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T !A."T #APP1. #1<1 A .ovel

by

* .!+A < +19 *

%&'(

The handso0e dining roo0 of the #otel 9esse=8 with its gilded plaster shields and the 0ural depicting the Green 2ountains8 had been reserved for the +adies" .ight Dinner of the >ort Beulah <otary !lub.

#ere in ?er0ont the affair was not so pictures@ue as it 0ight have been on the 9estern prairies. 3h8 it had its points: there was a s-it in which 2edary !ole $grist 0ill A feed store) and +ouis <otenstern $custo0 tailoring--pressing A cleaning) announced that they were those historic ?er0onters8 Brigha0 :oung and 5oseph *0ith8 and with their jo-es about i0aginary plural wives they got in ever so 0any funny digs at the ladies present. But the occasion was essentially serious. All of A0erica was serious now8 after the seven years of depression since %&6&. t was just long enough after the Great 9ar of %&%B-%4 for the young people who had been born in %&%C to be ready to go to college . . . or to another war8 al0ost any old war that 0ight be handy.

The features of this night a0ong the <otarians were nothing funny8 at least not obviously funny8 for they were the patriotic addresses of Brigadier General #erbert :. 1dgeways8 D.*.A. $ret.)8 who dealt angrily with the topic EPeace through Defense--2illions for Ar0s but .ot 3ne !ent for Tribute8E and of 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch--she who was no 0ore renowned for her gallant anti-suffrage ca0paigning way bac- in %&%& than she was for having8 during the Great 9ar8 -ept the A0erican soldiers entirely out of >rench cafFs by the clever tric- of sending the0 ten thousand sets of do0inoes.

.or could any social-0inded patriot sneeGe at her recent so0ewhat unappreciated effort to 0aintain the purity of the A0erican #o0e by barring fro0 the 0otion-picture industry all

persons8 actors or directors or ca0era0en8 who had: $a) ever been divorcedH $b) been born in any foreign country--e=cept Great Britain8 since 2rs. Gi00itch thought very highly of Iueen 2ary8 or $c) declined to ta-e an oath to revere the >lag8 the !onstitution8 the Bible8 and all other peculiarly A0erican institutions.

The Annual +adies" Dinner was a 0ost respectable gathering--the flower of >ort Beulah. 2ost of the ladies and 0ore than half of the gentle0en wore evening clothes8 and it was ru0ored that before the feast the inner circle had had coc-tails8 privily served in <oo0 64& of the hotel. The tables8 arranged on three sides of a hollow s@uare8 were bright with candles8 cut-glass dishes of candy and slightly tough al0onds8 figurines of 2ic-ey 2ouse8 brass <otary wheels8 and s0all silA0erican flags stuc- in gilded hard-boiled eggs. 3n the wall was a banner lettered E*ervice Before *elf8E and the 0enu--the celery8 crea0 of to0ato soup8 broiled haddoc-8 chic-en cro@uettes8 peas8 and tutti-frutti ice-crea0--was up to the highest standards of the #otel 9esse=.

They were all listening8 agape. General 1dgeways was co0pleting his 0anly yet 0ystical rhapsody on nationalis0:

E. . . for these D-nited *tates8 a-lone a0ong the great powers8 have no desire for foreign con@uest. 3ur highest a0bition is to be darned well let aloneJ 3ur only gen-uine relationship to 1urope is in our arduous tas- of having to try and educate the crass and ignorant 0asses that 1urope has wished onto us up to so0ething li-e a se0blance of A0erican culture and good 0anners. But8 as e=plained to you8 we 0ust be prepared to defend our shores against all the alien gangs of international rac-eteers that call the0selves "govern0ents8" and that with such feverish envy are always eyeing our ine=haustible 0ines8 our towering forests8 our titanic and lu=urious cities8 our fair and far-flung fields.

E>or the first ti0e in all history8 a great nation 0ust go on ar0ing itself 0ore and 0ore8 not for con@uest--not for jealousy--not for war--but for peaceJ Pray God it 0ay never be necessary8 but if foreign nations don"t sharply heed our warning8 there will8 as when the proverbial dragon"s teeth were sowed8 spring up an ar0ed and fearless warrior upon every s@uare foot of these Dnited *tates8 so arduously cultivated and defended by our pioneer fathers8 whose sword-girded i0ages we 0ust be . . . or we shall perishJE

The applause was cyclonic. EProfessorE 10il *taub0eyer8 the superintendent of schools8 popped

up to screa08 EThree cheers for the General--hip8 hip8 hoorayJE

All the audience 0ade their faces to shine upon the General and 2r. *taub0eyer--all save a couple of cran- pacifist wo0en8 and one Dore0us 5essup8 editor of the >ort Beulah Daily nfor0er8 locally considered Ea pretty s0art fella but -ind of a cynic8E who whispered to his friend the <everend 2r. >alc-8 E3ur pioneer fathers did rather of a s-i0py job in arduously cultivating so0e of the s@uare feet in AriGonaJE

The cul0inating glory of the dinner was the address of 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch8 -nown throughout the country as Ethe Dn-ies" Girl8E because during the Great 9ar she had advocated calling our boys in the A.1.>. Ethe Dn-ies.E *he hadn"t 0erely given the0 do0inoesH indeed her first notion had been far 0ore i0aginative. *he wanted to send to every soldier at the >ront a canary in a cage. Thin- what it would have 0eant to the0 in the way of co0panionship and inducing 0e0ories of ho0e and 0otherJ A dear little canaryJ And who -nows--0aybe you could train "e0 to hunt cootiesJ

*eething with the notion8 she got herself clear into the office of the Iuarter0aster General8 but that stuffy 0achine-0inded official refused her $or8 really8 refused the poor lads8 so lonely there in the 0ud)8 0uttering in a cowardly way so0e foolishness about lac- of transport for canaries. t is said that her eyes flashed real fire8 and that she faced the 5ac--in-office li-e 5oan of Arc with eyeglasses while she Egave hi0 a piece of her 0ind that he never forgotJE

n those good days wo0en really had a chance. They were encouraged to send their 0enfol-s8 or anybody else"s 0enfol-s8 off to war. 2rs. Gi00itch addressed every soldier she 0et--and she saw to it that she 0et any of the0 who ventured within two bloc-s of her--as E2y own dear boy.E t is fabled that she thus saluted a colonel of 0arines who had co0e up fro0 the ran-s and who answered8 E9e own dear boys are certainly getting a lot of 0others these days. Personally8 "d rather have a few 0ore 0istresses.E And the fable continues that she did not stop her re0ar-s on the occasion8 e=cept to cough8 for one hour and seventeen 0inutes8 by the !olonel"s wrist watch.

But her social services were not all confined to prehistoric eras. t was as recently as %&'( that she had ta-en up purifying the fil0s8 and before that she had first advocated and then fought Prohibition. *he had also $since the vote had been forced on her) been a <epublican !o00itteewo0an in %&'68 and sent to President #oover daily a lengthy telegra0 of advice.

And8 though herself unfortunately childless8 she was estee0ed as a lecturer and writer about !hild !ulture8 and she was the author of a volu0e of nursery lyrics8 including the i00ortal couplet:

All of the <oundies are resting in rows8 9ith roundy-roundies around their toes.

But always8 %&%C or %&'K8 she was a raging 0e0ber of the Daughters of the A0erican <evolution.

The D.A.<. $reflected the cynic8 Dore0us 5essup8 that evening) is a so0ewhat confusing organiGation--as confusing as Theosophy8 <elativity8 or the #indu ?anishing Boy Tric-8 all three of which it rese0bles. t is co0posed of fe0ales who spend one half their wa-ing hours boasting of being descended fro0 the seditious A0erican colonists of %CCK8 and the other and 0ore ardent half in attac-ing all conte0poraries who believe in precisely the principles for which those ancestors struggled.

The D.A.<. $reflected Dore0us) has beco0e as sacrosanct8 as beyond criticis08 as even the !atholic !hurch or the *alvation Ar0y. And there is this to be said: it has provided hearty and innocent laughter for the judicious8 since it has contrived to be just as ridiculous as the unhappily defunct Lu-lu= Llan8 without any need of wearing8 li-e the L.L.L.8 high dunces" caps and public

nightshirts.

*o8 whether 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch was called in to inspire 0ilitary 0orale8 or to persuade +ithuanian choral societies to begin their progra0 with E!olu0bia8 the Ge0 of the 3cean8E always she was a D.A.<.8 and you could tell it as you listened to her with the >ort Beulah <otarians on this happy 2ay evening.

*he was short8 plu0p8 and pert of nose. #er lu=uriant gray hair $she was si=ty now8 just the age of the sarcastic editor8 Dore0us 5essup) could be seen below her youthful8 floppy +eghorn hatH she wore a sil- print dress with an enor0ous string of crystal beads8 and pinned above her ripe boso0 was an orchid a0ong lilies of the valley. *he was full of friendliness toward all the 0en present: she wriggled at the08 she cuddled at the08 as in a voice full of flute sounds and chocolate sauce she poured out her oration on E#ow :ou Boys !an #elp Ds Girls.E

9o0en8 she pointed out8 had done nothing with the vote. f the Dnited *tates had only listened to her bac- in %&%& she could have saved the0 all this trouble. .o. !ertainly not. .o votes. n fact8 9o0an 0ust resu0e her place in the #o0e and: EAs that great author and scientist8 2r. Arthur Brisbane8 has pointed out8 what every wo0an ought to do is to have si= children.E

At this second there was a shoc-ing8 an appalling interruption.

3ne +orinda Pi-e8 widow of a notorious Dnitarian preacher8 was the 0anager of a country superboarding-house that called itself EThe Beulah ?alley Tavern.E *he was a deceptively 2adonnali-e8 youngish wo0an8 with cal0 eyes8 s0ooth chestnut hair parted in the 0iddle8 and a soft voice often colored with laughter. But on a public platfor0 her voice beca0e brassy8 her eyes filled with e0barrassing fury. *he was the village scold8 the village cran-. *he was constantly po-ing into things that were none of her business8 and at town 0eetings she criticiGed every substantial interest in the whole county: the electric co0pany"s rates8 the salaries of the schoolteachers8 the 2inisterial Association"s high-0inded censorship of boo-s for the public library. .ow8 at this 0o0ent when everything should have been all *ervice and *unshine8 2rs. +orinda Pi-e crac-ed the spell by jeering:

EThree cheers for BrisbaneJ But what if a poor gal can"t hoo- a 0anM #ave her si= -ids out of wedloc-ME

Then the good old war horse8 Gi00itch8 veteran of a hundred ca0paigns against subversive <eds8 trained to ridicule out of e=istence the cant of *ocialist hec-lers and turn the laugh against the08 swung into gallant action:

E2y dear good wo0an8 if a gal8 as you call it8 has any real char0 and wo0anliness8 she won"t have to "hoo-" a 0an--she"ll find "e0 lined up ten deep on her doorstepJE $+aughter and applause.)

The lady hoodlu0 had 0erely stirred 2rs. Gi00itch into noble passion. *he did not cuddle at the0 now. *he tore into it:

E tell you8 0y friends8 the trouble with this whole country is that so 0any are selfishJ #ere"s a hundred and twenty 0illion people8 with ninety-five per cent of "e0 only thin-ing of self8 instead of turning to and helping the responsible business 0en to bring bac- prosperityJ All these corrupt and self-see-ing labor unionsJ 2oney grubbersJ Thin-ing only of how 0uch wages they can e=tort out of their unfortunate e0ployer8 with all the responsibilities he has to bearJ

E9hat this country needs is DisciplineJ Peace is a great drea08 but 0aybe so0eti0es it"s only a pipe drea0J "0 not so sure--now this will shoc- you8 but want you to listen to one wo0an who will tell you the unadulterated hard truth instead of a lot of senti0ental taffy8 and "0 not sure but that we need to be in a real war again8 in order to learn DisciplineJ 9e don"t want all this highbrow intellectuality8 all this boo--learning. That"s good enough in its way8 but isn"t it8 after all8 just a nice toy for grownupsM .o8 what we all of us 0ust have8 if this great land is going to go on 0aintaining its high position a0ong the !ongress of .ations8 is Discipline--9ill Power-!haracterJE

*he turned prettily then toward General 1dgeways and laughed:

E:ou"ve been telling us about how to secure peace8 but co0e on8 now8 General--just a0ong us <otarians and <otary Anns--"fess upJ 9ith your great e=perience8 don"t you honest8 cross-yourheart8 thin- that perhaps--just 0aybe--when a country has gone 0oney-0ad8 li-e all our labor unions and wor-0en8 with their propaganda to hoist inco0e ta=es8 so that the thrifty and

industrious have to pay for the shiftless ne"er-do-weels8 then 0aybe8 to save their laGy souls and get so0e iron into the08 a war 0ight be a good thingM !o0e on8 now8 tell your real 0iddle na0e8 2ong GeneralJE

Dra0atically she sat down8 and the sound of clapping filled the roo0 li-e a cloud of downy feathers. The crowd bellowed8 E!o0e on8 GeneralJ *tand upJE and E*he"s called your bluff--what you gotME or just a tolerant8 EAttaboy8 GenJE

The General was short and globular8 and his red face was s0ooth as a baby"s botto0 and adorned with white-gold-fra0ed spectacles. But he had the 0ilitary snort and a virile chuc-le.

E9ell8 sirJE he guffawed8 on his feet8 sha-ing a chu00y forefinger at 2rs. Gi00itch8 Esince you fol-s are bound and deter0ined to drag the secrets out of a poor soldier8 better confess that while do abhor war8 yet there are worse things. Ah8 0y friends8 far worseJ A state of so-called peace8 in which labor organiGations are riddled8 as by plague ger0s8 with insane notions out of anarchistic <ed <ussiaJ A state in which college professors8 newspaper0en8 and notorious authors are secretly pro0ulgating these sa0e seditious attac-s on the grand old !onstitutionJ A state in which8 as a result of being fed with these 0ental drugs8 the People are flabby8 cowardly8 grasping8 and lac-ing in the fierce pride of the warriorJ .o8 such a state is far worse than war at its 0ost 0onstrousJ

E guess 0aybe so0e of the things said in 0y for0er speech were -ind of a little bit obvious and what we used to call "old hat" when 0y brigade was @uartered in 1ngland. About the Dnited *tates only wanting peace8 and freedo0 fro0 all foreign entangle0ents. .oJ 9hat "d really li-e us to do would be to co0e out and tell the whole world: ".ow you boys never 0ind about the 0oral side of this. 9e have power8 and power is its own e=cuseJ"

E don"t altogether ad0ire everything Ger0any and taly have done8 but you"ve got to hand it to "e08 they"ve been honest enough and realistic enough to say to the other nations8 "5ust tend to your own business8 will youM 9e"ve got strength and will8 and for who0ever has those divine @ualities it"s not only a right8 it"s a duty8 to use "e0J" .obody in God"s world ever loved a wea-ling--including that wea-ling hi0selfJ

EAnd "ve got good news for youJ This gospel of clean and aggressive strength is spreading

everywhere in this country a0ong the finest type of youth. 9hy today8 in %&'K8 there"s less than C per cent of collegiate institutions that do not have 0ilitary-training units under discipline as rigorous as the .aGis8 and where once it was forced upon the0 by the authorities8 now it is the strong young 0en and wo0en who the0selves de0and the right to be trained in warli-e virtues and s-ill--for8 0ar- you8 the girls8 with their instruction in nursing and the 0anufacture of gas 0as-s and the li-e8 are beco0ing every whit as Gealous as their brothers. And all the really thin-ing type of professors are right with "e0J

E9hy8 here8 as recently as three years ago8 a sic-eningly big percentage of students were blatant pacifists8 wanting to -nife their own native land in the dar-. But now8 when the sha0eless fools and the advocates of !o00unis0 try to hold pacifist 0eetings--why8 0y friends8 in the past five 0onths8 since 5anuary first8 no less than seventy-si= such e=hibitionistic orgies have been raided by their fellow students8 and no less than fifty-nine disloyal <ed students have received their just deserts by being beaten up so severely that never again will they raise in this free country the bloodstained banner of anarchis0J That8 0y friends8 is .19*JE

As the General sat down8 a0id ecstasies of applause8 the village trouble 0a-er8 2rs. +orinda Pi-e8 leaped up and again interrupted the love feast:

E+oo- here8 2r. 1dgeways8 if you thin- you can get away with this sadistic nonsense without--E

*he got no farther. >rancis Tasbrough8 the @uarry owner8 the 0ost substantial industrialist in >ort Beulah8 stood grandly up8 @uieted +orinda with an outstretched ar08 and ru0bled in his 5erusale0-the-Golden basso8 EA 0o0ent please8 0y dear ladyJ All of us here locally have got used to your political principles. But as chair0an8 it is 0y unfortunate duty to re0ind you that General 1dgeways and 2rs. Gi00itch have been invited by the club to address us8 whereas you8 if you will e=cuse 0y saying so8 are not even related to any <otarian but 0erely here as the guest of the <everend >alc-8 than who0 there is no one who0 we 0ore honor. *o8 if you will be so good--Ah8 than- you8 0ada0eJE

+orinda Pi-e had slu0ped into her chair with her fuse still burning. 2r. >rancis Tasbrough $it rhy0ed with ElowE) did not slu0pH he sat li-e the Archbishop of !anterbury on the archiepiscopal throne.

