As if the Candidate had not known that! He explained that he had missed his sleep the night before, and had come on ahead so as to snatch a bit during the day. “I see,” said Jimmie; and then, “I knowed you by your picture.”
“Yes?” said the other, patiently.
And Jimmie groped round in his addled head for something really worth while. “You'll want to see the Committee?”
“No,” said the other, “I want to finish this first.” And he took a sip from a glass of milk, and a bite out of a sandwich, and chewed.
So utterly rattled was Jimmie he sat there like a num-skull, unable to find a word, while the man finished his repast. When it was over, Jimmie said again—he could do no better—“You want to see the Committee?”
“No,” was the reply, “I want to sit here—and perhaps talk to you, Comrade—Comrade—?”
“Higgins,” said Jimmie.
“Comrade Higgins—that is, if you have time.”
“Oh, sure!” exclaimed Jimmie. “I got all the time there is. But the Committee—”
“Never mind the Committee, Comrade. Do you know how many Committees I have met on this trip?”
Jimmie did not know; nor did he have the courage to ask.
“Probably you never thought how it is to be a Candidate,” continued the other. “You go from place to place, and make the same speech every night, and it seems as if you slept in the same hotel every night, and almost as if you met the same Committee. But you have to remember that your speech is new to each audience, and you have to make it as if you had never made it before; also you have to remember that the Committee is made up of devoted comrades who are giving everything for the cause, so you don't tell them that they are just like every other committee, or that you are tired to death, or maybe have a headache—”
Jimmie sat, gazing in awe-stricken silence. Not being a man of reading, he had never heard of “the head that wears a crown”. This was his first glimpse into the soul of greatness.
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