帕齐因为牙疼去拜访牙医斯奎尔，却意外地偷听到了一段斯奎尔和霍普金斯的对话。究竟是什么样的秘密让帕齐兴奋不已？
Miss Patricia Doyle awakened at daybreak next morning with a throbbinga toothache.She wasn't accustomed to such pains and found it hard to bear.She tried the application of a hot—water bag，and the tooth ached harder；she tried a cold compressb，and it jumped with renewed activity.So she dressed herself and walked the ？oor，with the persistent ache as an intimate companion.
She tried to find a cavity in the tooth，but it seemedperfectly sound.Evidently she had caught cold and the wicked molar was signaling the fact.
To be patient under the torture of a toothache was a virtue Patsy did not possess.Louise and Beth，to whom she appealed，were sorry for her，but could not relieve the pain.After breakfast Uncle John ordered her to drive to town and see a dentist.
"Have it pulled，or ？lled，or something，"he said."Thedentist will know what to do."So James drove Patsy to town，where they arrived about nine o'clock this Monday morning.The only dentist at Elmwood was Dr.Squiers，so the girl ran up the ？ight of stairs to his of？ce，which was located over the hardware store.
The pain had eased on the journey，and now the thoughtof having the offending tooth pulled was weighing heavily upon Patsy's mind.The door of Dr.Squiers's of？ce stood ajarc，andshe hesitated whether to enter or not.
The dentist's reception room was divided from his operating room by a thin wooden partition，and as Patsy was deciding whether to employ Dr.Squiers's services or not she heard high words coming from behind the partition，and the voice was that of the Honorable Erastus Hopkins.
Softly she slid into the outer room and sank into a chair."But you're the clerk of the election，Squiers；you can'tdeny that，"Hopkins was saying in a blusteringa，imperious voice.
"That's true enough，"answered the dentist，more calmly.
"Then you've got the registration books in your possession.""I admit that，"was the reply."But you're asking me to incriminateb myself，'Rast.If the thing was discovered itwould mean prison for both of us.""Fiddlesticksc！"cried the irascibled Hopkins."These things are done every day，and no one's the wiser for it.It's merely a part of the political game.""I'm afraid，'Rast，"said Dr.Squiers."Honest injune，I'mafraid.""What are you 'fraid of？I've got the other clerks all ？xed，and they'll stand by us.All you need do is to add these sixty—six names to the registration list，and then we'll vote 'emwithout opposition and win out."Patsy gave a gasp，which she tried to sti？e.The toothache was all forgotten.
"Where are these men？"inquired Dr.Squiers，thoughtfully.
"They're over at the mill.Marshall got 'em from all over the country，and they'll be set to work today，so everything will seem reg'lar.""Where do they sleep and eat？"inquired the doctor.
"Forty sleep in Hayes's barn，and the other twenty—six in the stock loft over the planing mill.Marshall's got a commissary department and feeds 'em regular rations，like so many soldiers.Of course I'm paying for all this expense，"acknowledged Mr.Hopkins，somewhat regretfully.
"And do you suppose these sixty—six votes will turn the scalea？"asked Dr.Squiers.