And Dore0us 5essup popped up to soothe the0 all8 being an inti0ate of +orinda8 and having8 since 0il-iest boyhood8 chu00ed with and detested >rancis Tasbrough.

This Dore0us 5essup8 publisher of the Daily nfor0er8 for all that he was a co0petent business 0an and a writer of editorials not without wit and good .ew 1ngland earthiness8 was yet considered the pri0e eccentric of >ort Beulah. #e was on the school board8 the library board8 and he introduced people li-e 3swald Garrison ?illard8 .or0an Tho0as8 and Ad0iral Byrd when they ca0e to town lecturing.

5essup was a littlish 0an8 s-inny8 s0iling8 well tanned8 with a s0all gray 0ustache8 a s0all and well-tri00ed gray beard--in a co00unity where to sport a beard was to confess one"s self a far0er8 a !ivil 9ar veteran8 or a *eventh Day Adventist. Dore0us"s detractors said that he 0aintained the beard just to be EhighbrowE and Edifferent8E to try to appear Eartistic.E Possibly they were right. Anyway8 he s-ipped up now and 0ur0ured:

E9ell8 all the birdies in their nest agree. 2y friend8 2rs. Pi-e8 ought to -now that freedo0 of speech beco0es 0ere license when it goes so far as to criticiGe the Ar0y8 differ with the D.A.<.8 and advocate the rights of the 2ob. *o8 +orinda8 thin- you ought to apologiGe to the General8 to who0 we should be grateful for e=plaining to us what the ruling classes of the country really want. !o0e on now8 0y friend--ju0p up and 0a-e your e=cuses.E

#e was loo-ing down on +orinda with sternness8 yet 2edary !ole8 president of <otary8 wondered if Dore0us wasn"t E-iddingE the0. #e had been -nown to. :es--no--he 0ust be wrong8 for 2rs. +orinda Pi-e was $without rising) caroling8 E3h yesJ do apologiGe8 GeneralJ Than- you for your revelatory speechJE

The General raised his plu0p hand $with a 2asonic ring as well as a 9est Point ring on the sausage-shaped fingers)H he bowed li-e Galahad or a head-waiterH he shouted with parade-

ground 0aleness: E.ot at all8 not at all8 0ada0eJ 9e old ca0paigners never 0ind a healthy scrap. Glad when anybody"s enough interested in our fool ideas to go and get sore at us8 huh8 huh8 huhJE

And everybody laughed and sweetness reigned. The progra0 wound up with +ouis <otenstern"s singing of a group of patriotic ditties: E2arching through GeorgiaE and ETenting on the 3ld !a0pgroundE and EDi=ieE and E3ld Blac- 5oeE and E "0 3nly a Poor !owboy and Lnow Done 9rong.E

+ouis <otenstern was by all of >ort Beulah classed as a Egood fellow8E a caste just below that of Ereal8 old-fashioned gentle0an.E Dore0us 5essup li-ed to go fishing with hi08 and partridgehuntingH and he considered that no >ifth Avenue tailor could do anything tastier in the way of a seersuc-er outfit. But +ouis was a jingo. #e e=plained8 and rather often8 that it was not he nor his father who had been born in the ghetto in Prussian Poland8 but his grandfather $whose na0e8 Dore0us suspected8 had been so0ething less stylish and .ordic than <otenstern). +ouis"s poc-et heroes were !alvin !oolidge8 +eonard 9ood8 Dwight +. 2oody8 and Ad0iral Dewey $and Dewey was a born ?er0onter8 rejoiced +ouis8 who hi0self had been born in >latbush8 +ong sland).

#e was not only %// per cent A0ericanH he e=acted B/ per cent of chauvinistic interest on top of the principal. #e was on every occasion heard to say8 E9e ought to -eep all these foreigners out of the country8 and what 0ean8 the Li-es just as 0uch as the 9ops and #un-ies and !hin-s.E +ouis was altogether convinced that if the ignorant politicians would -eep their dirty hands off ban-ing and the stoc- e=change and hours of labor for sales0en in depart0ent stores8 then everyone in the country would profit8 as beneficiaries of increased business8 and all of the0 $including the retail cler-s) be rich as Aga Lhan.

*o +ouis put into his 0elodies not only his burning voice of a BydgosGcG cantor but all his nationalistic fervor8 so that every one joined in the choruses8 particularly 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch8 with her celebrated train-caller"s contralto.

The dinner bro-e up in cataract-li-e sounds of happy adieu=8 and Dore0us 5essup 0uttered to his goodwife 100a8 a solid8 -indly8 worried soul8 who li-ed -nitting8 solitaire8 and the novels of Lathleen .orris: E9as terrible8 butting in that wayME

E3h8 no8 Dor0ouse8 you did just right. a0 fond of +orinda Pi-e8 but why does she have to show off and parade all her silly *ocialist ideasME

E:ou old ToryJE said Dore0us. EDon"t you want to invite the *ia0ese elephant8 the Gi00itch8 to drop in and have a drin-ME

E do notJE said 100a 5essup.

And in the end8 as the <otarians shuffled and dealt the0selves and their innu0erable 0otorcars8 it was >ran- Tasbrough who invited the choicer 0ales8 including Dore0us8 ho0e for an afterparty.

As he too- his wife ho0e and drove up Pleasant #ill to Tasbrough"s8 Dore0us 5essup 0editated upon the epide0ic patriotis0 of General 1dgeways. But he bro-e it off to let hi0self be absorbed in the hills8 as it had been his habit for the fifty-three years8 out of his si=ty years of life8 that he had spent in >ort Beulah8 ?er0ont.

+egally a city8 >ort Beulah was a co0fortable village of old red bric-8 old granite wor-shops8 and houses of white clapboards or gray shingles8 with a few s0ug little 0odern bungalows8 yellow or seal brown. There was but little 0anufacturing: a s0all woolen 0ill8 a sash-and-door factory8 a pu0p wor-s. The granite which was its chief produce ca0e fro0 @uarries four 0iles awayH in >ort Beulah itself were only the offices . . . all the 0oney . . . the 0eager shac-s of 0ost of the @uarry wor-ers. t was a town of perhaps ten thousand souls8 inhabiting about twenty thousand bodies--the proportion of soul-possession 0ay be too high.

There was but one $co0parative) s-yscraper in town: the si=-story Tasbrough Building8 with the offices of the Tasbrough A *carlett Granite IuarriesH the offices of Dore0us"s son-in-law8 >owler Greenhill8 2.D.8 and his partner8 old Dr. 3l0sted8 of +awyer 2ungo Litteric-8 of #arry Linder0ann8 agent for 0aple syrup and dairying supplies8 and of thirty or forty other village sa0urai.

t was a downy town8 a drowsy town8 a town of security and tradition8 which still believed in Than-sgiving8 >ourth of 5uly8 2e0orial Day8 and to which 2ay Day was not an occasion for labor parades but for distributing s0all bas-ets of flowers.

t was a 2ay night--late in 2ay of %&'K--with a three-@uarter 0oon. Dore0us"s house was a 0ile fro0 the business-center of >ort Beulah8 on Pleasant #ill8 which was a spur thrust li-e a reaching hand out fro0 the dar- rearing 0ass of 2ount Terror. Dpland 0eadows8 0oon-glistening8 he could see8 a0ong the wildernesses of spruce and 0aple and poplar on the ridges far above hi0H and below8 as his car cli0bed8 was 1than !ree- flowing through the 0eadows. Deep woods-rearing 0ountain bulwar-s--the air li-e spring-water--serene clapboarded houses that re0e0bered the 9ar of %4%6 and the boyhoods of those errant ?er0onters8 *tephen A. Douglas8 the E+ittle Giant8E and #ira0 Powers and Thaddeus *tevens and Brigha0 :oung and President !hester Alan Arthur.

E.o--Powers and Arthur--they were wea- sisters8E pondered Dore0us. EBut Douglas and Thad *tevens and Brigha08 the old stallion-- wonder if we"re breeding up any paladins li-e those stout8 grouchy old devilsM--if we"re producing "e0 anywhere in .ew 1nglandM--anywhere in A0ericaM--anywhere in the worldM They had guts. ndependence. Did what they wanted to and thought what they li-ed8 and everybody could go to hell. The youngsters today--3h8 the aviators have plenty of nerve. The physicists8 these twenty-five-year-old Ph. D."s that violate the inviolable ato08 they"re pioneers. But 0ost of the wishy-washy young people today--Going seventy 0iles an hour but not going anywhere--not enough i0agination to want to go anywhereJ Getting their 0usic by turning a dial. Getting their phrases fro0 the co0ic strips instead of fro0 *ha-espeare and the Bible and ?eblen and 3ld Bill *u0ner. Pap-fed flabsJ +i-e this s0ug pup 2alcol0 Tasbrough8 hanging around *issyJ AahJ

E9ouldn"t it be hell if that stuffed shirt8 1dgeways8 and that political 2ae 9est8 Gi00itch8 were right8 and we need all these 0ilitary 0on-eyshines and 0aybe a fool war $to con@uer so0e stic-y-hot country we don"t want on a betJ) to put so0e starch and git into these 0arionettes

we call our childrenM AahJ

EBut rats--These hillsJ !astle walls. And this air. They can -eep their !otswolds and #arG 2ountains and <oc-iesJ D. 5essup--topographical patriot. And a0 a--E

EDor0ouse8 would you 0ind driving on the right-hand side of the road--on curves8 anywayME said his wife peaceably.

An upland hollow and 0ist beneath the 0oon--a veil of 0ist over apple blosso0s and the heavy bloo0 of an ancient lilac bush beside the ruin of a far0house burned these si=ty years and 0ore.

2r. >rancis Tasbrough was the president8 general 0anager8 and chief owner of the Tasbrough A *carlett Granite Iuarries8 at 9est Beulah8 four 0iles fro0 Ethe >ort.E #e was rich8 persuasive8 and he had constant labor troubles. #e lived in a new Georgian bric- house on Pleasant #ill8 a little beyond Dore0us 5essup"s8 and in that house he 0aintained a private barroo0 lu=urious as that of a 0otor co0pany"s advertising 0anager at Grosse Point. t was no 0ore the traditional .ew 1ngland than was the !atholic part of BostonH and >ran- hi0self boasted that8 though his fa0ily had for si= generations lived in .ew 1ngland8 he was no tight :an-ee but in his 1fficiency8 his *ales0anship8 the co0plete Pan-A0erican Business 1=ecutive.

#e was a tall 0an8 Tasbrough8 with a yellow 0ustache and a 0onotonously e0phatic voice. #e

was fifty-four8 si= years younger than Dore0us 5essup8 and when he had been four8 Dore0us had protected hi0 fro0 the results of his singularly unpopular habit of hitting the other s0all boys over the head with things--all -inds of things--stic-s and toy wagons and lunch bo=es and dry cow flops.

Asse0bled in his private barroo0 tonight8 after the <otarian Dinner8 were >ran- hi0self8 Dore0us 5essup8 2edary !ole8 the 0iller8 *uperintendent of *chools 10il *taub0eyer8 <. !. !rowley--<oscoe !on-ling !rowley8 the weightiest ban-er in >ort Beulah--and8 rather surprisingly8 Tasbrough"s pastor8 the 1piscopal 0inister8 the <ev. 2r. >alc-8 his old hands as delicate as porcelain8 his wilderness of hair sil--soft and white8 his unfleshly face beto-ening the Good +ife. 2r. >alc- ca0e fro0 a solid Lnic-erboc-er fa0ily8 and he had studied in 1dinburgh and 3=ford along with the General Theological *e0inary of .ew :or-H and in all of the Beulah ?alley there was8 aside fro0 Dore0us8 no one who 0ore contentedly hid away in the shelter of the hills.

The barroo0 had been professionally interior-decorated by a young .ew :or- gentle0an with the habit of standing with the bac- of his right hand against his hip. t had a stainless-steel bar8 fra0ed illustrations fro0 +a ?ie Parisienne8 silvered 0etal tables8 and chro0iu0-plated alu0inu0 chairs with scarlet leather cushions.

All of the0 e=cept Tasbrough8 2edary !ole $a social cli0ber to who0 the favors of >ranTasbrough were as honey and fresh ripened figs)8 and EProfessorE 10il *taub0eyer were unco0fortable in this parrot-cage elegance8 but none of the08 including 2r. >alc-8 see0ed to disli-e >ran-"s soda and e=cellent *cotch or the sardine sandwiches.

EAnd wonder if Thad *tevens would of li-ed this8 eitherME considered Dore0us. E#e"d of snarled. 3ld cornered cata0ount. But probably not at the whis-yJE

EDore0us8E de0anded Tasbrough8 Ewhy don"t you ta-e a tu0ble to yourselfM All these years

you"ve had a lot of fun criticiGing--always being agin the govern0ent---idding everybody--posing as such a +iberal that you"ll stand for all these subversive ele0ents. Ti0e for you to @uit playing tag with craGy ideas and co0e in and join the fa0ily. These are serious ti0es--0aybe twentyeight 0illion on relief8 and beginning to get ugly--thin-ing they"ve got a vested right now to be supported.

EAnd the 5ew !o00unists and 5ew financiers plotting together to control the country. can understand how8 as a younger fellow8 you could pu0p up a little sy0pathy for the unions and even for the 5ews--though8 as you -now8 "ll never get over being sore at you for ta-ing the side of the stri-ers when those thugs were trying to ruin 0y whole business--burn down 0y polishing and cutting shops--why8 you were even friendly with that alien 0urderer Larl Pascal8 who started the whole stri-e--0aybe didn"t enjoy firing hi0 when it was all overJ

EBut anyway8 these labor rac-eteers are getting together now8 with !o00unist leaders8 and deter0ined to run the country--to tell 0en li-e 0e how to run our businessJ--and just li-e General 1dgeways said8 they"ll refuse to serve their country if we should happen to get dragged into so0e war. :essir8 a 0ighty serious hour8 and it"s ti0e for you to cut the cac-le and join the really responsible citiGens.E

*aid Dore0us8 E#0. :es8 agree it"s a serious ti0e. 9ith all the discontent there is in the country to wash hi0 into office8 *enator 9indrip has got an e=cellent chance to be elected President8 ne=t .ove0ber8 and if he is8 probably his gang of buGGards will get us into so0e war8 just to grease their insane vanity and show the world that we"re the hus-iest nation going. And then 8 the +iberal8 and you8 the Plutocrat8 the bogus Tory8 will be led out and shot at ' A.2. *eriousM #uhJE

E<atsJ :ou"re e=aggeratingJE said <. !. !rowley.

