Читать книгу The Complete Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald онлайн

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Dalyrimple felt a glow settle over him.

“So,” continued Fraser, “when Theron Macy told me you’d started down at his place, I kept watching you, and I followed your record through him. The first month I was afraid for a while. He told me you were getting restless, too good for your job, hinting around for a raise——”

Dalyrimple started.

“—But he said after that you evidently made up your mind to shut up and stick to it. That’s the stuff I like in a young man! That’s the stuff that wins out. And don’t think I don’t understand. I know how much harder it was for you, after all that silly flattery a lot of old women had been giving you. I know what a fight it must have been——”

Dalyrimple’s face was burning brightly. He felt young and strangely ingenuous.

“Dalyrimple, you’ve got brains and you’ve got the stuff in you—and that’s what I want. I’m going to put you into the State Senate.”

“The what?”

“The State Senate. We want a young man who has got brains, but is solid and not a loafer. And when I say State Senate I don’t stop there. We’re up against it here, Dalyrimple. We’ve got to get some young men into politics—you know the old blood that’s been running on the party ticket year in and year out.”