The Washington herald., 1906-12-23

| again. if only for a brief space. Queer
/ City shall ring with human voices and the
/ human tread"
! The candidate paused moment, as II
/ the end of d rounded period had come and
/ ne were gathering strength for another
Then suddenly arose a mighty chorus OF
applause. It was Harley, King Plummer
/ Heathcote. and Jim, and their acts was
/ spontaneous, the inspiration of the mo-
ment, drawn from Jimmy Grayson's OWL
/ inspiration. The guide beat upon the floor
with both hands and both feet, and the
other three We're not less active More
over, the guide opened his mouth and loD
| forth a yell. rapid, cumulative, and so full
OF volume that 1t sounded like the whooT
Of at least a half-dozen men The room
resOunded with the applause. and il thun-
dered down the halls of the great empty
building When Il died. Harley, listening
again intently, heard once more the
crunch Of feet on the snow outside. But
now It was a rapid movement as If OF
surprise But the sound came 10 him
only a moment. because the candidate
was speaking once more, and he was
worth hearing. He only looked away
TO see Sylvia. who still stood against
the wall with her glowing eyes fixed
in admiration on her uncle Once OF
twice she, too, glanced aside. and her
gaze was for Harley But Il was a differ
ent look that she gave him. There was
admiration in IT, too. and also a love that
no woman ever gives 20 a mere uncle. In
those moments the color in her cheeks
deepened.
AS an orator Jimmy Grayson was al
ways good but some times he was better
than at other times, and this evening was
of his
Crows Wing. the consideration they had
shown in meeting him here in the dead
city. and the wildness Of the night outside
seemed 70 inspire him. He showed the
greatest familiarity with the life Of the
mountains and the needs Of the miners
ne was one Of them he sympathized with
them, he entered their homes. and II he
could he would make their lives brighter
Never had the candidate spoken TO a
more aDpreclative audience. With foot
and hand and voice il Numbered its APP
plause; the building echoed with it. and
all the time the fire burned higher and
higher, and the merry cracking OF the
wood was minor note in the chorus OF
applause. But Jimmy GraysOn's own
voice was Ike an organ, every key OF
which he played; It expressed every hu-
man emotion, full and swelling. II rose
above the applause. and Harley. watching
MS expressive face, saw that he felt these
emotions Once he believed that the can
didate, carried away by his own feelings.
had become obvious Of time and place.
and thought now only Of the troubles and
needs Of the mountain mon.
Harley's attention turned once more
70 the windows He thought what a lucky
chance 1t was that no one standing
on the ground outside was high
enough to look through them into the
room He blessed the unknown builder.
and then he tried to hear that familiar
shuttle on the snow, but he did not hear
fl again.
Jimmy GraysOn spoke on and on. and
the applause kept pace. until at last the
guide slipped quietly from the room.
When he returned, a quarter of an hour
later, the candidate was still speaking.
but Jim gave him a signal look and he
stopped abruptly.
They are gone" said jim They must
have been gone full hour. The snow
has stopped, and I guess they are at
least ten miles from here. runnin' for
their lives. They knew that if the men
OF crows Wing put hands on iem they d
be hangin from a limb ten minutes
later"
Jimmy GraysOn sank down on the
stump. exhausted and wiped his hot face
Say. Mr.. Harley" whispered the guide
to the correspondent. I've heard some
great speeches in my time, but to-nights
was the greatest"
The candidate spoke the next day at
Crows Wing and his audience was de-
lighted. But Jim was right. The speech
was not as great as the one ne had made
at Queen City.