The grandson did not reply.  Thornton relighted his cigar.  The flare of the match showed disgust and stubbornness in the features opposite.

“You know Enoch Dudley as well as I do, Harlan.  That’s the man they put up.  And a man that has let two of his sons be bound out and has turned back his wife for her own people to support can’t hide behind any white necktie, so far’s I’m concerned.  Luke and I know where the money came from that they’ve been putting in here.  We know the men behind, and what their object is.  We know what they are trying to do in the next legislature.  You’ll see it all for yourself when the time comes, Harlan.  You’ll be up against them.  You understand men.  I’ll only be wasting time in telling you what you’ll see for yourself.  Do you want to see a man like Enoch Dudley representing this district?  If you do, go ahead and write that letter!”

“You’ll not do that, Harlan,” stated the chairman, with decision.  “As it stands now, whatever they say about this caucus will be simply the whinings of a licked opposition.  We know how to handle that kind of talk.  There isn’t a man on our side, from Sylvester to Urban Cobb, who will open his mouth, even if the thumb-screws are put to him.  Harlan, are you the kind of a fellow that would hold your grandfather up before the people of this State in any such light?  Of course you are not!”

“No, I don’t suppose I am,” acknowledged the young man.  “But I can decline to run.”

The State chairman pulled his chair close, and tapped emphasis on the candidate’s knee.

“No, you can’t.  It would give ’em the one fact that they need for a foundation to build their case on.  What you’ve got to do, Harlan, is accept this nomination, just as it is handed to you.  Stand up and fight for your election like a man.  The thing may look rank to you.  Politics usually looks rank to a beginner, who has to get down and fight on the level of the other fellow.  But you’ll understand things better after you get along a little further.  If you back out now you’re leaving your grandfather open to attack.  Those dogs can only bark, now.  If you let ’em past you they’ll have a chance to set their teeth in.  Harlan, you think too much of your grandfather to do such a thing as that, don’t you?”

The three of them sat in silence for a while.

“I hate to say anything just now, my boy,” said the old man, at last.  He leaned forward, his elbows on the arms of his chair.  “Luke has put it to you a little stronger than I should have done.  I don’t want to beg you or coax you.  If you think it’s too much of a sacrifice to stand by me—­if you want to quit, and can’t look at it in any other way, go ahead.  I can fight it out alone.  I’ve had a good many lone fights.  I’m good for one more.  But before you say what you’re going to say, I’ve got a last word to drop in.  You know how I’ve dealt with men in business matters, my boy.”

“But why can’t you do the same in politics?” demanded his grandson, bitterly.