He held meanwhile a bit of notepaper
the size of his hand, and scrutinized it carefully from time to time. It
contained the precise programme of the convention as arranged by
Bassett. Morton Bassett was on a train bound for the pastoral shades of
Waupegan a hundred miles away, but the permanent chairman had in his
vest pocket a copy of Bassett's scheme of exercises; even Thatcher's
rapturous greeting had been ordered by Bassett. There had already been
one slight slip; the eagerness of the delegates to proceed to the
selection of the state ticket had sent matters forward for a moment
beyond the chairman's control. A delegate with a weak voice had gained
recognition for the laudable purpose of suggesting a limitation upon
nominating speeches; the permanent chairman had mistaken him for
another gentleman for whom he was prepared, and he hastened to correct
his blunder. He seized the gavel and began pounding vigorously and the
man with the weak voice never again caught his eye.
In the middle of the hall a delegate now drew attention to himself by
rising upon a chair; he held a piece of paper in his hand and waved it;
and the chairman promptly took cognizance of him. The chairman referred
to him as the gentleman from Pulaski, but he might have been the
gentleman from Vallombrosa for all that any one cared. The convention
was annoyed that a gentleman from Pulaski County should have dared to
flourish manuscript when there were innumerable orators present fully
prepared to speak extempore on any subject.
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