Laura had declined to see either Philip or Harry, somewhat to the former’s relief, who had a notion that she would necessarily feel humiliated by seeing him after breaking faith with him, but to the discomfiture of Harry, who still felt her fascination, and thought her refusal heartless.  He told Philip that of course he had got through with such a woman, but he wanted to see her.

Philip, to keep him from some new foolishness, persuaded him to go with him to Philadelphia; and, give his valuable services in the mining operations at Ilium.

The law took its course with Laura.  She was indicted for murder in the first degree and held for trial at the summer term.  The two most distinguished criminal lawyers in the city had been retained for her defence, and to that the resolute woman devoted her days with a courage that rose as she consulted with her counsel and understood the methods of criminal procedure in New York.

She was greatly depressed, however, by the news from Washington.  Congress adjourned and her bill had failed to pass the Senate.  It must wait for the next session.

CHAPTER XLVIII

It had been a bad winter, somehow, for the firm of Pennybacker, Bigler and Small.  These celebrated contractors usually made more money during the session of the legislature at Harrisburg than upon all their summer work, and this winter had been unfruitful.  It was unaccountable to Bigler.

“You see, Mr. Bolton,” he said, and Philip was present at the conversation, “it puts us all out.  It looks as if politics was played out.  We’d counted on the year of Simon’s re-election.  And, now, he’s reelected, and I’ve yet to see the first man who’s the better for it.”

“You don’t mean to say,” asked Philip, “that he went in without paying anything?”

“Not a cent, not a dash cent, as I can hear,” repeated Mr. Bigler, indignantly.  “I call it a swindle on the state.  How it was done gets me.  I never saw such a tight time for money in Harrisburg.”

“Were there no combinations, no railroad jobs, no mining schemes put through in connection with the election?

“Not that I knew,” said Bigler, shaking his head in disgust.  “In fact it was openly said, that there was no money in the election.  It’s perfectly unheard of.”

“Perhaps,” suggested Philip, “it was effected on what the insurance companies call the ‘endowment,’ or the ‘paid up’ plan, by which a policy is secured after a certain time without further payment.”

“You think then,” said Mr. Bolton smiling, “that a liberal and sagacious politician might own a legislature after a time, and not be bothered with keeping up his payments?”

“Whatever it is,” interrupted Mr. Bigler, “it’s devilish ingenious and goes ahead of my calculations; it’s cleaned me out, when I thought we had a dead sure thing.  I tell you what it is, gentlemen, I shall go in for reform.  Things have got pretty mixed when a legislature will give away a United States senatorship.”