"Out with it, Miss Betty, I need it!" he urged.
"I said, Mr. President, that you were very tender and very strong----"
she paused and looked straight into his deep set eyes "----and that a
great man had appeared in our history."
He was still for a moment and a mist veiled the light at which she
gazed. He took her hand in both his, pressed it gently and murmured:
"Thank you, Miss Betty, I shall try to prove worthy of my little
champion."
"I think you do things without trying, Mr. President," she answered.
"And you don't want an office, do you?"
"No."
"You have no favors to ask for your friends, have you?"
"None whatever."
"And you're Senator Winter's daughter?"
"Yes."
"The old grizzly bear! He hates me--but I've always liked him----"
"I hope you'll always like him," Betty quickly broke in.
"Of course I will. I've never cherished resentments. Life's too short,
and the office I fill is too big for that. Do you know why I've sent for
you?"
Betty smiled:
"To have me flatter you, of course. All men are vain. The greater the
man, the greater his vanity."
Again he laughed with every muscle of his face and body.
"Honestly--no, that's not the reason," he said confidentially. "I want
you to accept a position in my Cabinet."
"I didn't know that women were admitted?"
"They're not, but I've always been in favor of votes for women and I'm
going to make a place for you.
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