And it was in that relief — that is the thing I have never been able to get anybody to see — it was in the relief at his overreach that eleven decent people stopped asking the question underneath it.

Because the question underneath it was not is she physically fit.

That question was improper and he deserved to lose on it.

The question underneath it was: is this board being told the truth about a matter it is entitled to know?

And nobody asked that one, for eleven months, because the man raising his hand was a man who wanted the chair.

Part Seven: December