The President-elect went out on the veranda and spoke to them with a certain solemnity and majesty while they listened in respectful silence. Meanwhile telegrams of congratulation were pouring into the house from all parts of the world, and out in the distant mountains men came down to the camps and spoke to each other about the President-to-be. Harley's last despatch was sent, the crowd was gone, the other correspondents were on their way to the hotel, and the people were turning out the lights, but he yet lingered at the Grayson home. It was Jimmy Grayson who asked him to wait a moment, and they stood alone on the dark veranda. "Harley," said Jimmy Grayson, and there was much feeling in his voice, "you have been the best friend I ever had, and I am so selfish that I do not want to lose you. Stay with me; be my secretary. In these later days the office of the President's secretary has grown to be a big one. I think that you are the best man in the world for it, and if I am re-elected you shall go into the Cabinet. You will be old enough then. Remember, Harley, that it is I who ask a favor now, and it is for you to grant it." The hands of the two strong men met in a strong grasp. "I accept the offer," said Harley. The President-elect turned away, faded into the darkness of his own house, and another figure took his place. A small, warm hand slipped into Harley's, and he held it fast. "What was he saying to you?" asked Sylvia. "He was asking me to be his secretary." "And your reply?" "I hesitated and asked for a bribe." "Oh, John!" "I said that if, one month from to-day and with the assistance of a minister, he would give you to me forever, I would take the place." "What did he say then?" "He said the price was high, but I could have it. And we shall all be together again for four years more, and perhaps eight." Her eyes, very close to his, were shining through a mist of happy tears, and, standing there at the doorstep, he kissed her in the darkness. THE END End of Project Gutenberg's The Candidate, by Joseph Alexander Altsheler