CHAPTER VII
PATSY MAKES PROGRESS
Meantime Patsy was in the thick of the fray. The druggist was adeep-dyed Democrat, and sniffed when she asked him what he thought ofForbes for Representative.
"He's no politician at all--just an aristocrat," declared Latham, adapper little man with his hair slicked down to his ears and a waxedmoustache. "And he's got fool notions, too. If he stopped theadvertising signs I wouldn't sell half as many pain-killers andliver-pills."
"He's my cousin," said Patsy, mendaciously; for although they calledthemselves cousins there was no relationship even of marriage, asPatsy's Aunt Jane had merely been betrothed to Kenneth's uncle when hedied.
"I'm sorry for that, miss," replied the druggist. "He's going to bebadly beaten."
"I think I'll take two ounces of this perfumery. It is reallydelightful. Some druggists have so little taste in selecting suchthings."
"Yes, miss, I do rather pride myself on my perfumes," replied Latham,graciously. "Now here's a sachet powder that gives fine satisfaction."
"I'll take a couple of packets of that, too, since you recommend it."
Latham began doing up the purchases. There was no other customer in thestore.
"You know, miss, I haven't anything against Mr. Forbes myself. Hispeople are good customers. It's his ideas I object to, and he's aRepublican."
"Haven't you ever voted for a Republican?" asked the girl. "Don't youthink it better to vote for the best man, rather than the best party, ina case like this?"
"Why, perhaps it is. But in what way is Mr. Forbes the best man?"
"He's honest. He doesn't want to make any money out of the office. Onthe contrary, he's willing and able to spend a good deal in passing lawsthat will benefit his district."
"And Hopkins?"
"Don't you know Mr. Hopkins?" she asked, pointedly.
"Yes, miss; I do." And Latham frowned a little.
"As regards the advertising signs," continued the girl, "I've heard youspoken of as a man of excellent taste, and I can believe it since I'veexamined the class of goods you keep. And your store is as neat andattractive as can be. The fight is not against the signs themselves, butagainst putting them on fences and barns, and so making great glaringspots in a landscape where all should be beautiful and harmonious. Isuppose a man of your refinement and good taste has often thought ofthat, and said the same thing."
"Why--ahem!--yes; of course, miss. I agree with you that the signs areoften out of place, and--and inharmonious."
"To be sure; and so you must sympathize with Mr. Forbes's campaign."
"In that way, yes; of course," said Mr. Latham, puzzled to find himselfchanging front so suddenly.
"Mr. Hopkins has taken a lot of money out of this town," remarked Patsy,examining a new kind of tooth wash. "But I can't find that he's evergiven much of it back."
"That's true. He buys his cigars of Thompson, the general store man, andI keep the finest line ever brought to this town."
"Oh, that reminds me!" exclaimed Patsy. "Mr. Forbes wanted me topurchase a box of your choicest brand, and have you just hand them outto your customers with his compliments. He thinks he ought to show alittle cordiality to the men who vote for him, and he said you wouldknow just the people to give them to."
Latham gasped, but he assumed an air of much importance.
"I know every man that comes to this town, miss, as well as any you'llfind," he said.
"The best brand, mind you, Mr. Latham," said the girl. "How much willthey be?"
"Why, the very best--these imported perfectos, you know--are worth sixdollars a box of fifty. Perhaps for election purposes something a littlecheaper--"
"Oh, no; the best is none too good for the friends of Mr. Forbes, youknow. And fifty--why fifty will scarcely go around. I'll pay for ahundred, Mr. Latham, and you'll see they go to the right persons."
"Of course; of course, miss. And much obliged. You see, young Forbes iswell liked, and he's quite a decent fellow. I wouldn't be surprised ifhe gave Hopkins a hard fight."
"I'll tell you a secret," said Patsy, sweetly. "Mr. Forbes is bound tobe elected. Why, it's all arranged in advance, Mr. Latham, and thebetter element, like yourself, is sure to support him. By the way, youwon't forget to tell people about those signs, I hope? That the fight isnot against advertising, but for beautiful rural homes and scenes."
"Oh, I'll fix that, Miss--"
"Doyle. I'm Miss Doyle, Mr. Forbes's cousin."
"I'll see that the people understand this campaign, Miss Doyle. You candepend on me."
