But Higgins was wrong. Senator Fairclothe had not gone away. As Roger entered Garman's grounds, he saw Garman, the Senator and a man in long black coat and broad-brimmed black hat in conference upon the verandah. At his appearance Garman, lolling in a lawn chair, chuckled lazily; the Senator became as cold and pompous as the statue he hoped some day would commemorate his services to the Republic, and the black-hatted stranger closed his eyes to mere slits. "Lo, Payne!" drawled Garman. "Come up out of the sun. You look all heated up." He looked down at Roger, a smile on his lips as he noted the tenseness of the young man's expression. "Worrying about something, Payne? Ideals been shattered? Ambition, love-- Where's Annette, by the way?" His chuckle rose to rumbling laughter. Senator Fairclothe caught the black-clad stranger's eye and nodded stiffly. The man rose. "You are Roger Payne?" "Sit down!" In one leap Roger was upon the verandah facing the stranger. "Sit down!" he repeated. "My business is with Senator Fairclothe." "My business----" "Sit down," said Roger softly, and the stranger sat. "Senator Fairclothe," continued Payne, "there seems to be a little misunderstanding about the title to the land I bought from you." "You bought no land from me, young man." "You are president of the Prairie Highlands Association?" "I was. I severed that connection some months ago." "Before you wrote me those letters?" "No, the day after I wrote you the last letter of our correspondence. I had no connection with the company you mention at the time you made your purchase. I had discovered that the Prairie Highlands Association was not upon a firm basis. Of the land which they sold not a foot was owned by them. Their original title was false and invalid. The company now is defunct." "I see," said Roger after a pause. "And knowing that your recommendations as a United States Senator would influence people to purchase this land, and knowing the title to be invalid, did you take any steps to warn them?" "A United States Senator, I assure you, young man, has other and more important duties than nursing the petty interests of persons stupid enough to purchase land without seeing it. In fact, it might be considered a duty not to interfere. For the welfare of the country, it is desirable, in fact, that such money as such helpless persons may possess be transferred to the possession of the shrewd energetic men who constitute the vital portion of our population." "Bravo, bravo!" rumbled Garman, applauding. "Senator, I congratulate you on your logic. Payne, there's the philosophy of our era in a nutshell. Now let us hear how star-eyed youth, inspired by ideals, controverts the wisdom of the togoed sage? Annette, dear!" he roared. "Come out! Come out and have some sport!" "Miss Annette is not in the house," responded a maid. "What? She was a minute ago." "She is not now."