I wish I could meet him now when I'm
starting out, if only to shake his hand."
"You'd better not meet any man so long as he's wearing a halo, where
you're concerned. You'll find political halos, bub, when you get too
near to 'em, something like restaurant doughnuts--holes surrounded by
poor cooking. Better keep away a spell. That's why I'm not going to tell
you where we're going--not just now. I might go to cracking up the man
too much. I'll let you build your own halo for him--and then maybe you
can eat your own cooking, provided you find the halo a doughnut."
They left Fort Canibas the next morning, travelling humbly by mail stage
to the railroad terminus. The branch line took them to a populous
junction, and by that time Harlan Thornton began to appreciate that his
grandfather was rather more of a figure in State politics than he had
dreamed. He had made many trips with him through the State in years
past, but never before when men understood, some dimly, some fearfully,
that a political crisis was on. Thelismer Thornton's seat in the train,
his room at the hotel, was besieged by those who respectfully solicited
his opinions.
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