星期六下午，霍普金斯与肯尼思的公开辩论如期展开。霍普金斯先发言。他援引财政收入数据指出农民不必付出任何东西就能从广告商那里获取收益。霍普金斯的观点是否会引起听众的共鸣？肯尼思在这次较量中会胜出吗？
"If she is really Lucy Rogers，she'll be missing tomorrow morning，"said Beth when she had told her cousins of the encounter in the corridor.
But Eliza Parsons was still at Elmhurst the next day，calmly pursuing her duties，and evidently having forgotten or decided to ignore the young man who had so curiously mistaken her for another.Beth took occasion to watch her movements，so far as she could，and came to the conclusion that the girl was not acting a part.She laughed naturally and was too light—hearted and gay to harbor a care of any sort in her frivolousa mind.
But there was a mystery about her；that could not be denied.Even if she were but a paid spy of Erastus Hopkins there was a story in this girl's life，brief as it had been.
Beth was full of curiosity to know this story.
As for Tom Gates，he had been so horri？ed by his mistake that he tried to avoid meeting Eliza again.This was not dif？cult because the girl kept pretty closely to the linen room，and Tom was chie？y occupied in the library.
Kenneth had little chance to test his secretary's abilities just then，because the girls pounced upon the new recruit and used his services in a variety of ways.Tom Gates'anxiety to give satisfaction made him willing to do anything，but they refrained from sending him often to town because he was sensitive to the averted looks and evident repulsionb ofthose who knew he had recently been a "jail—birda."But there was plenty for him to do at Elmhurst，where they were all as busy as bees；and whatever the young man undertook he accomplished in a satisfactory manner.
Saturday forenoon the three girls，with Kenneth，Mr.
Watson and Uncle John，rode over to Fairview to prepare for the debate that was to take place in the afternoon，leaving only Tom Gates at home.As Mr.Hopkins had thrust upon his opponent the task of naming the place and time，the Republican candidate was obliged to make all the arrangements，and pay all the costs.But whatever the girl managers undertook they did well.So the Opera House had been in the hands of a special committee for two days，the orchestra had been hired，and the news of the joint debate had spread far and wide.
The party from Elmhurst lunched at the Fairview Hotel，and then the girls hurried to the Opera House while Kenneth remained to attend a conference of the Republican Committee.These gentlemen were much worried over the discovery of a scheme to trade votes that had been sprung，and that Forbes and Reynolds were being sacrificed for Hopkins and Cummings.Mr.Cummings was called into the meeting，and he denied that the trading was being done with his consent，but defiantly refused to make a public announcement to that effect.
The matter was really serious，because every vote lost in that way counted as two for the other side，and Hopkins's rabida hand—bills had influenced many of the more ignorant voters and created endless disputes that were not of bene？t tothe Republican party.
"As nearly as we can ？gure from our recent canvass，"said Mr.Cunningham，the chairman，"we are fast losing ground，and our chances of success are smaller than if no interest in the election had been aroused.Hopkins has cut our majority down to nothing，and it will be a hard struggle to carry our ticket through to success.This is the more discouraging because Mr.Forbes has spent so much money，while Hopkins's expenses have been very little.""I do not mind that，"said Kenneth，quietly."It was mydesire that the voters should fully understand the issues of the campaign.Then，if they vote against me，it is because they are not worthy of honest representation in the Legislature，and I shall in the future leave them to their own devices."The committee adjournedb a little before two o'clock with rather grave faces，and prepared to attend the debate at the Opera House.Mr.Cunningham feared this debate would prove a mistake，as it would give Hopkins a chance to ridicule and brow—beat his opponent in public，and his greatest talent as a speaker lay in that direction.
As Kenneth and his supporters approached the OperaHouse they heard loud cheering，and from a band—wagon covered with buntinga and banners，in which he had driven to the meeting，descended the Honorable Erastus.He met Kenneth face to face，and the latter said pleasantly：
"Good afternoon，Mr.Hopkins."
"Ah，it's Forbes，isn't it？"replied Hopkins，slightingly."I've met you before，somewheres，haven't I？""You have，sir.""Glad you're here，Forbes；glad you're here，"continued the Representative，airily，as he made his way through the crowd that blocked the entrance."These meetings are educational to young men.Girls all well，I hope？"There was a boisterousb laugh at this sallyc，and Mr.
Hopkins smiled and entered the Opera House，while Kenneth followed with the feeling that he would take great delight in punching the Honorable Erastus's nose at the ？rst opportunity.