Page:American Boy's Life of William McKinley.djvu/165

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OF WILLIAM McKINLEY
135

CHAPTER XIV


Taking a Case on the Jump—Talking against Time—The Lost Documents—A High Sense of Honor—Running for his First Office


No longer could McKinley be said to be unknown. His practice was extending in all directions, and the winning of several important cases gained him a reputation which was rapidly spreading beyond the confines of Canton and of Stark County.

"He will make his mark yet," said more than one shrewd old lawyer. But what a high and glorious mark few of them lived to witness.

He still kept up his studies, and all of his spare time was spent in reading. Rarely did he go on a railroad journey that he did not have a history or a law book with him.

He was generally slow to make up his mind, but once he had reached a conclusion nothing could change him. Yet that he could also act quickly when the occasion