me !" 
 
 On the voyage to the north Bolston's mind found diversion 
 from the serious duties of a rescuer even from persistent 
 thoughts of how the outrage against his friend was to be 
 avenged. And, too, he had been aroused from his dream of a 
 redeemable Republic, a subject which Arthur Grey and he had 
 often discussed. He was thinking, dreaming of Juanita. 
 
 He spent the hours, many of them, looking, with something 
 like a new kind of understanding, it may be imagined, into the 
 blue waters of the sea. We need not pause to recount all the 
 strange things that he saw in their silent depths. Thus he 
 mused: Twain would eventually return to occupy his place in 
 the Senate again (consolation came easily to him now) ; an- 
 other vote on the second amendment to the Purchase bill would 
 be taken; the Vice President would announce that the amend- 
 ment had been defeated; the incentive of the Monger's Guild 
 toward universal dominion would be checked. Was not all this 
 very fine? Bolston was a hopeful person, withal. 
 
 Oh, yes ; delightful thought ! Susie had been restored to her 
 father. Had not he done his part here also? What next?
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 243 
 
 What, indeed, was in store for himself? Then, with his eyes 
 closed, mayhap he could see glimpses of Elysium, something 
 entirely new to him. Ah! He was loved! He knew it; 
 Cupid, the universal interpreter, while loitering even at San 
 Enrique, had told him so. 
 
 Perhaps it was this that accounted for his brief stay at the 
 Capital ; for something seemed continually to be whispering in 
 his ears, "Back to Mexico!" Nothing like this had ever be- 
 fallen him before. 
 
 On his return to San Enrique, having reported on the 
 cruiser and paid his respects to those of the "Penelope," he 
 visited the stone house on the hill. And so, seated on the ver- 
 anda in a wicker chair, Juanita half reclining, gracefully, in a 
 hammock ever so near but why give all the particulars ? And 
 yet, how perfectly natural it was in this cozy stage setting that 
 there should have been a convenient guitar, almost, but not 
 quite, within reaching distance of the charmer in the hammock ; 
 and that Bolston, being nearest the fatal instrument, should 
 have voluntarily handed it to her. Thus do some men assist 
 Fate in contributing to their own doom! And whoever knew 
 a Mexican doncellita, especially one of the better class, one so 
 richly endowed by nature as was Juanita Guerrero, that was 
 not familiar with the delicate art of stirring the innermost pas- 
 sions of man with her soft, humanizing song? 
 
 Did he prostrate himself before this tempting and perfect 
 picture of loveliness when she had finished her incantation and 
 give vent to the surging emotions of his soul by again declaring 
 his love for her ? He did not ; still, it would have been so very 
 easy for him to have done so, had he yielded to his riotous 
 inclinations. 
 
 Yet, while she sang, thrumming the responsive strings with 
 her soft, fair hand, marking each tender expression with a look 
 that would have compelled the surrender of a less resolute man,
 
 244 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Bolston found time to think. Somehow, his splendid self- 
 control had arrived at the point of reassertion. He began now 
 to realize his situation; at least he so persuaded himself. This 
 was but a passing incident in his career, nothing more one, 
 though, that was never to be blotted from his memory. He 
 knew himself well enough to feel, deep down in his honest 
 heart, that if he should give way to what he now tried to believe 
 was but a momentary infatuation, he must and would abide its 
 results, good or bad, throughout his life. Was it selfishness 
 that prompted him? He preferred to think, on the contrary, 
 it was the wisdom of discretion. 
 
 But what were the thoughts of Juanita Guerrero this em- 
 bodiment of all that was surpassingly sweet and beautiful? 
 Did she partake of his stoic English precaution? Could she 
 abide his deliberate conclusions? Was it in her zealous nature 
 to curb the welling emotions of her heart and try to forget? 
 to efface the memory of this tender experience from her mind? 
 Would the stalwart Englishman's impetuous speech, when he 
 told her she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, 
 when, again, he had kissed her hand at Tampico, ever cease to 
 thrill her confiding soul ? 
 
 Impossible ! It was her Latin lot to love or to hate ! 
 Something of the nature of these reflections must have chal- 
 lenged her thoughts, for at the conclusion of her voluptuous 
 song she turned her inquiring eyes full upon him and asked : 
 
 "Mr. Bolston, do you believe that we women are savages 
 barbarians, indeed, according to the edict of a Chicago pro- 
 fessor ?" 
 
 "I do not," he replied, emphatically. "What savage could 
 sing so sweetly?" 
 
 "Or love as civilized women love?" she added, interroga- 
 tively.
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 245 
 
 "As romantic history tells us they are capable of loving," he 
 replied, guardedly. 
 
 "And capable of avenging, too," she added with a laugh. 
 "Perhaps the professor had in mind the tigresslike fury of a 
 woman scorned one whose love has been spurned and the 
 ignoble, the barbaric, the savage character of her renunciation." 
 
 "Surely you do not mean to say that in this regard she is 
 more savage than man?" he exclaimed. 
 
 "The man who destroys because of love acts upon the impulse 
 of the moment," she replied. "He is insane with jealousy, and 
 seldom fails to regret his act before his victim ceases to breathe. 
 But the woman whose love drives her to the desperation of so 
 rash an act approaches the consummation of it through pre- 
 meditation. She weighs the consequences in advance and is 
 prepared to meet and to defy the punishment; and how fre- 
 quently it has happened that she prefers methods of retaliation 
 that are unspeakably cruel savage indeed. Is it not so?" 
 
 He was amazed that she should draw the distinction so 
 clearly, so accurately, this young and innocent girl, and almost 
 shuddered at her remarkable power of discernment. To re- 
 assure her of his disbelief in regard to the professor's theory, 
 he reminded her of the shockingly cruel fate of Hypatia, the 
 Neo-Platonic philosopher, at the hands of men. 
 
 "Could there have been anything more savage or barbar- 
 ous?" he asked. 
 
 "Yet they did not murder and mutilate for love's sake," she 
 answered. "Theirs was the madness of fanaticism. The furi- 
 ous passion of woman finds its best exemplification in the 
 tragedy of Medea. Following the news columns of the daily 
 papers one is impressed with the feeling that there have been 
 many real tragedies of which this one is the true prototype. 
 Oh, but this is such a gloomy subject," she exclaimed, changing 
 her expression, "Pardon me for suggesting it, Mr. Bolston.
 
 246 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Tell me of your home in England, and are you to return 
 soon? to come again, of course, for you will be at the wed- 
 ding of Mr. Twain and Miss Grey." 
 
 "I hope to be," he replied. 
 
 "The affair assumes a delightful background; it is so per- 
 fectly romantic," she exclaimed, "if only he returns to her. It 
 is worthy of dramatization. Perhaps, Mr. Bolston, you will 
 write it into a play." 
 
 "And if I should, you would be immortalized," he answered, 
 laughingly. "You would play the leading role." 
 
 "What, I! in the play? You are surely joking. I have 
 done nothing to be so honored. Of course you would be in the 
 play also?" said she, the question accompanied by an inscrut- 
 able look. He had not thought of himself in this connection. 
 "And what part would I take?" she went on. "Oh, horrible! 
 I would not want to be the Medea, and kill some one to avenge 
 myself upon a wicked husband.*' 
 
 "Nor I the unfaithful Jason !" laughed Bolston. 
 
 "To take another wife," she added. "Certainly not. You 
 must write it differently." 
 
 "Shall I write it so that we are very deeply in love with each 
 other?" he inquired, peering into her eyes. Surely love was 
 speaking ! This was not the sedate Bolston. 
 
 "Splendid! Oh, yes; that will be very fine," she exclaimed, 
 "and I will be most unhappy in the play, I mean." 
 
 "Only in the play," he replied. 
 
 And all along, from the moment of their first meeting, these 
 two remarkable persons, without knowing it, had been rehears- 
 ing for their parts in the greatest drama of their lives. 
 
 When he was taking his leave, Juanita, with a suspicion of 
 sadness in her voice, requested that he come again soon. 
 
 "Before I write the play?" he inquired. 
 
 "Oh, yes! It will take so long to write the play," she re-
 
 "LOVE IS EVERYWHERE" 247 
 
 plied, "and we must talk about it ever so much, you know, be- 
 fore it is finished." 
 
 "And without your help I am sure it would not be a success. 
 "We will collaborate," said he laughingly. "At any rate, I 
 promise you I will do myself the honor to call at the Guerrero 
 home, where I have received such generous hospitality, and had 
 the good fortune to meet your charming self." 
 
 "Oh, it is nothing at all, our hospitality," she replied, "if 
 you do not entirely forget " 
 
 Shd paused in the middle of the sentence. There was a 
 plaintiveness in her expression that lingered with Ralph 
 Bolston, ringing in his ears through all the days that were to 
 come before this new problem was solved. It was like a piteous 
 cry for help "if you do not entirely forget." 
 
 But he did not forget; nor did he try. Soon he found 
 himself in a most unsettled frame of mind. Heretofore, with 
 but little effort, he had been able to map out a course of action 
 and to follow it with a purpose. Now, he seemed to be aimless- 
 ly drifting. The absence of encumbrances he had no near 
 relatives, and there was no one to lean upon him had enabled 
 him to lead a life of comparative independence and ease. Yet, 
 there was something lacking in his later life. He never realized 
 it so much as now. Why, he urged upon himself, should a 
 man defy the laws of nature and insist upon the ways of a 
 recluse? Why should he try to conquer destiny, and "chafe 
 against a yoke that others have long since borne?" 
 
 The dwellers in Olympos, 
 
 The gods themselves, who terrify with threats 
 
 The sins of men, have burned with lawless fires. 
 
 Was it wise, was it just, that he should continue to war against 
 the passion to which he owed his own existence? 
 
 Thus, self-accused and in some degree self-convicted, he was 
 humbled, and could but feel that his offending, if it were to
 
 248 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 be condoned, demanded a full confession at the only shrine 
 where a plea for mercy might be entered with any hope of its 
 being answered. Would Juanita Guerrero forgive him, he 
 asked himself, for his failure to respond to her sweet ad- 
 vances ? 
 
 And here he was beset by another tribulation. What would 
 the world say, if the world should be allowed to know? Ah, 
 no; he would not disparage her. The merest suggestion of it 
 excited self resentment. He had never placed an exalted esti- 
 mate upon his own importance ; nor would he now superimpose 
 the fact that he was entitled by birth and station to be ranked 
 as an English gentleman as a qualifying barrier against the 
 hand of any lady of refinement and respectability upon whom 
 he might choose to bestow his affections. Juanita Guerrero was 
 all that could be desired in this regard. After all, the vital 
 question was did she really love him? He would wait and see 
 what the Fates decreed. 
 
 As for himself but man is always sure of himself ! His 
 love, like the rest of his rugged nature, is so strong and practi- 
 cal that it may be suppressed to nothingness, if need be, while 
 woman's love may be unloosed to all destructiveness. Man 
 must be the judge, the calculating disburser of his passion; 
 woman the patient recipient. Is it, then, to be wondered at 
 that she sometimes doubts her own compelling powers, and, in 
 her desperation, shatters the urn in which all her hope is 
 treasured ? 
 
 Still, Bolston persisted silently, and it may be over-cautiously, 
 to nurse his malady, without so much as even a diagnosis by 
 Doctor Richardson. Ah ! there was but one cure for his 
 disease ; already the philter had been administered, but he was 
 not yet fully aware of it, nor would he have admitted it even to 
 himself.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 WOMAN'S APPEAL TO WOMAN 
 
 Enid Grey was so much improved by the sea voyage and 
 change of scene that Mrs. Holt had now begun to felicitate 
 herself upon it as being due entirely to her own timely inter- 
 vention against the ravages which, as she said to Margaret, 
 would have "made mourners of all of us, to be sure." And she 
 lost no opportunity to deride Doctor Richardson and the whole 
 of his profession for the inemcacy of their cures; whereupon 
 the Doctor smilingly told her of the insistence of an aunt of his 
 who always prescribed ginger, taken internally, for the tooth- 
 ache. This reminded the good lady that it was a lack of 
 "ginger" that brought Enid to her former plight. 
 
 "Besides," said she, "codliver oil will not relieve one of the 
 heartache; no more will squills cure maudlin sentiment, as I 
 have so often said to Andrew about illnesses in our family. To 
 be sure, no such distemper as Enid's has ever come to any of 
 mine, but why grieve one's heart out because of a man, who 
 persists in evading his friends and neglecting his duties, roam- 
 ing from place to place around the world with no purpose that 
 can be imagined unless it be to vex those who would help him?" 
 
 Having delivered herself of this practical exhortation, Mrs. 
 Holt bethought her of an invitation to tea at the Senora's, 
 whence the Englishman, quitting the cruiser early that after- 
 noon, was already allured.
 
 250 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "You and your daughter," remarked Mrs. Holt to the Senora, 
 when the party was hastily leaving the Guerrero home after 
 the tea for the weather was threatening "must come with me 
 for a sail to Havana. Oh, I'll fetch you home again," she 
 exclaimed, when the Senora shrugged her plump shoulders. 
 "It will be a change for you, and a great pleasure to me." 
 
 "It is of you too kind. Gracias, madame. Juanita, hear you 
 what the madame to us say?" 
 
 "Si, madre mio. It will be delightful," replied Juanita. 
 Yet, there was something in the girl's look that put her mother 
 on her guard, and thanking Mrs. Holt again she requested 
 Juanita to say the matter would be submitted for the decision 
 of the Alcalde. 
 
 "Surely the Alcalde will not object," exclaimed Mrs. Holt. 
 
 She was not a woman to be thwarted in any enterprise she 
 might undertake, be there ever so little rhyme or reason in it. 
 Her great kindness of heart included a liberal admixture of 
 spirit and adroitness. This fact had impressed itself upon the 
 Englishman, who was quick to see that unless he resorted to 
 stratagem the time might come when the millionaire's wife 
 instead of the Doctor, Noggins and himself, would be in com- 
 mand of the Twain expedition. He had no desire to interfere 
 with her prerogative as the commodore of the "Penelope;" but, 
 for some reason he himself could not fathom just then, he felt 
 it to be his duty to prevent the extension of her jurisdiction to 
 the Guerrero household. With this end in view he found an 
 opportunity to say privately to Juanita, among other things, 
 that there were few attractions in Havana. 
 
 "I do not care to go so far away," she replied, with a sweet 
 smile. "It will be much pleasanter here, I am sure." 
 
 Now, when Martha Giddings came to Tampico on the 
 steamer, leaving her father in the rest cure at the Capital, she 
 found herself facing a most distressing ordeal. There was no
 
 WOMAN'S APPEAL TO WOMAN 251 
 
 one here that she knew to whom she could turn for advice 
 none like the sympathetic Bostwick. She must pursue her pur- 
 pose alone, among strangers. But with a heart full of love and 
 a resolute pride the pride of self-esteem, such as belongs to 
 noble souls she had nerved herself to the delicate task before 
 her. 
 
 At San Enrique the following evening, when she passed from 
 the creaking gangway of the coastwise vessel by the light of a 
 sputtering flambeau that was dangerously near extinction in 
 the downpour of rain, to find herself standing upon a rickety 
 pier among a few half-clad natives who were there to assist 
 with the freight, it is more than probable that her heart sank to 
 the uttermost depths of despair. 
 
 It is doubtful if Asher Wells, even had he been there to guide 
 her footsteps toward the village, now wrapped in darkness, with 
 here and there a dim ray of light to indicate its existence, could 
 have dispelled the gloom of her surroundings. Where now was 
 Eph Fox with his protestations of undying affection and his 
 vaunted promises of assistance if misfortune should ever befall 
 her? Yet, Fox was the last man that she would have wished 
 to see. 
 
 As she walked slowly and almost aimlessly along the slip- 
 pery boards of the decaying wharf, she came upon two men 
 who were hastening toward a launch that had been made fast 
 above the pier-end. They were conversing in English. One of 
 them carried a ship's lantern. The other held an umbrella 
 over their heads. As they were about to step into the launch 
 she spoke to them. 
 
 "Pardon me, please. Can you direct me to a place of 
 shelter?" 
 
 It was a voice that would have invited attention anywhere, 
 it was so sadly sweet, with an unusual touch of feeling in it. 
 It did not have the joyous ring that caught Chief Bostwick's
 
 252 - THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 perceptive ear when he heard it on the veranda behind the 
 blue-striped awning at B ; yet, even now, it seemed some- 
 thing more than a woman's voice. Its plaintive melody touched 
 Arthur Grey's heart, for it was he that carried the umbrella in 
 the effort to shield the "Penelope's" captain and himself from 
 the tropic rain. 
 
 "You are sadly in need of shelter, my good girl. I know of 
 none more inviting than that we are now seeking. You may 
 come with us if you will, and welcome." 
 
 Martha did not hesitate. She was soon in the launch and in 
 due time the three were on board the "Penelope." Here she 
 was made comfortable by Mrs. Holt and Margaret. They did 
 not question her. It was enough to know that she was in need 
 of friends and that she had the appearance of respectability. 
 Surely, she was grateful. Her refined expressions and her sad 
 eyes put this fact beyond cavil. 
 
 "Such a night for one to be out !" exclaimed the good Mrs. 
 Holt. "And only one house in the miserable place that's fit to 
 live in, and even that is where no stranger could find it in the 
 dark. They are good people, though." 
 
 The leave-taking had but just been concluded at the Guer- 
 reros when the rain came in torrents. It was then that the 
 little steamer arrived from Tampico, and Martha Giddings, the 
 only passenger for San Enrique, found herself on the wet, 
 rickety pier. Mr. Grey was the last to quit the Guerrero home 
 after the tea ; the launch could not carry them all at one time, 
 so the "Penelope's" captain returned for him, bringing an um- 
 brella. It was under these circumstances that Martha found 
 sympathetic friends and comfortable shelter that night. 
 
 Had Enid Grey been requested to lead a revolution in Mexico 
 she would not have experienced greater astonishment than 
 when, the next morning, Martha Giddings asked her to inter- 
 cede in behalf of one of the chief villains that the whole of
 
 WOMAN'S APPEAL TO WOMAN 253 
 
 civilization now believed were responsible for Cornelius Twain's 
 strange absence and her own indescribable misery. 
 
 "I come to you," pleaded Martha, "because you are a woman, 
 and have a woman's heart. I know now how you have suf- 
 fered you who are more innocent, if that were possible, than 
 
 Mr. Twain. I saw you at the great auditorium at M . 
 
 I, too, am the victim of peculiar and distressing circumstances, 
 and I felt that I could appeal to you, because you would 
 understand. In Heaven's name do not turn me away ! Allow 
 me to serve you in any capacity. I speak French, fluently my 
 teacher says. May I not remain with you for a while, ostensibly 
 as an instructor? Only let me stay until you have read my 
 breaking heart, and know what it all means to me and to 
 Asher " 
 
 She could say no more, her voice drowned in sobs. By this 
 time Enid herself was weeping with her. Putting her arm 
 about Martha's shoulders, and stroking her hair, she endeavored 
 to soothe her, promising that she would do all in her power 
 to avert the impending blow. When the distressed girl re- 
 covered herself and her tears were gone, she was looking through 
 the open window of the little cabin into the great distance that 
 separated her from Asher Wells. Who better than Enid Grey 
 could read her thoughts or know the depths of her pain? 
 
 Eph Fox was right; verily Roberts was a genius in advis- 
 ing troubled consolidators. Yet, Fox could not fathom Roberts' 
 mind when he asked him if he was in love with Martha Gid- 
 dings and he had reluctantly confessed it ; nor had he appeared 
 to comprehend Roberts' meaning when he referred to Enid 
 Grey's Quaker lineage. 
 
 "Dear soul !" exclaimed Enid, "you are welcome to remain 
 as my French instructor if you choose. I can see no harm in it. 
 But how can I help you in the other matter? I do not control 
 the law."
 
 254 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Oh, but father was not that is, he is in a sanitarium, and 
 will not be required to answer to the law unless Mr. Bolston 
 or others interested insist upon some proceedings that merciful 
 Heavens! how could I face such an ordeal?" 
 
 "Enid, my dear child," replied her father when his daughter 
 had disclosed the purpose of Martha's strange mission, "in 
 recent months I have grown more and more compassionate 
 for those who are in trouble. It would be impossible for me 
 to refuse your request to help this poor suffering girl. Yet 
 how can it be accomplished? I will talk with Bolston about it. 
 He may be able to find a way out of the difficulty. She is con- 
 fident, of course, that her wicked father is not implicated. It 
 is but natural that she should feel as she does. Yet, Bostwick 
 must have known what he was doing. It is fortunate that Gid- 
 dings was not arrested fortunate for her and that the good- 
 hearted old Chief hit upon the scheme to place him where he is. 
 I dare say he is safe enough there, under the circumstances." 
 
 It was now necessary for Enid to take Margaret into her 
 confidence. Her mother and Mrs. Holt must also be apprised 
 of the situation. She said to Margaret that there might be no 
 end to disclosures in regard to the abduction should Giddings' 
 part in it become known. 
 
 "And no limit to the number of persons involved," Margaret 
 added. "I am sure that father has often contributed money 
 for political purposes. This abduction is a miserable piece of 
 politics, and someone is paying the expenses." 
 
 "More than one, Margery. Father says there is a perfect 
 organization among those interested in defeating the Purchase 
 bill." 
 
 The probability of Martha Giddings' secret becoming known 
 was now quite remote, for there was no telling who might be 
 involved, or how "high up" it would be necessary to go if the 
 judicial machinery were once put in motion.
 
 WOMAN'S APPEAL TO WOMAN 255 
 
 At first Bolston seemed dumfounded when Gray explained 
 matters to him. Yet he was soon sympathizing with Miss Gid- 
 dings in her great misfortune. This led him to acquiesce, ten- 
 tatively, in her plan to save herself from humiliation and dis- 
 grace, and, perhaps, from the loss of Asher Wells' respect, if 
 not his love. He did not know Asher Wells ; therefore he could 
 not judge as to the extent to which he would exert himself, nor 
 what sacrifice he would be willing to make to save Martha; 
 whether, when the storm came, should this happen, he would 
 not permit her to suffer alone by breaking off their engagement. 
 
 "It is a strange world," said he, "filled with a great variety 
 of human beings, selfish for the most part, and many of them 
 cold-blooded to the point of cruelty. We have no means of 
 classifying Mr. Wells. Again," he continued, "if we succeed 
 in securing a confession from Giddings, we would be obliged to 
 use it against him. The promise of immunity to Giddings, or 
 setting him free as the bounty of any admissions he might 
 make, would not help his daughter. If Andy Akers is brought 
 into court, Giddings' reputation will certainly be assailed, and 
 the girl, whom we would be glad to save from disgrace, must 
 thereby be exposed to contumely. Verily, my friend, it looks 
 as if we had been erecting a house of cards." 
 
 "I realize the predicament we are in," replied Grey. "Shall 
 the law be vindicated at the cost of this girl's hope and happi- 
 ness to avenge a wrong for which she was in no way responsi- 
 ble?" 
 
 "That is it in a small nutshell," replied Bolston. 
 
 "It is such things as these that try one's heart to the break- 
 ing point," continued Grey. "I would have done what Bost- 
 wick did in this case only I am afraid I would have turned 
 . Giddings loose, with the appeal of this girl pounding at my ear 
 drums."
 
 256 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Giddings is more securely in our power," suggested Bols- 
 ton, "than if he were under lock and key." 
 
 "If it were he alone," replied Grey, "we might view the sit- 
 uation with complacency. This is but one example among ten 
 thousand of the direful consequences of consolidation's ironshod 
 rule. It is the innocent that are made to suffer when the crisis 
 comes." 
 
