A People's ManOppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
General
A People's Man
Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
Detective and mystery stories
He accepted her help a little grudgingly.
"You must be careful, then," he enjoined, with the air of one who
confers a favour. "There must be no mistakes. Begin here and do those
letters. One carbon copy of each. I'll lift the machine on to the
table for you."
She propped up the book and very soon there was silence in the room,
except for the click of the two typewriters. Presently she stopped
short and uttered a little cry.
"What is it?" he demanded, without looking up from his work.
"This letter to the Secretary of the Unionist Association, Nottingham!"
"Well?"
"Mr. Maraton is to go there Thursday, to address a meeting,--a Unionist
meeting."
Aaron glowered at her from over his typewriter.
"Why not? It's Mr. Foley's idea. He wants Mr. Maraton in Parliament.
Why not?"
"But as a Unionist!" she gasped. "Nottingham isn't a Labour
constituency at all."
"He is coming in as a Unionist, so as to have a
free hand. We don't want any interference from Peter Dale and that
lot."
She looked at him aghast. Peter Dale and his colleagues had been gods a
few weeks ago!
"Can't you see," Aaron continued irritably, "that the coming of Maraton
has changed many things? A man like that can't serve under anybody, and
no man could come as a stranger and lead the Labour Party. He has to be
outside. This is a working man's constituency. He is pledged to fight
Capital, fight it tooth and nail."
"I suppose it's all right," Julia said. "It seems different, somehow,
from what we had expected, and he never goes to the Clarion at all."
"Why should he?" Aaron demanded. "They are all jealous of him, every
one of 'em; Peter Dale is the worst of the lot. Didn't you hear how
they talked to him at Manchester?"
She nodded, and for a time they went on with their work. She found
herself, however, continually returning to the subject of those vital
differences; the Maraton as they had dreamed of him--the prophet with
the flaming sword, and this wonderfully civilised person.
"Tell me honestly, Aaron," she asked presently, "what do you think of it
all?--of him--of his methods? You are with him all the time. Haven't
you ever any doubts?"
She watched him closely. She would have been conscious of the slightest
tremor in his reply, the slightest hesitation. There was nothing of the
sort. He was merely tolerant of her ignorance.
"No one who knows Maraton," he pronounced, "could fail to trust him."
After that she asked no more questions. They worked steadily for
another half hour or so. Messages were sometimes brought in to Aaron,
which he summarily disposed of. Julia wondered at the new facility, the
heart-whole eagerness which he devoted to every trifling matter.
Then, just as she was halfway through copying out a pile of figures,
Maraton came in. He stood and watched them in the doorway, half amused,
half surprised. For a moment she kept her head down. Then she looked
up slowly.
"Since when," he asked, "have I been the proud possessor of two
secretaries?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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