noon
Mr. Clayton himself remained at home . He had a telephone in the house , and was therefore in easy communication with his office , so that the business did not suffer materially by reason of his absence from the store . About ten o'clock in the morning a note came up from the hotel , expressing Mr. Brown 's regrets and sympathy . Toward noon Mr. Clayton picked up the morning paper , which he had not theretofore had time to read , and was glancing over it casually , when his eye fell upon a column headed `` A Colored Congressman . '' He read the article with astonishment that rapidly turned to chagrin and dismay . It was an interview describing the Congressman as a tall and shapely man , about thirty-five years old , with an olive complexion not noticeably darker than many a white man 's , straight hair , and eyes as black as sloes . `` The bearing of this son of South Carolina reveals the polished manners of the Southern gentleman , and neither from his appearance nor his conversation would one suspect that the white blood which flows in his veins in such preponderating measure had ever been crossed by that of a darker race , '' wrote the reporter , who had received instructions at the office that for urgent business considerations the lake shipping interest wanted Representative Brown treated with marked consideration .