 Yet, Martha Giddings was not to know even of the tentative 
 conclusions they had reached ; nor was it the part of wisdom to 
 allow her to return to Washington. She must remain, for the 
 present, as she was now become an important factor in the un- 
 raveling of the mystery; and those who instigated the abduc- 
 tion are destined to undergo a trial that will test their nerve ca- 
 pacity a trial not provided for in the laws against high crimes 
 and misdemeanors. Roberts' genius will surely be taxed be- 
 yond all precedent. Nemesis is still abroad, and the sword 
 of Damocles gleams menacingly above the heads of the af- 
 frighted offenders.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE HAIR TRUNK 
 
 Ah ! My Philosopher friend is on the stairway ; I know his 
 footsteps. Until now he has not come to see me within a fort- 
 night. I was about to tell you further of Mrs. Holt's kindli- 
 ness toward Martha Giddings, but I always lay aside my pen 
 out of consideration for any visitor who succeeds in persuading 
 the front hall factotum that he or she will be welcome in my 
 smoky den, and the Philosopher, who is now at my door, has 
 never failed to do so. I am now to be regaled with some rare 
 theme set out in phrases replete with sublimated wisdom. 
 
 But my friend does not seem to be in a reminiscent mood this 
 morning. He appears to be nervous, as if deeply troubled, and, 
 having returned my greeting rather unceremoniously, he has 
 taken up a little volume of Ruskin and is soon lost in the myth- 
 ology of the Greeks the Homeric vision of Athene the Re- 
 strainer, who helped Bellerophon to put a bridle on Pegasus, 
 and otherwise to harness the Harpies. It is a fascinating ex- 
 position of the gods of old ; and the Philosopher is so absorbed 
 in it he may not stir nor speak for hours and hours. 
 
 I was about to take up my pen when, just then, he dropped 
 the volume on his lap and, turning to me, broke the silence with 
 a guffaw of laughter. 
 
 "You amuse me exceedingly," said he. 
 
 I did not reply, but waited for him to explain the reason for 
 his exhilaration.
 
 258 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Now, I dare say," he went on, "that by this time you've 
 convinced yourself of the great importance of the message which 
 you hope soon to deliver to the multitude, who, if they read it 
 at all, will refuse to profit by the moral it contains. But I, 
 sir, have done something just now that will make two deserv- 
 ing and appreciative creatures very happy. I have torn up my 
 last will and testament, by which my fortune was to have been 
 distributed after the nature of public endowments, and, instead 
 of bestowing it to the indirect benefit of the masses, after my 
 demise, I have given a great share of it in cash to a worthy 
 young relative who, I find, has been devoting herself assidu- 
 ously, almost religiously, to the care of her invalid mother, hav- 
 ing foregone an advantageous offer of marriage in order to in- 
 dulge this filial duty." 
 
 "You are an altruist as well as a philosopher," I remarked. 
 
 "It is kind of you to say so, sir," he replied. "In the course 
 of life's voyage we form peculiar notions about many things 
 which at first' appear to have been settled beyond intervention. 
 And all suddenly we awake to a realization that convention- 
 ality, as a matter of fact, is very much awry. It is then that we 
 begin to doubt, and to wonder if, after all, the scheme of social 
 usage which the sages, centuries ago, designed for our guidance 
 and control was laid as it should have been; whether we have 
 not, all along, proceeded contrary to the laws of a higher power. 
 Well, sir, our scheme of endowment is a mistake. The real 
 philanthropist is he who, finding worthy subjects and there 
 are many of them goes forth to relieve the living individual 
 directly. But I ought not to be boasting of my own beneficence. 
 Good morning, sir." And my friend hastened away. 
 
 After he was gone I fell to thinking of the far stretch that 
 lies between philosophy and the matters with which I am dealing, 
 and yet how easily I had managed to divert the thoughts of this 
 follower of Socrates from those lofty currents where Athene
 
 THE HAIR TRUNK 259 
 
 is wont to soar to the lower altitudes where the Harpies play 
 their mischievous pranks. 
 
 So, now, I am encouraged to believe that in due time I may 
 be able to fetch him away from the latter, and fasten his great 
 mind even upon the worldly wickedness of such as Akers, 
 Roberts & Co. 
 
 But, to my task again. It must be that Mrs. Holt had been 
 moved by altruistic impulse, as was my Philosopher friend, 
 and, having made some convincing discoveries in this direction, 
 she, too, had been impressed with the thought that there are 
 many flaws in our accepted system of beneficence. 
 
 By no possible way that she was able to make out could even 
 the income on her husband's enormous fortune be disposed of as 
 rapidly as it accumulated. So that, when Martha Giddings, 
 whom she had never heard of until that distressed creature 
 came to San Enrique and was put aboard the "Penelope" by 
 Grey as a shelter from the storm, came unexpectedly to the 
 good woman's notice, her kindly feelings quite overcame her, 
 and at the first opportunity she asked the young lady if she 
 was in financial distress, intending, of course, to offer abundant 
 relief. Receiving a negative reply, Mrs. Holt inquired fur- 
 ther how she might assist her. It was at this moment that 
 Enid Grey took the multi-millionaire's wife into her further 
 confidence, apprising her of Martha's deplorable situation. 
 Thenceforward, Mrs. Holt held forth unremittingly in advo- 
 cacy of Martha Giddings' cause. 
 
 "What boots it," said she to Margaret, "if the poor girl's 
 dissolute parent did connive at Twain's abduction, if he really 
 was abducted? Are the sins of the father to be visited upon 
 his innocent child? It is too absurd to be thought of for a 
 single instant, to be sure, and cannot be tolerated." 
 
 She said as much, with greater emphasis, to Grey and Bol- 
 ston that very day. No doubt this strengthened them in their
 
 260 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 purpose, if for no other reason than that they might be agree- 
 able to their hostess. 
 
 And yet, amidst these recurring shadows, and although no 
 word or even the vaguest rumor had been received concerning 
 Twain, Mrs. Holt and her guests did not permit the depression 
 of the unusual business in which they were engaged to weigh 
 them down completely. Aside from the exchange of dinners 
 and teas, on the yacht and at the Alcade's house, they had 
 spent the time in short excursions along the coast, both by 
 land and by water. Eventually, when it was discovered that 
 lack of sufficient exercise was bringing in its wake the inevitable 
 results indigestion and additional adipose it was at once 
 decided that those of the little company who chose to do so 
 would invade the hills on horseback. 
 
 "Such miserable looking animals," exclaimed Mrs. Holt 
 when talking with Doctor Richardson about it. "Such little 
 beasts, too mules aren't they?" 
 
 "Native burros, madam," replied the Doctor. "Yes, they 
 are quite small, and yet very strong; they will carry their own 
 weight easily." 
 
 Mrs. Holt winced; she had taken on flesh at a rapid rate 
 since coming to San Enrique, and thought the Doctor might be 
 guying her, in retaliation for her deprecations of the medical 
 profession. But the Doctor did not perceive her agitation, as 
 she imagined, for he proceeded to expatiate upon the rudeness 
 of things in Mexico. 
 
 This new diversion was attended by some difficulty in pro- 
 viding animals for all of the party. 
 
 "Only men's saddles," said Bolston. "Do you think the 
 ladies " 
 
 "Oh, we've saddles of the other kind on board, plenty of 
 them," exclaimed Mrs. Holt. "Clairisse attended to that." 
 
 "Good," rejoined Bolston. "How thoughtful of her."
 
 THE HAIR TRUNK 261 
 
 "Won't it be jolly!" exclaimed Margaret. "Such fun. I 
 long to start. Mother, dear, we have left the world of artifice 
 and glitter far behind, and are living with nature again." 
 
 But Mrs. Holt did not partake of her daughter's enthusiasm. 
 
 "Your mother will remain with the 'Penelope'," she replied. 
 "I'm told that there are many centipedes and tarantulas in the 
 hills. Besides, I do not like horses, either, the kind they have 
 here." 
 
 "How many will there be?" inquired Bolston, counting on 
 his fingers. "You, Grey, of course; you are a good horseman; 
 I have seen you in the saddle. And Mrs. Grey ; she rides well. 
 The young ladies none better, I am sure ; three ladies and one 
 gentleman. Don Jose, the Doctor and I, but we do not count." 
 
 "One more, Mr. Bolston," interposed Mrs. Holt. "My 
 housekeeper, Clairisse, must go also. She was formerly a 
 trained nurse, and can ride a broncho if necessary. I brought 
 her especially for Mr. Twain, the poor soul ! And the Senora 
 and her daughter, too. I am surprised that you have forgotten 
 them, Mr. Bolston." 
 
 "Pardon me, Mrs. Holt," said he, "I had not forgotten 
 them." 
 
 "Then, I beg your pardon," she replied, giving him a search- 
 ing look, for by this time he was quite red about the face and 
 neck, and the others were smiling, the Doctor audibly. 
 
 Don Jose, under the Englishman's directions, had pressed 
 into service ten of the best saddle animals in the village. They 
 were not Arabs, it is true such as the steeds that Ninus col- 
 lected, six thousand years ago, for his expedition into Egypt, 
 even before Ninevah was built. But these unpedigreed animals 
 could "carry their own weight," as the Doctor had averred. 
 For Grey, whose eighty and one hundred pounds furnished an 
 item that must be considered, the Don set aside his own, a 
 good-sized mustang of agreeable gait and disposition. The
 
 262 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Don, owing probably to the simple life which had so impressed 
 Mrs. Holt, tipped the scales at something like a hundred and 
 a quarter ; he would ride one whose size conformed to his lesser 
 weight. 
 
 For Mrs. Grey and the young ladies, four local steeds, fav- 
 orites among the village senoras, the few who were given to 
 horseback exercise, were selected. The Senora and Juanita 
 had their own animals ; and to Clairisse poor woman, she had 
 not been in a saddle for almost two years a typical broncho 
 was assigned; for had not her mistress declared she was equal 
 to it? Clairisse herself did not object, although the appear- 
 ance of the animal was decidedly against him. When the un- 
 gainly and dilapidated beast was brought out Grey laughed 
 heartily. 
 
 "Bolston," he exclaimed, "where in the name of grace did 
 you find that hair trunk? Is this the moulting season in 
 Mexico?" 
 
 "No; Dan moulted when he was quite young," replied the 
 Englishman, "and the hair has never grown out. Dan has a 
 history." 
 
 "Well, I can easily believe it," exclaimed Grey. "Daniel 
 looks as if he might have been in the lion's den at some remote 
 period of his existence." 
 
 "Poor Dan!" said Margaret, stroking his neck. "They are 
 making fun of you." 
 
 And Dan wagged his only whole* ear as if to express his un- 
 concern, or it may have been on account of his appreciation of 
 her solicitude. Dan had lost most of his other ear in conse- 
 quence of an altercation he once had with a Texas cow puncher, 
 who bet ten dollars that he could ride him, and lost the money. 
 That was years ago, shortly before Daniel came to judgment. 
 
 "But what about Dan's history, Mr. Bolston," inquired Enid, 
 as the party rode away in single file toward the western hills,
 
 THE HAIR TRUNK 263 
 
 Don Jose in the lead and the Englishman bringing up the rear, 
 so that he might keep an eye on the ladies' saddle girths. "Why 
 was he named Dan?" she asked, with increasing interest in the 
 "hair trunk." 
 
 "It is a mere tradition," replied Bolston. "His real name is 
 Dandazzler." 
 
 "Dandazzler !" exclaimed Margaret. "How classical !" 
 
 "Mythological, I should say," remarked Grey. 
 
 "What does it mean, Mr. Bolston?" inquired Margaret. 
 
 "Up in Texas, where Dan sprang from, whatever is extra- 
 ordinary is accorded an extraordinary name. For instance, a 
 man or horse or anything possessing unusual qualities is referred 
 to as 'a humdinger,' 'a whirlwind,' or 'a crackerjack.' Mind 
 you, these are Texas terms, not mine ! Well, even these appel- 
 lations were too insipid to cover Dan's case. It was necessary 
 to coin a word that would give him special distinction. So 
 they called him the Dandazzler." 
 
 "Without root or branch, from an etymological standpoint," 
 suggested Margaret. 
 
 "No roots or branches for bronchos," remarked Grey. "A 
 ball bat is the right thing to have within reach when dealing 
 with them." 
 
 "As the story goes," continued Bolston, "a ball bat had no 
 effect on Dan. They were obliged to put iron boots on him, 
 with chains attached. Hence his dilapidated condition." 
 
 "Iron boots and chains!" the ladies exclaimed in unison. 
 "How cruel! Does it make you nervous, Clairisse?" 
 
 "Oh, no ! Dan is very good now." 
 
 "And why iron boots and chains, Mr. Bolston?" asked Mar- 
 garet. 
 
 "Well, no one could ride this particular broncho. When he 
 had disabled two or three cowboys, after throwing them, and
 
 264 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 then jumping on them with all four feet at once, like a wild 
 deer on a venemous snake " 
 
 Just then Dan stepped into a badger hole, and went down in 
 front, Clairisse going over his head on to the soft ground. The 
 ladies screamed. Dan extricated himself from the hole and, 
 turning away from the trail, fell to eating grass on the hillside. 
 Bolston was off his horse in a jiffy and helped Clairisse to her 
 feet. Being uninjured, she was soon back in the saddle, and 
 the procession moved on. Don Jose pulled his broad sombrero 
 down over his eyes to hide his smile; Grey let out a great ha! 
 ha ! that moved the echoes. 
 
 "Iron boots and chains for a dear, gentle, harmless thing 
 like that ! I don't believe a word of it, Dan," remarked Mrs. 
 Grey, sympathetically. 
 
 "Go on, Mr. Bolston, with the story, please," said Enid. 
 "Clairisse, look out for the holes." 
 
 "A broncho boot," continued Bolston, "consists of a sort of 
 bracelet of iron to which is welded a chain a foot or more in 
 length. These anklets are clasped upon the animal's hocks 
 that is, an animal of Dan's sort before his baptism. Then he is 
 turned loose, with several cowboys using whips and sticks to 
 keep him moving. He kicks and bucks and plunges until he is 
 completely exhausted. He is bruised and sore from the chains 
 with which he has whipped himself into submission, and when 
 he is subdued and lies prostrate upon the ground, the cowboys 
 sit on him, crawl over him. He never kicks or bucks again, 
 and ever after the rattle of a chain makes him tremble with 
 fear. Then the anklets are removed, and the broncho is what 
 they call busted" 
 
 "Who could have had the heart to invent such a torture?" ex- 
 claimed Margaret. 
 
 "It is said he was a man from New England, who had a 
 cattle ranch in Texas," replied Bolston.
 
 THE HAIR TRUNK 265 
 
 "No doubt about that," remarked Grey. "Who else, other 
 than a Yankee, would have thought of conserving the surplus 
 power of a broncho and then hitching him to it in such fashion 
 as to have him do his own busting?" 
 
 "Dan, according to the tradition," continued Bolston, 
 "thought about the matter a good deal. His feelings were 
 deeply injured; and, finally, finding himself at large one day, 
 he came across the line into Mexico, expatriating himself, as it 
 were, from Texas." 
 
 "Bolston," said Grey, "that is a good story anyway, no mat- 
 ter how it came that the Dandazzler got into the hair-trunk 
 class. Why have you not told me the story until now ?" 
 
 "I hadn't thought to tell it." 
 
 "Do you mean to say," inquired Grey in an incredulous tone, 
 "that you haven't thought to tell as good a one as that until 
 now? Honestly, Bolston, had you yourself ever heard it be- 
 fore today?" 
 
 "Arthur, dear, you do not mean to reflect upon Mr. Bolston's 
 veracity?" protested Mrs. Grey. 
 
 "On the contrary, I pay him a great compliment," he re- 
 plied. 
 
 "A wonderful imagination, Mr. Bolston," suggested Mar- 
 garet. "If Mr. Grey is correct in his conclusions, you should 
 enter the field o.f the dramatist." 
 
 Bolston smiled good naturedly, when Juanita looked his 
 way. Yet, he did not refer to his half jesting agreement to 
 write a play in which she would act the leading role, and all 
 the people, good and bad, connected with this tale would be 
 featured in the program. 
 
 He was deeply in love with her. This he must have con- 
 fessed to himself, although, having thought about it a great 
 deal, it is doubtful if at this moment he would have confessed 
 so much to her. Unfortunately for this wary, over-cautious
 
 266 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Briton, he could not put himself in Juanita's place; nor see 
 with her eyes, nor feel with her sensitive, perceptive heart. 
 Was it selfishness that prompted him to think altogether of his 
 own situation? Still, there is none among all the human pas- 
 sions that is more selfish than love. It was this that was 
 consuming Juanita ; it was another and more practical phase of 
 love that was absorbing Ralph Bolston, as he believed. 
 
 Indulging the glowing reflections of his active mind, as 
 they rode along, he was thinking of the good fortune of Twain, 
 who, the Englishman had no kind of doubt, must return very 
 soon to have near him always the woman who loved him. 
 
 How vastly different it was with himself, he thought. Be- 
 fore many days he must take final leave of Old Mexico. The 
 only woman that had ever caused him to sigh; the one fair 
 creature who had stirred his tenderest emotion, would remain 
 if to forget him, never by him to be forgotten. 
 
 Contrive as he might to dispel these welling thoughts, per- 
 force he found it necessary, she riding so gracefully there near 
 him, to give up the effort, and to submit how readily he alone 
 knew to the sweeter memory of her plaintive words the very 
 hills seemed to echo them in his ears "if you do not entirely 
 forget." 
 
 On the yacht that evening when they were at dinner and 
 such appetites after the long ride! the "Penelope's" cabin 
 resounded with levity. Even Enid was moved to laughter at 
 the witty bandinage. Her father was persuaded to tell the 
 story of the Dandazzler, although he protested the author of it 
 should not be deprived of that privilege, and he gave it such 
 embellishment and so many humorous variations that the Eng- 
 lishman commended him highly for the power of his creative 
 fancy; whereat they were all much amused. The editor him- 
 self was now the most promising disciple of Munchausen.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 FRESH COMPLICATIONS 
 
 But there was another diversion in store for the excellent 
 company of the "Penelope" and those of the stone house on the 
 hill ; also for the dusky inhabitants of San Enrique, who already 
 considered themselves to have been greatly favored by the 
 presence of so many gentle folk in their midst. 
 
 After breakfast the morning following the jaunt to the hills 
 on horseback, Enid, the Doctor and the Englishman were 
 sitting beneath the awning of the forward deck. They were 
 speaking, as often before, of the generosity of Mrs. Holt in 
 having brought Enid to the Caribbean for her health. 
 
 "How fortunate we are to have Margaret with us," said 
 Enid. "She is all sunshine, the dear good angel, and so de- 
 voted." 
 
 "A rare girl, indeed," remarked the Doctor; "so unlike the 
 young ladies of her monied station in life too many of them 
 given over completely to the frivolities that appear to go with 
 wealth. Her father is rich almost beyond computation, hope- 
 lessly immersed in the business of making money. One would 
 suppose that his only daughter would prefer to identify herself 
 with the titled aristocracy of Europe, and finally, to bestow 
 her hand, if not her love, upon someone of inherited distinc- 
 tion a duke or a count or something of that sort." 
 
 "Margaret Holt's heart will precede her hand, Doctor," re-
 
 268 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 plied Enid. "Should she wed a titled foreigner it will be for 
 love's sake, not for the distinction of it." 
 
 "There is a Russian captain of noble lineage, is there not?" 
 inquired the Doctor, who was not then aware of Page Bannis- 
 ter's sentiments toward the multi-millionaire's daughter. Nor 
 could he have believed she would be likely to bestow her hand 
 upon a representative of the struggling, plodding proletariat, 
 great leader and advocate though he was. But, as yet, he did 
 not know of Margaret's many rare gifts of character, and the 
 little value she placed upon her vast fortune in money. 
 
 "Nothing serious, I am sure," replied Enid. "Margaret's 
 brother and the Captain are chummy. They sailed for the 
 north together in young Holt's dirigible just before we left 
 the Capital." 
 
 "It is reported that young Holt is a good loser," remarked 
 the Doctor, laughingly. "Mere gossip, no doubt." 
 
 Just then Margaret came upon the deck, and the Doctor, to 
 change the subject, at the Englishman's expense if he could, 
 spoke of "the fair Juanita" and wondered how she was this 
 morning. Margaret overheard the Doctor's inquiry and ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "Isn't she delightful? What a pity she must live in this 
 sleepy little town." 
 
 "It will not be for long, Miss Holt," replied the Doctor. 
 "Some brave knight will come to storm the parental battle- 
 ments and -carry her away. Such charming beauty as hers 
 cannot remain permanently secluded." 
 
 If Bolston's pulse throbbed somewhat faster as a result of 
 the Doctor's enthusiastic eulogy of Juanita he alone was aware 
 of that fact ; yet Jie could not hide the color that came in his 
 swarthy face. 
 
 "I am at a loss to understand how our friend here could 
 have had the heart to conceal from me the existence of the
 
 FRESH COMPLICATIONS 269 
 
 charming girl until after the 'Penelope' came," continued the 
 Doctor. "Do you think it fair, Miss Holt?" Through the 
 tail of his eye he was regarding Bolston closely. Enid and 
 Margaret were greatly amused. 
 
 "Being a married man, Doctor, I did not suppose you would 
 be interested, even in so lovely a woman as she," replied Bol- 
 ston, dryly. 
 
 "A lovely woman !" exclaimed the Doctor. "The term is too 
 tame. An incomparable, intoxicating, a palpitating beauty 
 would be the more fitting designation. How could you for- 
 get" 
 
 "And you, Doctor, will not forget that you are ineligible, 
 being a benedict. Of course you will not." 
 
 "But in my transmutation from bachelor to benedict I did 
 not promise to become a monk. The married man who shuts 
 his eyes or suppresses his senses in the presence of ravishing 
 charms such as this remarkable girl possesses indulges an in- 
 dignity toward his wife." 
 
 The others laughed heartily, but neither of them made reply 
 to this new interpretation of marital ethics new at least to 
 them. Then, indirectly, the Doctor apologized to Margaret 
 by bestowing upon her many compliments. He spoke of the 
 freshness of her cheeks, the clearness of her eye, the zephyry 
 appearance of her hair. Margaret blushed, but did not pro- 
 test. She perceived the Doctor's embarrassment, after his 
 encomiastic reference to Juanita, and was too polite to add to 
 it, as some women would have done, by rudely declining to 
 accept second place in his list of beauties. 
 
 At this Bolston excused himself and went to join Mrs. Holt, 
 Mrs. Grey and Martha, who had just appeared from below. 
 
 "A wonderful chap big enough to be at the head of a big 
 government, or to lead a great army in a great war; so true 
 and so unselfish, too" was the Doctor's panegyric on Bolston
 
 270 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 as the latter strode away; to all of which the young ladies en- 
 thusiastically agreed. 
 
 "Isn't he splendid?" exclaimed Margaret, her eyes following 
 him admiringly. 
 
 But what, among all reasonable possibilities, could be the 
 occasion for the commotion in the village just then? Was it 
 a fire? By no means; the adobe buildings were not insured. 
 That were unnecessary, for they were as immune from the 
 ravages of flame as an asbestos curtain in a theatre. Nor could 
 it be a horserace, which was a too common event in that locality. 
 
 "Ah, maramlloso!" See the black, moving object in the 
 sky. "Un globo aerostalico!" It was a rare sight for the 
 dusky denizens of San Enrique. A very few of them had ever 
 been far enough away from home, and then only on fiesta occa- 
 sions, to see a balloon ascension. Yet, this balloon had no rope 
 attached to it to keep it from getting away and with which to 
 draw it back to earth again like the balloons at fair time in 
 Tampico. This one was moving steadily forward, at a good 
 rate of speed. Stranger still, it was curving downward toward 
 San Enrique. Now it was over the little cemetery; they could 
 hear the whir of its machinery; it was settling gracefully in 
 some vacant lots back of the church. "Pasmoso! Extraordin- 
 ario!" It had stopped. A man was alighting from its carrier. 
 There were three men. By this time almost the entire popula- 
 tion of the town had gathered around the remarkable object, 
 Susie with the rest, for she had gone to the village on an er- 
 rand. 
 
