“I have explained them so that, if we make slow progress at first, we shall not be discouraged.

“We will organize prevailing unrest and the innate honesty in this state.  We will establish a branch of the Square Deal Club in every town and city.  It must be done carefully, conservatively, and as secretly as possible.”  The lawyer’s cautious fear of too much haste now displayed itself.  “The most we can hope to do is send to the state convention some men who will leaven that lump of ring politics.  Party usage and tradition are so strong that we must renominate Governor Harwood, I suppose, for a complimentary second term.”

“I think we can do better,” cried a voice.

“Possibly,” returned Mr. Converse, dryly, “but we must do that ‘better’ carefully and slowly.  In politics, gentlemen, we cannot transform the ogre into the saint merely by waving the magic wand and expecting the charm to operate instantly.  Possibly we can control the next legislature.  I do not know just what legislation we may be able to devise and pass, but I hope for inspiration.

“I will say now that I am with you.  My purse is open.  Command my services for all questions of law.  I will establish myself at the capital for the legislative session.

“But there is one thing I will not do under any circumstances—­I will not accept political office.”

“You bet you won’t,” muttered young Dodd, at the grating.  “You wouldn’t be elected a pound-keeper in the town of Bean Center.”

But if Mr. Dodd could have seen through that grating as well as hear he would have been greatly interested just then in the expression on the face of Walker Farr.  The face was not exactly the face of a prophet, but it had a large amount of resolution written over it.

“I don’t want to be the first one to throw any cold water on our prospects,” declared a voice, after Mr. Converse had announced that the meeting was open for general discussion; “it really does seem to me that we stand a good show of getting control of the next legislature.  But after we do get control what prospect is there of passing any legislation that will help us?  Wherever there is a water system in this state the municipality has been so loaded down with debts our machine politics have plastered into it that the legal debt limit has been reached.  The only way this water question can be cleared up is by taking the systems away from those monopolists—­making them the property of towns and cities.  But if towns and cities can’t borrow any more money, just how is this to be done?  Mr. Converse hasn’t told us!  We can clean up politics, perhaps, but it seems to me that we’ll never be able to clean up the dirtiest and most dangerous mess.”

On the silence that followed broke a voice which made Dodd, his ear to the grating, grate his teeth.  His hatred recognized this speaker.  It was Walker Farr.