As  the  board  platform  was  uncomfortably  hot  to

24


THE    POWER    OF    THE    PRESS

the  feet,  Ranny  crept  into  the  rather  ample  shad
ow  of  a  lady  who  seemed  stationary.  Presently  a
young  man  named  Gifford  Rawlins  approached,
tapping  with  a  pencil  upon  a  little  pack  of  white
cards.
"Going  away,  Mrs.  Thompson?"  Rawlins  asked.
"Yes,"  the  lady  replied,  and  added,  a  little  shame
facedly,  "but  I  don't  know  as  you  need  to  put  it  in
the  paper."  Before  Ranny  had  time  to  be  surprised
at  her  perversity  Mrs.  Thompson  had  relented  and
was  taking  the  public  into  her  confidence,  admitting
that  she  was  going  to  Auburn  to  visit  her  sister,
Emmeline,  whose  married  name  was  Mrs.  Albert
Randall,  spelled  with  two  "1's."

Ranny  had  seen  Rawlins  before  and  had  been
vaguely  aware  that  he  "worked  in  the  printing-
office";  but  until  now  he  had  never  realized  what  an
important  function  Rawlins  performed  in  the  life
of  Lakeville.  This  slim  young  man  with  the  flappy
serge  coat  and  the  smudge  of  a  mustache  was  the
link  between  the  citizen  and  the  press ;  he  wandered
about  from  group  to  group,  asking  questions  and
jotting  down  answers.
Deeply  impressed,  Ranny  deserted  the  shady  Mrs.
Thompson  and  followed  Rawlins  about,  acquiring
valuable  information.  Mr.  Burgess,  the  lawyer,  was
going  to  Littleton  on  business;  a  traveling-man
thought  it  unnecessary  to  say  anything  about  himself
'  25


RANNY

(and  his  two  valises)  because  he  was  going  away  so
constantly.  Mrs.  Furguson  was  not  taking  a  trip
herself,  but  she  was  expecting  a  visit  from  a  niece,
and  the  Bulletin  was  treated  to  the  fascinating  details.