 "Is this San Enrique?" inquired one of the men, a likely- 
 looking young fellow dressed in a khaki suit of becoming make, 
 with leggings and a close fitting cap to match. 
 
 "Si, senor," from several natives who had ventured to come 
 within speaking distance. 
 
 "Then we will anchor here," said the young man to his two
 
 FRESH COMPLICATIONS 271 
 
 companions, who were similarly clad and of decidedly foreign 
 appearance. 
 
 The one who made the inquiry in regard to San Enrique was 
 Stephen Holt; his companions were Captain Mikleskoff and 
 Ivan Petroffsky, the navigator. 
 
 When Young Holt and the prospective Russian count board- 
 ed the "Penelope" the loving mother was amazed, astonished 
 almost beyond utterance. She gathered her son to her bosom 
 and shook hands with the Captain, cordially. 
 
 "Stephen ! you dear boy," she exclaimed when she found her 
 tongue, "what does this mean? Where did you come from, 
 and when?" 
 
 "Just now, mother from the Capital; Dad is well. We 
 thought it would be a good joke to surprise you." 
 
 Soon the new arrivals were surrounded by the others, who 
 congratulated them upon their fine descension into the village. 
 
 "But how about the north pole, Stephen?" asked Margaret, 
 with a rippling laugh. 
 
 "Oh, we went up that way as far as any of them, I reckon. 
 Go look for our tracks !" 
 
 "Had anyone seriously supposed the Russian would go about 
 looking for the north pole, in his present state of mind, and 
 stay on the job?" said Grey, aside, to the Doctor. 
 
 Now, San Enrique, as heretofore indicated, was a very small 
 town, devoid of excitements. There were no theaters or other 
 places of amusement where the restless spirit of Stephen Holt 
 could be gratified ; no inducement to midnight revelling on the 
 Rialto, where the surplus energies of erotic youth might be 
 exchanged for next morning headaches and tousled fine 
 linen nothing, indeed, which would stir the police to the 
 exercise of authority to preserve the peace and require a ten 
 dollar tip to "say nothing about it."
 
 272 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "The place is dead and buried," exclaimed Stephen to his 
 mother. "What can one do here to enjoy one's self?" 
 
 "Not so bad, Stephen; there are some excellent people here 
 the Alcalde, his gracious wife and their charming daughter; 
 she is so beautiful." 
 
 "Do you hear, Captain a beautiful girl ! We will make 
 love to her, and then carry her away in the dirigible, the sweet 
 young thing. What a romance !" 
 
 Stephen Holt was seldom serious about anything. He was 
 overflowing with youthful spirit adventurous, reckless, par- 
 ticularly so with his father's money. However, without the 
 least foreknowledge of what was in store for him, he had come 
 to slumbering, somnolent San Enrique for a decidedly new ex- 
 perience new at least in its consequences to him. 
 
 Juanita Guerrero, from the veranda of the stone house on 
 the hill that witnessed Ralph Bolston's first enthrallment, ob- 
 served the descending dirigible, and through the long glass, as 
 Susie termed it, had seen the three strangers step from the 
 carrier. Being familiar with the uses of aircraft and having 
 heard Mrs. Holt speak regretfully of her son's flight to the 
 north pole, she found no difficulty in guessing the meaning of it. 
 
 Ah ! it would be so very pleasant for Miss Holt to have the 
 Russian captain near her, mused Juanita "if she loves him as 
 I love Ralph," she said, aloud, so that she might hear his very 
 name, and recall for the thousandth time the scene on the great 
 steel pier at Tampico. 
 
 "It was there ! there ! there !" looking at her pretty hand 
 "that I felt the pressure of his warm lips precious hand ! I, 
 too, will kiss you for him. There ! Why do you blush, 
 blessed hand? Now you are white again. Is it because you 
 have some fear ? He does not love you ? Ah ! you blush once 
 more. He does love you. He will come soon to us to
 
 FRESH COMPLICATIONS 273 
 
 kiss you yes, many times. I will try so hard not to be 
 jealous of you in your happiness, dear hand of mine !" 
 
 In pursuance of Stephen's desire that there should be some 
 excitement in San Enrique the town that was "dead and 
 buried" his devoted mother felt it was incumbent upon her to 
 provide some kind of amusement for him. But what should it 
 be? He was "such a good boy" at their mountain home during 
 the early summer, she was encouraged to hope he might be- 
 come interested in the quaint architecture of the village, or in 
 an excursion to Tampico and the Panuco river, or perhaps in 
 the indolent natives, or the horses the "mules." Having run 
 the gamut of indulgences belonging to the rich, it was within 
 maternal reasoning to believe that by this time he might be 
 satiated with automobiles and dirigibles. 
 
 "Merciful heavens!" she exclaimed to herself; "I pray that 
 he may never take to bull-bating and cock-fighting." In a 
 measure she had reconciled herself to his weakness for gam- 
 bling. 
 
 A happy thought ! She would invite the Senora and Juan- 
 ita to come aboard the yacht for dinner that evening. It 
 would be pleasant for the Captain, too. Why had she not 
 thought of it before? And so it fell out that Stephen and the 
 Captain, having attired themselves in the regulation dress 
 from their wicker chests in the dirigible carrier, were presented 
 by Mrs. Holt to the female portion of the Guerrero household. 
 
 Something has been said of the impression Miss Guerrero 
 made upon Ralph Bolston on the occasion of their first meet- 
 ing ; how the circumspect Englishman had struggled to subdue 
 his feelings of admiration, and how, finally, he had been 
 obliged to admit to himself that the task was too great, and to 
 her that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. 
 
 With Stephen Holt the case was entirely different. He did 
 not attempt to conceal his astonishment, nor, except in the
 
 274 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 remotest degree, to curb his ardor. He devoured Juanita with 
 his eyes big blue eyes like his sister's, the Captain had so 
 often been reminded ; he embarrassed her with his smiles. She 
 was not at all like some other girls he had known, and yet, 
 something like more like, perhaps, in that she was more fresh 
 and wholesome; more beautiful in form, far more in feature. 
 And did ever womankind possess such ravishing eyes, such 
 teeth, or mouth or tempting lips? None within the range of 
 his knowledge, which, for one of his age, had not been con- 
 fined to narrow limits. In his admiring eyes she was incom- 
 parably beautiful, furnishing the model of all the perfection 
 that Zeuxis failed to find in combination, after painting the 
 boy and the grapes, in the hope of outdoing his young rival 
 Parrhasius. 
 
 "My soul, Captain," said he to the Russian, when the ladies 
 had stepped aside, "isn't she a dream? Aren't you glad we 
 came?" 
 
 The Captain was glad, and yet he did not appear to be en- 
 thusiastic, for as yet Margaret had not seemed to be in any 
 haste to be with him alone, thus giving him the opportunity 
 for which he had come so great a distance to tell her that 
 even his sojourn in the frozen north had not cooled his undying 
 passion. 
 
 "Captain, you are unsympathetic. You're never glad of 
 anything on my account." 
 
 "Sorry for you, Stephen, on some accounts," replied the 
 Russian, sententiously. 
 
 "What do you mean?" he demanded in a vexed and some- 
 what arrogant tone. 
 
 "Be careful, Stephen," replied the Russian; "remember the 
 result of your last escapade the blonde beauty of the Cayenne 
 Comedy Company." 
 
 "What ! Damn it, Captain, you are provoking," he replied,
 
 'FRESH COMPLICATIONS 275 
 
 moving toward the Russian, his face reddening. "What do 
 you know of her? Explain yourself !" 
 
 "None of your pranks here, Stephen," continued the Rus- 
 sian. "Miss Guerrero is not so easy that is evident." 
 
 "If you insist upon your veiled allusions," replied Stephen, 
 now thoroughly angered, "you'll answer to me personally, do 
 you understand?" 
 
 "Not so fast, my boy," was the reply. "I merely sought to 
 warn you against your great weakness, but now that you compel 
 me to be more explicit well, you talked in your sleep in the 
 compartment of the dirigible one night in Newfoundland. 
 You may need my help, my boy. I am your friend. Quiet 
 your nerves ; the ladies are coming this way." 
 
 Stephen Holt, indubitable heir apparent to many millions, 
 was now somewhat subdued. His supposed secret was known 
 to Captain Mikleskoff, heir presumptive to a like number of 
 millions, dependent, of course, upon the heart's wishes of Mar- 
 garet Holt. During the remainder of the Guerrero visit that 
 evening he was more guarded, less impetuous, in his attentions 
 towards Juanita; so agreeable, indeed, that when he and 
 the Captain were taking their leave, after escorting the Senora 
 and her daughter to their home, the young lady gave them a 
 cordial invitation to come again, to which they assented, 
 Stephen remarking in his best style that it would be a great 
 disappointment to him if he were not permitted to do so. 
 
 "But, Captain," said he as they returned to the yacht, "what 
 man could refrain from loving that adorable creature in an 
 honorable way, I mean?" 
 
 "It is your right, Stephen, if you choose, and if she does not 
 object." 
 
 "Object!" he cried; "object! She will love me she must! 
 she shall!" The Holt spirit was asserting itself. In great 
 measure his persistence, when he set his mind upon the accom-
 
 276 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 plishment of a purpose, was not unlike that of his strenuous 
 father, who, according to a favorite boast of his own, never 
 permitted "hell or high water" to thwart him. It was through 
 the pursuit of this inflexible policy that he had acquired his 
 wealth, never halting to consider the consequences to others. 
 
 At no time in his career, before then, had Stephen ever 
 found himself in a situation where it was necessary to take 
 account of the difference between the potency of love and the 
 power of wealth. It was a distinction that had never occurred 
 to him. What wealth could not obtain for him would not be 
 worth acquiring. He was conscious of the possession of con- 
 siderable personal attraction. If in this regard he should fail 
 to impress this beautiful girl, what would she do when con- 
 fronted with the allurement of untold riches? She would fall 
 into his arms, of course. The courtship would be brief but 
 business-like. He would possess her at all hazards. 
 
 "Object! Not on your life, Captain," he exclaimed. "She 
 will be only too glad to get away from this lonesome place and 
 take her proper position in the big world with me." 
 
 "Perhaps so, old fellow," remarked the Russian. "I wish 
 you both much joy. Only let it be on the square." 
 
 And if young Holt lost a single moment in prosecuting his 
 suit for Juanita Guerrero's hand it was because of his fond 
 mother's admonitions against hasty marriages. Yet, even this 
 did not sway him. It was, his mother had no doubt, his first 
 love affair. He would think better of it in due time. Per- 
 haps she had made a mistake in being the intermediary in 
 bringing them together. Already she was ready for repentence. 
 
 "For, Stephen, my precious child, you are so young, and she, 
 perhaps well, you see their humble station in life. They are 
 respectable enough, to be sure; yet your dear father would 
 never forgive me if I did not warn you, even forbid it." 
 
 "Oh, mother, she is so fine in every way, and with her I
 
 FRESH COMPLICATIONS 277 
 
 would be so very happy.. You would have no further cause to 
 complain of me. I would settle down and be a man." He 
 knew the art of pleading his own cause with his indulgent 
 mother." 
 
 "A great inducement, Stephen," she replied, "but you must 
 wait. Besides, the Alcalde and the Senora she herself may 
 not feel as you do about it." 
 
 "Oh, I talked with her today, mother, and she was so nice 
 and agreeable about it. I told her " 
 
 "Stephen! you impetuous boy." 
 
 "And I will marry her anyway, mother. No one will prevent 
 it. Life will be nothing to me without her. I don't care for 
 Dad's money, if he objects." 
 
 "Wait, and I will talk with your father about it," she rea- 
 soned. There now seemed nothing for her to do except to con- 
 tend for time in which her son's passion might cool. 
 
 "Well, you may talk with Dad, but I know my own mind, 
 mother," he replied. 
 
 "Go to Tampico and take the Captain. You will find diver- 
 sion there," she argued. 
 
 "If Juanita will go, too," he replied. 
 
 And away he went to the Guerreros, to see Juanita and sug- 
 gest a voyage in the dirigible. This boy's love-making was full 
 of youthful force and vigor. It was direct, so unlike Ralph 
 Bolston's, that Juanita was amused if not interested. No one 
 had ever made love to her after this fashion. Believe as few 
 of his glowing words as she would, his devoted attentions 
 flattered her. 
 
 "In all my life," he would declare, "I have never loved any- 
 one but you, sweet and adorable Juanita, and never shall." 
 Then he would attempt to take her hand. At such times the 
 one that Ralph Bolston had kissed so fervently would be
 
 278 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 safely beyond Stephen's reach; the other one bewitchingly 
 elusive so near and yet so far. 
 
 "Ah, madre mio! Mr. Holt asks me to go in the dirigible 
 to Tampico. What do you think?" 
 
 "De ningun modo (by no means) Juanita. Ah, nevair," 
 exclaimed the Senora. Woman's prescience again a mother's 
 intuition.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 MRS. HOLT'S CAMPAIGN 
 
 But to wean the vehement Stephen from his newest fancy 
 would certainly test the singular abilities of his resourceful 
 mother. Further appeals to her son's reason (who that is 
 madly in love has it?) would be futile; of this she was already 
 fully convinced. 
 
 Without having any knowledge to the contrary, the good 
 woman had concluded that Miss Guerrero would be unable to 
 withstand the onrush of Stephen's devoted endeavor, if, indeed, 
 she did not encourage it. Close observer though she was, she 
 did not know how could she know? of Bolston's capitula- 
 tion to the .fair doncellita. No more did Stephen, nor Mar- 
 garet; not even the Senora nor Don Jose. All but Stephen, 
 however, might have suspected it. And, too, Juanita was dis- 
 trustful of her own compelling powers that is, for some rea- 
 son entertained from the beginning, she lacked confidence even 
 in her subtle ability to impress the world-wise Englishman. 
 
 Nor had the tender incident on the Tampico pier served to 
 completely reassure her. She could not rid herself of an innate 
 dread of failure. It was an entirely different incentive that 
 prompted Bolston's reserve first, his native caution; second, 
 his diplomatic training, and, third, his fear in regard to "the 
 wrong woman." 
 
 Had it been possible at this moment for Mrs. Holt to have
 
 280 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 divined the contending thoughts in Juanita's mind, the plans 
 that were now revolving in her own would have been subject 
 to important emendation, no doubt. 
 
 In this situation, she sought Margaret and the Captain on 
 the "Penelope's" deck one afternoon, and lost no time in open- 
 ing her complicated campaign, for she had fully determined 
 upon a course to pursue. 
 
 Almost a whole week of tender luxury in the society of Mar- 
 garet Holt had not brought the polished, attractive and deco- 
 rated Russian any nearer the goal of his ardent desire. And 
 now, as the days were passing on the "Penelope," he found 
 himself in the throes of a desperate effort to formulate new 
 terms of endearment by which to win her favor. Yet, he had 
 not overlooked the fact that, as a last resort, there was much 
 he might say to her estimable mother, to whom the customs 
 and people of Europe were of such absorbing interest that he 
 had never failed to hold her attention when discussing the 
 subject with her. So, Margaret, excusing herself and going 
 below, the Captain turned his attention to Mrs. Holt. Mar- 
 garet was not unaware of his new tactics ; yet she could not find 
 it in her sunny nature to put any obstacle in his way, had she 
 desired to do so ever so much. 
 
 Stephen's persistent passion for Juanita was now a subject 
 even for the village gossips. There was so little disguise about 
 it the Captain ventured to refer to it. 
 
 "Love's young dream, no doubt," replied Mrs. Holt. "They 
 will think differently in time." 
 
 "The lady appears to be quite self-possessed," remarked 
 the Russian. 
 
 "A very sensible girl, Captain. She is older than Stephen. 
 He is a mere child so inexperienced. Miss Guerrero should 
 marry a man twice his age, one with a world knowledge Mr. 
 Bolston, for instance, or, still more suitable, yourself, Captain."
 
 MRS. HOLT'S CAMPAIGN 281 
 
 The Russian was impressed. More, he must have experi- 
 enced a thrill of astonishment, for he was facing an unexpect- 
 ed crisis. Had Mrs. Holt told him that he was not to be con- 
 sidered in the serious light of a prospective son-in-law she could 
 not have made herself better understood. She had used Bol- 
 ston's name, he had no doubt, merely as a cushion for himself 
 to fall upon. Yet, the Captain resolved to make the best of 
 the situation; he was not to be vanquished at the first onset. 
 
 "A most attractive lady, I grant you, Mrs. Holt," was his 
 sympathetic reply. "But as for me really, until you were 
 kind enough not to omit me from the list of eligibles, I had 
 never given the matter even a passing thought. Besides, it 
 would be ungenerous in me, ignoble I may say, to think of 
 supplanting Stephen in her affections." 
 
 "I could quite agree with you, Captain," she replied, "if 
 they were really serious, he so young and she so deserving of 
 a husband ripe in experience and wisdom. I will talk with the 
 Senora on the subject." 
 
 Here was a situation! It was like two simultaneous shots 
 from a single-barreled gun that was supposed not to be loaded. 
 To use an expression that the Captain had so often heard from 
 Stephen, it now began to look as if the Russian heiress-hunter 
 had "overplayed his hand." 
 
 After several months of effort on the Captain's part to en- 
 tice her love, Margaret, having repeatedly, yet gently, im- 
 pressed him with the dubiousness of his suit, he had turned 
 hopefully to her mother in the most confident expectation that 
 he would be able to enlist her aid and sympathy, approaching 
 the task by the exercise of all the deliberation and caution of 
 the trained diplomat. 
 
 At the very outset, almost before his campaign had actually 
 begun, he had been told, in terms that could not be miscon- 
 strued, there was little hope for him ; that it was advisable he
 
 282 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 should turn in another direction. And, as if to emphasize her 
 conclusions, Mrs. Holt now generously proposed that she her- 
 self would make a personal appeal to Juanita's mother in his 
 behalf. 
 
 Closely scanning her determined features and noting the 
 positiveness of her tone, as Margaret's mother coolly sealed his 
 fate, he began to realize the uselessness of present persuasion 
 or protest. All that was now left for him to do was to believe 
 that at some future time he might swerve her by making a 
 clean breast of his predicament ; by declaring his love for 
 Margaret, throwing himself, in his desperation, upon the mercy 
 of her mother. Yet, when Mrs. Holt proposed that he accom- 
 pany her to the stone house on the hill it would be impolite 
 for him to decline going with her he abandoned, for the time 
 being, this last ray of hope, and, in sheer helplessness, followed 
 her to the Guerrero home. Perforce, he was ready for the 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Having established her prestige in the business of adjusting 
 the affairs of the heart, about which Captain Mikleskoff had 
 once protested to Margaret he knew so little, Mrs. Holt found 
 no difficulty in contriving to leave the Captain and Juanita on 
 the veranda while she and the Senora proceeded to an upper 
 room to examine the priceless family treasures which had been 
 handed down through the generations, some of them dating 
 back to the expulsion of the Moriscoes from Spain. 
 
 "Captain Mikleskoff would greatly enjoy seeing these quaint 
 heirlooms," remarked Mrs. Holt, in an indifferent tone. "He, 
 too, comes of a distinguished family." 
 
 "So fine!" exclaimed the Senora. (This was her favorite 
 expression for things superlative.) 
 
 "Yes," continued Mrs. Holt; "in due time he will be a 
 count." 
 
 "Ah! muger de conde condesso, hes wife. So fine!"
 
 MRS. HOLT'S CAMPAIGN 283 
 
 "To be sure ; his wife will be a countess." 
 
 "Your daughtair, Mess Margaret, de nobale Captain, so 
 fine! So it is talk for aldeanos" (the villagers), exclaimed the 
 Senora in congratulatory accents. 
 
 "Oh, no, not at all," replied Mrs. Holt, shrugging her shoul- 
 ders. "No love, Senora. There must be love in marriage." 
 
 "Too bad it is," said the Senora sorrowfully. "Mess Mar- 
 garet to love, so fine !" 
 
 "Margaret, the dear child, is still in possession of her own 
 heart, Senora. The right man will come along some day, no 
 doubt, and I will be obliged to give her up, I suppose." 
 
 Having undeceived the Senora, as she now believed, in re- 
 gard to the subject of village gossip, and, incidentally, while 
 admiring the heirlooms, having pointed to the Captain's dis- 
 tinguished lineage and promising prospects, Mrs. Holt, con- 
 fident of her ability as a maker and an unmaker of matches, 
 was ready for the next move on the matrimonial carpet, what- 
 ever it might turn out to be. 
 
 On the veranda Juanita, the tempting creature, gracefully 
 reclining in the hammock, the fatal guitar on her lap, was 
 cautiously quizzing the Russian. It is not strange that she 
 should have chosen as the subject of her interrogations the 
 tender relations supposed to exist between Margaret and the 
 Captain. Coming, as he recently had, from so great a dis- 
 tance, with no other reason that could be guessed than to join 
 Margaret, was sufficient to excite friendly comment. 
 
 Juanita's secret in regard to her attachment for the placid 
 Englishman was so well guarded that she did not hesitate to 
 engage in bantering pleasantries concerning the heart-throbs of 
 others ; and as for the attentions of the impetuous Stephen she 
 was not disposed to evade retaliation, for she assumed that 
 their relations were well understood, even by the gossiping 
 villagers.
 
 284 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 The Captain did undertake to counter her inquiries and sug- 
 gestions relative to Margaret and himself by changing the 
 subject to Stephen's fervent attentions. 
 
 "It is true," she replied, "that Mr. Holt comes here quite 
 frequently, and he professes some interest in me ; yet, Captain, 
 it is his boyish fancy, nothing more. His good mother disap- 
 proves, on account of his age, and that is a sufficient reason, 
 were there none other." 
 
 "Yet," replied the Captain, "there is an old adage about love 
 and locksmiths." 
 
 "That applies only when love is intensely mutual, Captain. 
 Most women prize the privilege to choose, among so many ; and 
 there is so much time before the age of thirty." 
 
 "And so little afterward," he replied with a laugh. 
 
 "If she fails before then, she still has her independence and 
 her experience to aid her," rejoined Juanita. "In her riper 
 judgment she may meet with greater reward, if she waits. As 
 for me, there is abundant time ; I am out of school only a few 
 months, you know." 
 
 Juanita had succeeded in making it so plain to the Cap- 
 tain's receptive mind that she did not believe in haste, he had 
 no doubt that Mrs. Holt would be greatly relieved. By this 
 time he had guessed the reason for her deep solicitude; it was 
 Stephen's welfare, not his, that concerned her. 
 
 The important moment had now arrived for him to resume 
 his campaign with Margaret's mother. He would lose no time 
 in assuring her that the fair Juanita was far from being ready 
 to enter the dual state. 
 
 And so it was that the Captain, when Mrs. Holt and the 
 Senora appeared, was ready to return to the "Penelope," eager 
 for an opportunity to declare himself without further delibera- 
 tion. The coveted time came when he and his hostess reached
 
 MRS. HOLT'S CAMPAIGN 285 
 
 the yacht's upper deck, and Mrs. Holt seated herself prepara- 
 tory to receiving the Captain's report of progress. 
 
