"Sometimes I'm almost tempted to drop politics," he went on, "and
go in for the spoils. What do you think?"
She was taken completely off guard. She hadn't the faintest notion
that this was his way of getting at her real mind. But she was too
feminine to walk straight into the trap. "I don't know," said she,
with well-simulated indifference, as if her mind were more than
half on her own letter. "I haven't given the matter any thought."
Carelessly: "Where would we live if you accepted this offer?"
"New York, of course. You prefer Washington, don't you?"
"No, I believe I'd like New York better. I've a great many friends
there. While there isn't such a variety of people, the really nice
New Yorkers are the most attractive people in America. And one can
live so well in New York."
"I'd sink into a forgotten obscurity," pursued the crafty Joshua.
"I'd be nothing but a corporation lawyer, a well-paid fetch-and-
carry for the rich thieves that huddle together there."
"Oh, you'd be famous wherever you are, I'm sure," replied she with
judicious enthusiasm. "Besides, you'd have fame with the real
people."
His head reared significantly. But, to draw her on, he said:
"That's true.
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