“It’s too good for the people who live here. But come and rest yourself. I am a bad hostess.” Her eyes twinkled as she turned to Jack. “First, does she know I’m a criminal--a convicted criminal?” She made it sound very mysterious, and Amelia stared. Jack laughed. “You tell her, Mrs. Royall!” “’Tis very sad.” There was mockery in her voice. “A ‘common scold’--that was the finding of the jury. In England they would have ducked me in a pond; but here there was only the Potomac, and the honored judge deemed that might not be right--the waters would be contaminated. So they let me go.” They were in the house now and she was setting out china cups. “You know,” she frowned slightly, “the thing I really objected to was the word ‘common.’ That I did not like.” “I agree with you, madam. Mrs. Royall’s scoldings of senators, congressmen and even presidents, of bankers and bishops, have always been in a class by themselves. ‘Common’ was not the word.” And again he bowed. The old lady eyed him with approval. “Where, might I ask, did you get your good manners? They are rare enough in Washington these days.” Before he could reply she had turned to Amelia--the gracious host to her guest. “Some day, my dear, I shall tell you of the Marquis de la Fayette. Ah! there were manners!” “_Liberté, fraternité, égalité!_” Jack murmured the words half under his breath, but the old lady turned on him, her eyes flashing. Then, like an imp, she grinned. So Amelia came to live with Anne Royall, long-time relict of Captain William Royall. He had fought beside Washington in the Revolutionary War and had been the General’s lifelong friend. In her own way she waged a war too. Each week she cranked a clumsy printing press in her shed and turned out a pithy paper called the _Huntress_. It advocated free schools for children everywhere, free trade, and liberal appropriations for scientific investigation. Amelia helped her about the house and with her chickens, accompanied her on interviews, saw red-faced legislators dodge down side-streets to avoid her. Gradually she learned something of how news is gathered and dispensed, but she learned more about the ways of Washington, D. C. * * * * * Amelia had been in Washington three weeks when one evening Jack stopped by. “I’m going up North!” he announced. “Where? What for?” “The boss heard something about a rebellion in New England. He’s tickled pink. Said maybe that would keep Yankee noses out of other people’s worries. He’s sending me out to puff the scandal!” “Do you know anything about it?” Mrs. Royall’s ears were alert. “From what I can gather, seems a lot of poor folks in Rhode Island want to vote. And the bigwigs don’t like it!”