but he was a little afraid of the old man, who had sometimes hinted that
his salary was far greater than the services rendered, but as Mr.
Arthur, to whom he made reports of the expenditures, had never objected,
it was not for him to do so, he said. And still Frank distrusted him,
and decided that, on the whole, his better plan was to wait, or at least
to consult no one but his wife, and he was glad when lunch-time came,
and he started home, where preparations were going forward for the first
large party they had ever given.




CHAPTER V.

AT THE PARK.


Frank Tracy had at first grown faster than his wife, and the change in
his manner had been more perceptible; for with all her foolishness Dolly
had a kind heart, and a keen sense of right, and wrong, and justice than
her husband. She had opposed him stoutly when he raised his own salary
from $4,000 to $6,000 a year, on the plea that his services were worth
it, and that two thousand more or less was nothing to Arthur; and when
he was a candidate for the Legislature she had protested loudly against
his inviting to the house and giving beer and cider to the men whose
votes he wanted, and for whom as men he did not care a farthing; but
when he came up for Congress she forgot all her scruples, and was as
anxious as himself to please those who could help him secure the
nomination and afterward the election. It was she who had proposed the
party, to which nearly everybody was to be invited, from old Peterkin,