 "It is useless, my dear madam," began the Captain, "for any 
 man to hope for recognition in that quarter at present. Poor 
 Stephen will be disappointed. The young lady prides herself 
 upon the fact that there is ample time, in her case, to choose a 
 husband. This much she vouchsafed quite positively without 
 knowing that I might have matrimonial intentions in her direc- 
 tion, which I may frankly say, my dear Mrs. Holt, I have not. 
 On the contrary, it is but just to you, to Miss Margaret and to 
 myself, that I should tell you how exceedingly happy I would 
 be if you could look with favor upon the only desire of my 
 life. I love your daughter." 
 
 "And does Margaret reciprocate your feelings?" she inquired 
 in a tone that was not without sympathy. 
 
 "I cannot say it with the positiveness that I would like," he 
 answered; "yet I have thought that she might not be averse to 
 my suit, if it is agreeable to you. My coming to you at this 
 time is intended to relieve you of further effort with the Senora, 
 and to ask your indulgence of my hope." 
 
 "Margaret's happiness, my dear Captain, is so precious to me 
 that I could not find it possible to interfere, unless, to be sure, 
 I thought she was about to make a life's mistake. She must 
 decide; I can only advise, and not until she requests it. My 
 kindly feelings toward you, Captain, will not be misconstrued, 
 I am sure." 
 
 "I should despise myself if I failed to understand or to ap- 
 preciate your considerateness," he replied, "or to admire your 
 daughter's sincerity and to respect her for her sentiments 
 toward me, whatever they may be." 
 
 Summing up the situation a little later, the Captain found it 
 impossible to delude himself with the thought that he had made 
 the least bit of progress. Resolving not to accept Mrs. Holt's
 
 286 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 declaration as an ultimatum, he waited for an opportunity to 
 make a final appeal to Margaret. If he found her in the same 
 indefinite frame of mind in which he left her when last he 
 pressed his cause, he would beg her not to foreclose him for- 
 ever, but to allow him to stimulate his existence in anticipation. 
 
 When he again unburdened his soul to the winsome Mar- 
 garet, not omitting to tell her of his interview with her mother, 
 she found it difficult to conceal her distress. The Captain 
 pleaded with a new fervor. He was intensely in earnest, and 
 Margaret's heart was sorely touched, as it would have been had 
 she found a wounded bird by the roadside. Such was her sym- 
 pathetic nature. 
 
 "Mother is right about it, Captain," she replied, frankly. 
 "It is a matter that I must decide, for it concerns not only my 
 own happiness, but the happiness of others. We two have 
 been good friends. For my part I have sometimes thought it 
 might be something more, and again but there," giving him 
 her hand, which he pressed to his lips, "with me it will never 
 be anything less than friendship. Please do not ask for more 
 than that not now." 
 
 "I bless you!" he exclaimed. "With the encouragement 
 that you have now given me, I promise not to be importunate." 
 
 In truth, Margaret's declaration that she might have thought 
 it something more than friendship, but it must not be more 
 than that "not now" was a mere repetition; she had said as 
 much on previous occasions, in the days of his passionate plead- 
 ings and alternate melancholy at the Blue Ridge. Again he 
 was doomed to wait. 
 
 The status of Captain Mikleskoff having been definitely 
 fixed, for the present at least, he reluctantly announced his in- 
 tention of returning to Washington. Mrs. Holt experienced a 
 feeling of relief, not that the Captain's presence was objection- 
 able ; she was looking hopefully forward to the time when the
 
 MRS. HOLT'S CAMPAIGN 287 
 
 enamored Stephen, "the dear boy," would take himself away 
 from San Enrique for good and for all. She had persuaded 
 herself that he would go away with the Captain, as they had 
 come, in the dirigible, and that his departure would mark the 
 end of his passion for Juanita Guerrero. Such was her abiding 
 confidence.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 
 
 Now, it so happened that Stephen was contriving some plans 
 of his own. This was in accordance with the Holt nature. To 
 have yielded meekly to his mother's wishes; to have resigned 
 the conquest of Juanita's heart and admitted his failure in the 
 controlling motive around which all else now revolved in dull 
 obscurity, would be a reflection upon the reputation of his in- 
 domitable and invincible sire. His sturdy millionaire father, 
 thus discredited, would feel humiliated ; of this Stephen had no 
 doubt. The Holt record for "doing things" must be main- 
 tained. In the matter of success there must be no blemish 
 upon the family escutcheon. Thus persuaded, Stephen put 
 new energy into his efforts, already at a stage sufficiently fer- 
 vent to set a whole realm on fire. 
 
 When his dirigible was again in the air, a full mile above 
 the undulating hills; with his capable navigator at the wheel, 
 the airship's planes now set for greater altitudes, the blades of 
 the white propellers revolving at utmost speed, the morning 
 light from the east striking them full and fair, until, to the 
 Senora and Susie, watching from the veranda, and to many 
 others who were witnesses of the flight, the purring wheels, like 
 two great chrysanthemums hanging gracefully from what re- 
 sembled an oblong, fantastically-colored vase Stephen emerged 
 from his luxurious compartment at the rear of the swaying
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 289 
 
 carrier, closing the door behind him. He spoke to the navi- 
 gator. 
 
 "Head 'er to the northwest," said he in a whisper. 
 
 "I supposed we were going to the San Madres," replied the 
 navigator. 
 
 "To the northwest, Airskootsky." This was a pleasant, spor- 
 tive term applied to Ivan Petroffsky when Stephen was in a 
 condescending mood. 
 
 "How far away?" inquired Ivan. 
 
 "To the Grand Canyon anywhere New Mexico Arizona 
 away from the spying world." 
 
 Then Stephen returned to the compartment. He was not 
 there alone ; there was one other Juanita Guerrero. She was 
 with him by invitation a very pressing invitation, many times 
 repeated in the past few days, yet never accepted until now. 
 At first her mother had objected. Afterward, when the nov- 
 elty of a dirigible at San Enrique had worn off, and Bolston, 
 on his recent arrival from Washington, had flown in it with 
 Stephen to the picturesque San Madres, the Senora's prejudice 
 against airships had been overcome in some degree. Surely, 
 she thought, there could be no danger, and Juanita would re- 
 turn the same day. 
 
 So, Juanita was with Stephen in the compartment, and Ivan 
 had been instructed to take a northwesterly course for an in- 
 definite destination. Of course he would not disobey the orders 
 of his affluent employer. 
 
 It was now time for the midday meal. To have luncheon 
 among the clouds would be a rare experience for Juanita. So, 
 Stephen touched a spring; a polished mahogany board came 
 down from the wall. It filled the narrow space between 
 Juanita and him, as they sat facing each other in the wicker 
 seats. Then he opened his larder. It was filled with food of 
 many varieties and in great quantity, sufficient for a long voy-
 
 290 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 age. In another cabinet there were divers bottles, some of 
 them containing special vintages not unlike that of which Eph 
 Fox and Eva Farnum had partaken at Fox's private room in 
 the C. Q. D. building, when he kissed Eva and complimented 
 her on her beauty. It was, indeed, a promising prospect, 
 thought the millionaire's son, who was never quite so happy as 
 now. 
 
 In no time at all, the mahogany board was covered with 
 choice viands and tempting nectars. Juanita's appetite had 
 been enhanced by the exhilarating air. She ate and she talked. 
 Her eyes sparkled like diamonds with countless facets, only 
 they were softer and more beautiful than the most costly of 
 precious stones. These dark and glorious gems were suffused 
 with soulful love. Stephen was in Elysium. Still, Juanita 
 would not partake of the nectar. This was a great disappoint- 
 ment to him ; he had expected her to act differently, here in the 
 seclusion of his compartment, away from the restraining in- 
 fluence of the Senora. It was all so very cozy, with none to 
 see nor to interfere with anything that might take place. 
 
 So it was that Stephen drank for both of them until he was 
 overflowing with prosperity. He told Juanita of his father, of 
 his great wealth, one half of which would some day be his. He 
 told her of the Holt summer home in the mountains, of their 
 great winter palace in the city, where so many distinguished 
 people were wont to assemble, and he described his father's 
 elaborate dirigible. 
 
 "It is much larger than mine," said he. "Dad lives in it. 
 He travels at night, sleeping among the clouds. The rarified 
 air has restored his health. He houses his machine in dirizines, 
 one at Ashhurst, one at our winter mansion at the Capital, 
 and one at the top of the Holt skyscraper in New York. 
 Leaving his machine on the skyscraper, he enters his offices by a
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 291 
 
 spiral stairway through the roof. Thus he avoids the vulgar 
 crowds below." 
 
 "How wonderful!" exclaimed Juanita. 
 
 "It's a great thing to be wealthy, dear, precious girl. Think 
 of what is in store for you, sweet one, if only you will love me." 
 
 Then Stephen, after another draft of nectar from the choic- 
 est vine, moved nearer. He was now at Juanita's side. He 
 tried to take her hand in his. He did not succeed. Then he 
 threw his arms around her and made a vigorous effort to kiss 
 her. In this he failed, for she said something to him that 
 caused him to pause. She was so unlike some others he had 
 met ! Though the grape was in his blood, his faculty of com- 
 prehension had not been lost. 
 
 He looked dejectedly through the little window for a mo- 
 ment. Then he gasped an exclamation of surprise. They 
 were over the sea, some distance from land. The dirigible 
 was moving steadily to the east. He rose suddenly, muttering 
 an imprecation against the barbaric inhabitants of Russia. 
 Then he left the compartment, closing the door with a slam. 
 
 Juanita was relieved when he was gone. She did not know 
 the cause of his hasty exit ; yet she, too, could see they were not 
 traveling in the direction of the San Madres. That was a 
 mere coincidence ; something might be wrong with the machin- 
 ery. The thing that was troubling her most was the warning 
 admonition of her mother. Never again, she promised herself, 
 would she go contrary to her wishes. 
 
 "Where are you going?" demanded Stephen to Ivan. "Your 
 orders were to keep a northwesterly course." 
 
 Juanita did not hear Stephen's remark. The whir of the 
 blades, the grinding of the wheels, drowned his voice. Besides, 
 the door was closed, and he was speaking in subdued tones. 
 Nevertheless, they were earnest and dominating. 
 
 "You directed me to steer for the San Madres," replied the
 
 292 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 navigator. "Then you changed for a point in another direc- 
 tion far away. I too have deemed it wise to change." 
 
 "What right have you to " 
 
 "The right of the man I at least claim to be," interrupted 
 Ivan, for whom the knout had had no terrors in Russia. 
 
 "Your insolence is unbearable. I will discharge you." 
 
 "I will discharge myself when we are at San Enrique again, 
 Mr. Holt.." 
 
 "Turn her to the northwest, or I will take the wheel myself," 
 Stephen demanded, moving as if to do so. 
 
 "I will turn her to the south, Mr. Holt, toward San Enrique. 
 You seem to forget they are still searching for Twain; that 
 Akers is in jail." 
 
 The navigator pulled the slender cable that regulated the 
 rudder. Then he lowered the forward planes. The dirigible 
 swerved to the south and was dropping to a lower altitude. 
 Then Stephen, now angered beyond all self-control, struck the 
 navigator on the side of the face with his open hand. 
 
 The next instant he was struggling at the bottom of the car- 
 rier. The powerful Ivan had hit him. Stephen received the 
 blow just under his right eye, and went down with a thud. It 
 may have been a "dull thud," yet Juanita heard the commo- 
 tion ; she was now quite certain that something was wrong with 
 the machinery. She did not "lose her head;" she did not 
 scream nor rush from the compartment. If her surmise were 
 the correct one, of course it would be necessary to return to 
 San Enrique, now almost within sight. In half an hour they 
 would be there. It was a comfort to know that she would 
 soon be with her mother and Susie again, and her heart gave a 
 great bound when she thought of the sturdy Englishman. 
 
 When Stephen had struggled to his feet he made a mad 
 rush for the big Russian, who dealt him a swift uppercut under
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 293 
 
 the other eye. It was like the benumbing jolt of a catapult. 
 Stephen was down again. He did not get up immediately. 
 
 The navigator returned to the wheel, looked through the 
 heavy glass window for his bearings and adjusted the rudder 
 and the planes. After this he helped Stephen to his feet and 
 wiped his bleeding face with a wisp of packing. Neither of 
 the men had spoken since the scrimmage began. 
 
 Then Juanita, becoming anxious, pushed open the door of 
 the compartment. At the sight of Stephen, who was sitting on 
 a low stool, holding his handkerchief to his closed eyes, the 
 blood streaming over his face, saturating his white duck cloth- 
 ing, recently so immaculate when she beheld the gruesome 
 sight, Juanita screamed and asked what had happened. 
 
 "The machinery," answered Ivan. "It is acting badly this 
 morning. He is not seriously hurt." 
 
 "Yes, it was the machinery," said Stephen, in submissive 
 accent. "I will be all right soon." 
 
 Then she moved toward him as if she would lend assistance ; 
 by this time she swooned. Ivan carried her to the compart- 
 ment, laid her gently upon the reclining seat at the other side 
 and dashed a goblet of water in her face. Again he readjusted 
 the planes and the rudder. 
 
 From the veranda of the stone house on the hill the Senora 
 and Susie had watched the dirigible in its circuit over the 
 Caribbean. Their distress was somewhat relieved when the 
 airship turned toward the village. By the time it had arrived 
 they were at its anchoring place behind the church, anxiously 
 waiting. An unusual number of the natives had also observed 
 its course and were on hand to learn the cause of the strange 
 proceeding, for they seemed to know that the dirigible was off 
 that morning for the San Madres. 
 
 Juanita's swoon passed away before Ivan had made the diri- 
 gible fast. She was now leaning over the edge of the carrier
 
 294 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 waving her handkerchief at her mother and Susie. "I am 
 safe," she exclaimed, "but Mr. Holt is badly hurt. A serious 
 accident to the machinery." 
 
 Ivan assisted his master aboard the "Penelope." Stephen 
 went to his cabin, where his mother came in great distress to 
 administer to his necessities. Doctor Richardson was sum- 
 moned. 
 
 It was ten days before the leeches had finished with Stephen's 
 swollen eyes. After they had gorged themselves on the rich 
 deposits of coagulated blood, and the black and blue-green dis- 
 colorations had disappeared from his cheeks, where the diri- 
 gible's terrible catapult struck him, Stephen ventured to pay 
 his respects at the stone house on the hill, and to humbly 
 apologize to the Senora for having induced Juanita to go with 
 him. 
 
 "That big moose of a navigator must have known that some- 
 thing was wrong with the machinery." This was his stereo- 
 typed remark when explaining the "accident." 
 
 Captain Mikleskoff tarried during his young friend's con- 
 valescence. He did not renew his suit for Margaret's hand, 
 preferring to believe she would be more likely to look upon 
 him with favor if he gave her time. "Not now" were her last 
 words on the subject. "But when?" This was the question 
 that was troubling him most. There was only one course for 
 him to pursue ; he must wait. 
 
 And now, the New Year having arrived a month ago, and 
 Enid Grey's health being much improved indeed, she was 
 quite like her former self again and nothing occurring that 
 pointed to the whereabouts of Twain, why should Mrs. Holt's 
 interesting company remain longer at San Enrique? Why not 
 a voyage to Havana, now a possession of the Greater Republic, 
 for it had only recently been taken over? This was a long 
 anticipated step toward Manifest Destiny: which takes me
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 295 
 
 back to that period in our national history that witnessed our 
 nervous situation over the war with poor old Spain, prior to my 
 sailing for the Orient ; when our army and navy, weary of pro- 
 longed peace, and our "captains of industry," spurred by the 
 avarice of trade conquest and the selfish, unpatriotic desire for 
 war prices for their products, discovered a hostile pretext in 
 "the Cuban barbarities of the Madrid Government." And 
 so, in furtherance of the financial and industrial policy of 
 the Mongers Guild, which, having acquired the choice planta- 
 tions of the ill-starred Island, first securing a monopoly of the 
 sugar business in the States, had sent Roberts, their plenipoten- 
 tiary, to Washington, to formally advise the Government of its 
 duties in the premises. This was the impelling power behind 
 annexation. Still, like the opinions of numerous statesmen in 
 regard to the later policy of Canadian reciprocity, this is mere 
 persiflage. 
 
 Of course it was of no immediate concern to those of the 
 "Penelope" whether Cuba was "free," or whether it was now 
 the property of that saccharine section of the Mongers Guild 
 known as the sugar trust ; Havana would be no less interesting 
 as a pleasure resort for the idle rich on account of that, for the 
 harbor had been dredged of its miasmatic muck at public ex- 
 pense. So, after a short stay at this capital of the Antilles, the 
 "Penelope" would sail for the Azores, "the land of the hawks." 
 After that, on to Washington, where Congress was now strug- 
 gling with the routine affairs of the short session, and prepara- 
 tions were making for the inauguration of the Altrocratic Ban- 
 nister. All these matters must have been in the minds of Mrs. 
 Holt's talented guests. Besides, in the course of the long jour- 
 ney some word might be gathered concerning the lost senator. 
 
 "Your little party of the war vessel must go with us, Mr. 
 Bolston," said Mrs. Holt. "Send the cruiser back to New Or- 
 leans."
 
 296 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 The Englishman protested that his own duties had so long 
 been neglected he must resume them at the very earliest mo- 
 ment. It was by no means improbable that the wishes of 
 Juanita would be the determining factor ; yet he did not say so. 
 Thanking the good lady for her kindness, Bolston took his way 
 to the big stone house to breathe the perfumed atmosphere of 
 his inamorata's presence. 
 
 Juanita had promised herself that she would explain her 
 attitude toward the minor Holt, whose devotion and the 
 dirigible "accident" now furnished a theme for gossip and 
 speculation far beyond the precincts of San Enrique. Indeed, 
 it was common property as far north as Matamoras, in Texas, 
 whence the Dandazzler had come, and as far south as Tam- 
 pico. The Englishman smiled as he listened to her recital, 
 remarking that the boy should not be censured; there were 
 those several years his senior, he said, who were equally as 
 helpless as Stephen when under the spell of her irresistible 
 charms. 
 
 Nor did the philosophic Briton seem to evince the slightest 
 objection to Stephen's attentions. He reasoned well that the 
 woman a man could love and who loved him in return could 
 and should be trusted, declaring that only by this unselfish 
 course would the worthiest supplicant for her favor finally 
 succeed. 
 
 "A noble sentiment," replied Juanita. "Yet, is it not true 
 that the ardent lover is often beset with jealousies, however 
 unreasonable they may appear to be?" 
 
 "Selfish, distrustful lovers, perhaps," was the reply. "It 
 is such as these, I imagine, who are the unhappiest." 
 
 Without intending to do so, he was imparting a valuable 
 lesson one that she will try not to forget. She was not un- 
 aware of the tendency of her Latin temperament toward those 
 disturbing perplexities of mind and heart with which she was
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 297 
 
 immediately beset when this remarkable man first came into her 
 life. She colored with shame as she recalled her allusions, on 
 a previous occasion, to the savage retaliations of jealous women. 
 
 Perceiving her distress, and divining its cause, he sought to 
 divert her reflections by relating his interview with Mrs. Holt 
 concerning the prospective cruise to the Azores. This gave 
 rise to a fresh commotion of her thoughts. The sailing of the 
 "Penelope" portended the end of the sweetest dream of her 
 existence. It meant the departure, perhaps for all time, of her 
 ideal among men, the rare Briton who had taken possession of 
 her heart, thrilling her with alternate joy and jealousy. In a 
 measure, Juanita had prepared herself for this final blow; she 
 was in constant fear that it must come and that she must learn 
 to endure its consequences. 
 
 The cloud lifted the following day when Mrs. Holt came to 
 say she would be glad to have Juanita and her mother join the 
 "Penelope" party when they were ready to go away. Had Bol- 
 ston inspired this welcome invitation? This was the first 
 thought that came to Juanita. For some reason, which the 
 Guerreros could not fathom, the good lady of the "Penelope" 
 enjoined the closest secrecy in regard to the proposed voyage. 
 
 Nevertheless, before many days had passed, during which 
 time Stephen was finding new excuses for postponing his de- 
 parture for the north, his mother's secret leaked out. 
 
 "I have decided to return on the yacht, mother," said he. 
 "The Captain may go in the dirigible with the navigator if he 
 desires to do so, or he may come with us, as he likes." 
 
 For the moment Mrs. Holt was crushed. Still, she knew her 
 son too well to waste words with him in argument. Then, 
 with the thought that she might confuse him, and coming 
 directly to the matter of his malady, she said : 
 
 "Yet, it is not certain the Guerreros will be with us." 
 
 "In that case I will remain here," he replied.
 
 298 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 The following morning, when the cruiser was steaming 
 away for New Orleans, in pursuance of the unsealed orders of 
 the "Penelope's" commander, Grey and the Englishman fell to 
 discussing ways and means whereby the ones "higher up" in 
 the Twain abduction might be apprehended. Indeed, this was 
 their daily theme. As time passed they evolved new theories 
 and new plans. In every instance their theories and plans 
 would be overthrown when they came to consider Martha Gid- 
 dings' fate should it be decided to prosecute the offenders thus 
 far known to be implicated. 
 
 About this time Grey received a momentous letter. It was 
 from Cy Shirley, the Altrocratic manager in Senator Twain's 
 state. It was momentous because it suggested "another step 
 toward the top," as Grey remarked to Bolston. Shirley in his 
 letter said there was much speculation in regard to the where- 
 abouts of Giddings; that he was reported to be in Mexico at 
 some famous springs, and yet no one seemed to know where the 
 springs were. Martha's letter to Asher Wells, her betrothed 
 husband, the letter with the subterfuge in it, had borne the in- 
 tended fruit. 
 
 What disturbed the leading politicians, said Shirley in his 
 letter, was the anxiety of Sam Ives. If anyone knew where 
 Giddings was it must be he, and yet Ives was not disposed to 
 make any explanation. He was nervous and despondent, and 
 was losing interest in the campaign in behalf of Sloane, whose 
 candidacy was then before the legislature. Moreover, Ives was 
 in frequent touch with Eph Fox, who was likewise neglectful 
 of Sloane's political welfare. "There is something more im- 
 portant on foot," declared Shirley, "than the senatorship. The 
 C. Q. D. outfit are alarmed." 
 
 "Ives and Fox are concerned in this abduction," said Grey 
 to Bolston, when he had finished reading Shirley's letter.
 
 A NAVIGATOR'S NERVE 299 
 
 "Giddings holds the key to the situation. He must be closely 
 watched. We must retain control over him." 
 
 "We have the real key to the situation right here," replied 
 Bolston. 
 
 "How fortunate it is that we did not allow her to go back to 
 Washington," exclaimed Grey. "I am beginning to see a great 
 light, my friend. Already I have a plan in mind. We'll get 
 Fox and Ives; do not fear. Leave it to me." 
 
 A little later Mr. Grey was sitting on the deck with Martha 
 Giddings. 
 
 "My daughter has told me of your father's serious illness," 
 he remarked. "I trust he is improving." 
 
 "Father writes me that he is better," replied Martha. 
 
 "He has friends near him, of course?" 
 
 "Yes ; Mr. Bostwick sees him daily." 
 
 "Mr. Ives and Mr. Fox will take care, no doubt, that he does 
 not want for attention or anything." 
 
 Martha colored. There was a certain hesitation in her reply 
 that bespoke her thoughts. And yet she was not thinking of 
 the connection of Ives and Fox with the abduction, for she did 
 not know as to that. She was thinking of Eph Fox, of her 
 father's subserviency to him, of his presuming attentions to her, 
 of her good fortune in thus far avoiding the snares he had laid 
 to entrap her. Then she said : 
 
 "They have not seen father since he came east. Being ill, 
 he cannot assist them in their schemes. Men of their kind are 
 not profuse in their sympathies where sympathy is not directly 
 convertible into power." 
 
 "Very true," replied Grey. "And they would be the first to 
 cry for help if trouble should come to them." 
 
