Part Two (Zangara)

September 8, 1935
There was chaos in the lobby of the Louisiana state Capitol. People ran screaming as gun shots went off, again and again. The lobby exploded in a cacophony of shots, screams and the stampede of the crowd. "What happened?" shouted someone, when the gunshots stopped. "Someone shot the Senator!" cried a bystander. Huey P. Long lay on the floor, clutching at his chest. "He's hit!" someone shouted. Long was gasping for air as people crowded around him. Another crowd gathered, unheeded, around the body of the man who, seconds earlier, had shot Long as the Senator walked through the lobby. Long coughed and tried to stand, but collapsed halfway. A bodyguard helped him to his feet, and as other guards ushered the crowd away, escorted Long to a bench, where he sat to regain his breath. "Are you alright, sir?" asked the guard. Long wheezed and nodded through another cough. "I think so," he said. He looked over at the body of his would-be assassin. "I wonder why he tried to shoot me," he said, aloud. "I couldn't say, sir," said the guard, loyally. Some commotion in the lobby made them both look up as House Speaker Allen Ellender hurried over. "Senator!" he cried, "are you hurt? What happened?" "I'm alright, Al," said Long. "He didn't get me." "Who was...?" "Al, really, I'm fine. Just some kook. I'm just a bit winded, that's all." Long stood up again, this time under his own power. The crowd was being dispersed by the police now, and the body of the young man who had been shot fifty times by Long's bodyguards was being dealt with. "That sure was a close one, though," he said. "If I'd been standing an inch closer I'd have become the next FDR..."