"Yes," said Haines, consulting his memorandum book. "At 11 o'clock you go before ways and means to put forward the needs of your State on the matter of the reduction of the tariff on aluminium hydrates. The people of Mississippi believe it has actually put back life into the exhausted cotton lands. In Virginia they hope to use it on the tobacco fields."
"Where does the pesky stuff come from?" asked the Senator.
"From South America," coached the secretary. "The South is in a hurry for it, so the duty must come down. You'll have to bluff a bit, because Peabody and his crowd will try to make a kind of bargain--wanting you to keep up iron and steel duties. But you don't believe that iron and steel need help, you will tell them, don't you see, so that they will feel the necessity of giving you what you want for the South in order to gain your support for the iron and steel demands."
The office door opened and Senator Peabody appeared.
Instantly the Mississippian had his cue. His back to Peabody, he rose, brought down his fist heavily upon the desk, and expounded oratorically to Haines:
"What we can produce of aluminium hydrates, my boy, is problematical, but the South is in a hurry for it, and the duty must come down. It's got to come down, and I'm not going to do anything else until it does."
"Excuse me, Senator; Senator Peabody is here," he said, loudly and surprisedly, as though he had just sighted the boss of the Senate.
"Oh, good-morning, Senator. I was just talking with my secretary about that hydrate clause."
"Yes, I knew it was coming up," he said, "so I just dropped over. I'm not opposed to it or any Southern measure; but it makes it more difficult for me when you Southern people oppose certain Pittsburg interests that I have to take care of."
"I've never been in Pittsburg, but they tell me it looks as if it could take care of itself."
"That's true enough; but give and take is the rule in political matters, Langdon."
This remark brought a frown to Langdon's face.
"I don't like bargaining between gentlemen, Peabody. More important still, I don't believe American politics has to be run on that plan. Why can't we change a lot of things now that we are here?"
Langdon became so enthused that he paced up and down the room as he spoke.