Evening star., 1909-03-07
The HUT Bill
Continued from page 4

Wnlle they were breaking up the meeting, threw
my overcOat over. and Sneaked the bill out
der it. 1t was the top one Hedges said it
| would be His voice began to trail off; but
| the woman listening was insistent.
You scoundrel!" she painted tensely. Not
to be satisfied with stealing the election, you
| even want to steal this last bit of fame from
| him. You Scoundrell' And even G.. |. would
| not have recognized her voice.
| But had to make another touch on Hedges,
| and he made that the condition of loosening up,
| was broke. stone broke, and those stiff necked
| colleagues-to-be in the House wouldn't adj
vance carfare without going to a lawyer pro-
| tested the boy-man. Then, seeing the lines of
| acute suffering in the old face before him. he
| turned his head away against crooked arm
| the pillow and growled I'm so sorry don't
know what to sayl It's my bad blood on top
| again But Ill make all this up to you |
swear will, madam You certainly are good
| fellow
| MOTHER HUTT left him and went into her
| A'A bed room When she appeared again she
| was ready for the street. The Jetted ornament
| In her bonnet registered unusual amount OF
vibration, and she put the bill in her satchel
some emotion seemed to run down the lines IN
| her face, cutting deeper beds: but the sublec-
| tive cataclysm was At the door she
| turned back and drew steamer rug over the
| sleeper on the sofa
Providence favored Mrs Gideon Ichabod
| Hutt that day in the temporary removal OF the
|
| she made her unquestioned way into the outer
Office the Speaker himself came out OF the car
peted cave beyond like figure registering
| stormy" on a barometer house. She had
never seen the Speaker so excited. The sleeves
of his alpaca coat were pushed up and the CHS
tening tubes of white linen below windmlled as
he talked
Here's the devil and all to pay! The Hutt
Bill never reached the Printing Office! Lost IN
transit, it seems. Send for HUT! Send for the
,o1a fhF.fh }IeSf ha
bills! Send for anybody who's in anyway re-
sponsible and send mighty quick! He turned
his rapid fire upon the man sitting at big desk:
but Mother HUT, feeling very much like a NY
on the landscape and wondering where her
voice was going to come from now pressed tor
ward.
Speaker. I'm Mrs. Hut she began and
thought she must be speaking lines in play.
The Speaker fumbled for one of the three
pairs of spectacles strung along from brow to
hair line across his forehead, and Mrs. HUT
drew out the bill
It's here I'm sure it's all right read it
coming up, and that is, Mr.. Hutt has talked
it over some-and-so l know 1T the genuine
l don't want to tell where got it, and
Please. Mr., Speaker, must it be known that any
thing unusual has happened? MIR Hutt is SO
wrapped up in getting this bill through, and
excitement isn't good for him, you know, Mr.
Speaker.
In all her life she knew she had never talked
SO much as she had done this day. And this
last effort seemed torrential and indecently con-
fidential She paused abashed. There were
two deep red splotches burning IN her cheeks.
They were not becoming: but they were most
convincing. Moreover. the Speakers congress
sional career had had simultaneous beginning
with that of Congressman Hutt. and he recalled
those early days. This woman Well, hero
ism without brass band always touched him
deeply His mystery-fathoming dull blue eyes
encountered hers And when he had despatched
the secretary to waiting automobile with the
HUT Bill, the Speaker took the hand she gave
him in parting in both of his
1T isn't too late for it to pass" she made
herself ask.
mot unless the Public Printer needs to ex-
change jobs with a canal boat captain an
swered the Speaker.
Mother Hutt's happy sigh was cut short as if
some one had severed the big vein. She recalled
the other resolution she had formed while whirl
ing toward the Capitol in a taxicab she had no
remembrance of having summoned. And now
in the great lake of mirror above the Speakers
fireplace she caught glimpse of her Jumped
features and the uncompromising wing of drab
hair straining away on each side of the worn
parting. and with lapse into self consciousness
rare with her she felt sickening sense of the
grotesqueness of such an "old, old woman
turned lobbyist"
Yet, once out and jostling with the holiday
crowd that surged through zigzag corridors into
the rotunda and back again, in their very aim