"Things are safe in your hands, Preston," he said, "and everything is going smoothly. Now I'm on this job I mean to win." "I'd rather you'd stick to business, Paul," said Preston. "We're walking on slippery ground just now. You know we've made our money by a speciality, and it needs a lot of watching." "Yes," said Paul. "It was because we decided to specialise that we've been so successful. We discovered our secret and we've made the most of it." "Yes," urged the other, "but we've a lot of stuff in our warehouse just now; as you know, we've kept it because we believed that prices would go up. If the prices were to go down now, we should be ruined." "But they won't go down," said Paul; "they can't. We've the monopoly of it. And when winter comes everybody will be buying it." "I should feel safer," said Preston, "if you'd give more of your time to it. But there, I'll do my best, although I don't like the look on Ned Wilson's face." "Ned Wilson's face!" said Paul. "What do you mean, lad?" "I mean that yesterday he met me in the reading-room of the Mechanics' Institute and he just laughed. 'How goes the speciality, Preston?' he said. 'Is it a speciality? Are you the only people who manufacture it?' And I didn't know what to say, Paul, for I know he hates us like poison, while I believe he has a special grudge against you. We can't afford to play pranks, while Ned Wilson can." But Paul paid little attention to this. He had now fully embarked on this political fight. The town had to be canvassed. Meetings had to be addressed. Committees had to be formed. In fact, he had to devote the whole of his time to the fight which had engrossed him completely.