"They want ter know as will yer tell 'em a short story, Miss Bright."
"A story? Let—me—see—! What shall I tell them, Jack?"
"Tell 'em about Abraham Lincoln, as didn't have no chance till he made it hisself."
So she told them a story of a hero, a plain, simple man, a man of toil, a man of great heart. She pictured his faithfulness to simple duties, his rise to the highest position his countrymen could bestow upon him, his death and the nation's sorrow.
As she finished, a cowboy asked, "Did yer say that Abraham Lincoln was onct president of the United States?"
"My!" he exclaimed, "I wisht I'd 'a knowed him! I wisht I could 'a fit on his side!"
"It is not too late to fight on his side," she said. "Every time you try to live a more sober, honest, decent life, every time you try to be more manly and true, you are fighting on the same side he did."
"Gosh!" he said. "I didn't know that. I thought fightin' meant jest killin' off the other fellers."
While the refreshments were being served, John Harding extended an invitation to the men to attend the club regularly, and suggested that the girls see Miss Bright about a club for girls, adding: