"Well," said Luke, "I think I gave Leighton, in a general way, to understand I believed he was willing to use the Money Power in politics, if he could get it to use." He smiled at them. "Does sound rather vague, doesn’t it?" Nelson puffed out his cheeks. "Men don’t break up a partnership for such things," said he. "Leighton and I did." "Perhaps you did, but people won’t think so." Venable cut in: "We don’t want to pry into your private affairs, and, of course, we don’t expect you to violate any personal confidences that you naturally had with Mr. Leighton; but a broad statement of the basic facts has to go to the papers at once. The charge wouldn’t be so serious if it was specific and vulgar, because then you would have no trouble in disproving it; but Mr. Leighton is a thorough politician; he knows the value of vagueness, and he gives the impression that he could tell a great deal if he wasn’t so much of a gentleman as to want to spare your feelings." Luke slowly got down from the table. "I will say this much," he replied; "I will answer Leighton in his own language: I will say he tried to get hold of some documents that would make trouble for a group of unscrupulous and influential men, and he wasn’t going to use those documents in court or out of it to stop those men in a wrong they were doing, but only as a means to force them to give him their political support." Venable reflected. "I think it would suit if you published that," he said. "Did he get the documents?" asked Nelson. "No," said Luke, "he didn’t. Now, send me in a stenographer, and I’ll dictate a statement along those lines." §2. The headquarters of the Municipal Reform League occupied a half of the second floor. They were accessible by either the stairs, or any of the three elevators that all day long shot down and up narrow shafts from the roof to the hall opening on Broadway. Entering the offices, one came first to a reception-room; beyond that, one passed along the cleared side of a railing in the large apartment, behind which sat the company of stenographers and typewriters, and so came to a series of offices with ground-glass doors and windows giving upon the street. It was one of these offices which was permanently assigned to Luke. Here, pacing the floor between the roll-top desk at one side and the small safe for private papers on the other, Luke dictated his public letter. He tried to word it in such a way that its facts would not sound incredible to the uninitiated reader, would not seem so vague as to excite suspicion, and would yet convey to both Leighton and Stein the threat of complete publicity to be fulfilled if the writer were pushed too far. It was a hard task, but Luke, after several revisions, was satisfied with it. "Yes," said Venable, "I think that will do. The reporters are waiting outside; I sent for them. I have only one addition to suggest." "What’s that?" asked Luke.