Part 16 (2/2)
”Spent the night there. Father stayed so late, Mrs. Davis put me to bed.
Regular procession all night long! And among his visitors the Blackest Republican of them all--”
”Old Abe run over from Illinois to say good-by?”
”No, but his right hand man Seward did--”
”Sly old snuff-dipping hypocrite--”
”Anyhow, he's the brains of his party.”
”And he called on Jeff Davis last night?”
”Not the first time either. Mrs. Davis told me that when the Senator was so ill with neuralgia and came near losing his sight, Seward came every day, sat in the darkened room and talked for hours to his enemy--”
”That's because he's a Black Republican. Their ways are dark. They like rooms with the shades pulled down--”
”Anyhow he likes Mr. Davis.”
”Well, it's good-by to the old Union--how many Senators are going to-day?”
”Yulee and Mallory from Florida, Clay and Fitzpatrick from Alabama and Senator Davis--”
”All in a day?”
”Yes--”
”Jennie, they'll talk their heads off. It'll be three o'clock before the first one finishes. We'll die. Let's go to Mt. Vernon--”
”d.i.c.k Welford, I'm ashamed of you. You've no patriotism at all--”
”And I just proposed a pilgrimage to the home of George Was.h.i.+ngton!”
”You don't care what happens in the Senate Chamber to-day--”
”No--I don't.”
The boy's lazy figure slowly rose, mounted the steps, paused and looked down into the tense eager young face.
”You really want to know,” he began slowly, ”why speaking tires me now?”
”Yes--why?”
”Because it's a waste of breath--we're going to fight!”
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