“Yes,” said Cullen, “and later, when Senator X. heard that Senator Z. had got money for his vote, he was wild.  Then when another effort was made to pass the bill (which had been defeated) the ‘delivered’ Senator said to Z. as he met him unexpectedly:  ’You scoundrel, here’s where I get square with you to some extent.  Anyway, I’m going to vote against that bill this time and make a long speech against it, too.’  Senator Z. then hustled to the lobbyist of the railroad that wanted the bill killed and guaranteed him that for $10,000 he could get Senator X. to change his vote, to vote against the bill.”

“And he got the money, too, both ways,” added Haines, as Cullen concluded, “and both railroads to this day think that X. received the money from Z.”

“Of course,” said Cullen, “but X. was to blame, though.  He didn’t know enough to keep to himself how he was going to vote.  Any man that talks that way will be ‘delivered.’”

“I know how to stop those rumors, for I’m sure it’s Peabody’s work, he thinking Langdon will hear the talk and mistrust me,” began Haines, when in came Senator Langdon himself, his face beaming contentedly.  Little did the junior Senator from Mississippi realize that he was soon to face the severest trial, the most vital crisis, of his entire life.

Cullen responded to the Senator’s cheery greeting of “Mornin’, everybody!”

“Senator,” he asked, “my paper wants your opinion on the question of the election of Senators by popular vote.  Do you think the system of electing Senators by vote of State Legislatures should be abolished?”

The Mississippian cocked his head to one side.

“I reckon that’s a question that concerns future Senators, and not those already elected,” he chuckled.

Haines laughed at Cullen, who thrust his pad into his pocket and hurried away.

“It is to-day that I appear before the ways and means committee, isn’t it?” Langdon queried of his secretary.

“Yes,” said Haines, consulting his memorandum book.  “At 11 o’clock you go before ways and means to put forward the needs of your State on the matter of the reduction of the tariff on aluminium hydrates.  The people of Mississippi believe it has actually put back life into the exhausted cotton lands.  In Virginia they hope to use it on the tobacco fields.”

“Where does the pesky stuff come from?” asked the Senator.

“From South America,” coached the secretary.  “The South is in a hurry for it, so the duty must come down.  You’ll have to bluff a bit, because Peabody and his crowd will try to make a kind of bargain—­wanting you to keep up iron and steel duties.  But you don’t believe that iron and steel need help, you will tell them, don’t you see, so that they will feel the necessity of giving you what you want for the South in order to gain your support for the iron and steel demands.”

The office door opened and Senator Peabody appeared.