Dore0us went on: E f Bishop Prang8 our *avonarola in a !adillac %K8 swings his radio audience and his +eague of >orgotten 2en to BuGG 9indrip8 BuGG will win. People will thin- they"re electing hi0 to create 0ore econo0ic security. Then watch the TerrorJ God -nows there"s been enough indication that we can have tyranny in A0erica--the fi= of the *outhern share-croppers8 the wor-ing conditions of the 0iners and gar0ent-0a-ers8 and our -eeping 2ooney in prison so 0any years. But wait till 9indrip shows us how to say it with 0achine gunsJ De0ocracy--here and in Britain and >rance8 it hasn"t been so universal a sniveling slavery as .aGiis0 in Ger0any8

such an i0agination-hating8 pharisaic 0aterialis0 as <ussia--even if it has produced industrialists li-e you8 >ran-8 and ban-ers li-e you8 <. !.8 and given you altogether too 0uch power and 0oney. 3n the whole8 with scandalous e=ceptions8 De0ocracy"s given the ordinary wor-er 0ore dignity than he ever had. That 0ay be 0enaced now by 9indrip--all the 9indrips. All rightJ 2aybe we"ll have to fight paternal dictatorship with a little sound patricide--fight 0achine guns with 0achine guns. 9ait till BuGG ta-es charge of us. A real >ascist dictatorshipJE

E.onsenseJ .onsenseJE snorted Tasbrough. EThat couldn"t happen here in A0erica8 not possiblyJ 9e"re a country of free0en.E

EThe answer to that8E suggested Dore0us 5essup8 Eif 2r. >alc- will forgive 0e8 is "the hell it can"tJ" 9hy8 there"s no country in the world that can get 0ore hysterical--yes8 or 0ore obse@uiousJ--than A0erica. +oo- how #uey +ong beca0e absolute 0onarch over +ouisiana8 and how the <ight #onorable 2r. *enator BerGelius 9indrip owns his *tate. +isten to Bishop Prang and >ather !oughlin on the radio--divine oracles8 to 0illions. <e0e0ber how casually 0ost A0ericans have accepted Ta00any grafting and !hicago gangs and the croo-edness of so 0any of President #arding"s appointeesM !ould #itler"s bunch8 or 9indrip"s8 be worseM <e0e0ber the Lu-lu= LlanM <e0e0ber our war hysteria8 when we called sauer-raut "+iberty cabbage" and so0ebody actually proposed calling Ger0an 0easles "+iberty 0easles"M And warti0e censorship of honest papersM Bad as <ussiaJ <e0e0ber our -issing the--well8 the feet of Billy *unday8 the 0illion-dollar evangelist8 and of Ai0Fe 2cPherson8 who swa0 fro0 the Pacific 3cean clear into the AriGona desert and got away with itM <e0e0ber ?oliva and 2other 1ddyM . . . <e0e0ber our <ed scares and our !atholic scares8 when all well-infor0ed people -new that the 3.G.P.D. were hiding out in 3s-aloosa8 and the <epublicans ca0paigning against Al *0ith told the !arolina 0ountaineers that if Al won the Pope would illegiti0atiGe their childrenM <e0e0ber To0 #eflin and To0 Di=onM <e0e0ber when the hic- legislators in certain states8 in obedience to 9illia0 5ennings Bryan8 who learned his biology fro0 his pious old grand0a8 set up shop as scientific e=perts and 0ade the whole world laugh itself sic- by forbidding the teaching of evolutionM . . . <e0e0ber the Lentuc-y night-ridersM <e0e0ber how trainloads of people have gone to enjoy lynchingsM .ot happen hereM Prohibition--shooting down people just because they 0ight be transporting li@uor--no8 that couldn"t happen in A0ericaJ 9hy8 where in all history has there ever been a people so ripe for a dictatorship as oursJ 9e"re ready to start on a !hildren"s !rusade--only of adults--right now8 and the <ight <everend Abbots 9indrip and Prang are all ready to lead itJE

E9ell8 what if they areME protested <. !. !rowley. E t 0ight not be so bad. don"t li-e all these irresponsible attac-s on us ban-ers all the ti0e. 3f course8 *enator 9indrip has to pretend publicly to bawl the ban-s out8 but once he gets into power he"ll give the ban-s their proper

influence in the ad0inistration and ta-e our e=pert financial advice. :es. 9hy are you so afraid of the word ">ascis08" Dore0usM 5ust a word--just a wordJ And 0ight not be so bad8 with all the laGy bu0s we got panhandling relief nowadays8 and living on 0y inco0e ta= and yours--not so worse to have a real *trong 2an8 li-e #itler or 2ussolini--li-e .apoleon or Bis0arc- in the good old days--and have "e0 really run the country and 0a-e it efficient and prosperous again. ".other words8 have a doctor who won"t ta-e any bac--chat8 but really boss the patient and 0a-e hi0 get well whether he li-es it or notJE

E:esJE said 10il *taub0eyer. EDidn"t #itler save Ger0any fro0 the <ed Plague of 2ar=is0M got cousins there. -nowJE

E#08E said Dore0us8 as often Dore0us did say it. E!ure the evils of De0ocracy by the evils of >ascis0J >unny therapeutics. "ve heard of their curing syphilis by giving the patient 0alaria8 but "ve never heard of their curing 0alaria by giving the patient syphilisJE

EThin- that"s nice language to use in the presence of the <everend >alc-ME raged Tasbrough.

2r. >alc- piped up8 E thin- it"s @uite nice language8 and an interesting suggestion8 Brother 5essupJE

EBesides8E said Tasbrough8 Ethis chewing the rag is all nonsense8 anyway. As !rowley says8 0ight be a good thing to have a strong 0an in the saddle8 but--it just can"t happen here in A0erica.E

And it see0ed to Dore0us that the softly 0oving lips of the <everend 2r. >alc- were fra0ing8 EThe hell it can"tJE

'

Dore0us jessup8 editor and proprietor of the Daily nfor0er8 the Bible of the conservative ?er0ont far0ers up and down the Beulah ?alley8 was born in >ort Beulah in %4CK8 only son of an i0pecunious Dniversalist pastor8 the <everend +oren 5essup. #is 0other was no less than a Bass8 of 2assachusetts. The <everend +oren8 a boo-ish 0an and fond of flowers8 0erry but not noticeably witty8 used to chant EAlas8 alas8 that a Bass of 2ass should 0arry a 0inister prone to gas8E and he would insist that she was all wrong ichthyologically--she should have been a cod8 not a bass. There was in the parsonage little 0eat but plenty of boo-s8 not all theological by any 0eans8 so that before he was twelve Dore0us -new the profane writings of *cott8 Dic-ens8 Thac-eray8 5ane Austen8 Tennyson8 Byron8 Leats8 *helley8 Tolstoy8 BalGac. #e graduated fro0 saiah !ollege--once a bold Dnitarian venture but by %4&B an inter-deno0inational outfit with nebulous trinitarian yearnings8 a s0all and rustic stable of learning8 in .orth Beulah8 thirteen 0iles fro0 Ethe >ort.E

But saiah !ollege has co0e up in the world today--e=cepting educationally--for in %&'% it held the Dart0outh football tea0 down to KB to K.

During college8 Dore0us wrote a great deal of bad poetry and beca0e an incurable boo- addict8 but he was a fair trac- athlete. .aturally8 he corresponded for papers in Boston and *pringfield8 and after graduation he was a reporter in <utland and 9orcester8 with one glorious year in Boston8 whose gri0y beauty and shards of the past were to hi0 what +ondon would be to a young :or-shire0an. #e was e=cited by concerts8 art galleries8 and boo-shopsH thrice a wee- he had a twenty-five-cent seat in the upper balcony of so0e theaterH and for two 0onths he roo0ed with a fellow reporter who had actually had a short story in The !entury and who could tal- about authors and techni@ue li-e the very dic-ens. But Dore0us was not particularly beefy or enduring8 and the noise8 the traffic8 the bustle of assign0ents8 e=hausted hi08 and in %&/%8 three years after his graduation fro0 college8 when his widowed father died and left hi0 N6&4/.// and his library8 Dore0us went ho0e to >ort Beulah and bought a @uarter interest in the nfor0er8 then a wee-ly.

By %&'K it was a daily8 and he owned all of it . . . with a perceptible 0ortgage.

#e was an e@uable and sy0pathetic bossH an i0aginative news detectiveH he was8 even in this ironbound <epublican state8 independent in politicsH and in his editorials against graft and injustice8 though they were not fanatically chronic8 he could slash li-e a dog whip.

#e was a third cousin of !alvin !oolidge8 who had considered hi0 sound do0estically but loose politically. Dore0us considered hi0self just the opposite.

#e had 0arried his wife8 100a8 out of >ort Beulah. *he was the daughter of a wagon 0anufacturer8 a placid8 prettyish8 broad-shouldered girl with who0 he had gone to high school.

.ow8 in %&'K8 of their three children8 Philip $Dart0outh8 and #arvard +aw *chool) was 0arried and a0bitiously practicing law in 9orcesterH 2ary was the wife of >owler Greenhill8 2.D.8 of >ort Beulah8 a gay and hustling 0edico8 a choleric and red-headed young 0an8 who was a wonderwor-er in typhoid8 acute appendicitis8 obstetrics8 co0pound fractures8 and diets for ane0ic children. >owler and 2ary had one son8 Dore0us"s only grandchild8 the bonny David8 who at eight was a ti0id8 inventive8 affectionate child with such 0ourning hound-dog eyes and such red-gold hair that his picture 0ight well have been hung at a .ational Acade0y show or even been reproduced on the cover of a 9o0en"s 2agaGine with 68(//8/// circulation. The Greenhills" neighbors inevitably said of the boy8 E2y8 Davy"s got such an i0agination8 hasn"t heJ guess he"ll be a 9riter8 just li-e his Gra0paJE

Third of Dore0us"s children was the gay8 the pert8 the dancing !ecilia8 -nown as E*issy8E aged eighteen8 where her brother Philip was thirty-two and 2ary8 2rs. Greenhill8 turned thirty. *he rejoiced the heart of Dore0us by consenting to stay ho0e while she was finishing high school8 though she tal-ed vigorously of going off to study architecture and Esi0ply 0a-e 0illions8 0y dear8E by planning and erecting 0iraculous s0all ho0es.

2rs. 5essup was lavishly $and @uite erroneously) certain that her Philip was the spit and i0age of the Prince of 9alesH Philip"s wife8 2erilla $the fair daughter of 9orcester8 2assachusetts)8 curiously li-e the Princess 2arinaH that 2ary would by any stranger be ta-en for Latharine #epburnH that *issy was a dryad and David a 0edieval pageH and that Dore0us $though she -new hi0 better than she did those changelings8 her children) a0aGingly rese0bled that naval hero8 9infield *cott *chley8 as he loo-ed in %4&4.

*he was a loyal wo0an8 100a 5essup8 war0ly generous8 a cordon bleu at 0a-ing le0on0eringue pie8 a parochial Tory8 an orthodo= 1piscopalian8 and co0pletely innocent of any hu0or. Dore0us was perpetually tic-led by her -ind sole0nity8 and it was to be chal-ed down to hi0 as a singular act of grace that he refrained fro0 pretending that he had beco0e a wor-ing !o00unist and was thin-ing of leaving for 2oscow i00ediately.

Dore0us loo-ed depressed8 loo-ed old8 when he lifted hi0self8 as fro0 an invalid"s chair8 out of the !hrysler8 in his hideous garage of ce0ent and galvaniGed iron. $But it was a proud two-car garageH besides the four-year-old !hrysler8 they had a new >ord convertible coupe8 which Dore0us hoped to drive so0e day when *issy wasn"t using it.)

#e cursed co0petently as8 on the ce0ent wal- fro0 the garage to the -itchen8 he bar-ed his shins on the lawn-0ower8 left there by his hired 0an8 one 3scar +edue8 -nown always as E*had8E a large and red-faced8 a sul-y and surly rish-!anuc- peasant. *had always did things li-e leaving lawn0owers about to snap at the shins of decent people. #e was entirely inco0petent and vicious. #e never edged-up the flower beds8 he -ept his stin-ing old cap on his head when he brought in logs for the fireplace8 he did not scythe the dandelions in the 0eadow till they had gone to seed8 he delighted in failing to tell coo- that the peas were now ripe8 and he was given to shooting cats8 stray dogs8 chip0un-s8 and honey-voiced blac-birds. At least twice a day8 Dore0us resolved to fire hi08 but--Perhaps he was telling hi0self the truth when he insisted that it was a0using to try to civiliGe this priGe bull.

Dore0us trotted into the -itchen8 decided that he did not want so0e cold chic-en and a glass of 0il- fro0 the ice-bo=8 nor even a wedge of the celebrated cocoanut layer ca-e 0ade by their coo--general8 2rs. !andy8 and 0ounted to his Estudy8E on the third8 the attic floor.

#is house was an a0ple8 white8 clapboarded structure of the vintage of %44/8 a s@uare bul- with a 0ansard roof and8 in front8 a long porch with insignificant s@uare white pillars. Dore0us declared that the house was ugly8 Ebut ugly in a nice way.E

#is study8 up there8 was his one perfect refuge fro0 annoyances and bustle. t was the only roo0 in the house that 2rs. !andy $@uiet8 gri0ly co0petent8 thoroughly literate8 once a ?er0ont country schoolteacher) was never allowed to clean. t was an endearing 0ess of novels8 copies of the !ongressional <ecord8 of the .ew :or-er8 Ti0e8 .ation8 .ew <epublic8 .ew 2asses8 and *peculu0 $cloistral organ of the 2edieval *ociety)8 treatises on ta=ation and 0onetary syste0s8 road 0aps8 volu0es on e=ploration in Abyssinia and the Antarctic8 chewed stubs of pencils8 a sha-y portable typewriter8 fishing tac-le8 ru0pled carbon paper8 two co0fortable old leather chairs8 a 9indsor chair at his des-8 the co0plete wor-s of Tho0as 5efferson8 his chief hero8 a 0icroscope and a collection of ?er0ont butterflies8 ndian arrowheads8 e=iguous volu0es of ?er0ont village poetry printed in local newspaper offices8 the Bible8 the Loran8 the Boo- of 2or0on8 *cience and #ealth8 *elections fro0 the 2ahabharata8 the poetry of *andburg8 >rost8 2asters8 5effers8 3gden .ash8 1dgar Guest8 30ar Lhayya08 and 2ilton8 a shotgun and a .66 repeating rifle8 an saiah !ollege banner8 faded8 the co0plete 3=ford Dictionary8 five fountain pens of which two would wor-8 a vase fro0 !rete dating fro0 '6C B.!.--very ugly--the 9orld Al0anac for year before last8 with the cover suggesting that it had been chewed by a dog8 odd pairs of horn-ri00ed spectacles and of ri0less eyeglasses8 none of which now suited his eyes8 a fine8 reputedly Tudor oa- cabinet fro0 Devonshire8 portraits of 1than Allen and Thaddeus *tevens8 rubber wading-boots8 senile red 0orocco slippers8 a poster issued by the ?er0ont 2ercury at 9oodstoc-8 on *epte0ber 68 %4B/8 announcing a glorious 9hig victory8 twenty-four bo=es of safety 0atches one by one stolen fro0 the -itchen8 assorted yellow scratch pads8 seven boo-s on <ussia and Bolshevis0--e=traordinarily pro or e=traordinarily con--a signed photograph of Theodore <oosevelt8 si= cigarette cartons8 all half e0pty $according to the tradition of journalistic eccentrics8 Dore0us should have s0o-ed a Good 3ld Pipe8 but he detested the sli0y ooGe of nicotine-soa-ed spittle)8 a rag carpet on the floor8 a withered sprig of holly with a silver !hrist0as ribbon8 a case of seven unused genuine *heffield raGors8 dictionaries in >rench8 Ger0an8 talian and *panish--the first of which languages he really could read--a canary in a Bavarian gilded wic-er cage8 a worn linen-bound copy of 3ld #earthside *ongs for #o0e and Picnic whose selections he was wont to croon8 holding the boo- on his -nee8 and an old cast-iron >ran-lin stove. 1verything8 indeed8 that was proper for a her0it and i0proper for i0pious do0estic hands.

Before switching on the light he s@uinted through a dor0er window at the bul- of 0ountains cutting the welter of stars. n the center were the last lights of >ort Beulah8 far below8 and on the left8 unseen8 the soft 0eadows8 the old far0houses8 the great dairy barns of the 1than 2owing. t was a -ind country8 cool and clear as a shaft of light and8 he 0editated8 he loved it 0ore every @uiet year of his freedo0 fro0 city towers and city cla0or.

3ne of the few ti0es when 2rs. !andy8 their house-eeper8 was per0itted to enter his her0it"s cell was to leave there8 on the long table8 his 0ail. #e pic-ed it up and started to read bris-ly8 standing by the table. $Ti0e to go to bedJ Too 0uch chatter and bellyaching8 this eveningJ Good +ordJ Past 0idnightJ) #e sighed then8 and sat in his 9indsor chair8 leaning his elbows on the table and studiously reading the first letter over again.

t was fro0 ?ictor +oveland8 one of the younger8 0ore international-0inded teachers in Dore0us"s old school8 saiah !ollege.

D1A< D<. 51**DP:

$E#0. "Dr. 5essup." .ot 0e8 0" lad. The only honorary degree "ll ever get"ll be 2aster in ?eterinary *urgery or +aureate in 10bal0ing.E)

A very dangerous situation has arisen here at saiah and those of us who are trying to advocate so0ething li-e integrity and 0odernity are seriously worried--not8 probably8 that we need to be long8 as we shall probably all get fired. 9here two years ago 0ost of our students just laughed at any idea of 0ilitary drilling8 they have gone warli-e in a big way8 with undergrads drilling with rifles8 0achine guns8 and cute little blueprints of tan-s and planes all over the place. Two of the08 voluntarily8 are going down to <utland every wee- to ta-e training in flying8 avowedly to get ready for warti0e aviation. 9hen cautiously as- the0 what the dic-ens war they are preparing for they just scratch and indicate they don"t care 0uch8 so long as they can get a chance to show what virile proud gents they are.

9ell8 we"ve got used to that. But just this afternoon--the newspapers haven"t got this yet--the Board of Trustees8 including 2r. >rancis Tasbrough and our president8 Dr. 3wen Peaseley8 0et and voted a resolution that--now listen to this8 will you8 Dr. 5essup--EAny 0e0ber of the faculty or student body of saiah who shall in any way8 publicly or privately8 in print8 writing8 or by the spo-en word8 adversely criticiGe 0ilitary training at or by saiah !ollege8 or in any other institution of learning in the Dnited *tates8 or by the state 0ilitias8 federal forces8 or other officially recogniGed 0ilitary organiGations in this country8 shall be liable to i00ediate dis0issal fro0 this college8 and any student who shall8 with full and proper proof8 bring to the attention of

the President or any Trustee of the college such 0align criticis0 by any person whatever connected in any way with the institution shall receive e=tra credits in his course in 0ilitary training8 such credits to apply to the nu0ber of credits necessary for graduation.E

9hat can we do with such fast e=ploding >ascis0M

? !T3< +3?1+A.D.