 "If they were in distress father would surely try to assist 
 them." 
 
 "Enid, as you know, has told me of your purpose in coming
 
 300 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 here, Miss Giddings. I have thought of it a great deal, and 
 would gladly assist you, if possible. Much depends upon your 
 father's course." 
 
 "He will do anything, Mr. Grey, to relieve me ; depend upon 
 it, and I will never cease to bless you for your generous consid- 
 eration." 
 
 "For the present," replied the editor, "he must decline to 
 enter into further compact with them. He ought not to see 
 them should they call at the rest cure. He must devote him- 
 self to you. Write him a guarded letter to that effect. You 
 may say you have discussed the matter with me, and that I am 
 your friend."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 
 
 Just before the "Penelope" weighed anchor Enid sought her 
 benefactress for such she now called Mrs. Holt and told 
 her how deeply grateful she was. The good woman was moved 
 to tears before Enid had near finished; for while the million- 
 aire's wife, as has been said, was of a practical turn, she had a 
 soft place in her mother's bosom for distressed human kind. 
 Nor had the vulgar surroundings of an affluent life suppressed 
 the benevolent emotions which prompted her in rescuing this 
 victim of overwrought sentiment from the doom of despair. 
 
 "So few of us are ever wholly understood," said she to Enid, 
 between convulsive sobs. "How often I've wished to be like 
 your dear mother all sympathy and goodness. It is but na- 
 tural that she should be as she is, never having known the 
 seamy side of life. Her parents were rich and she was for- 
 tunate, to be sure, in being brought up in luxury. I was a 
 farmer's daughter and knew how to milk the cows and churn 
 the butter." 
 
 "What a happy girlhood you must have had," interposed 
 Enid. 
 
 "I did not think so then," she replied. "My dream was of 
 wealth, power, station. And now that I've got them, my heart 
 yearns for the farm home again. But it is useless to repine. I 
 must be content, if possible, with my miserable lot, devoting
 
 302 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 myself to relieving distress wherever I find it. It makes me 
 happy to think I was able to help you, my dear, even in my 
 direct, positive and not altogether agreeable way." 
 
 "I am sure," said Enid, "you have been most agreeable. I 
 know what you mean, but please do not disparage yourself. 
 You have accomplished much more than if you had merely 
 sympathized with me, for that only would have added to the 
 depression when you were gone. But you called me back to my 
 duty to myself, and if " 
 
 "I know what you would say, dear. If Mr. Twain never 
 returns, you at least will have been saved to revere his memory." 
 
 "And you my preserver," replied Enid. "I shall always love 
 you as my other mother. Thank you God bless you for your 
 kindness." 
 
 Except from Margaret, and now and then a meager expres- 
 sion of appreciation from Stephen usually forced from him by 
 some unusually tender act of his mother's Mrs. Holt's real 
 greatness had never before received such recognition as this. 
 She folded Enid to her breast, kissing her cheeks, the grateful 
 tears falling ad extremum. 
 
 All the village inhabitants were at the waterfront when the 
 yacht sailed away. It was a sorrowful assemblage, but none 
 was more cast down in spirit than Don Jose Guerrero, who, for 
 the first time in half his existence, was left as the sole occupant 
 of the stone house on the hill ; which means, as the reader will 
 understand, that the Senora and Juanita were on board the 
 "Penelope," and little Susie, too, who by this time had become 
 so attached to the kindly old Alcalde, no doubt she would have 
 been willing to have adopted him in her list of fathers. 
 
 Nor did she forget the spiritual one at Chorreras, to whom 
 she sent a farewell letter. "Goodbye, my dear padre," she 
 wrote. "I will not forget you. I have told them all about 
 you and the little church. When I'm grown up and have some
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 303 
 
 money to spare you shall have a much bigger one, like I saw at 
 Tampico, and many nice new things for the altar, and a clean 
 white surplice for yourself. I hope that will be by the next 
 Candlemas after this one I mean the surplice ; I can get that 
 by then, but you may have to wait quite awhile for the new 
 church, because it costs so much, and I don't yet know where 
 I'm going to get the money." 
 
 "Do you think the good old padre will understand all these 
 big words?" she asked Bolston, to whom she read the letter. 
 "He's French, you know." 
 
 "Permit me to translate it to the French, Susie." And so 
 this was done. And if ever Chorreras is to have a new church 
 it will be the gift of Susie Noggins. Though the padre is old 
 and may not live long enough to see it, he will at least have 
 had the consoling satisfaction that his little friend did not for- 
 get to write him before she went indefinitely away. 
 
 While indulging in farewells, the lachrymal ducts being in 
 eruption, both on the "Penelope" and at the waterfront below 
 San Enrique, it may not be out of order to say that Captain 
 Nicholas Mikleskoff, much dispirited, and using his handker- 
 chief, as on a former occasion, sailed for the north with Ivan 
 Petroffsky several days ago; and when they were arrived at 
 Washington Ivan surrendered his commission as the navigator 
 of Stephen Holt's dirigible, for this adventurous young man 
 was no longer interested in aeronautics. 
 
 And what a distance for the Senora to be going! She had 
 never been so far away from home as the "Penelope" would 
 now take her, not even to Havana. Indeed, her Alcaldeship 
 was never before abroad from her own native land, and she 
 wept copiously on leaving; not so much, perhaps, on this ac- 
 count as for Don Jose, who was the best of husbands even 
 since the arrival of Doctor Richardson, who spent much time 
 in the Senora's company for, as I have said, she was a comely
 
 304 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 creature, and the Doctor was about her own age, maybe a year 
 or two older, a somewhat impressionable person withal, as he 
 himself has already confessed in speaking to Bolston of Juan- 
 ita's charms. Yet, both the Senora and the Doctor being mar- 
 ried, I am sure nothing further need be said against any sus- 
 picions which the friendly relations existing between them 
 might otherwise engender. Besides, the Doctor was entitled to 
 a professorship of languages, and dearly loved the Spanish. 
 
 And the Englishman, too. He had reconsidered his first in- 
 tention to return by cruiser, for it will be remembered Mrs. 
 Holt was quite as positive in insisting that he should take pas- 
 sage on the "Penelope" as she had been that the war vessel 
 should be sent back to New Orleans. If there was any other 
 reason for Bolston's reconsideration the dear reader must dis- 
 cover it for him or her self; it is impossible for the writer to 
 deal with every motive of each of the long array of characters 
 portrayed in this volume. 
 
 Nor did Stephen desist from the indulgence of his passion; 
 it may be that he could not do so, for that has been the fate of 
 others. Even before the Mexican coast had disappeared 
 toward the setting sun, he had renewed the siege of Juanita's 
 heart. Had she loved him he might have borne himself in 
 some degree of patience. In that case he could have devoted 
 his time to the winning of his mother's consent. After that the 
 senior Holt could have been managed, for wives know how to 
 bring these things to pass. 
 
 Still, the great money master was not a compassionate man, 
 nor easily persuaded. Above all, he could not be driven. All 
 this is mere speculation, for Stephen's father knew nothing 
 whatever about his son's infatuation. And there was this addi- 
 tional obstacle, of which the enamored youth was not then 
 aware, although, like others of the "Penelope" party, he might 
 have suspected it : Juanita loved the incomparable Briton. She
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 305 
 
 had never aspired to distinction of title, nor to a matrimonial 
 alliance with glitter. Her parents were not immersed in greed. 
 They were conspicuous only for those accomplishments with 
 which nature and a creditable lineage had endowed them. It 
 was enough if their daughter should wed some one within this 
 circle of simplicity and respectability. 
 
 So that Stephen's chromatic speech in the compartment of 
 his dirigible, when he supposed Ivan was steering toward the 
 Grand Canyon, "away from the spying world;" his attempt to 
 allure Juanita by picturing to her mind the fabulous wealth of 
 his father, had found no response. To her it was as the tink- 
 ling of cymbals. Neither had her imagination nor her deeper 
 emotions been stirred by the tale. 
 
 Thus isolated from every element of sympathy and encour- 
 agement, and failing to comprehend how any woman, especially 
 one of humble station, could resist him for, like Oakley of 
 the pleasure yacht, he was innoculated with the virus of af- 
 fluence he conceived the idea that her affections must be en- 
 grossed by another, but by whom he could not decide. At 
 once he was seized with a hatred for all masculine kind. Re- 
 solving upon the identification of his rival, if rival there was, 
 he soon hit upon a line of action. 
 
 "Your lack of consideration for my feelings," said he to 
 Juanita, soon after the "Penelope" had touched at Havana, 
 "convinces me that you love another. Tell me frankly if this 
 is true, and I will try to cease to care for you." 
 
 Here, indeed, was a tempting inducement; yet, Juanita was 
 not to be decoyed into a confession which concerned not only 
 herself but Ralph Bolston as well. Although she was unable 
 to account for the Englishman's reserve and his studied disin- 
 clination to permit his feelings for her to become known, even 
 to those who were very close to both of them, her confidence in 
 him was now far greater than any timorous doubt she may have
 
 306 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 had before concerning his sincerity. Moreover, she was in a 
 deal of doubt in regard to Stephen's promise that he would try 
 to cease to care for her. She resolved, therefore, to be done 
 with him, at least as a supposed lover. 
 
 "I greatly regret my failure to make you understand that I 
 am not lacking in consideration for your feelings," she replied. 
 "Surely, you would not have me deceive you into the belief that 
 I loved you when frankness compels me to say I do not. It is 
 no fault of yours ; I am willing to admit that it is all my own." 
 
 "Yet you have not told me until now that you do not love 
 me," he replied in a tone of half pleading and half vexation. 
 
 "Because I hoped that would be unnecessary," she answered. 
 
 "Neither do you tell me that there is someone else," he said, 
 his trembling voice betraying his rising anger. 
 
 "It would not help you if you knew " 
 
 "But I will know," he exclaimed. "You cannot prevent it." 
 
 "I shall not try to prevent it," she replied. Then she rose 
 from the seat beside him and moved toward the stairway lead- 
 ing from the upper deck. 
 
 Stephen followed, and as Juanita was about to descend the 
 stairs he grasped her arm with a viselike grip. "I'll compel 
 you to love me," he hissed between his set teeth; then, releasing 
 his hold, he walked away. 
 
 The following morning Bolston, Juanita and Margaret were 
 pacing the "Penelope's" deck, laughing and chatting in joyous 
 mood. The Senora came from below with a wrap for her 
 daughter, for the air was damp and chill. Bolston took the 
 wrap and placed it about Juanita's shoulders. It required some 
 time to adjust it. Stephen, who was walking at the further side 
 of the deck with Martha Giddings, observed the Englishman's 
 attentions. In his resentment, and being studiously alert for 
 vindication of his theory in regard to Juanita's attitude toward 
 him, he shot a vicious glance at the Englishman.
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 307 
 
 Just then Juanita dropped her handkerchief. It might have 
 been carried overboard by the wind but for Bolston's agility. 
 It is more than probable that Juanita's gratitude for this slight 
 favor gave her the desired opportunity to speak to him in a 
 confidential tone, and that they were in no great haste to join 
 Margaret and the Senora, who were now walking away to- 
 gether. Even this would have gone unobserved, except by 
 Stephen, who was now fully convinced that he had discovered 
 the rival who was robbing him of his idol's affections. 
 
 Thereafter the hours hung heavily upon him, and his mind 
 was filled with dark thoughts. He avoided his mother's guests, 
 spending much of the time in his cabin. Finally, he persuaded 
 himself that even ordinary good manners entitled Juanita to an 
 apology for his rudeness. 
 
 Coming from his cabin one afternoon he saw his sister and 
 the Englishman on deck. They were walking slowly, arm in 
 arm, engaged in earnest conversation. Stephen was pleased. 
 Why could not Bolston, now the bete noire of his existence, fall 
 in love with Margaret, he thought to himself, leaving the 
 black-eyed charmer to him? How might such a thing be 
 brought about? While revolving this query in his mind Juan- 
 ita appeared, "more beautiful in Stephen's eyes than ever. 
 
 Since the scene on the deck, when, through consuming love 
 and disappointment, he had allowed himself to become angry 
 and lay a violent hand upon Juanita's arm, they had merely 
 passed the time of day when they met. Not to resume their 
 former friendly relations would be little less than brutal; he 
 was reasoning coldly, of course, without regard for his own 
 inclinations. Besides, he wondered if Juanita had seen Mar- 
 garet and Bolston, now at the further end of the vessel, still 
 arm in arm like two engaged lovers, as he wished to Heaven 
 they were. Here was an opportunity that must not be missed.
 
 308 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 It was a situation which afforded a ray of hope for a despairing 
 and a desperate heart. 
 
 With a smile, not without a twinge of guilt in it, he ap- 
 proached Juanita, saying that she was "too beautiful to be 
 left alone." Then in a repentant tone "I've come to ask for- 
 giveness." 
 
 "Oh, I forgave you at the time long before your anger 
 cooled," she replied with a laugh. "I would not allow that to 
 disturb our friendship, Mr. Holt. Do be reasonable hereafter, 
 for your own sake." 
 
 "Men are such monsters," he replied, moving so that when 
 Juanita turned to face him she would see Bolston and Mar- 
 garet. "Very few of them are worthy of a good woman's love. 
 They are changeable and inconstant. I have never deceived 
 you, dear, sweet Juanita. I have sworn to love you always, 
 and my affection for you is so great I would hate myself to 
 think that any other woman could ever come between us. If 
 you only loved me like that, to me it would be worth an eternity 
 of every other bliss. Even now, with only discouragement 
 from you, I could not bring myself to think of the love of 
 another." 
 
 Juanita paled. Her eyes, staring straight at Bolston and 
 Margaret, who unlocked their arms as they approached, seemed 
 to lose their powers, and her head swam as if the sea were 
 tossed by a tempest. Thus far Stephen's wicked ruse had suc- 
 ceeded. While pleading his own cause in words of burning 
 passion, by suggestion he had painted the Englishman in colors 
 perfidious. 
 
 "Oh, it is nothing man's constancy," remarked Juanita, 
 petulantly, as she took Stephen's arm and walked with him to 
 the starboard. 
 
 When they were seated in the shadow of a life boat swinging 
 lazily from its davits, Stephen could scarcely repress his joy,
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 309 
 
 although he made pretense of being much cast down. Though 
 he had fired her susceptible nature by the picture so artfully 
 drawn of man's duplicity, while the living reality stood out 
 before Juanita's very eyes, as now she did not doubt, his victory 
 was far from being won. He knew that before another day 
 Bolston would talk with Juanita; that she would listen and 
 doubt, and, doubting, listen all the more, and that unless new 
 and conclusive evidence to justify Juanita's suspicions were 
 forthcoming, his rival would win her to himself again. 
 
 So it was that Stephen, after much futile endeavor to im- 
 press Juanita with her mistake in not reciprocating his feelings 
 for her, retired to his cabin to formulate a further plan of at- 
 tack upon the Englishman's integrity. 
 
 Time was short ; the "Penelope" was nearing her destination. 
 He must act quickly. Would Margaret assist him? he asked 
 himself. Had he not carried Captain Mikleskoff away on her 
 account? for well he knew of his sister's ruse at Washington. 
 Besides, considerate and adorable sister that she was, had not 
 she come to his aid on other occasions when he was in distress? 
 He would lay the matter before Margaret in its best light ere 
 he slept that night? If she failed him, he would not sleep at 
 all until he had devised a means to the unrighteous end in view. 
 
 "Margery, you dearest of sisters," he began, after beckoning 
 her to follow him to a secluded part of the "Penelope" that 
 evening, "I ought to tell you that, although the Captain is 
 a fine fellow in many respects, he does not begin to reach up to 
 Mr. Bolston's standard." 
 
 "And he is not in love with Miss Guerrero," said she, inter- 
 rupting him and giving him a pat upon the cheek. "You fear 
 that Mr. Bolston does love her, and you would have your sister 
 take him for herself, so that you may win the Castilian beauty. 
 You turned me to good account for yourself on the deck this 
 afternoon, Stephen ; yet I forgive you, although I fear Juanita
 
 310 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 will never forgive me. What may I do further to assist you? 
 Remember, you must not expect me to do anything that is dis- 
 creditable." 
 
 "Not for the world, Margery," he exclaimed; "only make 
 love to Mr. Bolston in earnest of course. You can win him 
 away from Juanita and secure a prize husband. Help me, 
 Margery ! I never needed your help as I need it now. And it 
 will be on the square, too. All is fair in love and war." 
 
 "Except duplicity in love affairs, Stephen," she replied. 
 "If Mr. Bolston loves her, surely you would not have your 
 sister marry him, if she could." 
 
 "Oh, but Margery, dear," pleaded Stephen, "he will love 
 you. He is a foreigner, and you are wealthy." 
 
 Margaret gave Stephen a searching look. She did not reply 
 by saying that the question of international marriage, under 
 conditions involving wide disparity in the matter of financial 
 fortune, had already been of much concern to her. She did 
 venture the remark, however, that there might be a vast dif- 
 ference between the intentions of Captain Mikleskoff and the 
 viewpoint of Ralph Bolston. 
 
 "Mr. Bolston," said she, "if he loves Miss Guerrero, is not 
 moved by sordid motives." 
 
 "All the more, then, would he meet your ideal view, Mar- 
 gery, as a suitable husband." 
 
 "The less likely, therefore, that he would abandon his ideal 
 in the selection of a wife," she answered. 
 
 Stephen's attempt to enlist the aid of Margaret in his matri- 
 monial project had failed. As usual, whenever he came face 
 to face with disappointment, he displayed impatience. 
 
 "You are like all the rest of womankind," he exclaimed, "in- 
 considerate and unreasonable." 
 
 Without further parley, he abruptly left Margaret and went 
 to his cabin. Here he revolved the situation in all its fluctuat-
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 311 
 
 ing phases. When he came to the breakfast table next morn- 
 ing he wore a look of weariness and anxiety. 
 
 It was not the Holt nature the nature of the male Holts 
 to acknowledge defeat, nor to relinquish a selfish purpose. 
 This fact had been demonstrated, too often perhaps, in the 
 elaborate office rooms of Holt major at the top of the sky- 
 scraper, at the foot of the spiral stairway. 
 
 As a last desperate resort in the effort to possess himself of 
 Juanita Guerrero, Stephen, after hours of mental turmoil in 
 his cabin, conceived the idea that the one desire of his heart, 
 now cankered with malignant hatred and unrequited love, 
 might be attained if Juanita's apprehensions could be stimulat- 
 ed by some written evidence that Bolston was deceiving her. 
 It must be such evidence, he reasoned, as would serve to con- 
 vince her beyond Bolston's power to refute it. Spurred by this 
 pernicious thought, he seized a pen and, after much hot-headed 
 effort, produced the following : 
 
 Beloved Briton: Would that I had the power to tell you how 
 greatly your absence is lamented in this solitude; yet how 
 ardently burn my kindling thoughts of your early return. Think- 
 ing of you, I almost envy my sweet friend Enid, who, as I write, 
 is in your place at the dining table, where you told me of your 
 love, and I, for reasons that now appear so groundless, ex- 
 pressed my foolish doubts. Could you but know the present 
 yearnings of my heart not even the great necessities of the 
 state, which concern your mind too deeply, I fear, could long 
 detain you. Yet I must haste. Don Jose is on board. He is 
 leaving in another moment for the village and will put this in 
 the post. I bless him and those who will carry this loving short 
 letter to you from MARGARET. 
 
 San Enrique, 
 
 Thursday morning. 
 
 "If this fails to convince Juanita," said Stephen to himself, 
 having finished the mischievous missive, "my cause would seem
 
 312 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 to be hopeless. But, by all the gods of Greece, I'll never quit 
 until she is mine !" 
 
 In respect of time and methods Stephen was a ready reckoner 
 and equally proficient in the art of adaptation. He was fa- 
 vored in his wickedness in that it would be difficult for an ex- 
 pert to distinguish his handwriting from that of Margaret's. 
 There was no obstacle he could see now in the short-cut way 
 he had determined upon to bring the fraudulent letter to Juan- 
 ita's attention. His present impatience was due to the fact that 
 he must wait until the light of day came again, only to be 
 dimmed by the radiance of Juanita Guerrero's love-enthralling 
 face. 
 
 The opportunity came when Stephen found Juanita amusing 
 herself at the vessel's stern by tossing sea biscuits to the gulls. 
 He joined her and suggested that he would catch one with a 
 hook and line if she wished, but she protested, saying that it 
 would be an act of cruelty. 
 
 "Besides, why should the innocent bird be deprived of its 
 precious freedom?" she asked. 
 
 "Oh, they're no good anyway," he replied. Without giving 
 her time to respond, he said he had something very important 
 to say to her. When they were seated he drew the forged letter 
 from his pocket, saying it had been found by a servant and 
 handed to him. 
 
 "I have thought about it a great deal," he continued, "and 
 have concluded it is my duty to apprise you of its contents. 
 Then I must return it to Margaret, with the suggestion that 
 her 'beloved Briton' should be more careful in regard to letters 
 he receives from admiring ladies. If you will follow with your 
 beautiful eyes, Juanita, I will read. . . . How careless 
 of him!" remarked Stephen, nonchalently, when he had fin- 
 ished. "I should have taken it to Margaret at once, I suppose,
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 313 
 
 but my interest in you, sweet one, prompted me otherwise. I 
 will do so now, if you will excuse me for a few minutes." 
 
 Before going, ostensibly in search of Margaret, he had taken 
 note of poor Juanita's agitation, pretending not to do so, it 
 may be guessed. She made no reply, but sat rigid as a statue, 
 her wide eyes fixed upon the great open sea. She was not 
 thinking, as a much less interested person would have thought, 
 about Stephen's concept of the proprieties. His supposed 
 breach of duty toward his sister concerned her not. All she 
 knew and felt was that she was miserably unhappy. When 
 Stephen returned, the victim of his atrocious act had gone. 
 
 In her cabin Juanita threw herself upon the bed and wept. 
 Her mind was not in a reasoning mood, else she had contrasted 
 Ralph Bolston's manly bearing with the impulsiveness and 
 recklessness of young Holt, and bided her time for the certain 
 vindication of the prudent Englishman. 
 
 In this frame of mind, too, she naturally would not take into 
 consideration her own temperament, that particular phase of it 
 which yielded too readily to gloomy apprehensions in the 
 heart's affairs. She could think only of the loss of the one and 
 only man who had impressed his image upon her young white 
 soul he who had told her on the Tampico pier in no uncertain 
 phrase that she was his first love ; and had kissed her hand 
 there it was, the hand upon which the tears, in her extreme sor- 
 row, were now raining, as if they would wash away the impress 
 of his precious lips. Ah, Dieu! Could it be those very lips were 
 for another ? that, alas ! at this moment, he was sealing his 
 vows of love for the blue-eyed Margaret? Unhappy Juanita! 
 
 "It is nothing, madre mio. Once in a great while a woman 
 must weep, entirely without cause." 
 
 Yet the Senora, who, in the midst of her siesta in the adjoin- 
 ing cabin, had been awakened by her daughter's sobs, knew
 
 314 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 that an unusual affliction had come to Juanita, but she did not 
 press her for an explanation. 
 
 The one consolation now remaining to support the distracted 
 girl was that no one, not even her devoted mother, was aware 
 of her very great affection for him none save Bolston and 
 herself. Surely, now that all seemed to be at an end, he would 
 not subject her to additional humiliation by allowing their 
 attachment to become public property. Such was her sensitive 
 pride. 
 
