| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain: this insulted house for the imposture which you have attempted to
play here?"
"No apologies are due, sir; and as for the rest of it, I publicly
charge you with pilfering my note from Mr. Burgess and substituting
a copy of it signed with your own name. There is no other way by
which you could have gotten hold of the test-remark; I alone, of
living men, possessed the secret of its wording."
There was likely to be a scandalous state of things if this went on;
everybody noticed with distress that the shorthand scribes were
scribbling like mad; many people were crying "Chair, chair! Order!
order!" Burgess rapped with his gavel, and said:
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Gentle Grafter by O. Henry: Edenville Tap Railroad."
"Otherwise the King of Morocco," says I. "I reckon you don't mind my
counting the ransom, just as a business formality."
"Well, no, not exactly," says the fat man, "not when it comes. I
turned that matter over to our second vice-president. I was anxious
after Brother Jackson's safetiness. I reckon he'll be along right
soon. What does that lobster salad you mentioned taste like, Brother
Jackson?"
"Mr. Vice-President," says I, "you'll oblige us by remaining here till
the second V.P. arrives. This is a private rehearsal, and we don't
want any roadside speculators selling tickets."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Voyage to Abyssinia by Father Lobo: soon were convinced of their error, for they found the whole country
turned against them, and met everywhere new enemies to contend with
and new dangers to surmount. Being not far distant from Fremona,
where I resided, they sent to me for succour. I was better informed
of the distress they were in than themselves, having been told that
a numerous body of Abyssins had posted themselves in a narrow pass
with an intent to surround and destroy them; therefore, without long
deliberation, I assembled my friends, both Portuguese and Abyssins,
to the number of fourscore, and went to their rescue, carrying with
me provisions and refreshments, of which I knew they were in great
need. These glorious confessors I met as they were just entering
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