"And if the cigars give out, don't hesitate to open more boxes. I'llcall in, now and then, and settle for them."
I really think this young lady might have been ashamed of herself; butshe wasn't. She smiled sweetly upon the druggist when he bowed her out,and Mr. Latham from that moment began to seek for friends of Mr. Forbesto give cigars to. If they were not friends, he argued with them untilthey were, for he was an honest little man, in his way, and tried to actin good faith.
So the girl went from one shop to another, making liberal purchases andseeking for every opening that would enable her to make a convert. Andher shrewd Irish wit made her quick to take advantage of any weaknessshe discovered in the characters of the people she interviewed.
When noon came Uncle John hunted her up, which was not difficult, inElmwood, and together they went to the village "hotel" to get somethingto eat. The mid-day dinner was not very inviting, but Patsy praised thecooking to the landlord's wife, who waited upon the table, and UncleJohn bought one of the landlord's cigars after the meal and talkedpolitics with him while he smoked it.
Then Patsy went over to the general store, and there she met her firstrebuff. Thompson, the proprietor, was a sour-visaged man, tall and lankyand evidently a dyspeptic. Having been beaten by Hopkins at the lastelection, when he ran against him on the Republican ticket, Thompson hadno desire to see Forbes more successful than he had been himself. Andthere were other reasons that made it necessary for him to supportHopkins.
So he was both gruff and disagreeable when Patsy, after buying a lot ofribbons of him, broached the subject of politics. He told her plainlythat her cousin hadn't a "ghost of a show," and that he was glad of it.
"The young fool had no business to monkey with politics," he added, "andthis will teach him to keep his fingers out of someone else's pie."
"It isn't Mr. Hopkins's pie," declared Patsy, stoutly. "It belongs towhoever gets the votes."
"Well, that's Hopkins. He knows the game, and Forbes don't."
"Can't he learn?" asked the girl.
"No. He's an idiot. Always was a crank and an unsociable cuss when aboy, and he's worse now he's grown up. Oh, I know Forbes, all right; andI haven't got no use for him, neither."
Argument was useless in this case. The girl sighed, gathered up herpurchases, and went into the hardware store.
Immediately her spirits rose. Here was a man who knew Kenneth, believedin him and was going to vote for him. She had a nice talk with thehardware man, and he gave her much useful information about the mostimportant people in the neighborhood--those it would be desirable to winfor their candidate. When he mentioned Thompson, she said:
"Oh, he's impossible. I've talked with him."
"Thompson is really a good Republican," replied Mr. Andrews, thehardware man. "But he's under Hopkins's thumb and doesn't dare defyhim."
"Doesn't he like Mr. Hopkins?" asked Patsy, in surprise.
"No; he really hates him. You see, Thompson isn't a very successfulmerchant. He has needed money at times, and borrowed it of Hopkins at ahigh rate of interest. It's a pretty big sum now, and Hopkins holds amortgage on the stock. If he ever forecloses, as he will do some day,Thompson will be ruined. So he's obliged to shout for Hopkins, whetherhe believes in him or not."
"I think I understand him now," said Patsy, smiling. "But he needn'thave been so disagreeable."
"He's a disagreeable man at any time," returned Mr. Andrews.
"Has he any political influence?" asked the girl.
"Yes, considerable. Otherwise he couldn't have secured the nominationwhen he pretended to run against Hopkins--for it was only a pretense.You see, he's a well known Republican, and when he sides for Hopkinshe's bound to carry many Republicans with him."
But there were other important people whom Mr. Andrews thought might beinfluenced, and he gave Patsy a list of their names. He seemed muchamused at the earnestness of this girlish champion of the Republicancandidate.
"I do not think we can win," he said, as she left him; "but we ought tomake a good showing for your cousin, and I'll do my very best to helpyou."
As she rode home with Uncle John in the afternoon, after a day of reallyhard work, Patsy sized up the situation and declared that she wassatisfied that she had made progress. She told Mr. Merrick of themortgage held over Thompson by Mr. Hopkins, and the little man made amental note of the fact. He also was satisfied with his day's work, andagreed to ride over to Fairview the next day with her and carry the warinto this, the largest village in Kenneth's district.