And +oveland8 teacher of Gree-8 +atin8 and *ans-rit $two lone students) had never till now 0eddled in any politics of 0ore recent date than A.D. %4/.

E*o >ran- was there at Trustees" 0eeting8 and didn"t dare tell 0e8E Dore0us sighed. E1ncouraging the0 to beco0e spies. Gestapo. 3h8 0y dear >ran-8 this a serious ti0eJ :ou8 0y good bonehead8 for once you said itJ President 3wen 5. Peaseley8 the bagged-faced8 pious8 rac-eteering8 da0ned hedge-school0asterJ But what can doM 3h--write another editorial viewing-with-alar08 supposeJE

#e plu0ped into a deep chair and sat fidgeting8 li-e a bright-eyed8 apprehensive little bird.

3n the door was a tearing sound8 i0perious8 de0anding.

#e opened to ad0it >oolish8 the fa0ily dog. >oolish was a reliable co0bination of 1nglish setter8 Airedale8 coc-er spaniel8 wistful doe8 and rearing hyena. #e gave one abrupt snort of welco0e

and nuGGled his brown satin head against Dore0us"s -nee. #is bar- awa-ened the canary8 under the absurd old blue sweater that covered its cage8 and it auto0atically caroled that it was noon8 su00er noon8 a0ong the pear trees in the green #arG hills8 none of which was true. But the bird"s trilling8 the dependable presence of >oolish8 co0forted Dore0us8 0ade 0ilitary drill and belching politicians see0 uni0portant8 and in security he dropped asleep in the worn brown leather chair.

All this 5une wee-8 Dore0us was waiting for 6 P.2. on *aturday8 the divinely appointed hour of the wee-ly prophetic broadcast by Bishop Paul Peter Prang.

.ow8 si= wee-s before the %&'K national conventions8 it was probable that neither >ran-lin <oosevelt8 #erbert #oover8 *enator ?andenberg8 3gden 2ills8 General #ugh 5ohnson8 !olonel >ran- Lno=8 nor *enator Borah would be no0inated for President by either party8 and that the <epublican standard-bearer--0eaning the one 0an who never has to lug a large8 botherso0e8 and so0ewhat ridiculous standard--would be that loyal yet strangely honest old-line *enator8 9alt Trowbridge8 a 0an with a touch of +incoln in hi08 dashes of 9ill <ogers and George 9. .orris8 a suspected trace of 5i0 >arley8 but all the rest plain8 bul-y8 placidly defiant 9alt Trowbridge.

>ew 0en doubted that the De0ocratic candidate would be that s-y-roc-et8 *enator BerGelius 9indrip--that is to say8 9indrip as the 0as- and bellowing voice8 with his satanic secretary8 +ee *arason8 as the brain behind.

*enator 9indrip"s father was a s0all-town 9estern druggist8 e@ually a0bitious and unsuccessful8 and had na0ed hi0 BerGelius after the *wedish che0ist. Dsually he was -nown as

EBuGG.E #e had wor-ed his way through a *outhern Baptist college8 of appro=i0ately the sa0e acade0ic standing as a 5ersey !ity business college8 and through a !hicago law school8 and settled down to practice in his native state and to enliven local politics. #e was a tireless traveler8 a boisterous and hu0orous spea-er8 an inspired guesser at what political doctrines the people would li-e8 a war0 handsha-er8 and willing to lend 0oney. #e dran- !oca-!ola with the 2ethodists8 beer with the +utherans8 !alifornia white wine with the 5ewish village 0erchants-and8 when they were safe fro0 observation8 white-0ule corn whis-y with all of the0.

9ithin twenty years he was as absolute a ruler of his state as ever a sultan was of Tur-ey.

#e was never governorH he had shrewdly seen that his reputation for research a0ong planterspunch recipes8 varieties of po-er8 and the psychology of girl stenographers 0ight cause his defeat by the church people8 so he had contented hi0self with coa=ing to the gubernatorial shearing a trained baa-la0b of a country school0aster who0 he had gayly led on a wide blue ribbon. The state was certain that he had Egiven it a good ad0inistration8E and they -new that it was BuGG 9indrip who was responsible8 not the Governor.

9indrip caused the building of i0pressive highroads and of consolidated country schoolsH he 0ade the state buy tractors and co0bines and lend the0 to the far0ers at cost. #e was certain that so0e day A0erica would have vast business dealings with the <ussians and8 though he detested all *lavs8 he 0ade the *tate Dniversity put in the first course in the <ussian language that had been -nown in all that part of the 9est. #is 0ost original invention was @uadrupling the state 0ilitia and rewarding the best soldiers in it with training in agriculture8 aviation8 and radio and auto0obile engineering.

The 0ilitia0en considered hi0 their general and their god8 and when the state attorney general announced that he was going to have 9indrip indicted for having grafted N6//8/// of ta= 0oney8 the 0ilitia rose to BuGG 9indrip"s orders as though they were his private ar0y and8 occupying the legislative cha0bers and all the state offices8 and covering the streets leading to the !apitol with 0achine guns8 they herded BuGG"s ene0ies out of town.

#e too- the Dnited *tates *enatorship as though it were his 0anorial right8 and for si= years8 his only rival as the 0ost bouncing and feverish 0an in the *enate had been the late #uey +ong of +ouisiana.

#e preached the co0forting gospel of so redistributing wealth that every person in the country would have several thousand dollars a year $0onthly BuGG changed his prediction as to how 0any thousand)8 while all the rich 0en were nevertheless to be allowed enough to get along8 on a 0a=i0u0 of N(//8/// a year. *o everybody was happy in the prospect of 9indrip"s beco0ing president.

The <everend Dr. 1gerton *chle0il8 dean of *t. Agnes !athedral8 *an Antonio8 Te=as8 stated $once in a ser0on8 once in the slightly variant 0i0eographed press handout on the ser0on8 and seven ti0es in interviews) that BuGG"s co0ing into power would be Eli-e the #eaven-blest fall of revivifying rain upon a parched and thirsty land.E Dr. *chle0il did not say anything about what happened when the blest rain ca0e and -ept falling steadily for four years.

.o one8 even a0ong the 9ashington correspondents8 see0ed to -now precisely how 0uch of a part in *enator 9indrip"s career was ta-en by his secretary8 +ee *arason. 9hen 9indrip had first seiGed power in his state8 *arason had been 0anaging editor of the 0ost widely circulated paper in all that part of the country. *arason"s genesis was and re0ained a 0ystery.

t was said that he had been born in Georgia8 in 2innesota8 on the 1ast *ide of .ew :or-8 in *yriaH that he was pure :an-ee8 5ewish8 !harleston #uguenot. t was -nown that he had been a singularly rec-less lieutenant of 0achine-gunners as a youngster during the Great 9ar8 and that he had stayed over8 a0bling about 1urope8 for three or four yearsH that he had wor-ed on the Paris edition of the .ew :or- #eraldH nibbled at painting and at Blac- 2agic in >lorence and 2unichH had a few sociological 0onths at the +ondon *chool of 1cono0icsH associated with decidedly curious people in arty Berlin night restaurants. <eturned ho0e8 *arason had beco0e decidedly the Ehard-boiled reporterE of the shirt-sleeved tradition8 who asserted that he would rather be called a prostitute than anything so sissified as Ejournalist.E But it was suspected that nevertheless he still retained the ability to read.

#e had been variously a *ocialist and an anarchist. 1ven in %&'K there were rich people who asserted that *arason was Etoo radical8E but actually he had lost his trust $if any) in the 0asses during the hoggish nationalis0 after the warH and he believed now only in resolute control by a s0all oligarchy. n this he was a #itler8 a 2ussolini.

*arason was lan-y and drooping8 with thin fla=en hair8 and thic- lips in a bony face. #is eyes were spar-s at the botto0s of two dar- wells. n his long hands there was bloodless strength. #e used to surprise persons who were about to sha-e hands with hi0 by suddenly bending their fingers bac- till they al0ost bro-e. 2ost people didn"t 0uch li-e it. As a newspaper0an he was an e=pert of the highest grade. #e could s0ell out a husband-0urder8 the grafting of a politician-that is to say8 of a politician belonging to a gang opposed by his paper--the torture of ani0als or children8 and this last sort of story he li-ed to write hi0self8 rather than hand it to a reporter8 and when he did write it8 you saw the 0oldy cellar8 heard the whip8 felt the sli0y blood.

!o0pared with +ee *arason as a newspaper0an8 little Dore0us 5essup of >ort Beulah was li-e a village parson co0pared with the twenty-thousand-dollar 0inister of a twenty-story .ew :orinstitutional tabernacle with radio affiliations.

*enator 9indrip had 0ade *arason8 officially8 his secretary8 but he was -nown to be 0uch 0ore--bodyguard8 ghost-writer8 press-agent8 econo0ic adviserH and in 9ashington8 +ee *arason beca0e the 0an 0ost consulted and least li-ed by newspaper correspondents in the whole *enate 3ffice Building.

9indrip was a young forty-eight in %&'KH *arason an aged and sagging-chee-ed forty-one.

Though he probably based it on notes dictated by 9indrip--hi0self no fool in the 0atter of fictional i0agination--*arason had certainly done the actual writing of 9indrip"s lone boo-8 the Bible of his followers8 part biography8 part econo0ic progra08 and part plain e=hibitionistic boasting8 called Oero #our--3ver the Top.

t was a salty boo- and contained 0ore suggestions for re0olding the world than the three volu0es of Larl 2ar= and all the novels of #. G. 9ells put together.

Perhaps the 0ost fa0iliar8 0ost @uoted paragraph of Oero #our8 beloved by the provincial press because of its si0ple earthiness $as written by an initiate in <osicrucian lore8 na0ed *arason) was:

E9hen was a little shaver bac- in the corn fields8 we -ids used to just wear one-strap suspenders on our pants8 and we called the0 the Galluses on our Britches8 but they held the0 up and saved our 0odesty just as 0uch as if we had put on a high-toned +i0ey accent and tal-ed about Braces and Trousers. That"s how the whole world of what they call "scientific econo0ics" is li-e. The 2ar=ians thin- that by writing of Galluses as Braces8 they"ve got so0ething that -noc-s the stuffings out of the old-fashioned ideas of 9ashington and 5efferson and Ale=ander #a0ilton. 9ell and all8 sure believe in using every new econo0ic discovery8 li-e they have been wor-ed out in the so-called >ascist countries8 li-e taly and Ger0any and #ungary and Poland--yes8 by thunder8 and even in 5apan--we probably will have to lic- those +ittle :ellow 2en so0e day8 to -eep the0 fro0 pinching our vested and rightful interests in !hina8 but don"t let that -eep us fro0 grabbing off any s0art ideas that those cute little beggars have wor-ed outJ

E want to stand up on 0y hind legs and not just ad0it but fran-ly holler right out that we"ve got to change our syste0 a lot8 0aybe even change the whole !onstitution $but change it legally8 and not by violence) to bring it up fro0 the horsebac--and-corduroy-road epoch to the auto0obile-and-ce0ent-highway period of today. The 1=ecutive has got to have a freer hand and be able to 0ove @uic- in an e0ergency8 and not be tied down by a lot of du0b shysterlawyer congress0en ta-ing 0onths to shoot off their 0ouths in debates. BDT--and it"s a But as big as Deacon !hec-erboard"s hay-barn bac- ho0e--these new econo0ic changes are only a 0eans to an 1nd8 and that 1nd is and 0ust be8 funda0entally8 the sa0e principles of +iberty8 1@uality8 and 5ustice that were advocated by the >ounding >athers of this great land bac- in %CCKJE

The 0ost confusing thing about the whole ca0paign of %&'K was the relationship of the two leading parties. 3ld-Guard <epublicans co0plained that their proud party was begging for office8 hat in handH veteran De0ocrats that their traditional !overed 9agons were ja00ed with college professors8 city slic-ers8 and yachts0en.

The rival to *enator 9indrip in public reverence was a political titan who see0ed to have no itch for office--the <everend Paul Peter Prang8 of Persepolis8 ndiana8 Bishop of the 2ethodist 1piscopal !hurch8 a 0an perhaps ten years older than 9indrip. #is wee-ly radio address8 at 6 P.2. every *aturday8 was to 0illions the very oracle of God. *o supernatural was this voice fro0

the air that for it 0en delayed their golf8 and wo0en even postponed their *aturday afternoon contract bridge.

t was >ather !harles !oughlin8 of Detroit8 who had first thought out the device of freeing hi0self fro0 any censorship of his political ser0ons on the 2ount by Ebuying his own ti0e on the airE--it being only in the twentieth century that 0an-ind has been able to buy Ti0e as it buys soap and gasoline. This invention was al0ost e@ual8 in its effect on all A0erican life and thought8 to #enry >ord"s early conception of selling cars cheap to 0illions of people8 instead of selling a few as lu=uries.

But to the pioneer >ather !oughlin8 Bishop Paul Peter Prang was as the >ord ?-4 to the 2odel A.

Prang was 0ore senti0ental than !oughlinH he shouted 0oreH he agoniGed 0oreH he reviled 0ore ene0ies by na0e8 and rather scandalouslyH he told 0ore funny stories8 and ever so 0any 0ore tragic stories about the repentant deathbeds of ban-ers8 atheists8 and !o00unists. #is voice was 0ore nasally native8 and he was pure 2iddle 9est8 with a .ew 1ngland Protestant *cotch-1nglish ancestry8 where !oughlin was always a little suspect8 in the *ears-<oebucregions8 as a <o0an !atholic with an agreeable rish accent.

.o 0an in history has ever had such an audience as Bishop Prang8 nor so 0uch apparent power. 9hen he de0anded that his auditors telegraph their congress0en to vote on a bill as he8 Prang8 e= cathedra and alone8 without any college of cardinals8 had been inspired to believe they ought to vote8 then fifty thousand people would telephone8 or drive through bac--hill 0ud8 to the nearest telegraph office and in #is na0e give their co00ands to the govern0ent. Thus8 by the 0agic of electricity8 Prang 0ade the position of any -ing in history loo- a little absurd and tinseled.

To 0illions of +eague 0e0bers he sent 0i0eographed letters with facsi0ile signature8 and with the salutation so craftily typed in that they rejoiced in a personal greeting fro0 the >ounder.

Dore0us 5essup8 up in the provincial hills8 could never @uite figure out just what political gospel it was that Bishop Prang thundered fro0 his *inai which8 with its 0icrophone and typed revelations ti0ed to the split-second8 was so 0uch 0ore snappy and efficient than the original *inai. n detail8 he preached nationaliGation of the ban-s8 0ines8 waterpower8 and

transportationH li0itation of inco0esH increased wages8 strengthening of the labor unions8 0ore fluid distribution of consu0er goods. But everybody was nibbling at those noble doctrines now8 fro0 ?irginia *enators to 2innesota >ar0er-+aborites8 with no one being so credulous as to e=pect any of the0 to be carried out.

There was a theory around so0e place that Prang was only the hu0ble voice of his vast organiGation8 EThe +eague of >orgotten 2en.E t was universally believed to have $though no fir0 of chartered accountants had yet e=a0ined its rolls) twenty-seven 0illion 0e0bers8 along with proper assort0ents of national officers and state officers8 and town officers and hordes of co00ittees with stately na0es li-e E.ational !o00ittee on the !o0pilation of *tatistics on Dne0ploy0ent and .or0al 10ployability in the *oy-Bean ndustry.E #ither and yon8 Bishop Prang8 not as the still s0all voice of God but in lofty person8 addressed audiences of twenty thousand persons at a ti0e8 in the larger cities all over the country8 spea-ing in huge halls 0eant for priGe-fighting8 in cine0a palaces8 in ar0ories8 in baseball par-s8 in circus tents8 while after the 0eetings his bris- assistants accepted 0e0bership applications and dues for the +eague of >orgotten 2en. 9hen his ti0id detractors hinted that this was all very ro0antic8 very jolly and pictures@ue8 but not particularly dignified8 and Bishop Prang answered8 E2y 2aster delighted to spea- in whatever vulgar asse0bly would listen to #i08E no one dared answer hi08 EBut you aren"t your 2aster--not yet.E

9ith all the flourish of the +eague and its 0ass 0eetings8 there had never been a pretense that any tenet of the +eague8 any pressure on !ongress and the President to pass any particular bill8 originated with anybody save Prang hi0self8 with no collaboration fro0 the co00ittees or officers of the +eague. All that the Prang who so often crooned about the #u0ility and 2odesty of the *aviour wanted was for one hundred and thirty 0illion people to obey hi08 their PriestLing8 i0plicitly in everything concerning their private 0orals8 their public asseverations8 how they 0ight earn their livings8 and what relationships they 0ight have to other wage-earners.

