"All right, sir."
Then the clerk recited, and Barry repeated the following form:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."
"It sounds very solemn, doesn't it?" commented Joe Hart.
"It sounds solemn and it is solemn," said the clerk. "It is the oath that everybody takes on entering the service of the United States Government. To break that oath, or to fail to fulfil its obligations would be little less than treason."
As they were turning away, Barry suddenly remembered something.
"Might I inquire how much pay I am to receive?"
"Certainly," said the clerk, "you will receive $2.50 a day while Congress is in session."
Barry could scarcely believe his ears. He had never dreamt that he would receive so much money. He mentally calculated what this would amount to in the course of a month, and then figured out how much money he would be able to send his mother after he had paid his board and refunded the money which Congressman Carlton had advanced for his railroad fare to Washington. The result must have been gratifying, because his face beamed like a new moon.