BLACKBOROUGH. [_Whose thoughts have wandered._] The man's less of a danger than he was . . I mean he'll be alone. The Liberals won't have him back. He smashed his following there to come over to us. FARRANT. [_Giving a further meaning to this._] Yes, Blackborough, he did. BLACKBOROUGH. To gain his own ends! Oh, my dear Horsham, can't you see that if O'Connell had blabbed to-morrow it really would have been a blessing in disguise? I don't pretend to Cantelupe's standard . . but there must be something radically wrong with a man who could get himself into such a mess as that . . now mustn't there? Ah! . . you have a fatal partiality for clever people. I tell you . . though this might be patched up . . Trebell would fail us in some other way before we were six months older. _This speech has its effect; but_ HORSHAM _looks at him a little sternly_. HORSHAM. And am I to conclude that you don't want Charles to change his mind? BLACKBOROUGH. [_On another tack._] Farrant has not yet allowed us to hear Percival's opinion. FARRANT _looks rather alarmed_. FARRANT. It has very little reference to the scandal. BLACKBOROUGH. As that is at an end . . all the more reason we should hear it. HORSHAM. [_Ranging himself with_ FARRANT.] I called this quite informal meeting, Blackborough, only to dispose of the scandal, if possible. BLACKBOROUGH. Well, of course, if Farrant chooses to insult Percival so gratuitously by burking his message to us . . _There is an unspoken threat in this._ HORSHAM _sees it and without disguising his irritation_. . . HORSHAM. Let us have it, Farrant. FARRANT. [_With a sort of puzzled discontent._] Well . . I never got to telling him of the O'Connell affair at all. He started talking to me . . saying that he couldn't for a moment agree to Trebell's proposals for the finance of his bill . . I couldn't get a word in edgeways. Then his wife came up. . . HORSHAM _takes something in this so seriously that he actually interrupts_. HORSHAM. Does he definitely disagree? What is his point? FARRANT. He says Disestablishment's a bad enough speculation for the party as it is. BLACKBOROUGH. It is inevitable. FARRANT. He sees that. But then he says . . to go to the country again having bolstered up Education and quarrelled with everybody will be bad enough . . to go having spent fifty millions on it will dish us all for our lifetimes. HORSHAM. What does he propose? FARRANT. He'll offer to draft another bill and take it through himself. He says . . do as many good turns as we can with the money . . don't put it all on one horse. BLACKBOROUGH. He's your man, Horsham. That's one difficulty settled. HORSHAM'S _thoughts are evidently beyond_ BLACKBOROUGH, _beyond the absent_ PERCIVAL _even_. HORSHAM. Oh . . any of us could carry that sort of a bill. CANTELUPE _has heard this last passage with nothing less than horror and pale anger, which he contains no longer_.