A gruff voice broke the silence. "That's for Mike," it shouted and a
great chunk of coal thrown from the train bounded across the potato patch
and struck against the back of the house. Downstairs he could hear old Mrs.
McCoy getting out of bed to secure the prize. The train passed and the
lovers in the buggy sank away from each other. In the silent night Hugh
could hear the regular beat of the hoofs of the farmer boy's horse as it
carried him and his woman away into the darkness.
The two people, living in the house with the old woman who had almost
finished her life, and themselves trying feebly to reach out to life, never
got to anything very definite in relation to each other. One Saturday
evening in the late fall the Governor of the State came to Bidwell. There
was a parade to be followed by a political meeting and the Governor, who
was a candidate for re-election, was to address the people from the steps
of the town hall. Prominent citizens were to stand on the steps beside the
Governor. Steve and Tom were to be there, and they had asked Hugh to come,
but he had refused. He asked Rose McCoy to go to the meeting with him, and
they set out from the house at eight o'clock and walked to town. Then they
stood at the edge of the crowd in the shadow of a store building and
listened to the speech. To Hugh's amazement his name was mentioned. The
Governor spoke of the prosperity of the town, indirectly hinting that
it was due to the political sagacity of the party of which he was a
representative, and then mentioned several individuals also partly
responsible.
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