... day by day, word by word, hint by hint—his eye on the future loyalty of the Everett faction at the polls—he made the candidate understand that Arba Spinney was a man to be reckoned with—that the convention was not an open-and-shut certainty for the machine. Without realizing how it had come about, Everett found himself discussing "political exigencies." Without knowing that he had been selected as a martyr for his party, he committed ... — The Ramrodders - A Novel • Holman Day