The Candidate: A Political RomanceAltsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
General
The Candidate: A Political Romance
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
Political campaigns -- Fiction; Political fiction
Three days later--they were in Pittsburg then--she received a letter
addressed in a strong, heavy hand, her name being spelled in large
letters. Sylvia Morgan was alone in the hotel parlor when it was brought
to her, and a strange shadow, or rather the shadow of a shadow, came
over her face as she held it uneasily in her fingers and looked at the
Idaho postmark in the corner. She knew the handwriting well, and she
knew that it was a true index to the character of its author--rough,
strong, and large. That handwriting could not lie, neither could he. She
continued to hesitate, with the letter in her hand; it was the first
time that she had ever done so with a letter of his, and she felt that
she was disloyal. She heard a voice in the other parlor--the wide doors
between were open; it was the voice of Harley speaking to her uncle, and
a flush crept into her cheeks. Then she shook herself in a sudden little
whirl of anger, and abruptly opened the letter with a swift, tearing
sound. It was a longer letter than he usually wrote, and he said:
"MY DEAREST LITTLE SYLVIA--I have been here just two hours, and, I
tell you, the sight of Idaho is good for the eyes, though it would
be better if you were here with me, as you soon will be all the
time, little one."
She paused a moment, looking away, and the shadow of the shadow came
back to her face. Then she murmured: "He is the best man in the world,"
and resolutely went on:
"The more I see of the other states the better I like Idaho, and I
like next best those that are most like it. Every peak out here
nodded a welcome to me as I came in on the train. I've known them
all for thirty years. I was a little afraid of them at first, they
were so tall and solemn with their white crests, but we are old
friends now--I'll have a white crest myself before long, and I'm
fairly tall now, though perhaps I'll never be solemn. And I drew a
deep breath and a long breath, the first one in days, the moment I
crossed the Idaho line. The East sits rather heavy on me [he called
Chicago the East], and my eyes get tired with so many people
passing before them. Now, I'm not running down the East, which is
all right in its own way, but I am glad we have so much mountain
and unwatered plain out here, because then the people can never get
so thick that they tread on you; not that they mean to do it, but
crowds shove just because they can't help it."
Sylvia smiled, and for a moment there was a little moisture in her eyes.
"Good old daddy," she murmured. Somehow, the pet name "daddy" seemed
just to fit him. Then the resolute little frown came over her face again
and she went on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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