The chairman lifted his hand and the noise died away. It lay
in his power to ignore the resolution wholly or to rule it out of order;
the chairman was apparently in no haste to do anything.
"Good old Uncle Ike," howled some one encouragingly, and there was
laughter and applause. With superb dignity Mr. Pettit appealed for
silence with gestures that expressed self-depreciation, humility, and
latent power in one who would, in due course, explain everything. A
group of delegates in the rear began chanting stridently, "Order!
Order!" and it was flung back antiphonally from a dozen other
delegations.
Mr. Harwood became active and climbed upon his chair. Gentlemen in every
part of the hall seemed at once anxious to speak, but the chairman was
apparently oblivious of all but the delegate from Marion. The delegate
from Marion, like the mysterious person from Pulaski, was a stranger to
state conventions. The ladies were at once interested in the young
gentleman with the red carnation in his buttonhole--a trim young fellow,
in a blue serge suit, with a blue four-in-hand knotted under a white
winged collar. As he waited with his eye on the chairman he put his hand
to his head and smoothed his hair.
"Is Daniel going to speak?" asked Mrs. Owen. "He ought to have asked me
if he's going to back Edward Thatcher for Senator."
"I always think his cowlick's so funny.
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