"The boss of the Senate" leaned across to Stevens and whispered, hurriedly:
"We must tear him to pieces now--discredit him publicly. It's his own fault. Our agents can sell the land to Standard Steel. Our connection with the scheme will be impossible to discover--after we have made the public believe Langdon is a crook."
"But how about our supposed combination to protect the Government that Langdon will tell about?" asked Stevens. "We can't deny that, of course."
"No," answered Peabody. "We can't deny it, but we will not affirm it. We will tell interviewers that we prefer not to talk about it."
"It's our only chance," replied Stevens, cautiously.
"Yes; and we owe it all to Jake Steinert," went on Peabody. "That fellow Telfer will do anything to please Jake. Jake has convinced Telfer that Langdon was responsible for the defeat of Gulf City, and the Mayor is wild for revenge."
"The boss of the Senate" rose and walked to the rear of the Senate chamber to issue orders to two of his colleagues.
"Report of the committee on naval affairs." droned the clerk, mechanically. "House Bill No. 1,109 is amended to read as follows--" And his voice sank to an unintelligible mumble, for every Senator present he well knew was aware that the amendment named Altacoola as the naval base site.
"Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi," said the presiding officer, as he leaned back to speak to Senator Winans of Kansas, who had approached to the side of the rostrum.
The Langdon speech on "The New South and the South of the Future" proved more than a document suited only to a reverent burial in the _Congressional Record_. Although wearied at the start owing to the exciting happenings of the day, the Mississippian's enthusiasm for his cause gave him strength and stimulation as he progressed. His voice rose majestically as he came to the particular points he wished to accentuate, and even those in the uppermost rows in the galleries could hear every word.
At the close of his formal speech he began on his statement of the action of the naval affairs committee in buying control of the Altacoola land to foil attempts to rob the Government. As he had predicted, the Senate did "sit up." The Senate did agree that a new kind of politics had arrived.