EAnd that8E Dore0us 5essup gru0bled8 relishing the shoc-ed piety of his wife 100a8 E0a-es Brother Prang a worse tyrant than !aligula--a worse >ascist than .apoleon. 2ind you8 don"t really believe all these ru0ors about Prang"s grafting on 0e0bership dues and the sale of pa0phlets and donations to pay for the radio. t"s 0uch worse than that. "0 afraid he"s an honest fanaticJ That"s why he"s such a real >ascist 0enace--he"s so confoundedly hu0anitarian8 in fact so .oble8 that a 0ajority of people are willing to let hi0 boss everything8 and with a country this siGe8 that"s @uite a job--@uite a job8 0y beloved--even for a 2ethodist Bishop who gets enough gifts so that he can actually "buy Ti0e"JE

All the while8 9alt Trowbridge8 possible <epublican candidate for President8 suffering fro0 the deficiency of being honest and disinclined to pro0ise that he could wor- 0iracles8 was insisting that we live in the Dnited *tates of A0erica and not on a golden highway to Dtopia.

There was nothing e=hilarating in such realis08 so all this rainy wee- in 5une8 with the apple blosso0s and the lilacs fading8 Dore0us 5essup was awaiting the ne=t encyclical of Pope Paul Peter Prang.

-now the Press only too well. Al0ost all editors hide away in spider-dens8 0en without thought of >a0ily or Public nterest or the hu0ble delights of jaunts out-of-doors8 plotting how they can put over their lies8 and advance their own positions and fill their greedy poc-etboo-s by calu0niating *tates0en who have given their all for the co00on good and who are vulnerable because they stand out in the fierce +ight that beats around the Throne.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

The 5une 0orning shone8 the last petals of the wild-cherry blosso0s lay dew-covered on the grass8 robins were about their bris- business on the lawn. Dore0us8 by nature a late-lier and pilferer of naps after he had been called at eight8 was stirred to spring up and stretch his ar0s out fully five or si= ti0es in *wedish e=ercises8 in front of his window8 loo-ing out across the Beulah <iver ?alley to dar- 0asses of pine on the 0ountain slopes three 0iles away.

Dore0us and 100a had had each their own bedroo08 these fifteen years8 not altogether to her pleasure. #e asserted that he couldn"t share a bedroo0 with any person living8 because he was a night-0utterer8 and li-ed to 0a-e a really good8 uprearing8 pillow-slapping job of turning over in bed without feeling that he was disturbing so0eone.

t was *aturday8 the day of the Prang revelation8 but on this crystal 0orning8 after days of rain8 he did not thin- of Prang at all8 but of the fact that Philip8 his son8 with wife8 had popped up fro0 9orcester for the wee--end8 and that the whole crew of the08 along with +orinda Pi-e and BucTitus8 were going to have a Ereal8 old-fashioned8 fa0ily picnic.E

They had all de0anded it8 even the fashionable *issy8 a wo0an who8 at eighteen8 had 0uch concern with tennis-teas8 golf8 and 0ysterious8 appallingly rapid 0otor trips with 2alcol0 Tasbrough $just graduating fro0 high school)8 or with the 1piscopal parson"s grandson8 5ulian >alc- $fresh0an in A0herst). Dore0us had scolded that he couldn"t go to any bla0e picnicH it was his job8 as editor8 to stay ho0e and listen to Bishop Prang"s broadcast at twoH but they had laughed at hi0 and ru0pled his hair and 0iscalled hi0 until he had pro0ised. . . . They didn"t -now it8 but he had slyly borrowed a portable radio fro0 his friend8 the local <. !. priest8 >ather *tephen Perefi=e8 and he was going to hear Prang whether or no.

#e was glad they were going to have +orinda Pi-e--he was fond of that sardonic saint--and BucTitus8 who was perhaps his closest inti0ate.

5a0es Buc- Titus8 who was fifty but loo-ed thirty-eight8 straight8 broad-shouldered8 sli0-waisted8 long-0ustached8 swarthy--Buc- was the Dan"l Boone type of 3ld A0erican8 or8 perhaps8 an ndian-fighting cavalry captain8 out of !harles Ling. #e had graduated fro0 9illia0s8 with ten wee-s in 1ngland and ten years in 2ontana8 divided between cattle-raising8 prospecting8 and a horse-breeding ranch. #is father8 a richish railroad contractor8 had left hi0 the great far0 near 9est Beulah8 and Buc- had co0e bac- ho0e to grow apples8 to breed 2organ stallions8 and to read ?oltaire8 Anatole >rance8 .ietGsche8 and Dostoyefs-y. #e served in the war8 as a privateH

detested his officers8 refused a co00ission8 and li-ed the Ger0ans at !ologne. #e was a useful polo player8 but regarded riding to the hounds as childish. n politics8 he did not so 0uch yearn over the wrongs of +abor as feel scornful of the tight-fisted e=ploiters who denned in office and stin-ing factory. #e was as near to the 1nglish country s@uire as one 0ay find in A0erica. #e was a bachelor8 with a big 0id-?ictorian house8 well -ept by a friendly .egro coupleH a tidy place in which he so0eti0es entertained ladies who were not @uite so tidy. #e called hi0self an EagnosticE instead of an EatheistE only because he detested the street-bawling8 tract-peddling evangelicis0 of the professional atheists. #e was cynical8 he rarely s0iled8 and he was unwaveringly loyal to all the 5essups. #is co0ing to the picnic 0ade Dore0us as blithe as his grandson David.

EPerhaps8 even under >ascis08 the "!hurch cloc- will stand at ten to three8 and there will be honey still for tea8"E Dore0us hoped8 as he put on his rather dandified country tweeds.

The only stain on the preparations for the picnic was the grouchiness of the hired 0an8 *had +edue. 9hen he was as-ed to turn the ice-crea0 freeGer he growled8 E9hy the hec- don"t you fol-s get an electric freeGerM #e gru0bled8 0ost audibly8 at the weight of the picnic bas-ets8 and when he was as-ed to clean up the base0ent during their absence8 he retorted only with a glare of silent fury.

E:ou ought to get rid of that fellow8 +edue8E urged Dore0us"s son Philip8 the lawyer.

E3h8 don"t -now8E considered Dore0us. EProbably just shiftlessness on 0y part. But tell 0yself "0 doing a social e=peri0ent--trying to train hi0 to be as gracious as the average .eanderthal 0an. 3r perhaps "0 scared of hi0--he"s the -ind of vindictive peasant that sets fire to barns. . . . Did you -now that he actually reads8 PhilME

E.oJE

E:ep. 2ostly 0ovie 0agaGines8 with ne--ed ladies and 9ild 9estern stories8 but he also reads the papers. Told 0e he greatly ad0ired BuGG 9indripH says 9indrip will certainly be President8 and then everybody--by which8 "0 afraid8 *had 0eans only hi0self--will have five thousand a year. BuGG certainly has a bunch of philanthropists for followers.E

E.ow listen8 Dad. :ou don"t understand *enator 9indrip. 3h8 he"s so0ething of a de0agogue-he shoots off his 0outh a lot about how he"ll jac- up the inco0e ta= and grab the ban-s8 but he won"t--that"s just 0olasses for the coc-roaches. 9hat he will do8 and 0aybe only he can do it8 is to protect us fro0 the 0urdering8 thieving8 lying Bolshevi-s that would--why8 they"d li-e to sticall of us that are going on this picnic8 all the decent clean people that are accusto0ed to privacy8 into hall bedroo0s8 and 0a-e us coo- our cabbage soup on a Pri0us stuc- on a bedJ :es8 or 0aybe "li@uidate" us entirelyJ .o sir8 BerGelius 9indrip is the fellow to bal- the dirty snea-ing 5ew spies that pose as A0erican +iberalsJE

EThe face is the face of 0y reasonably co0petent son8 Philip8 but the voice is the voice of the 5ew-baiter8 5ulius *treicher8E sighed Dore0us.

The picnic ground was a0ong a *tonehenge of gray and lichen-painted roc-s8 fronting a birch grove high up on 2ount Terror8 on the upland far0 of Dore0us"s cousin8 #enry ?eeder8 a solid8 reticent ?er0onter of the old days. They loo-ed through a distant 0ountain gap to the faint 0ercury of +a-e !ha0plain and8 across it8 the bulwar- of the Adirondac-s.

Davy Greenhill and his hero8 Buc- Titus8 wrestled in the hardy pasture grass. Philip and Dr. >owler Greenhill8 Dore0us"s son-in-law $Phil plu0p and half bald at thirty-twoH >owler belligerently redheaded and red-0ustached) argued about the 0erits of the autogiro. Dore0us lay with his head against a roc-8 his cap over his eyes8 gaGing down into the paradise of Beulah ?alley--he could not have sworn to it8 but he rather thought he saw an angel floating in the radiant upper air above the valley. The wo0en8 100a and 2ary Greenhill8 *issy and Philip"s wife and +orinda Pi-e8

were setting out the picnic lunch--a pot of beans with crisp salt por-8 fried chic-en8 potatoes war0ed-over with croutons8 tea biscuits8 crab-apple jelly8 salad8 raisin pie--on a red-and-white tablecloth spread on a flat roc-.

But for the par-ed 0otorcars8 the scene 0ight have been .ew 1ngland in %44(8 and you could see the wo0en in chip hats and tight-bodiced8 high-nec-ed froc-s with bustlesH the 0en in straw boaters with dangling ribbons and adorned with side-whis-ers--Dore0us"s beard not clipped8 but flowing li-e a bridal veil. 9hen Dr. Greenhill fetched down !ousin #enry ?eeder8 a bul-y yet shy enough pre->ord far0er in clean8 faded overalls8 then was Ti0e again unbought8 secure8 serene.

And the conversation had a co0fortable triviality8 an affectionate ?ictorian dullness. #owever Dore0us 0ight fret about Econditions8E however s-ittishly *issy 0ight long for the presence of her beau=8 5ulian >alc- and 2alcol0 Tasbrough8 there was nothing 0odern and neurotic8 nothing savoring of >reud8 Adler8 2ar=8 Bertrand <ussell8 or any other divinity of the %&'/"s8 when 2other 100a chattered to 2ary and 2erilla about her rose bushes that had Ewinter-illed8E and the new young 0aples that the field 0ice had gnawed8 and the difficulty of getting *had +edue to bring in enough fireplace wood8 and how *had gorged por- chops and fried potatoes and pie at lunch8 which he ate at the 5essups".

And the ?iew. The wo0en tal-ed about the ?iew as honey0ooners once tal-ed at .iagara >alls.

David and Buc- Titus were playing ship8 now8 on a rearing roc---it was the bridge8 and David was !aptain Popeye8 with Buc- his bosunH and even Dr. Greenhill8 that i0petuous crusader who was constantly infuriating the county board of health by reporting the slovenly state of the poor far0 and the stench in the county jail8 was laGy in the sun and with the greatest of concentration -ept an unfortunate little ant running bac- and forth on a twig. #is wife 2ary--the golfer8 the runnerup in state tennis tourna0ents8 the giver of s0art but not too bibulous coc-tail parties at the country club8 the wearer of s0art brown tweeds with a green scarf--see0ed to have dropped gracefully bac- into the do0esticity of her 0other8 and to consider as a very weighty thing a recipe for celery-and-ro@uefort sandwiches on toasted soda crac-ers. *he was the handso0e 3lder 5essup Girl again8 bac- in the white house with the 0ansard roof.

And >oolish8 lying on his bac- with his four paws idiotically flopping8 was the 0ost pastorally oldfashioned of the0 all.

The only serious flare of conversation was when Buc- Titus snarled to Dore0us: E!ertainly a lot of 2essiahs pottin" at you fro0 the bushes these days--BuGG 9indrip and Bishop Prang and >ather !oughlin and Dr. Townsend $though he see0s to have gone bac- to .aGareth) and Dpton *inclair and <ev. >ran- Buch0an and Bernarr 2acfadden and 9illu0 <andolph #earst and Governor Tal0adge and >loyd 3lson and--*ay8 swear the best 2essiah in the whole show is this dar-y8 >ather Divine. #e doesn"t just pro0ise he"s going to feed the Dnder-privileged ten years fro0 now--he hands out the fried dru0stic-s and giGGard right along with the *alvation. #ow about hi0 for PresidentME

3ut of nowhere appeared 5ulian >alc-.

This young 0an8 fresh0an in A0herst the past year8 grandson of the 1piscopal rector and living with the old 0an because his parents were dead8 was in the eyes of Dore0us the 0ost nearly tolerable of *issy"s suitors. #e was *wede-blond and wiry8 with a neat8 s0all face and canny eyes. #e called Dore0us Esir8E and he had8 unli-e 0ost of the radio-and-0otor-hypnotiGed eighteenyear-olds in the >ort8 read a boo-8 and voluntarily--read Tho0as 9olfe and 9illia0 <ollins8 5ohn *trachey and *tuart !hase and 3rtega. 9hether *issy preferred hi0 to 2alcol0 Tasbrough8 her father did not -now. 2alcol0 was taller and thic-er than 5ulian8 and he drove his own strea0line De *oto8 while 5ulian could only borrow his grandfather"s shoc-ing old flivver.

*issy and 5ulian bic-ered a0iably about Alice Aylot"s s-ill in bac-ga00on8 and >oolish scratched hi0self in the sun.

But Dore0us was not being pastoral. #e was being an=ious and scientific. 9hile the others jeered8 E9hen does Dad ta-e his auditionME and E9hat"s he learning to be--a crooner or a hoc-ey-announcerME Dore0us was adjusting the doubtful portable radio. 3nce he thought he was going to be with the0 in the #o0e *weet #o0e at0osphere8 for he tuned in on a progra0 of old songs8 and all of the08 including !ousin #enry ?eeder8 who had a hidden passion for

fiddlers and barn dances and parlor organs8 hu00ed EGaily the TroubadourE and E2aid of AthensE and EDarling .elly Gray.E But when the announcer infor0ed the0 that these ditties were being sponsored by Toily 3ily8 the .atural #o0e !athartic8 and that they were being rendered by a se=tette of young 0ales horribly called EThe *0oothies8E Dore0us abruptly shut the0 off.

E9hy8 what"s the 0atter8 DadME cried *issy.

E"*0oothies"J GodJ This country deserves what it"s going to getJE snapped Dore0us. E2aybe we need a BuGG 9indripJE

The 0o0ent8 then--it should have been announced by cathedral chi0es--of the wee-ly address of Bishop Paul Peter Prang.

!o0ing fro0 an airless closet8 s0elling of sacerdotal woolen union suits8 in Persepolis8 ndiana8 it leapt to the farthest starsH it circled the world at %4K8/// 0iles a second--a 0illion 0iles while you stopped to scratch. t crashed into the cabin of a whaler on a dar- polar seaH into an office8 paneled with linen-fold oa- looted fro0 a .ottingha0shire castle8 on the si=ty-seventh story of a building on 9all *treetH into the foreign office in To-ioH into the roc-y hollow below the shining birches upon 2ount Terror8 in ?er0ont.

Bishop Prang spo-e8 as he usually did8 with a grave -indliness8 a virile resonance8 which 0ade his self8 0agically co0ing to the0 on the unseen aerial pathway8 at once do0inating and touched with char0H and whatever his purposes 0ight be8 his words were on the side of the Angels:

E2y friends of the radio audience8 shall have but si= 0ore wee-ly petitions to 0a-e you before the national conventions8 which will decide the fate of this distraught nation8 and the ti0e has co0e now to act--to actJ 1nough of wordsJ +et 0e put together certain separated phrases out of the si=th chapter of 5ere0iah8 which see0 to have been prophetically written for this hour of desperate crisis in A0erica:

E"3h ye children of Benja0in8 gather yourselves together to flee out of the 0idst of 5erusale0. . . . Prepare ye war . . . arise and let us go up at noon. 9oe unto usJ for the day goeth away8 for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise8 and let us go by night and let us destroy her palaces. . . . a0 full of the fury of the +ordH a0 weary with holding it inH will pour it out upon the children abroad8 and upon the asse0bly of young 0en togetherH for even the husband with the wife shall be ta-en8 the aged with hi0 that is full of days. . . . will stretch out 0y hand upon the inhabitants of this land8 saith the +ord. >or fro0 the least of the0 even unto the greatest8 every one is given to covetousnessH and fro0 the prophet even unto the priest8 every one dealeth falsely . . . saying Peace8 Peace8 when there is no PeaceJ"

E*o spa-e the Boo-8 of old. . . . But it was spo-en also to A0erica8 of %&'KJ

EThere is no PeaceJ >or 0ore than a year now8 the +eague of >orgotten 2en has warned the politicians8 the whole govern0ent8 that we are sic- unto death of being the Dispossessed--and that8 at last8 we are 0ore than fifty 0illion strongH no whi0pering horde8 but with the will8 the voices8 the votes to enforce our sovereigntyJ 9e have in no uncertain way infor0ed every politician that we de0and--that we de0and--certain 0easures8 and that we will broo- no delay. Again and again we have de0anded that both the control of credit and the power to issue 0oney be un@ualifiedly ta-en away fro0 the private ban-sH that the soldiers not only receive the bonus they with their blood and anguish so richly earned in "%C and "%48 but that the a0ount agreed upon be now doubledH that all swollen inco0es be severely li0ited and inheritances cut to such s0all su0s as 0ay support the heirs only in youth and in old ageH that labor and far0ers" unions be not 0erely recogniGed as instru0ents for joint bargaining but be 0ade8 li-e the syndicates in taly8 official parts of the govern0ent8 representing the toilersH and that nternational 5ewish >inance and8 e@ually8 nternational 5ewish !o00unis0 and Anarchis0 and Atheis0 be8 with all the stern sole0nity and rigid infle=ibility this great nation can show8 barred fro0 all activity. Those of you who have listened to 0e before will understand that --or rather that the +eague of >orgotten 2en--has no @uarrel with individual 5ewsH that we are proud to have <abbis a0ong our directorsH but those subversive international organiGations which8 unfortunately8 are so largely 5ewish8 0ust be driven with whips and scorpions fro0 off the face of the earth.

