The governor rose as they entered, and looked first at Mr. Meredith, then lowered his kind blue eyes and fixed them on Jamie.
“Governor,” said Mr. Meredith, “I wish to present my little friend, Master James Horn.”
The governor bowed, took Jamie’s hand in his own and said in his soft voice:
“I’m very glad to meet you, Master Horn, I’m sure.”
Jamie felt himself tingle all through at the governor’s words.
“Master Horn, Governor,” continued Mr. Meredith, “is a page boy in the house, and to-day, when we were all caught napping, he saved the franchise bill from becoming a law.”
The governor, looking a question at Mr. Meredith, said:
“Ah?”
“Yes,” answered Mr. Meredith, and then, when the governor had motioned them to take seats, and Jamie had worked and wiggled himself away back into a deep leather chair, with his legs and feet sticking straight out in front of him, Mr. Meredith told the governor the whole story. When he had done, the governor rose and went over to where Jamie sat in the big chair, his arms stretched along the chair’s arms.
Jamie would have wriggled out of the chair, but he had not time to do so. And then, as he looked up into the grave, kind face, His Excellency, speaking very seriously, said: