But other papers appeared at mid-day, and by that time the circumstances
would undoubtedly be known. John struck a match and relit his cigar. The
moment of hesitation was over, the last breathing-space before the fight,
and all his activity returned. Half an hour later he went out with a
number of written telegrams in his hand, and proceeded to the central
telegraph office.
The case was urgent. In the first place the governor of the state would,
according to law and custom, immediately appoint a senator _pro
tempore_ to act until the legislature should elect the new senator in
place of the one deceased. Secondly, the legislature, which meets once a
year, was already in session, and the election would therefore take place
immediately, unless some unusual delay were created, and this was
improbable.
In spite of the article which had so outraged Josephine Thorn's sense of
justice, there were many who believed in John Harrington as the prophet of
the new faith, as the senator of reform and the orator of the future, and
his friends were numerous and powerful, both in the electing body and
among the non-official mass of prominent persons who make up the aggregate
of public opinion.
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