At this point another salvo of cheers broke forth, combined with a pandemonium of stamping feet, by which my hearers sought to emphasize their applause.
"At great cost of personal sacrifice and labor," I resumed, "I have saved you all, my fellow citizens. For this service I claim no personal reward, for the satisfaction of rescuing my countrymen will always be sufficient compensation. However, I have a message to deliver. It is from your Dictator, his Excellency, Thuno Flâtum."
The throng had all at once become silent; several thousand pairs of eyes and ears strained forward eagerly, intently, while, with a flourish, I removed a silver-sealed document from an inner pocket.
"Here is a letter from Thuno Flâtum," I declared, well knowing that the people, being unable to see clearly close at hand, would have no way of detecting the falsehood. "Before I read it, let me introduce myself by the name which our beloved Dictator has always applied to me. I am called Luma the Illustrious."
"Luma the Illustrious! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah for Luma the Illustrious!" thundered the mob, while hundreds bowed in token of obeisance. "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" And from the rear of the hall there came a flaunting of green and vermilion banners, in testimony to the patriotic significance of the occasion.
"Now listen carefully to the words of Thuno Flâtum!" I shouted, unfolding the letter I myself had written a few hours before.
And when the crowd had once more grown silent, I read in sonorous tones:
"To His Highness, Luma the Illustrious
"Greetings and heartiest regards