orator; he can sweep the county. I present, as nominee for our next
representative, Bradley Talcott, of Rock River."

Bradley sat still, stunned by the applause which burst forth at the
mention of his name. Brown had prepared him for the presentation of his
name, but he had not dared to hope that any considerable number of
delegates would support him.

Judge Brown rose to his feet. "I second the nomination, Mr. Chairman. I
am a Democrat--an old Democrat, but I'm damned if I'm a moss-back. I
don' allow any young man to get ahead of me on radicalism. I stand for
progress; and because I know Bradley Talcott stands for progress, I
second his nomination. His canvass will be an honor to himself, and a
historical event in this county."

Amos Ridings arose. "Mr. Chairman, I second that nomination as a
Granger-Republican. I second it because I know Brad Talcott can't be
bought, and because I know he's honest in his convictions. I'll stand
by him as long as he stands by principle."

This practically brought to Bradley's support the winning force, for
Amos was a power in the county. Somebody called for Milton Jennings,
and after some hesitation he got upon his feet.

"Mr. Chairman, I'm not a delegate to this convention, and so it isn't
my place to speak here; but I want to say that if I was, I should
second this nomination. It's a complete surprise to me to have him
nominated. If I had known of it before, I would have been working for
him all along. I'm pledged in another direction; but if I could
honorably withdraw my support from the regular nominee, I would do
everything I could to elect my old classmate and esteemed colleague."

With this boom, the vote was wildly enthusiastic. The chairman
pronounced it unanimous.

"Give us a speech!" shouted the crowd.

Young Mason leaped up, a sardonic gleam in his eye. "Mr. Chairman, I
move that Colonel Peavy and Amos Ridings escort the nominee to the
platform."

The motion was put and carried amid laughter. As they dragged Bradley
out of his chair and pushed him up the aisle, everybody laughed and
cheered. William Councill kicked the Colonel as he went past and Robie
hit him a sounding slap between the shoulders. The Colonel bore it all
with astonishing good nature. As they reached the platform, young Mason
stepped into the aisle and shouted:

"Three cheers for the Honorable Bradley Talcott!"

With the roar of these cheers in his ears, Bradley turned and faced his
fellow-cit