And he had another and more immediate

Io called him up by 'phone, avid of news of the editorial, and he was permitted to take her to luncheon and tell her all about it. In her opinion he had won a victory; established a position. Banneker was far less sanguine; he had come to entertain a considerable respect for Marrineal's capacity. And he had another and more immediate complication on his mind, which fact his companion, by some occult exercise of divination, perceived. "What else is worrying you, Ban?" she asked. Banneker did not want to talk about that. He wanted to talk about Io, about themselves. He said so. She shook her head. "Tell me about the paper." "Oh, just the usual complications. There's nothing to interest you in them." "Everything," she maintained ardently. Banneker caught his breath. Had she given him her lips, it could hardly have meant more--perhaps not meant so much as this tranquil assumption of her right to share in the major concerns of his life. "If you've been reading the paper," he began, and waited for her silent nod before going on, "you know our attitude toward organized labor." "Yes. You are for it when it is right and not always against it when it is wrong." "One can't split hairs in a matter of editorial policy. I've made The Patriot practically the mouthpiece of labor in this city; much more so than the official organ, which has no influence and a small following. Just now I'm specially anxious to hold them in line for the mayoralty campaign. We've got to elect Robert Laird. Otherwise we'll have such an orgy of graft and rottenness as the city has never seen." "Isn't the labor element for Laird?"