Hickey looked at Macnooder. Macnooder looked at Hickey. "Goo-Goo," said Hickey, grieved. "Goo-Goo," repeated Doc sadly. "Goo-Goo and Apron-strings. Hickey, my boy, we have got to be up and doing." "Doc," said Hickey, "that's Tough McCarthy's work. We never ought to have let him get away from us." "Hickey, we must nail the lie," said Doc solemnly. "The Executive Committee of the Anti-Fed party will meet in my rooms," said Hickey determinedly, "directly after first recitation. We have been caught napping by a gang of ballot stuffers, but we will come back--Doc, we _will_ come back!" The Executive Committee met with stern and angry resolve, like battling football players between the halves of a desperate game. "Fellows," said Hickey, "while we have slept the enemy has been busy. We are muts, and the original pie-faced mut is yours truly." "No, Hickey, if there's going to be a competition for muts," said Cheyenne Baxter, "I'm the blue ribbon." "Before we bestow any more bouquets," said Macnooder sarcastically, "let's examine the situation. Let's see the worst. The Feds have the jump on us. They've raised the cry of 'Apron-strings' on us, and it's going to be a mighty hard one to meet." "We'll never answer it," said the gloomy Egghead; "we're beaten now. It's a rotten issue and a rotten game." At this moment the Gutter Pup rushed in like a white fuzzy dog, his eyes bulging with importance as he delivered the bombshell, that Crazy Opdyke had organised a Mugwump party and carried the Cleve House for it. "No." "A Mugwump party!" "What the deuce is he up to?" "Order," said Hickey, stilling the tumult with a shoe vigorously applied to a wash-basin. "This meeting is not a bunch of undertakers. We are here to save the party." "Hickey's right," said Turkey; "let's get down to business." "First," said Hickey, "let's have reports. What has Treasurer Macnooder to report?" The Mark Hanna of the campaign rose, tightened his belt, adjusted his glasses, and announced amid cheers that the Finance Committee had to report sixty-two dollars and forty cents in promissory notes, twelve dollars and thirty-eight cents in cash, three tennis rackets, two jerseys, one dozen caps, a bull's-eye lantern (loaned) and a Flobert rifle. "We can always have a banquet, even if we're beaten," said the Triumphant Egghead. The gloom began to dissipate. "What has the Honourable Gutter Pup to report?" said Cheyenne Baxter.