But, gintlemen,"--running his
hand lightly through his hair, and then laying it in the bulging
lapels of his now half-buttoned coat,--"there were other
conditions accompanying these proposals; to wit, that within tin
days from said openin' the successful bidder should appear befoore
this honorable body, and then and there duly affix his signatoor
to the aforesaid contracts, already prepared by the attorney of
this boord, my honored associate, Judge Bowker. Now, gintlemen, I
ask you to look at the clock, whose calm face, like a rising moon,
presides over the deliberations of this boord, and note the
passin' hour; and then I ask you to cast your eyes over this vast
assemblage and see if Thomas Grogan, or any wan ripresinting him
or her, or who in any way is connected with him or her, is within
the confines of this noble hall, to execute the mandates of this
distinguished boord. Can it be believed for an instant that if
Mrs. Grogan, acting for her partly dismimbered husband, Mr. Thomas
Grogan, had intinded to sign this contract, she would not have
dispatched on the wings of the wind some Mercury, fleet of foot,
to infarm this boord of her desire for postponement? I demand in
the interests of justice that the contract be awarded to the
lowest risponsible bidder who is ready to sign the contract with
proper bonds, whether that bidder is Grogan, McGaw, Jones,
Robinson, or Smith.
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