“Not at all; you mean the colored newspapers, I presume.”
“The same, with Teerswell’s clever articles; then his partner Stillings worked the ‘impudent Negro teacher’ argument on Cresswell until Cresswell was wild to get the South in control of the schools.”
“But what do Teerswell and Stillings want?”
“They want Bles Alwyn to make a fool of himself.”
“That is a trifle cryptic,” Miss Wynn mused. The Senator amplified.
“We are giving the South the Washington schools and killing the Education Bill in return for this support of some of our measures and their assent to Alwyn’s appointment. You see I speak frankly.”
“I can stand it, Senator.”
“I believe you can. Well, now, if Alwyn should act unwisely and offend the South, somebody else stands in line for the appointment.”
“As Treasurer?” she asked in surprise.
“Oh, no, they are too shrewd to ask that; it would offend their backers, or shall I say their tools, the Southerners. No, they ask only to be Register and Assistant Register of the Treasury. This is an office colored men have held for years, and it is quite ambitious enough for them; so Stillings assures Cresswell and his friends.”
‚ÄúI see,‚Äù Miss Wynn slowly acknowledged. ‚ÄúBut how do they hope to make Mr. ¬ÝAlwyn blunder?‚Äù
‚ÄúToo easily, I fear‚ÅÝ‚Äîunless you are very careful. Alwyn has been working like a beaver for the National Education Bill. He‚Äôs been in to