Mr. Hopkins was noticeable by his absence, and this was due not so much to his cowardice as to an unfortunate accident.

Neither Squiers nor Hopkins knew just how their secret had leaked out, for Patsy’s presence in the dentist’s office had not been disclosed; so each one suspected the other of culpable foolishness if not downright rascality.  After Uncle John’s visit Erastus stormed over to Squiers’s office and found his accomplice boiling with indignation at having been trapped in a criminal undertaking.

As the two men angrily faced each other they could not think of any gentle words to say, and Dr. Squiers became so excited by the other’s reproaches that he indulged in careless gestures.  One of these gestures bumped against the Honorable Erastus’s right eye with such force that the eye was badly injured.

The candidate for re-election, therefore, wakened on election morning with the damaged optic swollen shut and sadly discolored.  Realizing that this unfortunate condition would not win votes, Mr. Hopkins remained at home all day and nagged his long-suffering spouse, whose tongue was her only defence.

The Representative had promptly telephoned to Marshall at Fairview telling him not to vote the men as arranged.  He was not especially charmed with the manager’s brief reply: 

“Don’t be alarmed.  We’re not all fools!”

“I guess, ’Rast,” remarked Mary Hopkins, looking at her damaged and irritable husband with a blending of curiosity and contempt, “that you’re ’bout at the end of your rope.”

“You wait,” said Erastus, grimly.  “This thing ain’t over yet.”

The day passed very quietly and without any especial incident.  A full vote was polled, and by sundown the fate of the candidates had been decided.  But the counting seemed to progress slowly and the group assembled around the telephone in Kenneth’s library thought the returns would never arrive.

The Republican Committee had given Mr. Forbes a table showing what the vote of each precinct should be, according to their canvass.

The first report was from Elmwood, and showed a gain of seventeen over the estimate.  Patsy was delighted, for she had worked hard in Elmwood, and this proved that her efforts had been successful.  Then came a report from Longville, in Jefferson County.  It showed a gain of forty-three votes for Hopkins, and a consequent loss for Forbes.  This was a startling surprise, and the next advice from a country precinct in Washington County showed another gain of twelve for Hopkins.

The little group of workers looked at one another with inquiring eyes, and Patsy could hardly refrain from crying.

The butler announced dinner, but only Louise and Mr. Watson could eat anything.  The others were too intent on learning their fate and could not leave the telephone.

It seemed queer that the precincts furthest away should be first to respond, but so it was.  Jefferson County returns began to come in rapidly, and were received in dismal silence.  Hopkins gained four here, seven there, and twenty-two in another precinct.