Some of them had wives who could talk to them, and some--hadn't," said Mrs.
Baker, with a queer intonation in her abrupt ending.
"But surely," said Mrs.Lee, "many of them must have been above--I mean, they must have had nothing to get hold of; so that you could manage them." Mrs.Baker laughed cheerfully and remarked that they were very much of a muchness.
"But I can't understand how you did it," urged Madeleine; "now, how would you have gone to work to get a respectable senator's vote--a man like Mr.Ratcliffe, for instance ?" "Ratcliffe!" repeated Mrs.Baker with a slight elevation of voice that gave way to a patronising laugh.

"Oh, my dear! don't mention names.
I should get into trouble.

Senator Ratcliffe was a good friend of my husband's.

I guess Mr.Carrington could have told you that.

But you see, what we generally wanted was all right enough.