John Dallington had invited Arthur Knight to come down and speak at that meeting; and though he only had five minutes, he managed to make one of his characteristic speeches. “Why,” he asked pertinently, “did the men of this town believe in Richard Lavender instead of in you? Is the British working man a fool, that he does not know his friends? What have you, the representative Christian men of Scourby, called to be rulers of men for their good, been doing that this thing should have happened to you?” Mr. Whitwell was so delighted with Arthur Knight that he told his nephew he must have him for his guest. “Come, too, John,” he said, “and let us talk these things over. My wife and daughters will be glad to make your acquaintance, Mr. Knight. Here is the youngest. Tom! Let me introduce you to each other. Mr. Knight, of London—Miss Grace Thomasine Whitwell.” Tom blushed vividly; and as for Arthur Knight, he was so astonished that he did not know what to say, for he suddenly became conscious that he was looking into the bright face of the lady whom he longed to know, and holding the hand that had rendered such kind service to some of his people. He was going to exclaim, but Tom greeted him as a stranger, and though her eyes were sparkling with fun, they said, as plainly as any words could have done, “Do not dare to say that we have met before!” CHAPTER XVIII. DISCOVERED. The alacrity with which Arthur Knight accepted Mr. Whitwell’s invitation to spend the night after the Scourby political meeting at Hornby Hall, and the readiness which he exhibited to prolong his visit, puzzled his friend, John Dallington, exceedingly. It was as if Knight, one of the busiest men in the land, had nothing whatever to occupy him, so entirely did he yield himself to the passing pleasure of the time. John could not guess what the circumstances were which gave to the incident an irresistible charm, but Arthur felt as if he had found unexpectedly a mine of treasure for which he had been willing to search the world over. And Dallington was forced to acknowledge to himself that from some reason or other his cousin Tom was more delightful, and his friend Knight more happy than he had ever seen them. Naturally the talk at the supper-table was of Scourby and its troubles, and of the other places where bye-elections had resulted in similar returns. “It will be a lesson to us,” said Mr. Whitwell, “and I hope that in time politics may assume a new aspect. After all, both parties are agreed upon main points, for Conservatives and Liberals alike have, or are supposed to have, the best interests of the nation at heart. Our divisions are caused by our divergence of opinion as to the means by which the same ends are to be secured.”