You forgot to recall that when he turned you
out for being six months behind with your rent and making no effort to
pay up! Who was the devil and beast then, Grandois? Who spat upon his own
wife and children then? You haven't a good memory. . . . Come, I think
your account with my father is squared; and I want you to vote to put my
father's son in Parliament, and to put out Barode Barouche, who's been
there too long. Come, come, Grandois, isn't it a bargain? Your tongue's
sharp, but your heart's in the right place--is it a bargain?"
He held out his hand with applause from the crowd, but Grandois was not
to be softened. His anger, however, had behind it some sense of caution,
and what Carnac said about the smallpox incident struck him hard. It was
the first time he had ever been hit between the eyes where John Grier was
concerned. His prestige with the men was now under a shadow, yet he dared
not deny the truth of the statement. It could be proved. His braggart
hatred of John Grier had come home to roost. Carnac saw that, and he was
glad he had challenged the man. He believed that in politics, as in all
other departments of life, candour and bold play were best in the long
run. Yet he would like to see the man in a different humour, and with joy
he heard Junia say to Grandois.
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