And I don't mind saying that I find myself in accord with many of his ideas." "Sort of damned idealist yourself ?" "I should blush to say it," laughed Dan; "but I feel my heart warming when Allen gets to soaring sometimes; he expresses himself with great vividness.

He goes after me hard on my _laissez-faire_ notions." "I take the count and throw up the sponge!" "Oh, that's a chestnut that means merely that the underdog had better stay under if he can't fight his way out." "It seems tough when you boil it down to that; I guess maybe Allen's right--we all ought to divide up.

I'm willing, only"-- and he grinned quizzically--"I'm paired with Mort Bassett." The light in his cigar had gone out; he swung round and faced the map of Indiana above Morton Bassett's desk, fumbling in his waistcoat for a match.

When he turned toward Harwood again he blew smoke rings meditatively before speaking.
"If you're one of these rotten idealists, Harwood, what are you doing here with Bassett?
If that ain't a fair question, don't answer it." Harwood was taken aback by the directness of the question.

Bassett had always spoken of Thatcher with respect, and he resented the new direction given to this conversation in Bassett's own office.