Short stories; United States -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
"Morg he got up again and said how he recognized the wisdom of the
Chair's remarks. Then he moved to amend his motion by substituting the
word 'kidnapping' for 'shooting up.' Said as a general proposition he
favored shooting up, not being familiar with kidnapping; in fact not
knowing none of the rules, but was willing to try kidnapping as an
experiment. But Colonel Bud 'peared to be even more dead set, ef
possible, agin kidnapping than agin shooting. He advanced the thought
that shooting was recognized as necessary under proper conditions and
safeguards, ever'where, but that kidnapping was looked on as bordering
on the criminal even in the case of a child. How much more so, then, in
the case of a growed-up adult man and Dimocrat?
"Nobody couldn't think of nothing else then, but Colonel Bud 'lowed we
was bleeged to do something. There warn't no telling, he said, when
another one of our deligates would get to craving dainties and
gormandize hisself with a lot of them fancy vittles the same as Breck
Calloway had done, and go home all quiled up like a blue racer in a
pa'tridge nest. Finally Colonel Bud he said he had a suggestion to
advance his ownse'f, and we all set up and taken notice, knowing there
wasn't no astuter political leader in the State and maybe none so
astuted.
"Colonel Bud he said he was shamed to admit that the scheme hadn't
suggested itself to him or ary other gen'elman present before now--it
was so plum doggone simple.
"'We got mighty nigh three hours yet,' says Colonel Bud, 'and enduring
of that time all we got to do is to get one of them Hightower deligates
deef, dumb and blind drunk--so drunk he won't never git back to answer
roll-call; and if he does, won't know his own name if he heered it. We
will simply appint a committee of one, composed of some gen'elman from
amongst our midst of acknowledged capacity and experience, to accomplish
this here undertaking, and likewise also at the same time we will pick
out some accessible deligate in the opposition and commission said
committee of one to put said opposition deligate out of commission by
means of social conversation and licker between the present time and the
hour of 4 P.M. By so doing victory will perch on our banners, and there
can't be no claim of underhand work or fraud from the other side. It'll
all be according to the ethics made and purvided in such emergencies.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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