“I hear,” Alec had told them, “that Octavius Milburn is going around bragging he’s got the Elgin Chamber of Commerce consolidated this time.”

“Against us?” exclaimed Stella; and her brother said, “Of course!”

“Those Milburns,” remarked Mrs Murchison, “are enough to make one’s blood boil.  I met Mrs Milburn in the market yesterday; she’d been pricing Mrs Crow’s ducks, and they were just five cents too dear for her, and she stopped—­wonderful thing for her—­and had such an amount to say about Lorne, and the honour it was, and the dear only knows what!  Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth—­and Octavius Milburn doing all he knew against him the whole time!  That’s the Milburns!  I cut her remarkably short,” Mrs Murchison added, with satisfaction, “and when she’d made up her mind she’d have to give that extra five cents for the ducks because there weren’t any others to be had, she went back and found I’d bought them.”

“Well done, Mother!” said Alec, and Oliver remarked that if those were today’s ducks they were too good for the Milburn crowd, a lot.

“I expect she wanted them, too,” remarked Stella.  “They’ve got the only Mr Hesketh staying with them now.  Miss Filkin’s in a great state of excitement.”

“I guess we can spare them Hesketh,” said John Murchison.

“He’s a lobster,” said Stella with fervour.

“He seems to bring a frost where he goes,” continued Abby’s husband, “in politics, anyhow.  I hear Lorne wants to make a present of him to the other side, for use wherever they’ll let him speak longest.  Is it true he began his speech out at Jordanville—­’Gentlemen—­and those of you who are not gentlemen’?”

“Could he have meant Mrs Farquharson and Miss Milburn?” asked Mr Murchison quietly, when the derision subsided; and they laughed again.

“He told me,” said Advena, “that he proposed to convert Mr Milburn to the imperial policy.”

“He’ll have his job cut out for him,” said her father.

“For my part,” Abby told them, “I think the Milburns are beneath contempt.  You don’t know exactly what it is, but there’s something about them—­not that we ever come in contact with them,” she continued with dignity.  “I believe they used to be patients of Dr Henry’s till he got up in years, but they don’t call in Harry.”

“Maybe that’s what there is about them,” said Mr Murchison, innocently.

“Father’s made up his mind,” announced Dr Harry, and they waited, breathless.  There could be only one point upon which Dr Henry could be dubitating at that moment.

“He’s going to vote for Lorne.”

“He’s a lovely old darling!” cried Stella.  “Good for Dr Henry Johnson!  I knew he would.”

The rest were silent with independence and gratification.  Dr Henry’s Conservatism had been supposed to be invincible.  Dr Harry they thought a fair prey to Murchison influence. and he had capitulated early, but he had never promised to answer for his father.