“He’d love to hear you say that. Love you for the suspicion and hate you for the utterance. No--hardly submerged. He’s a very fascinating person and I’d go almost any lengths--but hardly submerged. Where did you get the word anyway? Ultra-modern for subjugated? Gage is good to me. Lets me go and come, unchallenged--doesn’t read my letters--” “Stop being an idiot. I’m not insinuating things against Gage. What I’m trying to find out is what you are interested in.” “I’m interested in so many things I couldn’t begin to tell you. Psychoanalysis--novels--penny lunches--you--Mrs. Brownley’s career as a politician--my beloved babies--isn’t that enough?” “I’m not at all sure that it is enough.” “Well, then you shall find me a new job and I’ll chuck the old ones. Tell me about yourself. I hardly had a chance to hear the other day. So the great Harriet Thompson sent you out to inspire the Middle West with love of the Republican party? It’s hardly like you, Margaret, to be campaigning for anything so shopworn as the Republican party.” “I do that on the side. What I do primarily is to stir up people to believe in women--especially women in women.” “Then you don’t believe in the G. O. P.” “I’m not a campaign speaker, Helen. I’m an organizer. Of course I think I’d rather have the Republicans in than the Democrats for certain obvious reasons but if you mean that I think the Republican candidate will be a Messiah--I don’t. Gage is a Republican--how about you?” “Half Republican--half Socialist.” “The extent of your Socialism is probably a subscription to a couple of magazines.” “About.” “You ought to focus on something, I think.” “Go on. It does me good. After years of hearing mouthing nonsense,” Helen spoke with sudden heat, “of hearing people say ‘How wonderful you are, Mrs. Flandon’ and ‘How do you manage to do so much, Mrs. Flandon?’ and all sorts of blithering compliments, it’s wonderful to listen to you. Though I’m not sure I could focus if I wanted to--at least for any definite period. I do, for a while, and then I swing back to being very desperately married or extremely interested in something else. You can’t put Gage in a corner like some husbands, you know, Margaret.” “I should imagine not.” “Suppose,” said Mrs. Brownley, coming up to them, now that her other guests were disposed of, “that we have a little talk while the others are busy and plan our work a little. You don’t really mean to carry Miss Duffield off, do you, Helen?” “I must, Mrs. Brownley. I’ve been trying for years to get this young woman to visit me and, now that she is in the city, I couldn’t let her stay with any one else. I didn’t have any idea that she was going to be the organizer sent by the Women’s Republican Committee.”