Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-01-05
presidents secretary met me at the

THE president wishes me to re-
peat his invitation for you to be his
guest" he said but if you prefer
not to be- He smiled and led me
into the kitchen. He spoke few
hurried words to man in evening
dress of faultless cut who stood in
military fashion against the wall;
then introduced us. ssThe head wait
err" he said 1t was arranged that
should be on duty inside the banquet
hall as supernumerary.
/ had just time to take up my posi-
ton there when the guests began to
arrive. Jordans and Stevens were al
most the first. They came in smiling
and chatting. The president received
them and alkthree shook hands, meas
uring one another with quiet looks.
The presidents air of nonchalance
plainly disconnected the visitors. They
knew he knew what was afoot and
had expected that he would fly, post
pone the banquet, engage in any des-
perate and ineffective measure rather
than stand there, smiling at them
with the pleased, half-bored look of a
host at dinner.
l contrived to whisper as I brushed
past him once:
do nothing. When Jordans cheers
you will be the signal for something
different from what he imagines."
I saw the president smile But now
the room was filling up. Senators,
congressman were there. The speak
er came in jauntily, followed by the
heads of the great commercial institu-
tons of the nation Not one but knew
something was afoot, for that evening
the first whispers had gone stirring
round Washington, and each-even the
master mind, Jordans himself-re-
GREETED in his own way what he be-
lieved was to be the passing of repre-
sentative institutions from the west
ern continent.
The climax of audacity was Ste-
vens's. He was burly, leering brute,
with an evil smile of power. I saw
him go up to the president and hand
him an evening paper which he had
pulled from his coat pocket. I saw a
three-column head:
army Strikes Camp at Six. March
ing to Salute President at Midnight"
So they were already on the way!
Four hours-no, little more than three,
and they would be drawn round the
White House, spectators of the death
blow of their eountry's liberties. Had
Gardiner timer My hopes went gal.
Looping madly after him, like swift
horses.
Then followed the endless chain of
the courses, from soup, to fish, from
fish to entrees, from one entree to an
other; then the joints; then the can
vasback that always graces a presi-
Dental banquet. From one end of the
hall to the other resounded shouts of
laughter. The wine was entering
their heads. Stevens was growing
gracious. He sat two places from the
presidents right, and I saw him bend
toward him and tell him an amusing
story. Only Jordans sat still and sui
len, his little pigs eyes squirting fur
lively around him, the thin wisps of
hair plastered down firmly over his
bald forehead. Eleven o'clock ap-
preached before the last course came
up. And then the speeches!
Suddenly an Illuminating thought
came to me. Why, these men were all
united against that one. Why need
they wait for the troops? They could
effect their coup d'etat before those
arrived; yet it was essential for the
success of my enterprise that Gardiner
should carry out his mission. Delay
was imperative. I hurried to the
presidents chair / could not catch
his eye. Jordans was scowling at me.
Did he remember me? No, he had
turned away carelessly. wrote a
hurried scrawl:
Hold them with your speech until
/ drop my napkin. They have planned
their coup for the moment OF return
ing thanks and pledging YOU"
On second thoughts I placed this
boldly upon platter and took it to
him. He opened it, read it, and put it
in his pocket nonchalantly. Neverthe-
less, when he arose, could see that
he watched me closely.
When he arose a sense of the awful
solemnity of the occasion seemed to
pass over the assemblage. With unlit
cigars, with downcast eyes, they sat
beneath him as he spoke of the ma
jesty of the republic, the duties of
those at the helm not to let the charge
of the nations welfare fall into the
hands of greed and incompetence.
Then, more sternly, he rebuked those
who had endeavored to obscure the
destinies of America. His scorn rose.
He dashed them with whips of cpl
gram. He all but named them. Ste
vens grew scarlet under the audacity
of that denunciation. Once he half
rose, then changed his mind and sat
down again.
And all the while I saw the presi-
dent looking at me as I stood, a napkin
on my arm, listening intently against
the darkness outside Would Gardiner
never come?
1t could not last much longer. They