“Mart,” he said, “do you feel competent to run this Department?”
“Why, uh—”
“Do you think you can buck the Interests and keep a clean city all by yourself?”
“Why, uh—”
“Because it looks as if I were going to Washington, as the next congressman from this district!”
“Really?”
“Looks that way. Boy, I’m going to take to the whole nation the Message I’ve tried to ram home here!”
Martin got out quite a good “I congratulate you.” He was so astonished that it sounded fervent. He still had a fragment of his boyhood belief that congressmen were persons of intelligence and importance.
“I’ve just been in conference with some of the leading Republicans of the district. Great surprise to me. Ha, ha, ha! Maybe they picked me because they haven’t anybody else to run this year. Ha, ha, ha!”
Martin also laughed. Pickerbaugh looked as though that was not exactly the right response, but he recovered and caroled on: