"Gentlemen," said the man who had risen, "I do not need to remind
you of the seriousness of this occasion. I only wish to congratulate
you, and myself, on the fact that we now have a chairman to whom we
can look with confidence. I say this without meaning any reflection
upon his predecessor."
He sat down, and immediately a white-haired man with a wide,
complacent type of face arose and declared: "No reflection is felt,
sir. On the contrary, I am exceedingly glad that Mr. Powart is to
take my place. I only wish that the commission felt free to discard
its rule of choosing by lots; I should like to present Mr. Powart
with the chair for as long a period as he would care to fill it."
He took his seat amid a general murmur of approval, while nine pair
of eyes were turned in unison upon the pair Van Emmon was sharing.
His agent, then, was chairman of some sort of a council, known as
"the commission."
Powart got to his feet. Even in this simple act his motions were
swift and sure; they harmonized perfectly with the way he talked.
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