people of this county will fall pretty hard for anything that comes
from the lips of the baby daughter of the district superintendent of
the Methodist Church.'

"Matters hunched forward in his seat. 'Connie Starr,' he said, in a
hollow voice.

"Kirke swished the weeds with his cane,--he has all those graceful
affectations.

"Matters swallowed a few times. 'Old man Starr is too smart a man to
get his family mixed up in politics,' he finally brought out.

"'Baby Con is of age, I think,' said Kirke lightly. 'And she is very
advanced, you know, something of a reformer, has all kinds of
emancipated notions.'

"Matters whipped up and disappeared, and Kirke went to prayer-meeting.
Aunt Grace saw him; I wasn't there.

"The next day, I met Matters on the street. Rather, he met me.

"'Miss Connie,' he said in a friendly, inviting voice, 'you know there
are a lot of things in politics that girls can't get to the bottom of.
You know my record, I've been a good Methodist since before you were
born. Sure you wouldn't go on the witness stand on circumstantial
evidence to make trouble for a good Methodist, would you?'

"I looked at him with wide and childish eyes. 'Of course not, Mr.
Matters,' I said quickly. He brightened visibly. 'But if I am called