EThese de0ands we have 0ade8 and how long now8 3 +ord8 how long8 have the politicians and the s0ir-ing representatives of Big Business pretended to listen8 to obeyM ":es--yes--0y 0asters of the +eague of >orgotten 2en--yes8 we understand--just give us ti0eJ"

EThere is no 0ore ti0eJ Their ti0e is over and all their unholy powerJ

EThe conservative *enators--the Dnited *tates !ha0ber of !o00erce--the giant ban-ers--the 0onarchs of steel and 0otors and electricity and coal--the bro-ers and the holding-co0panies-they are all of the0 li-e the Bourbon -ings8 of who0 it was said that "they forgot nothing and they learned nothing."

EBut they died upon the guillotineJ

EPerhaps we can be 0ore 0erciful to our Bourbons. Perhaps--perhaps--we can save the0 fro0 the guillotine--the gallows--the swift firing-s@uad. Perhaps we shall8 in our new rFgi0e8 under our new !onstitution8 with our ".ew Deal" that really will be a .ew Deal and not an arrogant e=peri0ent--perhaps we shall 0erely 0a-e these big bugs of finance and politics sit on hard chairs8 in dingy offices8 toiling unending hours with pen and typewriter as so 0any white-collar slaves for so 0any years have toiled for the0J

E t is8 as *enator BerGelius 9indrip puts it8 "the Gero hour8" now8 this second. 9e have stopped bo0barding the heedless ears of these false 0asters. 9e"re "going over the top." At last8 after 0onths and 0onths of ta-ing counsel together8 the directors of the +eague of >orgotten 2en8 and 0yself8 announce that in the co0ing De0ocratic national convention we shall8 without one s0allest reservation--E

E+istenJ +istenJ #istory being 0adeJE Dore0us cried at his heedless fa0ily.

E--use the tre0endous strength of the 0illions of +eague 0e0bers to secure the De0ocratic presidential no0ination for *enator--BerGelius--9indrip--which 0eans8 flatly8 that he will be elected--and that we of the +eague shall elect hi0--as President of these Dnited *tatesJ

E#is progra0 and that of the +eague do not in all details agree. But he has i0plicitly pledged hi0self to ta-e our advice8 and8 at least until election8 we shall bac- hi08 absolutely--with our 0oney8 with our loyalty8 with our votes . . . with our prayers. And 0ay the +ord guide hi0 and us

across the desert of ini@uitous politics and swinishly grasping finance into the golden glory of the Pro0ised +andJ God bless youJE

2rs. 5essup said cheerily8 E9hy8 Dor0ouse8 that bishop isn"t a >ascist at all--he"s a regular <ed <adical. But does this announce0ent of his 0ean anything8 reallyME

3h8 well8 Dore0us reflected8 he had lived with 100a for thirty-four years8 and not oftener than once or twice a year had he wanted to 0urder her. Blandly he said8 E9hy8 nothing 0uch e=cept that in a couple of years now8 on the ground of protecting us8 the BuGG 9indrip dictatorship will be regi0enting everything8 fro0 where we 0ay pray to what detective stories we 0ay read.E

E*ure he willJ *o0eti0es "0 te0pted to turn !o00unistJ >unny--0e with 0y fat-headed old #udson-<iver-?alley Dutch ancestorsJE 0arveled 5ulian >alc-.

E>ine ideaJ 3ut of the frying pan of 9indrip and #itler into the fire of the .ew :or- Daily 9or-er and *talin and auto0aticsJ And the >ive-:ear Plan-- suppose they"d tell 0e that it"s been decided by the !o00issar that each of 0y 0ares is to bear si= colts a year nowJE snorted BucTitusH while Dr. >owler Greenhill jeered:

EAw8 shoot8 Dad--and you too8 5ulian8 you young paranoiac--you"re 0ono0aniacsJ DictatorshipM Better co0e into the office and let 0e e=a0ine your headsJ 9hy8 A0erica"s the only free nation on earth. BesidesJ !ountry"s too big for a revolution. .o8 noJ !ouldn"t happen hereJE

"d rather follow a wild-eyed anarchist li-e 10 Gold0an8 if they"d bring 0ore johnnyca-e and beans and spuds into the hu0ble cabin of the !o00on 2an8 than a twenty-four-carat8 collegegraduate8 e=-cabinet-0e0ber states0an that was just interested in our turning out 0ore li0ousines. !all 0e a socialist or any bla0e thing you want to8 as long as you grab hold of the other end of the cross-cut saw with 0e and help slash the big logs of Poverty and ntolerance to pieces.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

#is fa0ily--at least his wife and the coo-8 2rs. !andy8 and *issy and 2ary8 2rs. >owler Greenhill--believed that Dore0us was of fic-le healthH that any cold would surely turn into pneu0oniaH that he 0ust wear his rubbers8 and eat his porridge8 and s0o-e fewer cigarettes8 and never Eoverdo.E #e raged at the0H he -new that though he did get staggeringly tired after a crisis in the office8 a night"s sleep 0ade hi0 a little dyna0o again8 and he could Eturn out copyE faster than his spryest young reporter.

#e concealed his dissipations fro0 the0 li-e any s0all boy fro0 his eldersH lied unscrupulously about how 0any cigarettes he s0o-edH -ept concealed a flas- of Bourbon fro0 which he regularly had one nip8 only one8 before he padded to bedH and when he had pro0ised to go to sleep early8 he turned off his light till he was sure that 100a was slu0bering8 then turned it on and happily read till two8 curled under the well-loved hand-woven blan-ets fro0 a loo0 up on 2ount TerrorH his legs twitching li-e a drea0ing setter"s what ti0e the !hief nspector of the !. .D.8 alone and unar0ed8 wal-ed into the counterfeiters" hideout. And once a 0onth or so he snea-ed down to the -itchen at three in the 0orning and 0ade hi0self coffee and washed up everything so that 100a and 2rs. !andy would never -now. . . . #e thought they never -newJ

These s0all deceptions gave hi0 the ripest satisfaction in a life otherwise devoted to public service8 to trying to 0a-e *had +edue edge-up the flower beds8 to feverishly writing editorials that would e=cite ' per cent of his readers fro0 brea-fast ti0e till noon and by K P.2. be eternally forgotten.

*o0eti0es when 100a ca0e to loaf beside hi0 in bed on a *unday 0orning and put her co0fortable ar0 about his thin shoulder-blades8 she was sic- with the realiGation that he was growing older and 0ore frail. #is shoulders8 she thought8 were pathetic as those of an ane0ic baby. . . . That sadness of hers Dore0us never guessed.

1ven just before the paper went to press8 even when *had +edue too- off two hours and charged an ite0 of two dollars to have the lawn0ower sharpened8 instead of filing it hi0self8 even when *issy and her gang played the piano downstairs till two on nights when he did not want to lie awa-e8 Dore0us was never irritable--e=cept8 usually8 between arising and the first life-saving cup of coffee.

The wise 100a was happy when he was snappish before brea-fast. t 0eant that he was energetic and popping with satisfactory ideas.

After Bishop Prang had presented the crown to *enator 9indrip8 as the su00er hobbled nervously toward the national political conventions8 100a was disturbed. >or Dore0us was silent before brea-fast8 and he had rheu0y eyes8 as though he was worried8 as though he had slept badly. .ever was he cran-y. *he 0issed hearing hi0 croa-ing8 E sn"t that confounded idiot8 2rs. !andy8 ever going to bring in the coffeeM suppose she"s sitting there reading her Testa0entJ And will you be so -ind as to tell 0e8 0y good wo0an8 why *issy never gets up for brea-fast8 even after the rare nights when she goes to bed at % A.2.M And--and will you loo- out at that wal-J !overed with dead blosso0s. That swine *had hasn"t swept it for a wee-. swear8 a0 going to fire hi08 and right away8 this 0orningJE

100a would have been happy to hear these fa0iliar ani0al sounds8 and to cluc- in answer8 E3h8 why8 that"s terribleJ "ll go tell 2rs. !andy to hustle in the coffee right awayJE

But he sat unspea-ing8 pale8 opening his Daily nfor0er as though he were afraid to see what news had co0e in since he had left the office at ten.

9hen Dore0us8 bac- in the %&6/"s8 had advocated the recognition of <ussia8 >ort Beulah had fretted that he was turning out-and-out !o00unist.

#e8 who understood hi0self abnor0ally well8 -new that far fro0 being a left-wing radical8 he was at 0ost a 0ild8 rather indolent and so0ewhat senti0ental +iberal8 who disli-ed po0posity8 the heavy hu0or of public 0en8 and the itch for notoriety which 0ade popular preachers and elo@uent educators and a0ateur play-producers and rich lady refor0ers and rich lady sportswo0en and al0ost every brand of rich lady co0e preeningly in to see newspaper editors8 with photographs under their ar0s8 and on their faces the si0per of fa-e hu0ility. But for all cruelty and intolerance8 and for the conte0pt of the fortunate for the unfortunate8 he had not 0ere disli-e but testy hatred.

#e had alar0ed all his fellow editors in northern .ew 1ngland by asserting the innocence of To0 2ooney8 @uestioning the guilt of *acco and ?anGetti8 conde0ning our intrusion in #aiti and .icaragua8 advocating an increased inco0e ta=8 writing8 in the %&'6 ca0paign8 a friendly account of the *ocialist candidate8 .or0an Tho0as $and afterwards8 to tell the truth8 voting for >ran-lin <oosevelt)8 and stirring up a little local and ineffective hell regarding the serfdo0 of the *outhern sharecroppers and the !alifornia fruit-pic-ers. #e even suggested editorially that when <ussia had her factories and railroads and giant far0s really going--say8 in %&B(--she 0ight conceivably be the pleasantest country in the world for the $0ythicalJ) Average 2an. 9hen he wrote that editorial8 after a lunch at which he had been irritated by the s0ug croa-ing of >ranTasbrough and <. !. !rowley8 he really did get into trouble. #e got na0ed Bolshevi-8 and in two days his paper lost a hundred and fifty out of its five thousand circulation.

:et he was as little of a Bolshevi- as #erbert #oover.

#e was8 and he -new it8 a s0all-town bourgeois ntellectual. <ussia forbade everything that 0ade his toil worth enduring: privacy8 the right to thin- and to criticiGe as he frea-ishly pleased. To have his 0ind policed by peasants in unifor0--rather than that he would live in an Alas-a cabin8 with beans and a hundred boo-s and a new pair of pants every three years.

3nce8 on a 0otor trip with 100a8 he stopped in at a su00er ca0p of !o00unists. 2ost of the0 were !ity !ollege 5ews or neat Bron= dentists8 spectacled8 and s0ooth-shaven e=cept for foppish s0all 0ustaches. They were hot to welco0e these .ew 1ngland peasants and to e=plain the 2ar=ian gospel $on which8 however8 they furiously differed). 3ver 0acaroni and cheese in an unpainted dining shac-8 they longed for the blac- bread of 2oscow. +ater8 Dore0us chuc-led to find how 0uch they rese0bled the :.2.!.A. ca0pers twenty 0iles down the highway--e@ually Puritanical8 hortatory8 and futile8 and e@ually given to silly ga0es with rubber balls.

3nce only had he been dangerously active. #e had supported the stri-e for union recognition against the @uarry co0pany of >rancis Tasbrough. 2en who0 Dore0us had -nown for years8 solid cits li-e *uperintendent of *chools 10il *taub0eyer8 and !harley Betts of the furniture store8 had 0uttered about Eriding hi0 out of town on a rail.E Tasbrough reviled hi0--even now8 eight years later. After all this8 the stri-e had been lost8 and the stri-e-leader8 an avowed !o00unist na0ed Larl Pascal8 had gone to prison for Einciting to violence.E 9hen Pascal8 best of 0echanics8 ca0e out8 he went to wor- in a littered little >ort Beulah garage owned by a friendly8 lo@uacious8 belligerent Polish *ocialist na0ed 5ohn Polli-op.

All day long Pascal and Polli-op yelpingly raided each other"s trenches in the battle between *ocial De0ocracy and !o00unis08 and Dore0us often dropped in to stir the0 up. That was hard for Tasbrough8 *taub0eyer8 Ban-er !rowley8 and +awyer Litteric- to bear.

f Dore0us had not co0e fro0 three generations of debt-paying ?er0onters8 he would by now have been a penniless wandering printer . . . and possibly less detached about the *orrows of the Dispossessed.

The conservative 100a co0plained: E#ow you can tease people this way8 pretending you really li-e greasy 0echanics li-e this Pascal $and suspect you even have a snea-ing fondness for *had +edueJ) when you could just associate with decent8 prosperous people li-e >ran---it"s beyond 0eJ 9hat they 0ust thin- of you8 so0eti0esJ They don"t understand that you"re really not a *ocialist one bit8 but really a nice8 -ind-hearted8 responsible 0an. 3h8 ought to s0ac- you8

Dor0ouseJE

.ot that he li-ed being called EDor0ouse.E But then8 no one did so e=cept 100a and8 in rare slips of the tongue8 Buc- Titus. *o it was endurable.

9hen a0 protestingly dragged fro0 0y study and the fa0ily hearthside into the public 0eetings that so 0uch detest8 try to 0a-e 0y speech as si0ple and direct as those of the !hild 5esus tal-ing to the Doctors in the Te0ple.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

Thunder in the 0ountains8 clouds 0arching down the Beulah ?alley8 unnatural dar-ness covering the world li-e blac- fog8 and lightning that pic-ed out ugly scarps of the hills as though they were roc-s thrown up in an e=plosion.

To such fury of the enraged heavens8 Dore0us awa-ened on that 0orning of late 5uly.

As abruptly as one who8 in the death cell8 startles out of sleep to the realiGation8 EToday they"ll hang 0eJE he sat up8 bewildered8 as he reflected that today *enator BerGelius 9indrip would

probably be no0inated for President.

The <epublican convention was over8 with 9alt Trowbridge as presidential candidate. The De0ocratic convention8 0eeting in !leveland8 with a good deal of gin8 strawberry soda8 and sweat8 had finished the co00ittee reports8 the -ind words said for the >lag8 the assurances to the ghost of 5efferson that he would be delighted by what8 if !hair0an 5i0 >arley consented8 would be done here this wee-. They had co0e to the no0inations--*enator 9indrip had been no0inated by !olonel Dewey #ai-8 !ongress0an8 and power in the A0erican +egion. Gratifying applause and hasty eli0ination had greeted such >avorite *ons of the several states as Al *0ith8 !arter Glass8 9illia0 2cAdoo8 and !ordell #ull. .ow8 on the twelfth ballot8 there were four contestants left8 and they8 in order of votes8 were *enator 9indrip8 President >ran-lin D. <oosevelt8 *enator <obinson of Ar-ansas8 and *ecretary of +abor >rances Per-ins.

Great and dra0atic shenanigans had happened8 and Dore0us 5essup"s i0agination had seen the0 all clearly as they were reported by the hysterical radio and by bulletins fro0 the A.P. that fell redhot and s0o-ing upon his des- at the nfor0er office.

n honor of *enator <obinson8 the Dniversity of Ar-ansas brass band 0arched in behind a leader riding in an old horse-drawn buggy which was plastered with great placards proclai0ing E*ave the !onstitutionE and E<obinson for *anity.E The na0e of 2iss Per-ins had been cheered for two hours8 while the delegates 0arched with their state banners8 and President <oosevelt"s na0e had been cheered for three--cheered affectionately and @uite ho0icidally8 since every delegate -new that 2r. <oosevelt and 2iss Per-ins were far too lac-ing in circus tinsel and general clownishness to succeed at this critical hour of the nation"s hysteria8 when the electorate wanted a ring0aster-revolutionist li-e *enator 9indrip.

