“But what’s the good of paying you twenty-five thousand dollars a year for law if you can’t keep the bars up?” The tone was that of the impatient tyrant.

“You’ll please remember that this thing is likely to go to the United States court.  When you go in there you’ve got to leave your side-arms of politics—­pull and pocket-book—­at the door.  I will say this:  the Federal Constitution guarantees protection against any irregular, illegal, or confiscatory action under state authority.  That is, no states shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.  Now, of course, a corporation is a person in the meaning of the law, and therefore we can carry the matter to the United States Supreme Court, but I want to tell you that if the next legislature enacts law permitting water districts, and the state authorities proceed to condemn your plants, you may as well get ready to step out from under.  You are a shrewd man and you understand the spirit of these times in regard to giving to the people their full rights in public utilities.  I say again, you’d better get a line on this Walker Farr, because it’s either a case of ignorance inspired or else he’s a deep one.  He has started with a plan that can be defended by law—­and the judges in these days are handing the people’s rights and property back to them when there is a legal opportunity.”

“Why, this Farr is a nothing—­nobody.  Dug in our trenches for a while until he was discharged.  Briggs looked him up for me.  The only man in this city he has been at all intimate with is an old Canuck named Provancher who tends the rack down at Gamonic Mill.  You can judge him by the company he keeps.”

“Well, he seems to be fraternizing with better men just now,” drawled the judge.  “Archer Converse, for instance!”

“The thing to do,” suggested young Dodd, still watching the girl, “is get something on that hobo and boot him out of town or put him in jail.  It ought to be easy enough.”

“And it will be attended to,” declared the colonel, with venom.  “We’ll kill that one crow and hang him up in full view of the rest of those croakers!  I’ll put something over on that fellow and have all the papers in the state print it—­and high-and-mighty Converse will be so disgusted that he’ll quit and the rest of the crowd will be ashamed to keep on.  Disgrace a reformer!  That’s the surest play in politics!  We must get Farr!”

He turned his scowling gaze away from the flowers and found Miss Kilgour looking at him with an expression in her eyes he had never seen there before.  Reproach and scorn seemed to mingle in the stare she gave him.  He blinked, and when he looked again she was examining the point of her pencil; he decided that his eyesight had played him a strange prank.