 For reasons which she herself could not fathom, Juanita 
 entertained no animosity toward Margaret. And yet, she could 
 not endure the thought that, being Mrs. Holt's guest, she and 
 her mother must go to the millionaire's home on their arrival 
 at the Capital. How much she regretted that they were not at 
 the stone house on the hill again, where she might spend the 
 remainder of her days in silent sorrow. From this dilemma she 
 was soon relieved, being informed by the Senora that Mrs. 
 Grey had insisted that they should partake of her hospitality, 
 for a time at least, during their stay. Accordingly, it was 
 arranged that Juanita and her mother should go to the home of 
 the Greys on the arrival of the "Penelope." 
 
 Then she resolved that for the rest of the voyage she would 
 remain in her cabin, permitting it to be understood she was in- 
 disposed, thus minimizing the embarrassments of a most awk- 
 ward situation. In her present state of mind a meeting with 
 Bolston must surely give rise to unpleasant complications and 
 perhaps betray her solitary grief to others. All anxiety as to 
 her health was removed when Doctor Richardson announced, 
 after a professional call upon her, that it was only a slight 
 disturbance of the digestive function. Even in these modern 
 times few physicians are able, through preliminary diagnosis, 
 to distinguish between stomach derangement and the emo- 
 tional illnesses of the heart.
 
 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 315 
 
 Although he did not betray his anxiety, the Englishman made 
 frequent inquiries of the Senora concerning "the invalid," and 
 on the morning of the day that brought the voyage of the 
 "Penelope" to a close, finding a struggling and lonely little 
 for-get-me-not in one of Mrs. Holt's window boxes, he sent it 
 to Juanita with his card, upon which was written: "So very 
 glad to learn your indisposition is not serious. It will be a de- 
 light to see you on deck again." 
 
 It was a message, coming from one of Bolston's tempera- 
 ment, that was not wholly devoid of sentiment. "And the 
 flower," thought Juanita "there is none in the box whose 
 language denotes faithlessness." This unworthy thought she 
 instantly repelled by pressing the little bloom to her lips. "I 
 will love him always," she cried. Emerging now from the 
 chaos of her earlier trepidation, she had begun to reason. 
 
 Shortly before the "Penelope" came to her anchorage in the 
 harbor at the foot of the Capital city, Mrs. Holt's guests 
 assembled on the forward deck and discussed plans for the 
 immediate future. Juanita was the last to join the group. She 
 was accorded a most generous reception, Bolston being among 
 the first to greet her. She noted the sturdy, earnest manner 
 that had been his dominant characteristic from the beginning 
 of their acquaintance. Could it be that behind this manly 
 exterior all was perfidy and dishonor? The answer to this 
 thought might have been read in the guilty face of Stephen 
 Holt when he came up to express his pleasure in seeing Juanita 
 again. Still, her greeting was none the less cordial on account 
 of Stephen's furtive glances, and she responded cordially when 
 Margaret kissed her.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 
 
 Once upon a time a very estimable man was called to the 
 highest councils of his country. And there was great acclaim. 
 He went forth to his duty, as God had given him the ability 
 to see it and the strength to sustain it. But he was soon beset 
 by tribulation. Contrive as he would, he seemed not to meet 
 with popular approval, for there were those about him that 
 were covetous, who secretly hoped to supplant him; therefore, 
 they found many faults in him. And naught he did sufficed 
 to please those around him, nor the fallible public. Finally, 
 he had not a single virtue to his credit; he was all blackness. 
 Then he died. There was excess of ceremony and pageantry at 
 his funeral. His late detractors were there in numbers. They 
 laid flowers upon his bier, having sprinkled them profusely 
 with their tears. Said the orator at the grave : "Here lies 
 all that is mortal of a good and great man." "Amen," re- 
 sponded the flower-bearers. And they did weep. 
 
 You, my dear readers, have known such men, have seen 
 many such funerals. Mayhap you were at this one. If so, 
 I trust your tears were genuine, not like those of the crocodile. 
 Also, that this little parable may serve to assure the critic 
 of the good intentions of the author hereof in pointing a moral 
 if not adorning a tale. Not that the critic has any terrors 
 for him; for already does he know, and he hereby freely con-
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 317 
 
 fesses it, that he is unworthy of the critic's acquaintance even, 
 from a literary point of view. Neither will he ask the critic 
 to give a definition of what really good literature is, no more 
 than he would solicit his opinion of the best Burgundy or the 
 most insinuating Madeira, without which, as I have been 
 reliably informed, the good old gentlemen and eminent who 
 wrote our federal constitution would have been unequal to 
 the task. 
 
 And this reminds me of an incident in the life of an able 
 and conscientious judge, who, having written a decision in an 
 important case, laid it aside for awhile before promulgating it 
 from the bench. Taking it up again, he read it over very 
 carefully. At the end, as if he had been reviewing the opinion 
 of a distinguished colleague, or listening to a profound argu- 
 ment at the bar, instead of reading a production of his own, he 
 
 exclaimed: "What fool wrote this opinion, I wonder?" 
 
 Being at a dinner one evening with some friends, the judge 
 partook of several bumpers of good Burgundy, with the usual 
 result that it roused his mental faculties to the point of hope- 
 less sleeplessness, by consequence of which he spent the night 
 rewriting the opinion aforementioned. When he read it over 
 a few days later, he was moved to flatter himself that, although 
 it reversed his former views, giving the suit to the plaintiff 
 instead of to the defendant, as in the first opinion, nothing 
 so learned had ever before been conceived in the mind of a 
 judge. 
 
 But this yarn may be off the same spool with that other 
 one, of more recent origin, wherein my brother of "The 
 White Prophet" is reputed to have boldly asserted that three 
 out of four of the critic class are victims of subacute diodonitis, 
 if any of you know what that is. This I neither affirm nor 
 deny, for I have my own ailments. 
 
 Well, it was so in respect of the unfortunate hero of this
 
 318 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 story. After years of effort to please his countrymen to sat- 
 isfy all his friends and convince his enemies of their error in 
 prosecuting a backbiting campaign against him like the very 
 estimable man in the parable, he died; that is, he was sup- 
 posed to be dead. Inasmuch as everyone believed he had been 
 abducted, and no one, except it be Andy Akers, could have 
 furnished any evidence upon which to found such a belief, nor 
 to discredit it, so, also, did everyone now believe that Cor- 
 nelius Twain was dead. Hence, there was universal sorrow, 
 and it was genuine, for the most part, except only, perhaps, 
 among the consolidators, who made such noisy display of their 
 grief over his loss as to be suspected of hypocrisy. 
 
 Imagine, then, the astonishment of the few senators who 
 were in their seats, on the convening of the body one morning 
 not many days after the "Penelope's" interesting company 
 arrived in Washington, when, almost doubting their own eyes, 
 they saw Twain walk into the chamber and sit down at his 
 desk! not only the astonishment of senators but also the con- 
 sternation of the consolidators in the reserved stalls, where they 
 had been lounging during the daily sessions of the past eight 
 months, in constant expectation that the "unfinished business" 
 would be laid before the Senate by the presiding officer, and 
 that, a tie vote being discovered, the Vice- President would 
 exercise his constitutional right to decide, and, the decision be- 
 ing in favor of the second amendment, as they had no doubt it. 
 would be, the Senate would then proceed with further voting 
 on the Purchase bill, which, according to their hope and reck- 
 oning, would surely be defeated. 
 
 The amazement was very great, indeed. Twain had met 
 with some difficulty in convincing the doorkeeper of his iden- 
 tity, for there was a remarkable change from his former well- 
 groomed appearance, and he had grown a prodigious beard 
 which completely covered his strong chin and added many
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 319 
 
 years to his real age. But, when he spoke to the bewildered 
 guardian of the sacred precincts, his familiar voice dispelled 
 all doubt, and he was allowed to pass through the portal to 
 the consecrated chamber. He was meagre of flesh, and his 
 face was pale; yet there, still, were the finely-chiseled and 
 resolute features, and his eyes, deeply sunken though they weje, 
 had not lost their keen, penetrating forcefulness. 
 
 The Senate rose as a body when he came in at the green 
 baize door, whence the startled page had entered on that fear- 
 ful night of Twain's disappearance. The members, in awe- 
 stricken silence, remained standing as he passed slowly to his 
 seat. Nothing like this had ever before taken place in the 
 Senate. He paused in the middle aisle, bowed, first to the 
 Altrocratic side, and then, with a still lower bow, to the 
 Conservatives. 
 
 It was not until Baxter was at Twain's side, and, after 
 warmly clasping his hand, had taken from the lapel of 1 his 
 coat a fragrant double carnation and handed it to him, that 
 the occupants of the galleries realized what had happened; 
 whereupon they indulged in a burst of thunderous applause. 
 The Vice- President rapped with his gavel, and made the usual 
 proclamation that the galleries would be cleared should the 
 demonstrations be repeated. But everyone knew that nothing 
 of the kind had ever been done, and that on this occasion it 
 was less likely to happen than on any other that could be 
 imagined. And, too, the Vice- President had no doubt that 
 before the end of the day some speeches would be made that 
 would empty the galleries automatically. 
 
 Soon a deep hush fell upon the scene. Strong men were 
 now in tears ; fair women wept with them. Baxter, with his 
 carnation, had touched the hearts of the throng in the gal- 
 leries and of senators as well; had stirred one of the exalted 
 emotions of man.
 
 320 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Abou spoke more slow, 
 
 But cheerily still; and said, "I pray thee, then, 
 Write me as one who loves his fellowmen." 
 The angel wrote and vanished. The next night 
 It came again with a great wakening light, 
 And showed the names whom love of God had blest, 
 And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest! 
 
 As I entered the Capitol building my Philosopher friend, 
 who has already been introduced to the reader, was coming 
 out. He had witnessed the unusual scene from an obscure 
 corner of the public gallery, where he was wont to sit among 
 the proletarian visitors. He despised maudlin sentiment, and 
 on that account kept away from the funerals of distinguished 
 statesmen. I knew by the cynical smile on his face that his 
 mind was charged with a message it would be worth while 
 waiting to hear. 
 
 "What fools these mortals be," said he when I greeted him 
 and asked if Twain was really returned. "Yes, sir, he is in 
 the chamber, and there is much senseless emotion astir about it. 
 I have never doubted he would return in due time. Neither 
 has the mirthful Mr. Akers, whose short period of imprison- 
 ment on a charge of which he is both guilty and innocent will 
 now be used to identify him with the martyrs; while the 
 gullible multitude will never know the exact truth concerning 
 the whole gloomy business, for the scarlet press will go on 
 insisting upon its abduction theory, even though the doctors, 
 guided by the titular goddess of the Greeks, find the vagrant 
 impediment that is pressing on the poor fellow's brain. What 
 disturbs me is the outcome of the uncertain struggle that has 
 been going on all these months between Twain's heroic spirit 
 and the aforesaid impediment, and which of these is to be the 
 final victor. That is what science is interested in knowing ; yet, 
 what a sad tragedy it is ! I hope Athene is to prevail. But it 
 is plain to be seen that the mongering consolidators would shed
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 321 
 
 no tears if the cerebral obstruction should succeed in doing its 
 worst, so that they might go on, unhindered, in their mad 
 endeavor for universal dominion by the process of monopoly. 
 This thought makes me tremble for the fate of the Altrocratic 
 party, which must, I fear, like all its political predecessors, fall 
 under the baleful influence that knows naught by the potency 
 of gold. Farewell, then, to altruism, whose fate, alas! is now 
 no longer in the balance even, for behold the mighty power 
 of predaceous greed, with its soulless, clanging instruments 
 of iron and steel, all aglow with blood, as it stands menacingly 
 and dominant in every avenue of enterprise the conquering 
 spirit of a new kind of god, soon to be the only God that man 
 will know, or fear, or love." 
 
 "All about Sen'ter Wane come back," cried a newsboy. 
 The Philosopher waved him aside and bade him be off, but 
 the urchin preferred to listen to my friend's prophetic dec- 
 lamation. When the Philosopher stopped to take a new breath 
 the newsboy, turning irreverently upon his heel and moving 
 away, exclaimed: 
 
 "Ah, wat's de use of ennyting?" 
 
 "Nothing," replied the Philosopher, looking away from the 
 little fellow; "that is, nothing for empty minds, except to be 
 willingly carried along on the hysterical human tide, only to 
 be dashed to destruction on the rocks of error and ignorance. 
 Such, alas! is the power of wealth, and yet, my friend, how 
 weak the wealth of power!" 
 
 I have frequently wondered, since then, which of these is 
 to achieve the greater influence among the heedless masses 
 the philosophy of my learned friend or the barbaric logic of 
 the newsboy. 
 
 And what a red-letter day it was for those Capitol visitors 
 who had the good fortune to be present. In the President's 
 stall were some of the chief executive's family, together with
 
 322 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 Bolston, Juanita, Captain Noggins and Susie, for by this time 
 these were become great favorites at the White House. The 
 Captain was using his big red handkerchief industriously; he 
 knew "the feelin'." Little Susie had never been in such a 
 solemn place before then; it was all very strange to her, and 
 she looked appealingly at Juanita and Bolston, who sat near 
 her, very close together. 
 
 As has been said, from the moment that Senator Packen- 
 ham suddenly stopped talking and took his seat some eight 
 months ago, the anxious leaders and disciples of consolida- 
 tion had not been absent from the other reserved stalls during 
 any session of the body. Nor were they expecting to see 
 Twain, whom they supposed to be forever gone from his place 
 in the Senate. It was no matter, so that he did not return 
 against the Purchase bill vote. Such was their charity for 
 distressed humankind; such, indeed, their respect for the insti- 
 tution of government and the dignity of the American Senate. 
 
 Twain was now the center of a happy group of statesmen, 
 and, during the recess that was taken so that they might shake 
 his hands and offer their congratulations, even the Vice- Presi- 
 dent came down from his place to do him honor. It was as 
 if the senator had just returned after a world-journey filled 
 with splendid triumphs. Of course no one questioned him 
 concerning his strange absence, nor of the cause of it. Indeed, 
 had anyone done so, it is doubtful if Twain himself could have 
 given a correct answer; and a truthful answer would have 
 created a real sensation. But, now that he was in his seat 
 again, there was no immediate necessity for an explanation. 
 Even the members of the Press Gallery an assemblage of 
 thorough gentlemen, be it said, such as it would be difficult 
 to find at any other legislative center in the world would 
 not obtrude themselves unduly upon him, for by this time,
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 323 
 
 no doubt, they, the first of all, were aware of his unfortunate 
 situation. 
 
 When the Senate reconvened, and all was gravely silent 
 again, Burrill rose and addressed the chair. "Mr. President," 
 said he, "on a former occasion I made some remarks about an 
 unrecorded vote. If my words gave offense to any senator 
 I now withdraw them. May I inquire if there is not some 
 unfinished business to dispose of?" 
 
 The Vice- President opened a drawer in his great desk. He 
 drew from it a long white sheet of paper, somewhat yellowed 
 with age, and solemnly passed it to the clerk in front of him. 
 The clerk, taking the sheet, turned, facing the Senate. He 
 looked over the body for a moment. Then he sat down, laid 
 the sheet before him on the long table, and picked up a pen- 
 holder; it did not now elude his grasp, as on another occa- 
 sion. Twain was standing in his place, and was formally 
 recognized by the chair. 
 
 "Mr. Twain." (The clerk had resumed the calling of the 
 roll on the second amendment.) 
 
 "No," answered Twain. It was like a voice from the tomb. 
 
 Then there was a rearrangement of pairs and some additional 
 votes were cast on that particular and now historic roll call, 
 for almost the entire membership was present. 
 
 "Senators," exclaimed the Vice- President, when the clerk 
 gave him the corrected tally sheet, "on the vote on the amend- 
 ment to the pending bill the ayes are forty-five, the noes are 
 forty-six. The noes have it, and the amendment is lost." 
 
 A great sigh of relief went up from those on the floor of the 
 chamber. It was echoed by the occupants of the galleries, and 
 was followed by a whirlwind of applause. The Vice- President 
 did not use his gavel now. 
 
 There were other amendments. A few were voted into the
 
 324 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 bill ; many were voted down. They were of small conse- 
 quence. 
 
 At the end, Twain rose in his place. A buzz of subdued ex- 
 clamations came from the galleries, whose occupants leaned 
 forward to see him or to catch his words. Senators turned 
 in their chairs that they might observe and hear him. Those 
 having the privilege of the floor the entire membership of the 
 House seemed to be present came closer, craning their necks, 
 the better to see and to listen. 
 
 He held in his right hand a small package of typewritten 
 sheets much soiled and worn. Baxter's carnation was in the 
 buttonhole of his ragged and bewrinkled frock coat, for he 
 had not been at his lodgings to dress for the occasion, coming, 
 as he had, from no one knew where, nor did anyone ever 
 know. A page placed a glass of water on his desk. By this 
 time the murmurings of the onlookers had subsided. Every- 
 thing was quiet; everyone expectant. The supposed victim of 
 Andy Akers, Bill Giddings, Sam Ives and Eph Fox was there 
 in the flesh ; he was now speaking. 
 
 "Mr. President," he began in solemn voice and measured 
 phrase, "I wish to apologize to the Senate for my prolonged 
 absence. It appears to have been unavoidable. No man has 
 ever learned the secret art of overcoming fate or controlling 
 destiny. Before I proceed I send to the clerk's desk a pro- 
 posed substitute for the pending bill. It had been my intention 
 to offer it at an earlier date. Circumstances over which I had 
 no control prevented. I offer it now, and will ask that it may 
 be read. Afterward it may lie on the table. Other senators 
 may wish to speak to it." 
 
 At this point the self-centered Halsey rose in his place. 
 He asked if the proposed substitute was lengthy, and if so 
 would not the senator agree that it should simply be printed
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 325 
 
 for the information of the Senate, thus avoiding consumption 
 of time in its being read. 
 
 "Of course the senator will explain it in his speech," said 
 Halsey, "and the substitute will be read before it is voted on. 
 For one I shall be glad to hear the explanation." 
 
 And it was so ordered. Then Twain went on: 
 
 "My explanation of its provisions will be brief. There is 
 no necessity for great elaboration. The proposed substitute is 
 devoid of confusing phraseology. The genius of lawyers and 
 courts will not be taxed to understand it. If I may say as 
 much, there are no intricacies in it that will require expensive 
 interpretation, none, I hope, that will give rise to doubts, such 
 as have been so often raised in long litigation over similar 
 questions. This ought to be pleasing to the opponents of the 
 measure, those outside the Senate, who will not be impoverished 
 by attorney's fees when they come to attack the law." 
 
 "The senator has no doubt about its constitutionality?" in- 
 quired Baxter, now wearing his legislative smile. 
 
 "None whatever," replied Twain. "It is simply an elabora- 
 tion of a section of the Sherman law, which some officers of 
 the Government have nullified by neglecting to execute it. 
 This substitute directs the condemnation of the instrumental- 
 ities of monopoly, either in whole or in part, and authorizes 
 the Government to take over the portion so condemned at a 
 price to be ascertained by a board of appraisers equitably 
 chosen, with an appeal by either party to the courts ; the prop- 
 erty to be operated by the Government, by lease or otherwise, 
 pending the proceedings. Thus, the burden of proof will be 
 upon the offending party, instead of upon the Government, 
 which is the agent and servant of the innocent multitude. 
 There will be no delays no procrastination, no duplication of 
 authority in the various departments. Direct responsibility 
 will fall upon the President. He must declare the existence
 
 326 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 of a given monopoly. There are many from which he will be 
 able to choose. There is no alternative; therefore there will 
 be no delay. This is not widespread government ownership, 
 as it is generally understood; it will prevent government 
 ownership, unless the combinations find some new method of 
 escaping the law. They will try to find it, but they will fail." 
 
 Then Twain entered somewhat at length into the details 
 of the Altrocratic program, closing his speech with this perora- 
 tion, dispassionately delivered: 
 
 "Failing to regulate and control the hand of avarice, to 
 which all enterprise has passed by slow processes, we here and 
 now assert the right of the Government to condemn the instru- 
 mentalities of monopoly by due process of law a God-given 
 function of justice that can never be granted away and to 
 rejuvenate legitimate industry; paying a fair price for that 
 which is taken; taking only those things which are an inflic- 
 tion upon domestic commerce, a hindrance to competitive 
 industry and a menace to liberty. Herein, Mr. President, lies 
 the remedy. We should not deceive ourselves longer. Con- 
 gress may go on with its panaceas to the end of time, but 
 unless it strikes deeply at the root of the disease there will 
 come no relief. We may build canals, annex foreign countries, 
 propose reciprocity, enact banking laws, fiddle with finance, 
 elect senators by direct vote of the people, inaugurate the 
 referendum, adopt recall, establish new courts or fly to the 
 moon, legislatively, but, sir, until we dispel monopoly by abso- 
 lutely destroying it, wherever necessary; until healthful com- 
 petition is restored in the business world and tyranny in trade 
 is overthrown, there will be no real progress. Mark the pre- 
 diction! Once the statutory authority to resort to this expe- 
 dient is understood and put into operation, monopoly itself will 
 strike its colors of oppression. Already the forbidding cloud 
 so long hanging over the destinies of the Republic is breaking.
 
 A DOUBLE CARNATION 327 
 
 Altruism, through the demand of an awakened populace, has 
 entered the spirit of public affairs. The contending cohorts 
 of greed will be allowed their pound of flesh; yet they will 
 be compelled to take their destroying hands from the stifled 
 throat of enterprise." 
 
 At no time had Twain ever appeared to be more lucid than 
 now, nor had his words ever rung truer. What if the effort, 
 in the end, should cost him his life? The individual loss were 
 nothing; the preservation of the Republic everything. 
 
 After this the constitutional lawyers of the Senate, as the 
 Vice-President had suspected they would do, talked the gal- 
 leries to emptiness, except as to those who were interested in 
 the final vote on the Purchase bill, which, when taken late that 
 evening, showed five majority in its favor. 
 
 At his lodgings, to which he managed to drive alone in a 
 closed cab, Twain gave orders that he was not to be disturbed 
 by anyone ; he was weary and needed rest. Nor did the trusty 
 sentinel at his door disobey the command, not even to admit 
 Bolston and the editor Grey, nor to apprise his master of re- 
 peated telephone calls from the Grey residence, where Enid, 
 being advised of her lover's return, anxiously awaited his 
 coming. But, alas ! She did but wait, and sigh, and walk the 
 floor through the lingering night, peering dazedly through 
 the lattice of her windows as the dull daylight fell slowly into 
 her appartment. 
 
 And when morning came Cornelius Twain was gone ! 
 
 Some indefinite word that he left with his faithful valet led 
 the many friends who called there to believe he would soon 
 return. Indeed, the public beguiled itself with this expectation, 
 until an unauthorized press report asserted vaguely that the 
 senator was seriously ill and could not be seen, and, later, that 
 he had gone to a sanitarium for treatment. But these reports 
 were wholly unfounded.
 
 328 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 If you, my dear reader, can gain the confidence of Ralph 
 Bolston, and if he shall tell you as he has told it to me, and, 
 alas ! as Enid Grey knows it but, as I shall spare you the 
 painful story just now, it were well that you should spare 
 yourself, unless you are consumed by maudlin curiosity. Even 
 then it were far better that the dolorous details should go 
 untold.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS 
 
 But long before the appalling truth was even suspected, cer- 
 tainly before it became known, except to those I have mention- 
 ed, there was great consternation among the consolidators. 
 
 Andy Akers was still enjoying himself in jail. He had 
 grown corpulent upon merriment that is, he had laughed 
 himself to a condition of fatness. 
 
 "Have you seen Sam Ives or heard anything about his health 
 these fine days?" This question he was sure to ask whenever 
 his wife or Dick Bostwick came to his cell, which was frequent- 
 ly. "I hope you haven't come to turn me loose," said he to 
 Bostwick, after it was known that Twain was arrived. 
 
