- To say that Ben loves Mark Twain is an understatement: The guy thinks Twain is just about the funniest, wittiest, smartest writer ever. So fortunately, at the event, Twain doesn't disappoint.
- He makes jokes in his standard, satirical way, and he reads a passage from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
- Every now and again, Ben looks over at Elizabeth to see if she's enjoying herself. Sure enough, she's laughing and nodding along just as much as he is.
- Then things turn more serious, and Twain talks about lynching.
- He says people don't actually want to watch a lynching—they do it because they're afraid of what will happen if they don't.
- According to him, it takes a brave man to stop what's happening in the South, but there aren't 300 brave men in the whole country.
- Everyone nods along in agreement.