"And a half. I do it—twice a week—in an hour and seven minutes."
The Colonel thought of his own over-rubicund cheek and sighed. "Well, whom or what do you wish to crucify to-morrow?"
"I am at your orders there."
"Have you examined Deputy Clerk Folsom's reply to Councilman Hannigan's charge? What do you think of it?"
"I think it puts Hannigan in a very awkward position."
"I agree with you. Suppose you seek to show that to the city in half a column."
Queed bowed. "I may, perhaps, remind you, Colonel, of the meeting in New York to-morrow to prepare for the celebration of the Darwin centennial. If you desired I should be glad to prepare, apropos of this, a brief monograph telling in a light, popular way what Darwin did for the world."
"And what did Darwin do for the world?"
The grave young man made a large grave gesture which indicated the immensity of Darwin's doings for the world.
"Which topic do you prefer to handle—Folsom on Hannigan, or what Darwin did for the world?"