 "No," replied the Chief; "we shall need you in court before 
 very long, I apprehend." 
 
 Then Akers laughed so heartily that several buttons about 
 his clothing gave away, and Eva had to "mend him again," as 
 she said to the turnkey. Even a morose man who is fleshy often 
 meets with such accidents. 
 
 "Court !" shouted Akers, when he could breathe again from 
 laughing. "I'd rather go there just now than to Heaven, but 
 you don't dare take me there, Bostwick." 
 
 Midst all these happenings Martha Giddings bore herself 
 with patient fortitude. She was at the home of the kindly 
 Bostwick, waiting, hoping for the hour when she might again
 
 330 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 feel the clasp of Asher Wells' arms and receive the thrilling 
 impress of his lips. Did she wait in vain? Was her hope rea- 
 lized? We shall see. 
 
 Her father was still a patient at the rest cure. He seldom 
 left the building, and then only to walk with Martha in the 
 evening air. He had promised never to leave the premises until 
 Bostwick gave him permission to do so. 
 
 By the time the legislature had convened at M the 
 
 obedient and devoted Ives was on hand, of course, planning to 
 defeat the railroad tax bill which the Altrocrats favored, and 
 to assist the legislature in carrying out "the expressed wish of 
 the people," who had nominated Sam Sloane at the primaries 
 to succeed Cornelius Twain. Twain had not been a candidate 
 under the primary law, for the reason that the period within 
 which senatorial petitions could be filed, had expired while 
 he was still in self exile. And Parsons, having withdrawn 
 from the senatorial race in the interest of the Twain faction, 
 had been nominated and afterward elected to the office of 
 governor. 
 
 But Twain was now returned and had taken his seat in the 
 Senate again; yet Sloane gave no sign of keeping his promise 
 to withdraw. This was due to the insistence of Ives that if 
 the tax bill became a law and Sloane did not go to the Senate, 
 Conservative prestige in the state would suffer. Incidentally, 
 Ives' own prestige might be impaired! 
 
 It was a situation filled with grave dangers. If relief was to 
 arrive it would have to come quickly. Therefore it was that a 
 local wag referred to the plight of the Conservatives as "the 
 C. Q. D. cause;" the vessel was sinking! The application of 
 
 this pithy witticism was appreciated not only at M ; it 
 
 was manifest, also, in the elaborate offices of the Hon. Ephraim 
 Fox, counsel for the Come Quick Danger railroad, where Eva 
 Farnum had put her share of special vintage "out of sight."
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS 331 
 
 Here it was that Fox was now dictating cipher messages to 
 be flashed both ways on the corroded copper wires as they 
 hummed their music in the frosty air. The messages going to 
 the west were for Sam Ives; those going eastward were for 
 Roberts, the man of composite, corporate wisdom, whose enig- 
 matical references to Martha Gidding's important part in the 
 abduction tragedy were now fully comprehended even by Mr. 
 Fox. 
 
 Again, the Farnum had squandered her share of the swag 
 that Ives took from the box in the upper right hand corner of 
 the vault when Fox gave him the key. The conditions were 
 dubious ; they were shrouded in repellant gloom. 
 
 When the political tension at M had reached its highest 
 
 point, and the Purchase bill had come out of conference in 
 Washington, after weeks of effort on the part of some of the 
 committee to load it with indefinite terms; after the House 
 had accepted it as passed by the Senate and the Conservative 
 President had reluctantly signed it; after the tax bill had be- 
 come a law at M , Fox went east to see Roberts. 
 
 "Things are tightening, Mr. Fox." 
 
 "I must admit they do not look good," was the sad reply. 
 
 "She is still with her father?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "What progress did she make in Mexico?" 
 
 "We cannot find out. Ives saw Giddings, but he will not 
 talk." 
 
 "Unfortunate," replied Roberts. "Other influences are at 
 work, I suppose. They have bottled him up, I fear. You must 
 see her." 
 
 "It will be useless," replied Fox. "She has given her pro- 
 mise that her father will keep his own counsel. Of that I am 
 sure. She will not break her word. Besides, she is on close 
 terms with the Greys and that officious Britisher. They would
 
 332 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 be apprised of any effort I might make. They are now wait- 
 ing for something of the kind to happen." 
 
 "Has the man that is in jail got a wife or a daughter?" 
 asked Roberts, now convinced that his original plan had failed. 
 
 "He has a wife," for by this time Fox was cognizant of Eva's 
 new marital relations. 
 
 "You must reach her. Impress upon her that a light sen- 
 tence for her husband, with a liberal consideration " 
 
 "That would take him into court, the very thing that Gid- 
 dings and his daughter are trying hard to avoid, and that 
 others may not want. And the remarkable part of it is that 
 Akers is clamoring to be put on trial." 
 
 "Then let it be known to Miss Giddings that her father's 
 friend is going to plead guilty ; that this may be avoided if Gid- 
 dings will come out of the bottle." 
 
 "And we would then come out of the some hole that we 
 went in at, or a darker one. If Giddings talks, that Eng- 
 lishman would prosecute Akers. Giddings would be a wit- 
 ness. You see?" 
 
 "Unfortunate," replied Roberts. "Have you any sugges- 
 tions, Mr. Fox?" 
 
 "Only this that something may be accomplished through 
 Mrs. Akers. She is an indefinite quantity. She loves her new 
 husband, as I am told; also money, as I know. She is in the 
 city and is coming to see me this evening. I will let you know 
 tomorrow what she recommends." 
 
 So Fox and Eva were soon together again. 
 
 "No champagne, Eva; I want you to keep a clear head." 
 
 "I know some others," she replied, "that are badly in need 
 of it." 
 
 "Champagne?" 
 
 "Clear heads."
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS 333 
 
 "Ah! Eva; you've lost none of your old time wit. Yet, 
 you're not old." 
 
 "I've lost a lot of money, Eph. I'm broke." 
 
 "Here's a thousand. Don't squander it; you may need it. 
 Times are hard. I may help you further if you are careful and 
 succeed in keeping your husband out of court." 
 
 "You are an old dear, Eph. You always were good to me." 
 
 "I'm your friend, Eva. I should have married you; it's 
 too late now. Besides, you love some one else, and he's in 
 trouble." 
 
 "Yes, and I'm crazy to get him out of it. That's why I'm 
 here to see you." 
 
 "What are his plans?" 
 
 "He has none. He's simply desperate. Says he's been 
 abandoned. He's anxious to go to trial. I want to prevent 
 it. You must help me to do it. He's hard to control, you 
 know, and is very vindictive." 
 
 "Poor fellow! It's too utterly bad. Of course you know 
 him better than anyone. I'm not acquainted with him; never 
 saw him, not to my knowledge." 
 
 "Neither has Ives seen him, not to my knowledge. He 
 dealt with Giddings, who don't come to see him. This makes 
 Andy sore." 
 
 "That's the way of too many men; they go back on their 
 friends." 
 
 "You won't go back on Andy I mean on me Eph, will 
 you?" 
 
 "On you, Eva? Of course not." 
 
 "What can be done, Eph?" 
 
 "I want to help you, Eva. That's the only interest I have 
 in it." 
 
 "Order a bottle, Eph, I'm all run down." 
 
 "All right, Eva. I'll order a small one."
 
 334 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "A small one looks so cheap, Eph. Get a large one for ap- 
 pearances' sake." 
 
 "I'm afraid you'll get wound up too tightly, as you did the 
 last time." 
 
 "You may drink most of it, Eph, as you did then." 
 
 When the big bottle was almost empty and the flush of youth 
 was in Eva's cheeks again, she continued: 
 
 "You haven't told me what can be done." 
 
 "Which does he like most money or freedom?" 
 
 "Money above everything." The astute railroad lawyer 
 probably suspected that Eva was now speaking more particu- 
 larly for herself; but this was no time for casuistry. 
 
 "Does he say so?" 
 
 "Yes. I talked with him yesterday. I suggested a small 
 sentence and big pay. I thought you might fix both. That 
 senator, the poor fellow, is back again, and people don't care 
 as much as they did." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 "He said the C. Q. D. company would have a fine time 
 getting money enough, with all its bonds and stocks thrown 
 in, to buy him off." 
 
 "Did he say the C. Q. D. company?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "A mere figure of speech, I suppose." 
 
 "He talked as if it wasn't doing right by him." 
 
 "People in trouble, Eva, always blame everybody." 
 
 "Order another, Eph; you look pale." 
 
 "Yes; my old affliction. I'll be obliged to take the waters 
 some day, I reckon." 
 
 It was after midnight when they left the private room they 
 were in. In a way it resembled the one just off Fox's office 
 in St. Louis when he and Eva were together "the last time."
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS 335 
 
 Later that morning, after a few hours of restless slumber, 
 Fox saw Roberts at his office. 
 
 "He's an obdurate fellow, Mr. Roberts revengeful, and is 
 anxious for trial. He's sore at Giddings." 
 
 "And you've lost your power over Giddings." 
 
 "Ives has; I never had any, not directly." 
 
 "If he is taken to court, Mr. Fox, and there are any others 
 besides Giddings who are likely to be wanted, they ought not 
 to be here." Then after a considerable pause : "I regret to 
 see that you are not looking well, Mr. Fox. Of course that 
 hasn't any connection with the other matter." 
 
 "Certainly not; I'm all run down, Mr. Roberts, too much 
 work. I'll be obliged to take the waters before long." 
 
 "As you have no personal interest in this thing, Mr. Fox, 
 why not take them right away? There are some great springs 
 in the interior of Nomansland. You cannot afford to run 
 down; good men are scarce. Keep me advised about your 
 health. Good day." 
 
 Roberts was now at the end of his prolific resources. Not 
 since the days when, in behalf of the Guild, he sat on the lid 
 of a certain arduous administration in Washington until he 
 almost had nervous prostration, had he been so utterly dejected; 
 for his fame was now in danger of depreciation. 
 
 Had Eph Fox been obliged to pay Roberts for the advice 
 he gave him, he would have been at a loss to have guessed the 
 size of the fee, although he too was a lawyer, and knew how to 
 charge. 
 
 It must have been about this time that Arthur Grey and 
 Ralph Bolston, at the latter's lodgings in Washington, met by 
 appointment. 
 
 "I've hit upon a plan to remove a great burden from the 
 mind of that poor suffering Giddings girl, and at the same 
 time do a little stroke of politics," said Grey.
 
 336 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 The editor's sympathetic nature made him always the cham- 
 pion of his troubled fellow creatures. His chief concern now 
 was for Martha Giddings. 
 
 "You are aware," said he, "of the legislative situation at 
 M ." 
 
 He then handed the Englishman a telegram received from 
 Cy Shirley the evening before. It set forth that the Sloane 
 forces were circulating a report to the effect that Governor 
 Parsons was trying for the Senate. 
 
 "I expected as much," said Grey, laughingly. 
 
 "Parsons has turned traitor," exclaimed Bolston indignantly. 
 
 "No," replied the editor. "You don't know American poli- 
 tics. It is a ruse of the opposition to offset Sloane's recreancy 
 in not withdrawing from the race as he promised ; and you 
 would be surprised at the number of intelligent men who will 
 believe it so many always ready to credit a falsehood." 
 
 "Another circular trick; I see," replied the astonished Eng- 
 lishman. 
 
 "Well, it's of the same order. But, my friend," continued 
 Grey, "it is about time we began to throw a few bombshells 
 ourselves. See what you think of this one." Taking a letter 
 from his pocket the editor read: 
 
 "The time has come when I must speak. I can bear the 
 burden no longer. It is the duty of those who are concerned 
 in this Twain affair to help me I mean those who inspired it. 
 Moreover, it is my duty as a faithful friend of yours to advise 
 you that my detention (for that is what it amounts to) is a 
 part of a plan to get you and Fox ; I shall not be surprised if 
 they get both of you before this letter reaches its destination. 
 Thus far they have considerately yielded to my appeal not to 
 make public the real purpose of my visit here. Akers' pre- 
 liminary hearing comes off in a few days. I am to be a wit- 
 ness. If this can be avoided my family's good name may be
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS 337 
 
 saved. Your work to control the legislature yours and 
 Fox's does not help matters. If you would let go I might 
 be permitted to come home a free man. If you persist, the 
 Akers hearing will make it bad for everybody." 
 
 "Do you smell something that reminds you of gunpowder?" 
 remarked Grey with a good natured chuckle when he had 
 finished reading, "or do you taste dynamite?" 
 
 "Both," exclaimed Bolston. "That is intended for the Hon- 
 orable Samuel Ives, I presume." 
 
 "It is," replied the editor, "and it has been signed by the 
 Honorable William Giddings, on condition that he be allowed 
 his liberty, when Ives and Fox let go their hold upon the legis- 
 lature, which is friendly to Twain, as we all know, and will 
 reelect him to the Senate, notwithstanding the fact that 
 Sloane received all the votes cast at the primary. It will also 
 remove a great cloud from Martha's mind." 
 
 "What will Ives do?" asked Bolston. 
 
 "Whatever Fox tells him to do." 
 
 "And Fox?" queried Bolston further. 
 
 "Fox will not fight back, Bolston. They will take their 
 hands off the situation out there, have no fear. Sloane will 
 withdraw within twenty-four hours after that letter reaches 
 Ives. Keep your ear to the ground. You'll hear something 
 fall." 
 
 After it fell after Sloane withdrew in an eloquent inter- 
 view calling public attention to the fact that he was a man of 
 his word there was another meeting between the editor and 
 Bolston. 
 
 "Have you read of the serious illness of Eph Fox?" in- 
 quired the editor. "It is too bad," he continued in a commis- 
 erative tone. "I have long suspected Eph was suffering from 
 the effects of a serious malady. Yet he will recover, I have
 
 338 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 every reason to believe when the probability of his incarcera- 
 tion has been dispelled. Listen." 
 
 Unfolding a copy of a newspaper devoted to the chroni- 
 cling, in softened and approving phrase, of the movements and 
 opinions of the beneficiaries of consolidation, he read a "spe- 
 cial telegram," dated at the home of the Hon. Ephraim Fox, 
 setting forth the startling information that the said Fox, 
 "one of the leading constitutional lawyers of the country, the 
 general counsel of the C. Q. D. Railroad company," had sud- 
 denly been stricken while attending to the duties of his office; 
 that he had been removed in great haste to his palatial resi- 
 dence in the suburbs of St. Louis, where he was attended by 
 the three most noted specialists of the city; that four other 
 Napoleons of medical science had been summoned, arriving on 
 special wings of steel. 
 
 After a solemn consultation "it was rumored," the dispatch 
 said, that an operation, of a most delicate nature, would be 
 necessary; that specially sterilized instruments and specially 
 prepared anesthetics would be used as soon as a special corps 
 of trained nurses arrived on a special train now speeding on 
 its way at fabulous cost. 
 
 "Poor Fox!" exclaimed the editor, drying his eyes with a 
 two-bit handkerchief. "Wonder if he will actually bleed, like 
 others do, when those specially imported knives are used on 
 him? Now, here is the nub of the tragi-comedy," continued 
 Grey. "It is contained in a concluding paragraph marked 
 'later.' It reads : 'At 1 :46}4 this morning the distinguished 
 patient was sleeping peacefully.' Remarkable !" exclaimed 
 Grey. "I am at a loss to understand how a man with a con- 
 science like Eph's can do such a thing. 'All is darkness about 
 the magnificent house.' How inconsiderate of Old Sol !" cried 
 the editor, wiping his glasses on the aforesaid handkerchief. 
 "The sun should have remained up last night to furnish a
 
 MARTHA GIDDINGS 339 
 
 special light on an occasion of this kind. 'It is now said an 
 operation will not be required. It is reported the special phy- 
 sicians have decided the great lawyer is suffering from indiges- 
 tion.' That is bad," sighed Grey. "I had it once, and it was 
 special, too, but it didn't affect the stock market. 'It is now 
 believed, though the special physicians refuse to talk, that the 
 patient will be obliged to take the waters at Sprinkledorff, 
 and it is said that special arrangements are being made for his 
 departure on a special steamer now being specially fumigated 
 for that purpose.' 
 
 "The C. Q. D. road will be obliged to issue several bales of 
 watered stock and to increase its rates on account of all that 
 special business," remarked Grey, when he had finished read- 
 ing the news report. "Yes, Fox will go to Sprinkledorff, and 
 Ives too. They will remain away until after the unpleasant 
 consequences of the abduction cease to threaten their liberty. 
 Then Fox will return to plead the unconstitutionality of 
 Twain's Purchase law." 
 
 Grey and Bolston then visited the sanitarium and advised 
 Giddings that he was at liberty to go his way. 
 
 "Remember, Giddings," said Bolston with a note of great 
 positiveness in his voice, "that if your friend Ives returns to 
 take a hand against the reelection of Senator Twain, by 
 heavens you will be put behind the bars if I can accomplish 
 it. You owe your freedom to your devoted daughter, not to 
 me." 
 
 Giddings expressed his gratitude in a voice hoarse with 
 genuine emotion, his eyes filled with tears. At this point 
 Martha came into the room. Being advised of the happy turn 
 that affairs had taken for her, she threw her arms about Grey's 
 neck and kissed his ruddy cheeks. Taking Bolston's hands 
 she thanked him. 
 
 "I cannot tell you how grateful I am to all who have helped
 
 340 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 us in this terrible trial," she exclaimed, weeping with exultant 
 joy. 
 
 Then she hastened away to tell Enid Grey of her gratitude. 
 The next morning she and her father, released from a strange 
 imprisonment, boarded the limited express for the west. 
 
 Did Asher Wells keep faith with Martha Giddings? Alas! 
 he did not. He gave the shallow excuse that she remained 
 away beyond a reasonable length of time; that her father had 
 not been so seriously ill as to prevent her from returning 
 earlier to her home. The truth was, after she went east with 
 her father and Bostwick, Asher Wells fell in love with another 
 
 beauty of B . It was not long until poor Martha came 
 
 to realize what had happened. 
 
 She did not weep; there were no tears that would assuage 
 her grief or drown her unutterable sorrow. Her heart was 
 broken. She deserves to be sainted.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 READJUSTMENT 
 
 In due course of time Bolston came to know of the real 
 nature of Juanita's illness on board the "Penelope." How 
 the discovery was made is not now a matter of very great im- 
 portance. It may be that it was by means of something more 
 than mere surmise on his part, for Juanita had had abundant 
 opportunity to make explanation. He was a frequent visitor at 
 the Greys while she and her mother were guests in that house- 
 hold. When they went for a fortnight's visit to the Mexican 
 Embassy he found his way to this hospitable abode with equal 
 regularity. 
 
 Juanita continued to find additional pretexts for not going 
 to the Holts, except for an occasional duty call. This be- 
 came a source of disturbance to Mrs. Holt and Margaret. 
 They spoke to the Englishman about it, and wondered if they 
 could have offended the Guerreros. 
 
 It was not many days thereafter that he met Stephen at the 
 club. The young spendthrift was in company with a couple 
 of roistering companions, and the three were in a hilarious 
 mood, almost noisy. Calling him to one side, Bolston request- 
 ed that Stephen accompany him to a private room on an upper 
 floor, which he hesitated about doing. Being advised that the 
 matter was strictly of a personal nature, one that it were best 
 not to discuss in public, the millionaire's son sullenly followed
 
 342 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 the Englishman up stairs. Stephen's autocratic spirit having 
 been accelerated by a brace or more of highballs, he was far 
 from a reasoning frame of mind. Indeed, he was unusually 
 haughty. 
 
 "Why am I honored with this exhibition of your confidence, 
 Mr. Bolston?" he asked in an ironical tone, when the two were 
 within the room and the Englishman had securely locked the 
 door. 
 
 "I wish to consult you in regard to a lost letter," was the 
 reply. "In order that I may not go astray being a for- 
 eigner in a matter involving the very delicate and entirely 
 proper relations existing at times between ladies and gentle- 
 men, what course would you pursue, let me ask, if you should 
 find a letter, filled with expressions of tenderness, supposedly 
 written by well your sister Margaret for instance to a 
 gentleman?" 
 
 "Damn you ! I will not permit you to use my sister's name 
 in this way," exclaimed Stephen, rising suddenly to his feet, 
 his face lurid with excitement. He was Margaret's defender 
 now! 
 
 "There is no occasion for agitation on your part, Stephen," 
 said Bolston in a tone of kindness. "Calm yourself until I 
 have finished. If you have not apologized to Miss Guerrero 
 for your wicked act before this hour tomorrow, I shall be ob- 
 liged to resort to measures which would be likely to disbar you 
 from good society." 
 
 Bolston had risen, and as he spoke he advanced toward 
 young Holt, not threateningly, yet in a way that left no room 
 for doubt as to his determined purpose. 
 
 Stephen's artificial courage was now decidedly on the wane. 
 Only a few moments ago he was writhing with assumed indig- 
 nation ; now, even when Bolston unlocked the door and passed 
 out of the room, he could not find his tongue to make reply
 
 READJUSTMENT 343 
 
 to the Englishman's last remark. When he joined his bibu- 
 lous comrades below stairs, his manner was so changed and 
 his spirits were so arid as to require, as they declared, "two 
 high emergencies for one." 
 
 The following evening Bolston called at the Mexican Em- 
 bassy again. As he was taking his leave Juanita pressed a note 
 into his hand, and in a voice not intended to be overheard, 
 she asked him if it were possible for him to forgive her. 
 
 "I shall not admit," he answered with a low, mellow laugh, 
 "that there is any reason for your request, or that you could do 
 anything to make forgiveness necessary." 
 
 What woman could not worship a character like this ! 
 
 At his lodgings he unfolded the note handed him by Juan- 
 ita and read: 
 
 Dear Adorable Juanita: I am going away far away it mat- 
 ters not where, nor whether I ever return. I am writing this 
 note to say farewell to the one I shall never cease to love, and 
 to ask that she accept this humble apology for the great mistake 
 I made in regard to a certain letter. It was wrong, very wrong; 
 yet my love for you, grown desperate for want of recompense, 
 is the explanation I have to make in asking your forgiveness. 
 
 If I see you never more, then forevermore farewell. 
 
 Disconsolately, 
 
 STEPHEN. 
 
 An evening reception at the Holt residence, soon after the 
 Senora and Juanita came, with due apology for their failure 
 not to have done so long before, brought together many dis- 
 tinguished devotees of society. The winter home of the Holts 
 was a spacious structure, as can well be imagined. Its pre- 
 dominant feature was a great conservatory whose playing 
 fountains and perfumed atmosphere fairly enthralled the 
 senses of those who had the good fortune to wander among 
 and admire its exotic inhabitants. 
 
 Bolston and Juanita had drifted together in that seemingly
 
 344 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 aimless way that lovers only can explain, until they found 
 themselves snugly seated under the sheltering branches of a 
 wide-spreading palm in a retired corner at the further end of 
 the enchanting tropical garden quite alone, as once on the 
 Tampico pier. Here, in the silence of their immediate sur- 
 roundings, they were listening to the distant strains of the or- 
 chestra, which was rendering an old and familiar air with such 
 melodious charm that the appreciative Briton, when the music 
 had ceased, remarked that the composer must have been moved 
 by an unusual yearning of the heart. 
 
 "A promise unredeemed, no doubt," replied Juanita. 
 
 "Or one anticipated," added Bolston. "In either case his 
 passion must have been very great to have found such plain- 
 tive expression in his song." 
 
 There was a touching tenderness in his voice that gave his 
 words a world of meaning; that thrilled Juanita's soul with 
 sweet delight. Only once in this madrigal epoch of his life 
 when he kissed her hand and asked if now she believed had 
 the fire of love outran his habitual circumspection. While she 
 paused for a fitting reply, she felt his strong arm encircling her 
 supple waist. In sheer helplessness she was drawn close to his 
 stalwart frame. 
 
