CONWAY MAKES A HIT
In less than a week the incident of the missing bill was relegated to
the lumber room of forgotten events. As Mr. Carlton had predicted, other
and more important things arose to occupy the minds of the national
legislators.
But Barry Wynn did not forget the disastrous affair quite so readily. It
remained in his mind as a warning for the future. It was a red light
waving him away from the edge of many a dangerous precipice. But
blessings often come in disguise, and eventually this lapse proved to be
a good thing for the young page boy. He became more careful, accurate
and painstaking. He never again postponed until "after a while" the task
that could be done at once.
But in the meantime, the incident itself, while forgotten by
Congressmen, led to unexpected complications. What had been a
single-handed battle between Hudson and Carlton now broadened out until
it became a spirited contest between those who favored the reform bills
of the Administration and those who opposed them. Like most contentions
of this kind, what had been a trivial matter grew to great proportions.
The incident of the missing bill might have been likened to a pebble
thrown into a placid stream, creating circle after circle until all of
the waters were in commotion.
For the next few weeks there was a ferment of factional politics. Even
those who tried to keep out of the unpleasant muss were drawn into it as
the peaceful waters are sometimes sucked into a fierce eddy. Meetings,
large and small, were being held every day. There were conferences,
caucuses, and secret gatherings of all kinds. One morning Felix Conway
sent for Barry Wynn in a great hurry.
"Barry," he said, when the boy appeared, "there is to be a very
important meeting this afternoon, composed of the men who are fighting
the reform measures of the Administration. I want to get a good report
of that gathering, but I am afraid that if I go to the meeting the
members who know me will shut up like clams and I will have my labor for
my pains."
"Well," questioned Barry, "how can I help you?"
"Very easily," was the quick reply. "Your shorthand is good, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. I think I have accuracy and speed."
"Well, you're just the boy I want. First of all, I want a list of those
who are present, and after that I would like very much to get a verbatim
report of the remarks of some of the principal speakers. Will you help
me?"
Barry thought for a moment before replying.
"Well," he said, finally, "if you think that I am competent to do the
work, I am willing to undertake it."
Conway laughed.
"There is no question at all about your competency. The only point to
consider now is your courage."
"My courage?" echoed Barry.
"Yes, your courage. Some pretty hot-headed men expect to attend that
meeting. If they thought that you were there to report it, they would
not hesitate to take you up by the scruff of the neck and the seat of
the trousers and toss you out of a convenient window."
Barry laughed at this description, and then was silent for a moment.
"Well, my boy," cried the journalist, "if you're not game I won't press
the proposition."
"I am game enough," retorted Barry, "but I wouldn't want to do anything
that wasn't decent."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I would not like the notion of any underhand work. I don't
take much stock in this business of peeping through keyholes and things
of that kind."
Conway's face flushed.
"You don't suppose I would ask you to do anything that I wouldn't do
myself, do you?"
"No."
"Well, then there is no more to be said. This is a meeting of public men
to consider public business, and the public has a right to know all
about it."
"But you don't care to go there yourself?" suggested Barry.
"No. For the reason that I have already told you. The sight of me would
frighten those fellows, and the public would thereby be deprived of
information which it has a right to."
"I'll go," cried Barry, ending the parley, "and I will promise to do the
best I can for you."
The meeting was held in a secluded Committee room on the ground floor of
the Capitol. There were thirty or forty men present, and when Barry
reached the door of the room it was pretty well filled. Joel Phipps
stood at the entrance scanning the members as they came in. Just as
Barry arrived someone called Phipps to the other end of the room, and
in the interval while the door was unguarded, the boy slipped in and
made his way through the crowd to the last row of chairs. A tall,
good-natured member, seeing him, cried out:
"What district do you represent, my boy?"
Before Barry had time to respond, another member, glancing at him,
replied carelessly:
"Oh, that's one of the page boys."
When the meeting was called to order a few minutes later, Barry found
himself almost hidden in a corner of the room. The men around him were
so large and he was so small and so quiet that he was completely
unnoticed. Joel Phipps called the roll and Barry was able to take the
names down. After the members had responded to their names there was a
general discussion of the various bills that were pending in the House
of Representatives. Mention was made of the fact that the Administration
was beginning to bring pressure to bear upon certain members in order to
enact various reform measures into law.
The sensation of the meeting came when Jesse Hudson arose and made a
spirited attack upon the Administration. He did not mince words. He said
just what he thought, and some of his thoughts were not very pleasant.
He concluded by saying that he was firmly opposed to certain reform
measures that were being backed by the Administration, and that he would
vote against them and hoped that other members would do the same.
One or two Congressmen followed Hudson, and spoke in a similar vein.
Finally, resolutions were adopted pledging all those present to work
together. The meeting adjourned after the appointment of three members
for the purpose of gaining recruits among those who had not attended the
meeting.
Barry, who had been taking down the proceedings in shorthand, managed to
slip out of the room unobserved. He took a trolley car and went to his
own room in order that he might be able to transcribe his notes without
interruption. In two hours his report was in the hands of Felix Conway.
They proved to be the groundwork for one of the biggest political
articles that had been written for many a long day.
The following morning Conway's newspaper appeared with a great, big,
exclusive story which took the Capitol by storm. It told in detail, not
only the story of the meeting, but also the plans that had been
formulated for the balance of the session of Congress. The rival
newspaper men were furious because they realized that Conway had secured
what everybody in journalistic circles call "the scoop of the session."
The Congressmen who participated in the meeting were angry at this
unexpected exposure, but the President and his supporters, who were
backing the reform bills, were delighted beyond measure, and before
nightfall Conway was complimented by a letter in the handwriting of the
Chief Executive of the nation, inviting him to call at the White House.