not affect you or your constituents one way or the other, can it?'
"'No,' he said; 'reckon not.'
"'They don't even know down in Greene County that there is such a bill, do they?'
"'Reckon not,' he said, 'leastways I hain't heerd ary one say nothin' 'bout it.'
"'Of course you haven't,' I said, 'and what's more, you never will. Now, see here,' I said, 'I'll be quite frank with you, for I like you'—he cast a strange, sidling glance at me, distrustful, like all farmers—'for I like you,' I said, 'and I want to do something for you. The men who are promoting this legislation have exactly enough votes to pass it over the governor's veto, and it's going to pass. On this ballot they will have just ninety-one votes—one of their men will vote against it to move a reconsideration if necessary, and about ten will not vote. When the absentees are called, these ten will vote for the bill, and on the verification, you'll see others tumbling into the band-wagon. Now, your vote is not needed, as you see, and, cast for the bill or against it, can have no appreciable effect upon the result. The bill will pass without your vote, and
