CHAPTER XXXI

Finn for Loughton

By three o’clock in the day after the little accident which was told in the last chapter, all the world knew that Mr. Kennedy, the new Cabinet Minister, had been garrotted, or half garrotted, and that that child of fortune, Phineas Finn, had dropped upon the scene out of heaven at the exact moment of time, had taken the two garrotters prisoners, and saved the Cabinet Minister’s neck and valuables,—­if not his life.  “Bedad,” said Laurence Fitzgibbon, when he came to hear this, “that fellow’ll marry an heiress, and be Secretary for Oireland yet.”  A good deal was said about it to Phineas at the clubs, but a word or two that was said to him by Violet Effingham was worth all the rest.  “Why, what a Paladin you are!  But you succour men in distress instead of maidens.”  “That’s my bad luck,” said Phineas.  “The other will come no doubt in time,” Violet replied; “and then you’ll get your reward.”  He knew that such words from a girl mean nothing,—­especially from such a girl as Violet Effingham; but nevertheless they were very pleasant to him.

“Of course you will come to us at Loughlinter when Parliament is up?” Lady Laura said the same day.

“I don’t know really.  You see I must go over to Ireland about my re-election.”

“What has that to do with it?  You are only making out excuses.  We go down on the first of July, and the English elections won’t begin till the middle of the month.  It will be August before the men of Loughshane are ready for you.”

“To tell you the truth, Lady Laura,” said Phineas, “I doubt whether the men of Loughshane,—­or rather the man of Loughshane, will have anything more to say to me.”

“What man do you mean?”

“Lord Tulla.  He was in a passion with his brother before, and I got the advantage of it.  Since that he has paid his brother’s debts for the fifteenth time, and of course is ready to fight any battle for the forgiven prodigal.  Things are not as they were, and my father tells me that he thinks I shall be beaten.”

“That is bad news.”

“It is what I have a right to expect.”

Every word of information that had come to Phineas about Loughshane since Mr. Mildmay had decided upon a dissolution, had gone towards making him feel at first that there was a great doubt as to his re-election, and at last that there was almost a certainty against him.  And as these tidings reached him they made him very unhappy.  Since he had been in Parliament he had very frequently regretted that he had left the shades of the Inns of Court for the glare of Westminster; and he had more than once made up his mind that he would desert the glare and return to the shade.  But now, when the moment came in which such desertion seemed to be compulsory on him, when there would be no longer a choice, the seat in Parliament was dearer to him than ever.  If he had gone of his own free