The crowd remained good-natured for the first part of his speech and Henry was feeling pleased with himself. And then, ....... half a
dozen tractors roared onto the field.
Henry: Ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate the anxiety you must all feel about support for your farms. I too
have been a farmer and I know the difficulties you are experiencing, and so...
Voice from the crowd: ... and so you've decided to become an M.P. and get rich!
Henry: No, my friend. I want to give the farmers a ....... in the House of Commons.
There was a large crowd in the field when Henry arrived at eight o'clock for what was perhaps the biggest
meeting of the ....... campaign. After a hard day's work, hundreds of farmers and farm labourers had come to
the field to hear what Henry had to say.
Vera: Now I hope you can see the danger of getting mixed up in politics. You and the family will probably .......
get blown up by a bomb.
Henry: Don't exaggerate, Vera. I'm sure it's just a joke.
At lunch time he went to his sister's house to see his wife and daughters. They had spent the morning
addressing envelopes for the leaflets he was sending out. His sister, Vera, thoroughly ....... of his involvement
in politics.
At eleven o'clock he ....... a brief visit to a public house on the estate. Henry couldn't offer to buy anyone a
drink because he knew very well that his opponents would consider that to be dishonest. So he let one of his
supporters buy him a drink instead.
After the speech he shook hands with some of the women. One of them lifted up a baby for him to kiss, but
the ....... of Henry's beard must have frightened it because it began to scream its head off.
There was very little reaction to Henry's speech, except from one or two people at the back who kept on
asking what Henry's party intended to do about the ....... price of fruit and vegetables.
Andrew Higgins kept a close watch on the platform from which Henry was making his speech, while several
plainclothes policemen ....... inconspicuously with the crowd.
Andrew: That makes the whole business even more sinister. Look here, Henry, one day won't make all that
much difference. I'll tell people that you've ....... your voice or something.
Andrew: What did the man sound like? Did you recognize his voice?
Henry: No, I was half asleep.
His voice wasn't familiar but he sounded quite pleasant. He didn't seem to be ....... me.
At half past eight Henry was in conference with his election agent, Andrew Higgins, at party headquarters.
Andrew: If you want my opinion, I suggest you cancel all your engagements for today and wait until the police
get to the ....... of the matter.
They decided to get dressed at once and take the two girls to their aunt's house. Henry ....... the police but
asked them to keep the news from the press.
