Mr. Gashwiler was quite as confident of his own success with Congress.  “We are within a few days of the end of the session.  We will manage to have it taken up and rushed through before that fellow Thatcher knows what he is about.”

“If it could be done before he gets here,” said Wiles, “it’s a reasonably sure thing.  He is delayed two days:  he might have been delayed longer.”  Here Mr. Wiles sighed.  If the accident had happened on a mountain road, and the stage had been precipitated over the abyss, what valuable time would have been saved, and success become a surety.  But Mr. Wiles’s functions as an advocate did not include murder; at least, he was doubtful if it could be taxed as costs.

“We need have no fears, sir,” resumed Mr. Gashwiler; “The matter is now in the hands of the highest tribunal of appeal in the country.  It will meet, sir, with inflexible justice.  I have already prepared some remarks—­”

“By the way,” interrupted Wiles infelicitously, “where’s your young man,—­your private secretary,—­Dobbs?”

The Congressman for a moment looked confused.  “He is not here.  And I must correct your error in applying that term to him.  I have never put my confidence in the hands of any one.”

“But you introduced him to me as your secretary?”

“A mere honorary title, sir.  A brevet rank.  I might, it is true, have thought to repose such a trust in him.  But I was deceived, sir, as I fear I am too apt to be when I permit my feelings as a man to overcome my duty as an American legislator.  Mr. Dobbs enjoyed my patronage and the opportunity it gave me to introduce him into public life only to abuse it.  He became, I fear, deeply indebted.  His extravagance was unlimited, his ambition unbounded, but without, sir, a cash basis.  I advanced money to him from time to time upon the little property you so generously extended to him for his services.  But it was quickly dissipated.  Yet, sir, such is the ingratitude of man that his family lately appealed to me for assistance.  I felt it was necessary to be stern, and I refused.  I would not for the sake of his family say anything, but I have missed, sir, books from my library.  On the day after he left, two volumes of Patent Office reports and a Blue Book of Congress, purchased that day by me at a store on Pennsylvania avenue, were missing,—­missing!  I had difficulty, sir, great difficulty in keeping it from the papers!”

As Mr. Wiles had heard the story already from Gashwiler’s acquaintances, with more or less free comment on the gifted legislator’s economy, he could not help thinking that the difficulty had been great indeed.  But he only fixed his malevolent eye on Gashwiler and said: 

“So he is gone, eh?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve made an enemy of him?  That’s bad.”

Mr. Gashwiler tried to look dignifiedly unconcerned; but something in his visitor’s manner made him uneasy.