"I think it's the business of the clerk to take care of the papers of the Committee, and I think it is a great mistake to make a member of Congress and his constituents suffer from the negligence of an employe." Joel Phipps became white in the face. At this unexpected thrust, however, he had the courage to rise behind his desk, and said: "I am very sorry the bill was lost, but it's not my fault. The members of the Committee unfortunately have gotten into the habit of taking away papers without obtaining the permission of the Chairman or without giving a receipt for the same. Several of them have done this during the past few days, and Mr. Carlton, I regret to say, is one of the chief offenders." Mr. Carlton gave a half laugh. "I guess you're right, Joel," he said, "and I will have to plead guilty." Nevertheless he left the room in a very dissatisfied frame of mind. The measure in which he was so deeply interested had been thrown back for at least two weeks. That was not the worst feature of the case, either. He had enough votes now to pass the bill. He might not have them when the bill came up for consideration again. The thought rankled in his mind and gave him a disagreeable feeling towards his fellow creatures. As he reached the door of the Committee Room a reporter from one of the Cleverly newspapers, who had heard of the disappearance of the bill, stopped the Congressman and asked him what comments he had to make. "It's a mighty queer piece of business," was Carlton's reply. "That's all I have got to say." CHAPTER XVIII RUMORS OF WAR Washington is a city of rumors, and for some hours after the mysterious disappearance of the Cleverly bill the air was filled with stories of an approaching political war. Some of John Carlton's bitter partisans made the emphatic assertion that Joel Phipps was at the bottom of the whole business and that he had deliberately destroyed the bill in order to prevent its passage by the Committee. The Congressman was the first one to repudiate this charge. "There is no proof whatever," he said, "that Joel Phipps is in any way responsible for the loss of the bill. I am a believer in fair play, and I want it distinctly understood that I have not in any way impugned the good faith of my colleagues or of any employe of the Committee." "But you put the blame on the clerk at the meeting of the Committee." "Yes," he admitted reluctantly, "I did, but it was a case of hasty judgment on my part." "Then you acquit Phipps?" "I have neither acquitted or convicted anyone." "But what do you suppose became of the bill?" "I'm sure I don't know," was the despairing reply.