Sellers no longer, impecunious but this day, also, or at farthest the
next, the jury in Laura’s Case would come to a decision of some kind or
other–they would find her guilty, Washington secretly feared, and then
the care and the trouble would all come back again, and these would be
wearing months of besieging judges for new trials; on this day, also, the
re-election of Mr. Dilworthy to the Senate would take place. So
Washington’s mind was in a state of turmoil; there were more interests at
stake than it could handle with serenity. He exulted when he thought of
his millions; he was filled with dread when he thought of Laura. But
Sellers was excited and happy. He said:
“Everything is going right, everything’s going perfectly right. Pretty
soon the telegrams will begin to rattle in, and then you’ll see, my boy.
Let the jury do what they please; what difference is it going to make?
To-morrow we can send a million to New York and set the lawyers at work
on the judges; bless your heart they will go before judge after judge and
exhort and beseech and pray and shed tears. They always do; and they
always win, too. And they will win this time. They will get a writ of
habeas corpus, and a stay of proceedings, and a supersedeas, and a new
trial and a nolle prosequi, and there you are! That’s the routine, and
it’s no trick at all to a New York lawyer. That’s the regular routine
–everything’s red tape and routine in the law, you see; it’s all Greek
to you, of course, but to a man who is acquainted with those things it’s
mere–I’ll explain it to you sometime. Everything’s going to glide right
along easy and comfortable now. You’ll see, Washington, you’ll see how
it will be. And then, let me think ….. Dilwortby will be elected
to-day, and by day, after to-morrow night be will be in New York ready to
put in his shovel–and you haven’t lived in Washington all this time not
to know that the people who walk right by a Senator whose term is up
without hardly seeing him will be down at the deepo to say ‘Welcome back
and God bless you; Senator, I’m glad to see yon, sir!’ when he comes
along back re-elected, you know. Well, you see, his influence was
naturally running low when he left here, but now he has got a new six-
years’ start, and his suggestions will simply just weigh a couple of tons
a-piece day after tomorrow. Lord bless you he could rattle through that
habeas corpus and supersedeas and all those things for Laura all by
himself if he wanted to, when he gets back.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Washington, brightening, but it is so.
A newly-elected Senator is a power, I know that.”
“Yes indeed he is. –Why it, is just human nature. Look at me. When we
first carne here, I was Mr. Sellers, and Major Sellers, Captain Sellers,
but nobody could ever get it right, somehow; but the minute our bill
went, through the House, I was Col. Sellers every time. And nobody could
do enough for me, and whatever I said was wonderful, Sir, it was always
wonderful; I never seemed to say any flat things at all. It was Colonel,
won’t you come and dine with us; and Colonel why don’t we ever see you at
our house; and the Colonel says this; and the Colonel says that; and we
know such-and-such is so-and-so because my husband heard Col. Sellers say
so. Don’t you see? Well, the Senate adjourned and left our bill high,
and dry, and I’ll be hanged if I warn’t Old Sellers from that day, till
our bill passed the House again last week. Now I’m the Colonel again;
and if I were to eat all the dinners I am invited to, I reckon I’d wear
my teeth down level with my gums in a couple of weeks.”
“Well I do wonder what you will be to-morrow; Colonel, after the
President signs the bill!”
“General, sir?–General, without a doubt. Yes, sir, tomorrow it will be