The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Republic Without a President and Other
Stories, by Herbert Ward

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Title: A Republic Without a President and Other Stories

Author: Herbert Ward

Release Date: September 7, 2010 [EBook #33662]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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A REPUBLIC WITHOUT A PRESIDENT AND OTHER STORIES

BY HERBERT D. WARD

AUTHOR OF "THE NEW SENIOR AT ANDOVER,"
"THE MASTER OF THE MAGICIANS," ETC.

NEW YORK
TAIT, SONS & COMPANY
Union Square

Copyright, 1891.
BY HERBERT D. WARD.

A REPUBLIC WITHOUT A PRESIDENT.

PART I.

On the morning of the eighth of June, 1893, at about ten o'clock, crowds
were seen clustered in front of the daily newspaper bulletins in New
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston. The excitement
rivalled that occasioned by the assassination of Garfield, and by night
the country was as bewildered and aghast as when the news came that
Lincoln was murdered. This was the announcement as it appeared in
blood-red, gigantic capitals by the door of the New York _Tribune_
building:

UNPRECEDENTED CALAMITY!

AWFUL MYSTERY!

THE PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE SPIRITED AWAY FROM
THE WHITE HOUSE!

TWO SERVANTS FOUND GAGGED!

NOT A TRACE OF THE DISTINGUISHED COUPLE!

THE COUNTRY AGHAST AT THE DREADFUL POSSIBILITIES
OF THIS DISAPPEARANCE!

Extras found enormous sales, but they contained no more news than this.
Business was brought to a standstill and stocks fell in half an hour
from five to twenty per cent. The land was convulsed. It was true that
there were those who thought the whole thing a colossal hoax perpetrated
by the defeated party. But as time went on the startling and incredible
news was confirmed. The evening edition of the New York _Sun_ had these
ominous