 "Ah, Juanita," said he, "is there no promise that you would 
 make were I to ask?" 
 
 "There is one promise that I have made myself," she re- 
 plied. "I will never again doubt your constancy. I have 
 been foolish, very foolish." 
 
 "That belongs to the past," he whispered, "and I hold my- 
 self to blame for it all. I have loved you from the moment 
 of our first meeting, and should have told you so without 
 equivocation ere this. I feel now that had I done so you 
 would have been spared the pain resulting from my caution.
 
 READJUSTMENT 345 
 
 It is my nature to be so. It is you who must forgive me, if 
 you will. 
 
 "That I would gladly do if there were any reason " 
 
 "Then tell me," he interrupted, pressing her hand raptur- 
 ously to his lips, "if there is any reason why you cannot love 
 me." 
 
 "There is none," she answered, nestling closer in his strong 
 embrace; "I have loved you always." 
 
 If then could the sheltering palm only proclaim it; yet, 
 why summon even this mute witness, when testimony of such 
 circumstantial kind, so long accepted in vernal courts the 
 world around, is so abundant and too positive to be over- 
 thrown? For it must be that at this sweet, auspicious mo- 
 ment the seal of true love was affixed to Juanita's anticipating 
 lips. 
 
 This happy Mexican maid, the reigning queen of Ralph 
 Bolston's heart, was quick to disclose the reason for her 
 exhilaration when she and her mother were alone that night. 
 
 "Ah, madre de mi alma," she exclaimed, caressing and kiss- 
 ing the Senora's cheeks. "It is really true! He loves me! 
 We are engaged!" Happy Juanita. Fortunate Briton. 
 
 Strange, is it not, that Margaret Holt and Captain Mikles- 
 koff, in a less sequestered part of the conservatory, almost at 
 the same moment when Juanita was promising never again to 
 doubt the constancy of the knightly Briton, were recounting 
 recollections of their last interview on the "Penelope" at San 
 Enrique? The Russian, since that event, had found much idle 
 time in which to draw not a few encouraging conclusions from 
 Margaret's words, "not now." 
 
 "With those words every moment ringing sweetly in my 
 ears," said he, "I have been sustained by ecstatic hope." 
 
 "Please do not press me to make them more definite, Cap-
 
 346 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 tain," she said, with what to him seemed an unsympathetic 
 laugh. 
 
 "I could not think of doing so," he replied, "unless the 
 definition removed my unhappiness completely, making me 
 your slave, for no servitude would be too great if you but 
 loved me." 
 
 "Only a friend, Captain. It will never be less than that ; it 
 cannot be more." 
 
 It is related that when Edward Gibbon, he of the "Decline 
 and Fall of the Roman Empire," was courting in Switzerland 
 the most beautiful maid of Lausanne, he "ran around like a 
 mad-man with a sword in his hand compelling the peasants to 
 own that she was the most beautiful woman in the world." 
 To be par excellence the beauty of Lausanne was, in the great 
 historian's mind, to concede that there was a limit to the 
 charms of the girl whom he subsequently jilted; yet, during 
 his mad infatuation, he insisted that her title to superlative 
 beauty was to be circumscribed by nothing less than the boun- 
 daries of the universe. 
 
 In his love for Margaret Holt, Page Bannister was far less 
 demonstrative than was the immortal chronicler in declaring 
 his passion for the Gallic enchantress. This was due, no 
 doubt, to an. entirely proper recognition of the exaltedness of 
 the great office into which he was soon to be inducted, for it 
 is quite impossible to imagine that one possessing the seri- 
 ous and contemplative mien that would serve to raise him 
 to so great a height as he had now come to should find it 
 within the range of his dignified station to engage in so com- 
 mon a thing as making love. Quite impossible, I repeat. 
 
 And it is quite probable the fair Margaret herself was loth 
 to indulge any demonstration of affection which might give 
 rise to the suspicion that her attachment was impelled by ulte- 
 rior motives; for it is not beyond reason to assume there were
 
 READJUSTMENT 347 
 
 those among the smart set who would discredit the suggestion 
 of its being a case of "love at first sight," or that Margaret 
 was not stirred by a pardonable ambition to possess herself of 
 a popular matrimonial prize. 
 
 Hence, also, the points of contrast in the lovemaking of the 
 Briton who wrote of Roman injustice and the Briton who, 
 through much tribulation, had sought to rescue a supposed 
 victim of the industrial policy which many very good people 
 believe has come to be the noxious growth of the newer Re- 
 public. The declaration of the one was that his heart's idol 
 was "the most beautiful woman in the world;" of the other 
 that the irrestible object of his adoration was "the most beauti- 
 ful woman he had ever seen." The disparity in the two tem- 
 peraments, however, is manifest in Gibbon's public avowal of 
 his love ; whereas, for reasons which are not entirely obvious, 
 Ralph Bolston's slow surrender to Juanita's charms was en- 
 veloped in the profound secrecy that belongs to a delicate 
 diplomatic question. 
 
 Well, this now memorable White House wedding was fixed 
 for the delightful month of June, when all Washington is 
 atremble with fragrant bloom, and so many sweethearts of 
 the past winter, now joined in felicitous wedlock, come here 
 to climb the Washington Monument, for of course the ele- 
 vator is stopped; to visit Mount Vernon, where Martha 
 Custis, that was, spent her second honeymoon; to walk ad- 
 miringly with a feeling almost of holy awe through the Presi- 
 dent's house, the nuptial place of a devoted mother, where 
 two famous brides and beautiful had taken their marital vows, 
 Ah ! it is the very Paradise of lovers. 
 
 And yet, I have never seen any of these happy, interesting 
 couples, coming here, as they do, direct from the church, that 
 did not know quite positively, indeed, they are always sure, of 
 looking like old married folk. How unconcerned they appear
 
 348 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 to be how blase, even with the rice in the folds of their gar- 
 ments and all Washington recognizing them at a glance. 
 
 And, as they stroll aimlessly and light-heartedly about the 
 city, with all the beautiful world before them, and only sweet 
 memories behind them, they will pass through the great corri- 
 dor of the Willington Hotel, whence Cornelius Twain disap- 
 peared from the loving gaze of poor Enid Grey. 
 
 Later, they will sit in the Senate gallery looking down upon 
 the serious statesmen and refuse to believe it was here that 
 Baxter's carnation evoked a flood of tears. And, if they will 
 observe closely, they may see John Koppinger, somewhat older 
 than when he last appeared in these pages, but a bachelor still. 
 
 Afterward, they will repair to the Treasury Department 
 with their guide, who will point out the identical chair in 
 which a famous man sat when he was a member of President 
 Bannister's cabinet, and recommended a law for a central 
 bank through which the Government could assume control of 
 the country's finances, thus depriving the greedy money kings 
 of the power to create panics. But the Master Monger was 
 opposed to a bank of this character, and that is why the coun- 
 try hasn't got one. 
 
 Before leaving the great building, where so many millions 
 are buried in the subterranean vaults, and, coming to a small 
 aperture in the wall, here, if the lovers 'care to know him now, 
 will be found Captain John Noggins, for Bolston took care 
 to pension this noble old soul by having him appointed to a 
 place as laborer, the best position that could be had for him, 
 from which place, after many years, possibly he may be pro- 
 moted to a messengership. In this life position he will earn a 
 small salary on which he and Susie must manage to subsist, and 
 it is not at all probable, in view of the high cost of living, 
 that she will ever save up enough money to build a church at 
 Chorreras for her good old friend the amiable padre.
 
 READJUSTMENT 349 
 
 And now, weary of sightseeing, the lovers will walk to their 
 temporary bower of bliss in some fashionable hotel, passing 
 on their way a very fat man with gray hair. He is standing 
 at the street corner, with a small tin cup in his hand, and is 
 still laughing. He will refuse to die so long as Sam Ives in- 
 sists upon remaining alive. Near him a middle aged woman, 
 with marks of beauty lingering, still, in her face, is turning 
 out a sweet little melody from a wheezy hand organ. She de- 
 serves a better fate, as Enid Grey, remembering the railway 
 accident, will tell you. The lovers may not know who the 
 poor couple are, although their names are quite prominent in 
 these pages. 
 
 Before leaving for their home, of course the bride and 
 groom will visit Arlington Cemetery, and as they are strolling 
 solemnly to the north of the old Lee place, commonly called a 
 mansion, their attention will be attracted to a tall granite 
 monument on which is this inscription : "Arthur Grey, Editor, 
 Altruist and Philanthropist." 
 
 "But," cries the dear reader, who may have grown weary of 
 these touching allusions, "you have not told us of the fate of 
 President Bannister, nor for what his administration was most 
 notable." Thank you kindly for the suggestion. 
 
 Well, Page Bannister, having declared he would not seek a 
 second term, and meaning what he said, retired to his farm in 
 the west. Here he is learning the language of nature, as it is 
 spoken to him from the freshly turned soil. And the one en- 
 during event of his administration with which he is more de- 
 lighted than all others is really worth telling about. Soon 
 after his inauguration three "Napoleons of finance," so called, 
 came from New York to see the new chief executive. They 
 were accompanied by the astute Roberts. No matter what 
 their business was : it was enough if it were only a social call 
 so they said to the reporters. At any rate, it was not a matter
 
 350 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 that concerned the public that brought them there; and that 
 is why this volume should deal with the subject in order that 
 the real facts may be made known. 
 
 "By your permission, Mr. President," began Roberts, "let 
 me say that we have called to discuss with you the very serious 
 business conditions of the country. As you are aware, of 
 course, financial circles are much disturbed; there is a feeling 
 of omirious uncertainty, a lack of confidence " 
 
 "In whom, sir?" interrupted the President, rather pointedly. 
 
 "There is apprehension, an atmosphere of distrust unrest 
 were better, perhaps," remarked one of the financiers, who ap- 
 peared to feel that Roberts had not put the case in its best 
 light. "Money is going into hiding, Mr. President; bankers 
 are nervous ; credits are contracting as never before. In truth, 
 there is every indication of a panic. I regret to say it." 
 
 "And my clients here," added Roberts, "who are always 
 watchful of the nation's welfare, have worked out a plan to 
 prevent the impending crash. They need indeed, they beg 
 your assistance." 
 
 Here the consolidators' lawyer paused to give the President 
 an opportunity to pledge his cooperation in forestalling the 
 panic, for of course he would not refuse to lend aid in saving 
 the "business interests" of the country from ruin, in these 
 piping times of peace, too ! 
 
 "You will pardon me, gentlemen, but I do not quite under- 
 stand in what way I may be of service. You have described 
 the business situation as you see it, but have not explained in 
 regard to the remedy." 
 
 "In a few words, Mr. President," replied Roberts, "the First 
 Mortgage Bank, finding itself in possession, unexpectedly, of 
 course, of a controlling interest in the securities of the South- 
 ern Soot Company, has decided to foreclose upon the plant. 
 If this is done the Soot Company will be obliged to suspend
 
 READJUSTMENT 351 
 
 operations, thousands of workingmen will be thrown out of 
 employment, and the panic will be on. It will then be neces- 
 sary to reorganize it in some fashion. Now, my clients, who 
 represent the Northern Spike Company, can head off the dark 
 and forbidding disaster by taking over the Soot property. But, 
 should they do so, thus restoring confidence in the business 
 world, they feel they ought not to be subjected to prosecution 
 by the Government." 
 
 "What would hapj)en if I did not approve of your plan?" 
 inquired the President, his eyes flashing with indignation. 
 
 "The First Mortgage Bank, I fear, would foreclose, the 
 Soot Company would be compelled to shut down, other big 
 banks, becoming nervous, would contract their loans, and the 
 little banks everywhere would take fright ; some of them might 
 see fit to suspend payments. Liquidation in all lines of busi- 
 ness would necessarily follow. I almost shudder to think of 
 the awful consequences, Mr. President." 
 
 Roberts was now almost in tears. He could not have been 
 more frank, it will be observed, when he talked with Fox 
 of the possible tragic consequences of Twain's abduction. 
 
 Then the President asked a very important question : 
 
 "Does not the Northern Spike Company control the First 
 Mortgage Bank?" 
 
 "The relations of the two institutions are friendly," was 
 Roberts' cautious reply. 
 
 "You are aware, of course, that should I give sanction to 
 your scheme I would be liable to impeachment?" remarked the 
 President, interrogatively. 
 
 "But Congress would not dare start such a thing, Mr. Presi- 
 dent; you are too popular with the people to admit of it," re- 
 plied Roberts, 
 
 Touching a little black button on the door jamb, the Presi- 
 dent said:
 
 352 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 "Gentlemen, please make yourselves comfortable for a few 
 minutes. I will have the United States marshal come and 
 take you to jail." 
 
 Roberts quailed, and his clients gave him a reproachful 
 look. It was a look that he had never before seen in their 
 hardened faces. Then, smiling encouragingly, as if to reas- 
 sure them, he muttered in a hoarse whisper : 
 
 "What is the nature of the accusation against us, Mr. Presi- 
 dent?" 
 
 "Treason, sir !" shouted Bannister, striking his desk with his 
 clenched fist. 
 
 "By whom will such a remarkable information be laid?" 
 
 There was now the suspicion of a sneer in Roberts' speech, 
 for it was evident soft words would no longer avail him. 
 
 "By the President of the United States, sir," was the posi- 
 tive almost fierce reply. 
 
 After a long silence, during which Bannister returned and 
 took his seat at the big mahogany desk, Roberts spoke, in apol- 
 ogetic tones, saying the President had not fully comprehended 
 his meaning. He went further and said he was to blame, per- 
 haps, for having failed to make himself understood. 
 
 "I am exceedingly sorry, Mr. President, that I should have 
 been so indefinite, so dense even, and humbly apologize." 
 
 "The incident is closed, for the present. You and your 
 clients are at liberty to go, but under parole, remember, effec- 
 tive only during good behavior." 
 
 The First Mortgage Bank did not foreclose. 
 
 The Soot works did not shut down. 
 
 There was no panic. 
 
 This, dear reader, was the most notable event in Bannister's 
 administration. His gentleness, his taciturnity had marked 
 him an easy prey for men of Roberts' stamp. But this was a 
 reception the consolidators and their cunning lawyer were not
 
 READJUSTMENT 353 
 
 looking for when they went to the White House. It was the 
 kind of reception, moreover, that might have put an end to 
 former infractions of the law had it been resorted to earlier in 
 the same earnest manner. 
 
 All of this is intended to explain and emphasize the immen- 
 sity of space that exists between Action and Agitation, con- 
 cerning which, already, too much may have been said in this 
 history; albeit I set out, in the first place, to write a political 
 novel, with malice toward none but with charity for all.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 FINIS 
 
 One day, not long after Twain's reelection to the Senate, 
 Bolston received a letter from him. It was post-marked at 
 Boston. His friends at M believed him to be in Wash- 
 ington or near by, resting from his cruel experience at the 
 hands of desperate men in quest of ungenerous power and sor- 
 did gain. There was no explanation in the letter of his 
 strange conduct in going away so suddenly after his triumph in 
 securing the adoption of his substitute to the Purchase bill 
 only the request that his friend, the constant Briton, should 
 come to him on an important matter which could not be ex- 
 plained in writing, and a confused statement in regard to "an 
 annoying mental disturbance" which he hoped would soon pass 
 away. He was at the Charles street house again, where, he 
 said, he would await the arrival of the Englishman, whom he 
 admonished against publicity. 
 
 We may never know of the solemn thoughts that accom- 
 panied Ralph Bolston on his dreary journey to Boston, nor of 
 the depressing emotions which beset him on the way as he 
 returned to the Capital. We have noted the feelings which 
 prompted him on a former occasion, after he had been com- 
 missioned to find Twain and restore him to the woman who 
 loved him; how he sought to deserve her confidence in grati- 
 fying the only aspiration of her life.
 
 FINIS 355 
 
 We may depend upon it, therefore, that he will be steadfast, 
 none the less, in performing the part that he is now called 
 upon to play. 
 
 Standing impatiently on the front stoop of the house, Twain 
 awaited the coming of the Englishman. 
 
 "Come quickly," said he, when Bolston had arrived and 
 was shaking his hand. "I have much to say to you, and there 
 may be little time in which to say it." 
 
 They passed through the narrow dark hall where Bolston 
 and Koppinger had stood staring at each other not so many 
 months ago, and on up the creaking stairs to the front room 
 with whose ancient furnishings and queer recesses the English- 
 man was already familiar. 
 
 "By this time, my dear friend," began Twain, throwing 
 himself at full length upon the rickety bed, "you must have 
 guessed the cause of my distemper. It cannot go on much 
 longer. I have fought against it with all my energy, and at 
 the very moment when I had reason to believe it would not re- 
 turn, and that once more I might go about my duties fearlessly 
 and unhampered, the horrible spell took possession of me 
 again. It may come even now, before I have told you " 
 
 Here the poor fellow closed his eyes, clenching his fists and 
 compressing his lips. After a few moments of spasmodic 
 effort, as if he were contending with some strange demon of 
 darkness, he rose from the bed, and, crossing the room to a 
 little table on which rested a much-worn suit case, he opened 
 it. Then, quite oblivious of Bolston's presence, he calmly 
 gathered a few toilet articles from adjacent shelves, took some 
 small pieces of wearing apparel from a dingy closet in the cor- 
 ner, and proceeded to pack them carefully in the suit case, as 
 if preparing for a journey. The roving spirit was again upon 
 him. When he had closed and locked the suit case, placing the 
 key in his pocket, he turned and peered smilingly upon his
 
 356 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 friend. The strange, bewildered look of a moment ago was 
 now gone from his face, and he returned and stretched him- 
 self upon the bed again. 
 
 "A narrow escape, Bolston," said he, with a pathetic laugh. 
 "But, as I was saying, this cannot go on much longer. I sent 
 for you that I might explain, and to ask you ." Here his 
 voice trembled and the tears gushed from his sunken eyes. 
 "So that I might ask you . But' you, my friend, will under- 
 stand. Tell her that I love her so deeply, so devotedly 
 yet I must not see her ! I would not add to her pain and suf- 
 fering, Bolston. That is why I did not go to her even before 
 I came so unexpectedly to the Senate that day to finish my 
 life's work there ; to offer the substitute and tell them why it 
 should be adopted. After that I promised myself, if the spell 
 did not come back again, and when I was as of old in feel- 
 ing and in appearance but it was not to be, Bolston; it is 
 never to be. Please tell her for me gently, tenderly." 
 
 Then he closed his eyes again, and seemed to sleep, yet fit- 
 fully. When night came he yawned languidly, and turned on 
 his pillow. Soon he rose, lit the small oil lamp on the mantel, 
 and, after preparing himself for bed, sat down near Bolston, 
 of whose presence he had taken not the least notice since last 
 addressing him. Nor did he seem to recognize him until late 
 in the afternoon of the following day, when, having a lucid 
 interval, he laid his hand upon the Englishman's shoulder and 
 said: 
 
 "Gently, tenderly, my friend, as you would have me serve 
 you if the case were reversed with us. Care for her as you 
 have cared for me; be her friend. And now, do what you 
 think best with me. Take me to some place, Bolston, where I 
 may bide the near end of a life distraught by much effort to 
 serve and please the clamoring, inconstant multitude. It was 
 not for myself that I have made the struggle of the past few
 
 FINIS 357 
 
 years. I think you know that to be true. When she Enid ! 
 thank God I may yet speak her name when she came into 
 my existence, and Love grappled with debased Politics for pos- 
 session of me well, my good friend, I made the mistake of 
 trying to serve both of them. As well might a soul essay the 
 impossible task of dwelling simultaneously in Heaven and in 
 Hell." 
 
 So that now the honest, faithful Englishman, after a hur- 
 ried arrangement for the comfort of his suffering friend at a 
 near by resort for neurasthenics, where he left him in the care 
 of skilled attendants, took his way back to the Capital, now 
 the unwilling bearer of another commission one that a less 
 resolute man than he might well have evaded; the high duty, 
 indeed, of conveying a message to the loving, hopeful and 
 trusting creature, whose birthstar had long since marked her 
 for misfortune a message from the one around whom all her 
 anxieties and adoration were gathered. 
 
 And how painful a duty it was for the faithful Briton 1 
 
 Still, the commission was executed, with what hesitation and 
 suspense, yet with what fidelity, must be left to the imagina- 
 tion of the reader. I will not undertake to describe the feel- 
 ings of the one who received the message, nor to dwell at length 
 upon the fortitude with which she bore the sorrowful tidings, 
 for words refuse a task so heavy. 
 
 Besides, all that I am permitted to recount of the pitiful 
 scene is that Enid Grey, after a moment of solicitous indeci- 
 sion, such as a great shock like this might be expected to pro- 
 duce, seemed to be as if translated to another and higher 
 sphere; her human part consumed with spiritual exaltation; 
 her face lighting with a heavenly smile, like that of Thais 
 among the White Ladies of the monastery in the desert. 
 
 "Bear up, brave heart," said she to Bolston, over whose
 
 358 THE SECOND AMENDMENT 
 
 rugged cheeks the tears were now raining. "Only help me to 
 soothe him ! only help me !" 
 
 Which he did to the fullest ; for, after the least loss of time, 
 he brought her to the sanitarium, which nestled solemnly in 
 the New England uplands, among stately oaks and graceful 
 elms whose gnarled limbs and twining branches, clothed in 
 their January coats of sleet and snow, whipped vainly at the 
 shrieking winter winds as they raced eastward to drink from 
 the warm currents of the blue ocean. 
 
 Here she remained, watching and praying at his bedside, 
 unmindful of the heavy hours, the cheerless gray days, the 
 black silent nights, that came and went in dull procession. 
 
 O, if he could but know of her presence, of her devotion, of 
 her consuming desire that reason might return once more to 
 the disordered brain; that even a momentary ray of the old 
 light might speak to her out of the now turbulent eyes. Had 
 ever there been a more sacred marriage altar than this ? What 
 instrument of man's awkward designing could put such nup- 
 tial ties asunder? 
 
 Thus she pictured the seemingly impossible; thus she hoped 
 and prayed . . . until, one bright sunlit day that brought 
 the spring's first robin, Enid Grey's heroic spirit seemed to 
 forsake her to pass all suddenly away, leaving her in physi- 
 cal turmoil helpless, emotionless, even without the power to 
 summon aid. Still, she felt no alarm only a curious longing 
 to fathom the strange feeling that had come over her. How 
 long she remained thus entranced, thus deprived of her human 
 senses, she knew not. 
 
 But this she does know, that after her cold, rigid frame 
 was athrill with mortal warmth again, the eyes of her hus- 
 band yea ! for had not their souls been joined but now in holy 
 wedlock by the Highest? that his eyes opened dreamily upon 
 her; that the old light was there once more; that he smiled
 
 FINIS 359 
 
 and took her hand in his; that she bent over him and kissed 
 his pale lips, while he smoothed the drooping ringlets at her 
 temple. Nor could the Borean tempests, nor the bolts of 
 Heaven, nor death itself have broken their long embrace. 
 Only the mutual impulse of their united spirits could serve 
 such rapture as this ! 
 
 Then he rose, calmly and resolutely, from his couch, and, 
 with her assistance, prepared himself for the journey that 
 would bring them to the scenes of their earlier attachment; to 
 the parental roof tree where the ancestral portraits were wait- 
 ing to look down upon their wooing again. All fear of re- 
 turning torment had departed from him. Under the pas- 
 sionate influence of her endearing presence, her subtle, har- 
 monizing power Athene pouring "nectar and ambrosia, full 
 of delight, into the breast of Achilles" the intermittent shad- 
 ows so long besetting his mentality had taken flight forever ! 
 
 He was "vivified with a spark of her own soul."
 
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