"Fellow-citizens," he presently roared, in his melodious bass voice, "I am
proud of this honor." He was not sure of another word as he stood, with
bagging trousers and sweat-beaded face, but he made a superhuman effort to
call up his comatose wits. "I should be ungrateful were I not proud of this
great demonstration." Just then his gaze fell upon the face of his
daughter. Their eyes met with a mutual flash of restrospection. They were
remembering the bargain. The Colonel was not aware of it, but the
deliberateness and vocal volume of his opening phrases made them very
impressive. "I assure you," he went on, fumbling for something to say,
"that my heart is brimming with gratitude so that my lips find it hard to
utter the words that crowd into my mind." At this point some kindly friend
in the audience gingerly set going a ripple of applause, which, though
evidently forced, was like wine to the old man's intellect; it flung a glow
through his imagination.
"The speech you have heard the youthful lamb of law declaim is a very good
one, a very eloquent one indeed. If it were his own, I should not hesitate
to say right here that I ought to stand aside and let him be nominated;
but, fellow-citizens, that speech belongs to another and far more
distinguished and eligible man than Tom Bannister.
Pages:
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276