Page:The council of seven.djvu/219

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on the platform and in the press she had a way with her in her dealings with them. As the blushing bride of John Endor, an old and tried friend, now with his back to the wall, fighting for his political life, she would be in a position to steal a little of the enemy's thunder. "Aunt Mittie," "Lovely Lily Langrish," and their like, who had proved so formidable at other Stunt elections up and down the land, must look to their laurels. Romance of a more genuine kind might invest John Endor and his new and singularly attractive American wife. And if only "they could get the real goods over" with half the skill of the U. P. the fire of several big enemy batteries was likely to be dominated.

The wedding at the tiny church of the ancestral village was the simplest and quietest affair. No more than a handful of indispensables were there; just a few friends and relations who were bound to be present. George Hierons gave Helen away. This remarkable man was becoming very much the friend of both. He heartily approved Helen's severance from the Planet and Saul Hartz; moreover, he ventured upon the prophecy that Endor with such a wife would go far.

Lady Elizabeth, of course, was scandalized by the whole affair. Such a "nose-dive" into the holy state, such an absence of all trumpets and shawms, was worthy indeed of "Comrade" Endor. This undignified haste was nothing short of indecent; Lady Elizabeth had fully counted on "an engagement of at least