9indrip"s own de0onstration8 scientifically wor-ed up beforehand by his secretary-press-agentprivate-philosopher8 +ee *arason8 yielded nothing to others". >or *arason had read his !hesterton well enough to -now that there is only one thing bigger than a very big thing8 and that is a thing so very s0all that it can be seen and understood.

9hen !olonel Dewey #ai- put BuGG"s na0e in no0ination8 the !olonel wound up by shouting8 E3ne thing 0oreJ +istenJ t is the special re@uest of *enator 9indrip that you do not waste the ti0e of this history-0a-ing asse0bly by any cheering of his na0e--any cheering whatever. 9e of the +eague of >orgotten 2en $yes--and 9o0enJ) don"t want e0pty acclai08 but a sole0n

consideration of the desperate and i00ediate needs of K/ per cent of the population of the Dnited *tates. .o cheers--but 0ay Providence guide us in the 0ost sole0n thin-ing we have ever doneJE

As he finished8 down the center aisle ca0e a private procession. But this was no parade of thousands. There were only thirty-one persons in it8 and the only banners were three flags and two large placards.

+eading it8 in old blue unifor0s8 were two G.A.<. veterans8 and between8 ar0-in-ar0 with the08 a !onfederate in gray. They were such very little old 0en8 all over ninety8 leaning one on another and glancing ti0idly about in the hope that no one would laugh at the0.

The !onfederate carried a ?irginia regi0ental banner8 torn as by shrapnelH and one of the Dnion veterans lifted high a slashed flag of the >irst 2innesota.

The dutiful applause which the convention had given to the de0onstrations of other candidates had been but rain-patter co0pared with the te0pest which greeted the three sha-y8 shuffling old 0en. 3n the platfor0 the band played8 inaudibly8 EDi=ie8E then E9hen 5ohnny !o0es 2arching #o0e Again8E and8 standing on his chair 0idway of the auditoriu08 as a plain 0e0ber of his state delegation8 BuGG 9indrip bowed--bowed--bowed and tried to s0ile8 while tears started fro0 his eyes and he sobbed helplessly8 and the audience began to sob with hi0.

>ollowing the old 0en were twelve +egionnaires8 wounded in %&%4--stu0bling on wooden legs8 dragging the0selves between crutchesH one in a wheel chair8 yet so young-loo-ing and gayH and one with a blac- 0as- before what should have been a face. 3f these8 one carried an enor0ous flag8 and another a placard de0anding: E3ur *tarving >a0ilies 2ust #ave the Bonus--9e 9ant 3nly 5ustice--9e 9ant BuGG for President.E

And leading the08 not wounded8 but upright and strong and resolute8 was 2ajor General #er0ann 2einec-e8 Dnited *tates Ar0y. .ot in all the 0e0ory of the older reporters had a soldier on active service ever appeared as a public political agitator. The press whispered one to another8 EThat general"ll get canned8 unless BuGG is elected--then he"d probably be 0ade Du-e of #obo-en.E

>ollowing the soldiers were ten 0en and wo0en8 their toes through their shoes8 and wearing rags that were the 0ore pitiful because they had been washed and rewashed till they had lost all color. 9ith the0 tottered four pallid children8 their teeth rotted out8 between the0 just 0anaging to hold up a placard declaring8 E9e Are on <elief. 9e 9ant to Beco0e #u0an Beings Again. 9e 9ant BuGGJE

Twenty feet behind ca0e one lone tall 0an. The delegates had been craning around to see what would follow the relief victi0s. 9hen they did see8 they rose8 they bellowed8 they clapped. >or the lone 0an-->ew of the crowd had seen hi0 in the fleshH all of the0 had seen hi0 a hundred ti0es in press pictures8 photographed a0ong litters of boo-s in his study--photographed in conference with President <oosevelt and *ecretary c-es--photographed sha-ing hands with *enator 9indrip--photographed before a 0icrophone8 his shrie-ing 0outh a dar- open trap and his lean right ar0 thrown up in hysterical e0phasisH all of the0 had heard his voice on the radio till they -new it as they -new the voices of their own brothersH all of the0 recogniGed8 co0ing through the wide 0ain entrance8 at the end of the 9indrip parade8 the apostle of the >orgotten 2en8 Bishop Paul Peter Prang.

Then the convention cheered BuGG 9indrip for four unbro-en hours.

n the detailed descriptions of the convention which the news bureaus sent following the feverish first bulletins8 one energetic Bir0ingha0 reporter pretty well proved that the *outhern battle flag carried by the !onfederate veteran had been lent by the 0useu0 in <ich0ond and the .orthern flag by a distinguished 0eat-pac-er of !hicago who was the grandson of a !ivil

9ar general.

+ee *arason never told anyone save BuGG 9indrip that both flags had been 0anufactured on #ester *treet8 .ew :or-8 in %&6&8 for the patriotic dra0a8 2organ"s <iding8 and that both ca0e fro0 a theatrical warehouse.

Before the cheering8 as the 9indrip parade neared the platfor08 they were greeted by 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch8 the celebrated author8 lecturer8 and co0poser8 who--suddenly conjured onto the platfor0 as if whis-ed out of the air--sang to the tune of E:an-ee DoodleE words which she herself had written:

BerGelius 9indrip went to 9ash.8 A riding on a hobby-To throw Big Business out8 by Gosh8 And be the People"s +obbyJ

!horus:

BuGG and buGG and -eep it up8 3ur cares and needs he"s toting8 :ou are a 0ost ungrateful pup8

Dnless for BuGG you"re votingJ

The +eague of the >orgotten 2en Don"t li-e to be forgotten8 They went to 9ashington and then They sang8 EThere"s so0ething rottenJE

That joyous battle song was sung on the radio by nineteen different pri0a donnas before 0idnight8 by so0e si=teen 0illion less vocal A0ericans within forty-eight hours8 and by at least ninety 0illion friends and scoffers in the struggle that was to co0e. All through the ca0paign8 BuGG 9indrip was able to get lots of jolly hu0or out of puns on going to 9ash.8 and to wash. 9alt Trowbridge8 he jeered8 wasn"t going to either of the0J

:et +ee *arason -new that in addition to this co0ic 0asterpiece8 the cause of 9indrip re@uired an anthe0 0ore elevated in thought and spirit8 befitting the seriousness of crusading A0ericans.

+ong after the convention"s cheering for 9indrip had ended and the delegates were again at their proper business of saving the nation and cutting one another"s throats8 *arason had 2rs. Gi00itch sing a 0ore inspirational hy0n8 with words by *arason hi0self8 in collaboration with a @uite re0ar-able surgeon8 one Dr. #ector 2acgoblin.

This Dr. 2acgoblin8 soon to beco0e a national 0onu0ent8 was as acco0plished in syndicated 0edical journalis08 in the reviewing of boo-s about education and psychoanalysis8 in preparing glosses upon the philosophies of #egel8 Professor Guenther8 #ouston *tewart !ha0berlain8 and +othrop *toddard8 in the rendition of 2oGart on the violin8 in se0i-professional bo=ing8 and in the co0position of epic poetry8 as he was in the practice of 0edicine.

Dr. 2acgoblinJ 9hat a 0anJ

The *arason-2acgoblin ode8 entitled EBring 3ut the 3ld-ti0e 2us-et8E beca0e to BuGG 9indrip"s band of liberators what EGiovaneGGaE was to the talians8 EThe #orst 9essel *ongE to the .aGis8 EThe nternationalE to all 2ar=ians. Along with the convention8 the radio 0illions heard 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch"s contralto8 rich as peat8 chanting:

B< .G 3DT T#1 3+D-T 21 2D*L1T

Dear +ord8 we have sinned8 we have slu0bered8 And our flag lies stained in the dust8 And the souls of the Past are calling8 calling8 EArise fro0 your sloth--you 0ustJE +ead us8 3 soul of +incoln8 nspire us8 spirit of +ee8 To rule all the world for righteousness8 To fight for the right8 To awe with our 0ight8 As we did in "si=ty-three.

!horus

*ee8 youth with desire hot glowing8 *ee8 0aiden8 with fearless eye8 +eading our ran-s

Thunder the tan-s8 Aeroplanes cloud the s-y.

Bring out the old-ti0e 0us-et8 <ouse up the old-ti0e fireJ *ee8 all the world is cru0bling8 Dreadful and dar- and dire. A0ericaJ <ise and con@uer The world to our heart"s desireJ

EGreat show0anship. P. T. Barnu0 or >lo Oiegfeld never put on a better8E 0used Dore0us8 as he studied the A.P. fli0sies8 as he listened to the radio he had had te0porarily installed in his office. And8 0uch later: E9hen BuGG gets in8 he won"t be having any parade of wounded soldiers. That"ll be bad >ascist psychology. All those poor devils he"ll hide away in institutions8 and just bring out the lively young hu0an slaughter cattle in unifor0s. #0.E

The thunderstor08 which had 0ercifully lulled8 burst again in wrathful 0enace.

All afternoon the convention balloted8 over and over8 with no change in the order of votes for the presidential candidate. Toward si=8 2iss Per-ins"s 0anager threw her votes to <oosevelt8 who gained then on *enator 9indrip. They see0ed to have settled down to an all-night struggle8 and at ten in the evening Dore0us wearily left the office. #e did not8 tonight8 want the sy0pathetic and e=tre0ely fe0iniGed at0osphere of his ho0e8 and he dropped in at the rectory

of his friend >ather Perefi=e. There he found a satisfyingly unfe0iniGed8 untalcu0iGed group. The <everend 2r. >alc- was there. *wart8 sturdy young Perefi=e and silvery old >alc- often wor-ed together8 were fond of each other8 and agreed upon the advantages of clerical celibacy and al0ost every other doctrine e=cept the supre0acy of the Bishop of <o0e. 9ith the0 were BucTitus8 +ouis <otenstern8 Dr. >owler Greenhill8 and Ban-er !rowley8 a financier who li-ed to cultivate an appearance of free intellectual discussion8 though only after the hours devoted to refusing credit to desperate far0ers and store-eepers.

And not to be forgotten was >oolish the dog8 who that thunderous 0orning had suspected his 0aster"s worry8 followed hi0 to the office8 and all day long had growled at #ai- and *arason and 2rs. Gi00itch on the radio and showed an earnest conviction that he ought to chew up all fli0sies reporting the convention.

Better than his own glacial white-paneled drawing roo0 with its portraits of dead ?er0ont worthies8 Dore0us li-ed >ather Perefi=e"s little study8 and its co0bination of churchliness8 of freedo0 fro0 !o00erce $at least ordinary !o00erce)8 as displayed in a crucifi= and a plaster statuette of the ?irgin and a shrie-ing red-and-green talian picture of the Pope8 with practical affairs8 as shown in the oa- roll-top des- and steel filing-cabinet and well-worn portable typewriter. t was a pious her0it"s cave with the advantages of leather chairs and e=cellent rye highballs.

The night passed as the eight of the0 $for >oolish too had his tipple of 0il-) all sipped and listenedH the night passed as the convention balloted8 furiously8 unavailingly . . . that congress si= hundred 0iles away8 si= hundred 0iles of befogged night8 yet with every speech8 every derisive yelp8 co0ing into the priest"s cabinet in the sa0e second in which they were heard in the hall at !leveland.

>ather Perefi=e"s house-eeper $who was si=ty-five years old to his thirty-nine8 to the disappoint0ent of all the scandal-loving local Protestants) ca0e in with scra0bled eggs8 cold beer.

E9hen 0y dear wife was still a0ong us8 she used to send 0e to bed at 0idnight8E sighed Dr. >alc-.

E2y wife does nowJE said Dore0us.

E*o does 0ine--and her a .ew :or- girlJE said +ouis <otenstern.

E>ather *teve8 here8 and are the only guys with a sensible way of living8E crowed Buc- Titus. E!elibates. 9e can go to bed with our pants on8 or not go to bed at all8E and >ather Perefi=e 0ur0ured8 EBut it"s curious8 Buc-8 what people find to boast of--you that you"re free of God"s tyranny and also that you can go to bed in your pants--2r. >alc- and Dr. Greenhill and that God is so lenient with us that so0e nights #e lets us off fro0 sic--calls and we can go to bed with "e0 offJ And +ouis because--+istenJ +istenJ *ounds li-e businessJE

!olonel Dewey #ai-8 BuGG"s proposer8 was announcing that *enator 9indrip felt it would be only 0odest of hi0 to go to his hotel now8 but he had left a letter which he8 #ai-8 would read. And he did read it8 ine=orably.

9indrip stated that8 just in case anyone did not co0pletely understand his platfor08 he wanted to 0a-e it all ringingly clear.

*u00ariGed8 the letter e=plained that he was all against the ban-s but all for the ban-ers--e=cept the 5ewish ban-ers8 who were to be driven out of finance entirelyH that he had thoroughly tested $but unspecified) plans to 0a-e all wages very high and the prices of everything produced by these sa0e highly paid wor-ers very lowH that he was %// per cent for +abor8 but %// per cent against all stri-esH and that he was in favor of the Dnited *tates so ar0ing itself8 so preparing to produce its own coffee8 sugar8 perfu0es8 tweeds8 and nic-el instead of i0porting the08 that it could defy the 9orld . . . and 0aybe8 if that 9orld was so i0pertinent as to defy A0erica in turn8 BuGG hinted8 he 0ight have to ta-e it over and run it properly.

1ach 0o0ent the brassy i0portunities of the radio see0ed to Dore0us the 0ore offensive8 while the hillside slept in the heavy su00er night8 and he thought about the 0aGur-a of the fireflies8 the rhyth0 of cric-ets li-e the rhyth0 of the revolving earth itself8 the voluptuous breeGes that bore away the stin- of cigars and sweat and whis-y breaths and 0int chewing-gu0 that see0ed to co0e to the0 fro0 the convention over the sound waves8 along with the oratory.

t was after dawn8 and >ather Perefi=e $unclerically stripped to shirt-sleeves and slippers) had just brought the0 in a grateful tray of onion soup8 with a gob of #a0burg stea- for >oolish8 when the opposition to BuGG collapsed and hastily8 on the ne=t ballot8 *enator BerGelius 9indrip was no0inated as De0ocratic !andidate for President of the Dnited *tates.

Dore0us8 Buc- Titus8 Perefi=e8 and >alc- were for a ti0e too gloo0y for speech--so possibly was the dog >oolish8 as well8 for at the turning off of the radio he tail-thu0ped in only the 0ost tentative way.

<. !. !rowley gloated8 E9ell8 all 0y life "ve voted <epublican8 but here"s a 0an that--9ell8 "0 going to vote for 9indripJE

>ather Perefi=e said tartly8 EAnd "ve voted De0ocratic ever since ca0e fro0 !anada and got naturaliGed8 but this ti0e "0 going to vote <epublican. 9hat about you fellowsME

<otenstern was silent. #e did not li-e 9indrip"s reference to 5ews. The ones he -new best--no8 they were A0ericansJ +incoln was his tribal god too8 he vowed.

E2eM "ll vote for 9alt Trowbridge8 of course8E growled Buc-.

E*o will 8E said Dore0us. E.oJ won"t eitherJ Trowbridge won"t have a chance. thin- "ll indulge in the lu=ury of being independent8 for once8 and vote Prohibition or the Battle-!ree- bran-andspinach tic-et8 or anything that 0a-es so0e senseJE

t was after seven that 0orning when Dore0us ca0e ho0e8 and8 re0ar-ably enough8 *had +edue8 who was supposed to go to wor- at seven8 was at wor- at seven. .or0ally he never left his bachelor shac- in +ower Town till ten to eight8 but this 0orning he was on the job8 chopping -indling. $3h yes8 reflected Dore0us--that probably e=plained it. Lindling-chopping8 if practised early enough8 would wa-e up everyone in the house.)

*had was tall and hul-ingH his shirt was sweat-stainedH and as usual he needed a shave. >oolish growled at hi0. Dore0us suspected that at so0e ti0e he had been -ic-ing >oolish. #e wanted to honor *had for the sweaty shirt8 the honest toil8 and all the rugged virtues8 but even as a +iberal A0erican #u0anitarian8 Dore0us found it hard always to -eep up the +ongfellow"s?illage-Blac-s0ith-cu0-2ar= attitude consistently and not so0eti0es bac-slide into a belief that there 0ust be so0e croo-s and swine a0ong the toilers as8 notoriously8 there were so shoc-ingly 0any a0ong persons with 0ore than N'(// a year.

E9ell--been sitting up listening to the radio8E purred Dore0us. EDid you -now the De0ocrats have no0inated *enator 9indripME

EThat soME *had growled.

E:es. 5ust now. #ow you planning to voteME

E9ell now8 "ll tell you8 2r. 5essup.E *had struc- an attitude8 leaning on his a=. *o0eti0es he could be @uite pleasant and condescending8 even to this little 0an who was so ignorant about

coon-hunting and the ga0es of craps and po-er.

