Page:The principal girl (IA principalgirl00snai).pdf/264

 That was all he knew, and you couldn't very well make a speech out of that, could you?

With this, however, Mary didn't quite agree. She seemed to think you could. She had been reading up the subject lately. Therefore she sat down at once, pen in hand, and began to collect her ideas upon the subject.

In common with other ready-witted people, she had the useful faculty of being fluent on paper. By lunch-*time she had covered ten pages of foolscap, writing on one side of the paper only; and after lunch, when over the cigarettes and coffee she read the result of her labors aloud to the future member for South-West Blackhampton, the young man found it hard to repress his enthusiasm.

"I shall have 'em absolutely stiff," said he; "that is, if I can only remember it all. But I say, old girl, what if they begin to ask questions?"

"Tell them, Phil-ipp, that you believe in Mr. Balsquith; and that anything he votes for you'll vote for, because you know that he can't go wrong."

"Yes, that's all right, old girl, but a chap is expected to have a bit of a mind of his own, ain't he?"

"Dear, no—pray why should he have?" And this worldly wise young wife started on cigarette the second, we are rather sorry to say, because one should suf