And it was with considerable satisfaction that the private secretary observed, as he left the room, that the Governor was nervously pacing to and fro.
XVIII
In Colonel Morehead's office at 120 Broadway, Peter V. Wilkinson sat at the window reading a typewritten document of considerable length. He was white and rigid; while Leslie, standing beside him, rested her arm upon his shoulder. As he read he stirred uneasily, even his daughter's hand felt heavy upon him, and he shrugged it off.
"By all the gods!" he groaned from time to time; "those chaps have nerve to say such things about me!"
"They seem to have the right," said the Colonel, suppressing a chuckle, "and I suppose we can't complain."
When Peter V. had finished reading the opinion, he wiped his face with his kerchief—the perspiration had started from every pore.
"That's the last crack, I suppose, Morehead," he ventured.
Morehead did not immediately answer, but turned to Leslie and said:
"There's a new Inness in the next room that I picked up at a bargain. Would you like——" And without waiting for her answer the Colonel led the way to an adjoining room, where he pointed out briefly to her the artistic features of his new acquisition, and leaving her to admire it, he came back, closing the door behind him.