He wore his heavy black hair a
little long, and when he mounted the platform he would pull out the
tremulo stop, stretching out his hands and saying in tones of
quivering emotion: "The ladies, God bless them!" Also he would say:
"I am a friend of the common man. My heart beats with sympathy for
those who constitute the real backbone of America, the toilers of
the shop and farm." And then all the banqueters of the Chamber of
Commerce and the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association would
applaud, and would send their checks to the campaign fund of this
friend of the common man. Mr. Burchard's deputy, Mr. Stannard, was a
legal fox who told his chief what to do and how to do it; a dried-up
little man who looked like a bookworm, and sat boring you thru with
his keen eyes, watching for your weak points and preparing to pierce
you thru with one of his legal rapiers. He would be quite friendly
about it--he would joke with you in the noon hour, assuming that you
would of course understand it was all in the line of business, and
no harm meant.
Section 75
The two men heard Peter's story and changed it a little, and then
heard him over again and pronounced him all right, and Peter went
back to his hotel room and waited in trepidation for his hour in the
limelight.
Pages:
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342