sweep of shawl and wave of the arm of a cheap boarding-house keeper,
rose. "I detect a subtle purpose in that offer. There is a rat behind
that arras. There is a prejudice against us in the legislature,
and the car company wish no mention of Woman Suffrage to be made
in Berrytown until their new charter is granted. Are we so cheaply
bought?--bribed by a dead-head ticket!"

"The order of the day," resumed the little widow placidly, "is, Shall
marriage in the Consol--"

"Legislature!" piped a weak voice in the crowd. "They only laugh at us
in the legislature."

"Let them laugh: they laughed at the slave." The speaker hurled this
in a deep bass voice full at McCall. She was a black-browed, handsome
young woman, wrapped in a good deal of scarlet, who sat sideways on
one chair with her feet on the rung of another. "How long will the
world dare to laugh?" fixing him fiercely with her eye.

"Upon my word, madam, I don't know," McCall gasped, and checked
himself, hot and uncomfortable.

A fat, handsomely-dressed woman jolted the chair in front of her to
command attention: "On the question of marriage--"

"Address the chair," growled Bluhm.

"Miss Chairman, I want to say that I ought to be qualified to speak on
marriage, being the mother of ten, to say nothing of twice twins."