"The Naval Hospital," said another agent. "They're coming fast!"
"Fine!" repeated Dr. Frank. By this time, most of the White House staff
was awake. Frank Cannon let go the wrist and stood up quickly. "Can't
tell for sure, but it looks like a slight stroke. Excuse me."
He went into the Executive bedroom, and on into the bathroom. He closed
the door. Quickly, he fished the hypogun out of the wastebasket and
dropped it into the little black bag which he had carried with him. He
came out with a glass of water. Everything was taken care of.
* * * * *
_PRESIDENT SUFFERS STROKE!
JHC Taken To US Naval Hospital
In Washington After Stroke In
White House_
All over the world, headlines and newscasts in a hundred tongues
carried the story. And from all over the world came messages of
sympathy and concern for the stricken Chief Executive. From England,
simultaneous messages arrived from the Sovereign and the Prime Minister;
from France, notes from both the President and the Premier of the
Seventh Republic; from Ethiopia, condolences from His Imperial Majesty
and from the Chief Executive. The United German Federation, the
Constitutional Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Italy, the United
Austro-Yugoslavian Commonwealth, and the Polish Free State all sent rush
radiograms. So did Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. From Africa, Australia, Southern
Asia, Oceania, and Central America came expressive words of sorrow.
Special blessings were sent by His Holiness from Vatican City, by the
Patriarch of Istanbul, and by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The
Presidente of the Estados Unidos Mexicanos personally took a plane to
Washington, as did the Governor General of Canada, carrying a personal
message from the Prime Minister. Even the Soviet Union sent a radiogram,
and the story of the tragedy was printed in _Pravda_, accompanied by an
editorial that almost approached straight reporting.
President James Harrington Cannon knew none of this. He was unconscious
and unable to receive visitors.
As far as actual news from the White House was concerned, news
commentator Barton Wayne gave the best summary over a major American TV
network on the morning of the sixth of February:
"Last night, at approximately eleven p.m., James Harrington Cannon,
President of the United States, collapsed at the feet of the Secret
Service men who were guarding him. Within a few minutes, Dr. Frank
Hewlitt Cannon, the President's brother, called by the Secret Service in
obedience to the President's last conscious words, had arrived from
Blair House, where he had been staying.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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