Meantime Louise and Mr. Watson were having some interesting interviewswith the farmers' wives along the Marville road. The old lawyer knewnearly everyone in this part of the country, for he had lived here allhis life. But he let Louise do the talking and was much pleased at thetact and good nature she displayed in dealing with the widely differenttypes of character she encountered.
Her method was quite simple, and for that reason doubly effective. Shesat down in Mrs. Simmons's kitchen, where the good woman was ironing,and said:
"I'm a cousin of Mr. Forbes, up at Elmhurst, you know. He's running fora political office, so as to do some good for his county and district,and I've come to see if you'll help me get votes for him."
"Law sakes, child!" exclaimed Mrs. Simmons, "I ain't got nuthin' to dowith politics."
"No; but you've got a lot to do with Mr. Simmons, and that's where weneed your help. You see, Mr. Forbes thinks Mr. Simmons is one of themost important men in this district, and he's very anxious to win hisvote."
"Why don't you see Dan, then? He's out'n the rye field," replied thewoman.
"It's because I'm only a girl, and he wouldn't listen to me," repliedLouise, sweetly. "But he takes your advice about everything, I hear--"
"He don't take it as often as he orter, don't Dan," interrupted Mrs.Simmons, pausing to feel whether her iron was hot.
"Perhaps not," agreed Louise; "but in important things, such as this,he's sure to listen to you; and we women must stick together if we wantto win this election."
"But I don't know nothin' about it," protested Mrs. Simmons; "an' Idon't believe Dan does."
"You don't need to know much, Mrs. Simmons," replied the girl. "What apretty baby that is! All you need do is to tell Dan he must vote for Mr.Forbes, and see that he agrees to do so."
"Why?" was the pointed query.
"Well, there are several reasons. One is that Mr. Hopkins--Mr. ErastusHopkins, you know, is the other candidate, and a person must vote foreither one or the other of them."
"Dan's a friend o' 'Rastus," said the woman, thoughtfully. "I seen 'emtalkin' together the other day."
"But this isn't a matter of friendship; it's business, and Mr. Forbes isvery anxious to have your husband with him. If Mr. Forbes is elected itmeans lighter taxes, better roads and good schools. If Mr. Hopkins iselected it does not mean anything good except for Mr. Hopkins."
"I guess you're right about that," laughed the woman. "'Rast don't letmuch get away from him."
"You're very clever, Mrs. Simmons. You have discovered the fact withoutbeing told."
"Oh, I know 'Rast Hopkins, an' so does Dan."
"Then I can depend on you to help us?" asked the girl, patting thetousled head of a little girl who stood by staring at "the pretty lady."
"I'll talk to him, but I dunno what good it'll do," said Mrs. Simmons,thoughtfully.
"I know. He won't refuse to do what you ask him, for a man alwayslistens to his wife when he knows she's right. You'll win, Mrs. Simmons,and I want to thank you for saving the election for us. If we get Mr.Simmons on our side I believe we'll be sure to defeat Hopkins."
"Oh, I'll do what I kin," was the ready promise, and after a few moreremarks about the children and the neatness of the house, Louise tookher leave.
"Will she win him over?" asked the girl of Mr. Watson, when they werejogging on to the next homestead.
"I really can't say, my dear," replied the old lawyer, thoughtfully;"but I imagine she'll try to, and if Dan doesn't give in Mrs. Simmonswill probably make his life miserable for a time. You flattered themboth outrageously; but that will do no harm."
And so it went on throughout the day. Sometimes the farmer himself wasaround the house, and then they held a sort of conference; Louise askedhis advice about the best way to win votes, and said she depended agreat deal upon his judgment. She never asked a man which side hefavored, but took it for granted that he was anxious to support Mr.Forbes; and this subtle flattery was so acceptable that not one declaredoutright that he was for Hopkins, whatever his private views might havebeen.
When evening came and they had arrived at Elmhurst again, Louise wasenthusiastic over her work of the day, and had many amusing tales totell of her experiences.
"How many votes did you win?" asked Uncle John, smiling at her.
"I can't say," she replied; "but I didn't lose any. If one sows plentyof seed, some of it is bound to sprout."
"We can tell better after election," said Mr. Watson. "But I'm satisfiedthat this is the right sort of work, Mr. Merrick, to get results."
"So am I," returned Uncle John heartily. "Are you willing to keep it up,Louise?"
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "We start again bright and early tomorrowmorning."
Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work Page 7