E "0 going to vote for BuGG 9indrip. #e"s going to fi= it so everybody will get four thousand buc-s8 i00ediate8 and "0 going to start a chic-en far0. can 0a-e a bunch of 0oney out of chic-ensJ "ll show so0e of these guys that thin- they"re so richJE

EBut8 *had8 you didn"t have so 0uch luc- with chic-ens when you tried to raise "e0 in the shed bac- there. :ou8 uh8 "0 afraid you sort of let their water freeGe up on "e0 in winter8 and they all died8 you re0e0ber.E

E3h8 the0M *o whatJ #ec-J There was too few of "e0. "0 not going to waste 0y ti0e foolin" with just a couple doGen chic-ensJ 9hen get five-si= thousand of "e0 to 0a-e it worth 0y while8 then "ll show youJ :ou bet.E And8 0ost patroniGingly: EBuGG 9indrip is 3.L.E

E "0 glad he has your i0pri0atur.E

E#uhME said *had8 and scowled.

But as Dore0us plodded up on the bac- porch he heard fro0 *had a faint derisive:

E3.L.8 !hiefJE

don"t pretend to be a very educated 0an8 e=cept 0aybe educated in the heart8 and in being able to feel for the sorrows and fear of every ornery fellow hu0an being. *till and all8 "ve read the Bible through8 fro0 -iver to -iver8 li-e 0y wife"s fol-s say down in Ar-ansas8 so0e eleven ti0esH "ve read all the law boo-s they"ve printedH and as to conte0poraries8 don"t guess "ve 0issed 0uch of all the grand literature produced by Bruce Barton8 1dgar Guest8 Arthur Brisbane8 1liGabeth Dilling8 9alter Pit-in8 and 9illia0 Dudley Pelley.

This last gentle0an honor not only for his rattling good yarns8 and his serious wor- in investigating life beyond the grave and absolutely proving that only a blind fool could fail to believe in Personal 00ortality8 but8 finally8 for his public-spirited and self-sacrificing wor- in founding the *ilver *hirts. These true -nights8 even if they did not attain @uite all the success they deserved8 were one of our 0ost noble and Galahad-li-e atte0pts to co0bat the snea-ing8 sna-y8 sinister8 surreptitious8 seditious plots of the <ed <adicals and other sour brands of Bolshevi-s that incessantly threaten the A0erican standards of +iberty8 #igh 9ages8 and Dniversal *ecurity.

These fellows have 2essages8 and we haven"t got ti0e for anything in literature e=cept a straight8 hard-hitting8 heart-throbbing 2essageJ

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

During the very first wee- of his ca0paign8 *enator 9indrip clarified his philosophy by issuing his distinguished procla0ation: EThe >ifteen Points of ?ictory for the >orgotten 2en.E The fifteen plan-s8 in his own words $or 0aybe in +ee *arason"s words8 or Dewey #ai-"s words)8 were these:

$%) All finance in the country8 including ban-ing8 insurance8 stoc-s and bonds and 0ortgages8 shall be under the absolute control of a >ederal !entral Ban-8 owned by the govern0ent and conducted by a Board appointed by the President8 which Board shall8 without need of recourse to !ongress for legislative authoriGation8 be e0powered to 0a-e all regulations governing finance. Thereafter8 as soon as 0ay be practicable8 this said Board shall consider the

nationaliGation and govern0ent-ownership8 for the Profit of the 9hole People8 of all 0ines8 oilfields8 water power8 public utilities8 transportation8 and co00unication.

$6) The President shall appoint a co00ission8 e@ually divided between 0anual wor-ers8 e0ployers8 and representatives of the Public8 to deter0ine which +abor Dnions are @ualified to represent the 9or-ersH and report to the 1=ecutive8 for legal action8 all pretended labor organiGations8 whether E!o0pany Dnions8E or E<ed Dnions8E controlled by !o00unists and the so-called EThird nternational.E The duly recogniGed Dnions shall be constituted Bureaus of the Govern0ent8 with power of decision in all labor disputes. +ater8 the sa0e investigation and official recognition shall be e=tended to far0 organiGations. n this elevation of the position of the 9or-er8 it shall be e0phasiGed that the +eague of >orgotten 2en is the chief bulwar- against the 0enace of destructive and un-A0erican <adicalis0.

$') n contradistinction to the doctrines of <ed <adicals8 with their felonious e=propriation of the arduously ac@uired possessions which insure to aged persons their security8 this +eague and Party will guarantee Private nitiative and the <ight to Private Property for all ti0e.

$B) Believing that only under God Al0ighty8 to 9ho0 we render all ho0age8 do we A0ericans hold our vast Power8 we shall guarantee to all persons absolute freedo0 of religious worship8 provided8 however8 that no atheist8 agnostic8 believer in Blac- 2agic8 nor any 5ew who shall refuse to swear allegiance to the .ew Testa0ent8 nor any person of any faith who refuses to ta-e the Pledge to the >lag8 shall be per0itted to hold any public office or to practice as a teacher8 professor8 lawyer8 judge8 or as a physician8 e=cept in the category of 3bstetrics.

$() Annual net inco0e per person shall be li0ited to N(//8///. .o accu0ulated fortune 0ay at any one ti0e e=ceed N'8///8/// per person. .o one person shall8 during his entire lifeti0e8 be per0itted to retain an inheritance or various inheritances in total e=ceeding N68///8///. All inco0es or estates in e=cess of the su0s na0ed shall be seiGed by the >ederal Govern0ent for use in <elief and in Ad0inistrative e=penses.

$K) Profit shall be ta-en out of 9ar by seiGing all dividends over and above K per cent that shall be received fro0 the 0anufacture8 distribution8 or sale8 during 9arti0e8 of all ar0s8 0unitions8 aircraft8 ships8 tan-s8 and all other things directly applicable to warfare8 as well as fro0 food8 te=tiles8 and all other supplies furnished to the A0erican or to any allied ar0y.

$C) 3ur ar0a0ents and the siGe of our 0ilitary and naval establish0ents shall be consistently enlarged until they shall e@ual8 but--since this country has no desire for foreign con@uest of any -ind--not surpass8 in every branch of the forces of defense8 the 0artial strength of any other single country or e0pire in the world. Dpon inauguration8 this +eague and Party shall 0a-e this its first obligation8 together with the issuance of a fir0 procla0ation to all nations of the world that our ar0ed forces are to be 0aintained solely for the purpose of insuring world peace and a0ity.

$4) !ongress shall have the sole right to issue 0oney and i00ediately upon our inauguration it shall at least double the present supply of 0oney8 in order to facilitate the fluidity of credit.

$&) 9e cannot too strongly conde0n the un-!hristian attitude of certain otherwise progressive nations in their discri0inations against the 5ews8 who have been a0ong the strongest supporters of the +eague8 and who will continue to prosper and to be recogniGed as fully A0ericaniGed8 though only so long as they continue to support our ideals.

$%/) All .egroes shall be prohibited fro0 voting8 holding public office8 practicing law8 0edicine8 or teaching in any class above the grade of gra00ar school8 and they shall be ta=ed %// per cent of all su0s in e=cess of N%/8/// per fa0ily per year which they 0ay earn or in any other 0anner receive. n order8 however8 to give the 0ost sy0pathetic aid possible to all .egroes who co0prehend their proper and valuable place in society8 all such colored persons8 0ale or fe0ale8 as can prove that they have devoted not less than forty-five years to such suitable tas-s as do0estic service8 agricultural labor8 and co00on labor in industries8 shall at the age of si=ty-five be per0itted to appear before a special Board8 co0posed entirely of white persons8 and upon proof that while e0ployed they have never been idle e=cept through sic-ness8 they shall be reco00ended for pensions not to e=ceed the su0 of N(//.// per person per year8 nor to e=ceed NC//.// per fa0ily. .egroes shall8 by definition8 be persons with at least one si=teenth colored blood.

$%%) >ar fro0 opposing such high-0inded and econo0ically sound 0ethods of the relief of poverty8 une0ploy0ent8 and old age as the 1P ! plan of the #on. Dpton *inclair8 the E*hare the 9ealthE and E1very 2an a LingE proposals of the late #on. #uey +ong to assure every fa0ily N(/// a year8 the Townsend plan8 the Dtopian plan8 Technocracy8 and all co0petent sche0es of une0ploy0ent insurance8 a !o00ission shall i00ediately be appointed by the .ew Ad0inistration to study8 reconcile8 and reco00end for i00ediate adoption the best features in

these several plans for *ocial *ecurity8 and the #on. 2essrs. *inclair8 Townsend8 1ugene <eed8 and #oward *cott are herewith invited to in every way advise and collaborate with that !o00ission.

$%6) All wo0en now e0ployed shall8 as rapidly as possible8 e=cept in such peculiarly fe0inine spheres of activity as nursing and beauty parlors8 be assisted to return to their inco0parably sacred duties as ho0e-0a-ers and as 0others of strong8 honorable future !itiGens of the !o00onwealth.

$%') Any person advocating !o00unis08 *ocialis08 or Anarchis08 advocating refusal to enlist in case of war8 or advocating alliance with <ussia in any war whatsoever8 shall be subject to trial for high treason8 with a 0ini0u0 penalty of twenty years at hard labor in prison8 and a 0a=i0u0 of death on the gallows8 or other for0 of e=ecution which the judges 0ay find convenient.

$%B) All bonuses pro0ised to for0er soldiers of any war in which A0erica has ever engaged shall be i00ediately paid in full8 in cash8 and in all cases of veterans with inco0es of less than N(8///.// a year8 the for0erly pro0ised su0s shall be doubled.

$%() !ongress shall8 i00ediately upon our inauguration8 initiate a0end0ents to the !onstitution providing $a)8 that the President shall have the authority to institute and e=ecute all necessary 0easures for the conduct of the govern0ent during this critical epochH $b)8 that !ongress shall serve only in an advisory capacity8 calling to the attention of the President and his aides and !abinet any needed legislation8 but not acting upon sa0e until authoriGed by the President so to actH and $c)8 that the *upre0e !ourt shall i00ediately have re0oved fro0 its jurisdiction the power to negate8 by ruling the0 to be unconstitutional or by any other judicial action8 any or all acts of the President8 his duly appointed aides8 or !ongress.

Addendu0: t shall be strictly understood that8 as the +eague of >orgotten 2en and the De0ocratic Party8 as now constituted8 have no purpose nor desire to carry out any 0easure that shall not un@ualifiedly 0eet with the desire of the 0ajority of voters in these Dnited *tates8 the +eague and Party regard none of the above fifteen points as obligatory and un0odifiable e=cept .o. %(8 and upon the others they will act or refrain fro0 acting in accordance with the general desire of the Public8 who shall under the new rFgi0e be again granted an individual freedo0 of which they have been deprived by the harsh and restrictive econo0ic 0easures of for0er ad0inistrations8 both <epublican and De0ocratic.

EBut what does it 0eanME 0arveled 2rs. 5essup8 when her husband had read the platfor0 to her. E t"s so inconsistent. *ounds li-e a co0bination of .or0an Tho0as and !alvin !oolidge. don"t see0 to understand it. wonder if 2r. 9indrip understands it hi0selfME

E*ure. :ou bet he does. t 0ustn"t be supposed that because 9indrip gets that intellectual dress0a-er *arason to prettify his ideas up for hi0 he doesn"t recogniGe "e0 and clasp "e0 to his boso0 when they"re dolled up in two-dollar words. "ll tell you just what it all 0eans: Articles 3ne and >ive 0ean that if the financiers and transportation -ings and so on don"t co0e through heavily with support for BuGG they 0ay be threatened with bigger inco0e ta=es and so0e control of their businesses. But they are co0ing through8 hear8 handso0ely--they"re paying for BuGG"s radio and his parades. Two8 that by controlling their unions directly8 BuGG"s gang can -idnap all +abor into slavery. Three bac-s up the security for Big !apital and >our brings the preachers into line as scared and unpaid press-agents for BuGG.

E*i= doesn"t 0ean anything at all--0unition fir0s with vertical trusts will be able to wangle one K per cent on 0anufacture8 one on transportation8 and one on sales--at least. *even 0eans we"ll get ready to follow all the 1uropean nations in trying to hog the whole world. 1ight 0eans that by inflation8 big industrial co0panies will be able to buy their outstanding bonds bac- at a cent on the dollar8 and .ine that all 5ews who don"t cough up plenty of 0oney for the robber baron will be punished8 even including the 5ews who haven"t 0uch to cough up. Ten8 that all wellpaying jobs and businesses held by .egroes will be grabbed by the Poor 9hite Trash a0ong BuGG"s worshipers--and that instead of being denounced they"ll be universally praised as patriotic protectors of <acial Purity. 1leven8 that BuGG"ll be able to pass the buc- for not creating any real relief for poverty. Twelve8 that wo0en will later lose the vote and the right to higher education and be fo=ed out of all decent jobs and urged to rear soldiers to be -illed in foreign wars. Thirteen8 that anybody who opposes BuGG in any way at all can be called a !o00unist and scragged for it. 9hy8 under this clause8 #oover and Al *0ith and 3gden 2ills--yes8 and you and 0e--will all be !o00unists.

E>ourteen8 that BuGG thin-s enough of the support of the veterans" vote to be willing to pay high for it--in other people"s 0oney. And >ifteen--well8 that"s the one lone clause that really does 0ean so0ethingH and it 0eans that 9indrip and +ee *arason and Bishop Prang and guess 0aybe this !olonel Dewey #ai- and this Dr. #ector 2acgoblin--you -now8 this doctor that helps write the high-0inded hy0ns for BuGG--they"ve realiGed that this country has gone so flabby that any gang daring enough and unscrupulous enough8 and s0art enough not to see0 illegal8 can grab hold of the entire govern0ent and have all the power and applause and salutes8 all the 0oney and palaces and willin" wo0en they want.

EThey"re only a handful8 but just thin- how s0all +enin"s gang was at first8 and 2ussolini"s8 and #itler"s8 and Le0al Pasha"s8 and .apoleon"sJ :ou"ll see all the liberal preachers and 0odernist educators and discontented newspaper0en and far0 agitators--0aybe they"ll worry at first8 but they"ll get caught up in the web of propaganda8 li-e we all were in the Great 9ar8 and they"ll all be convinced that8 even if our BuGGy 0aybe has got a few faults8 he"s on the side of the plain people8 and against all the tight old political 0achines8 and they"ll rouse the country for hi0 as the Great +iberator $and 0eanwhile Big Business will just win- and sit tightJ) and then8 by God8 this croo---oh8 don"t -now whether he"s 0ore of a croo- or an hysterical religious fanatic--along with *arason and #ai- and Prang and 2acgoblin--these five 0en will be able to set up a rFgi0e that"ll re0ind you of #enry 2organ the pirate capturing a 0erchant ship.E

EBut will A0ericans stand for it longME whi0pered 100a. E3h8 no8 not people li-e us--the descendants of the pioneersJE

EDunno. "0 going to try help see that they don"t. . . . 3f course you understand that you and and *issy and >owler and 2ary will probably be shot if do try to do anything. . . . #0J sound brave enough now8 but probably "ll be scared to death when hear BuGG"s private troops go 0arching byJE

E3h8 you will be careful8 won"t youME begged 100a. E3h. Before forget it. #ow 0any ti0es 0ust tell you8 Dor0ouse8 not to give >oolish chic-en bones--they"ll stic- in his poor throat and cho-e hi0 to death. And you just never re0e0ber to ta-e the -eys out of the car when you put it in the garage at nightJ "0 perfectly sure *had +edue or so0ebody will steal it one of these nightsJE

>ather *tephen Perefi=e8 when he read the >ifteen Points8 was considerably angrier than Dore0us.

#e snorted8 E9hatM .egroes8 5ews8 wo0en--they all banned and they leave us !atholics out8 this ti0eM #itler didn"t neglect us. #e"s persecuted us. 2ust be that !harley !oughlin. #e"s 0ade us too respectableJE

*issy8 who was eager to go to a school of architecture and beco0e a creator of new styles in houses of glass and steelH +orinda Pi-e8 who had plans for a !arlsbad-?ichy-*aratoga in ?er0ontH 2rs. !andy8 who aspired to a ho0e ba-ery of her own when she should be too old for do0estic labor--they were all of the0 angrier than either Dore0us or >ather Perefi=e.

*issy sounded not li-e a flirtatious girl but li-e a battling wo0an as she snarled8 E*o the +eague of >orgotten 2en is going to 0a-e us a +eague of >orgotten 9o0enJ *end us bac- to washing diapers and leaching out ashes for soapJ +et us read +ouisa 2ay Alcott and Barne--e=cept on the *abbath8 of courseJ +et us sleep in hu0ble gratitude with 0en--E

E*issyJE wailed her 0other.

E--li-e *had +edueJ 9ell8 Dad8 you can sit right down and write Busy BerGelius for 0e that "0 going to 1ngland on the ne=t boatJE

2rs. !andy stopped drying the water glasses $with the soft dishtowels which she scrupulously washed out daily) long enough to croa-8 E9hat nasty 0enJ do hope they get shot soon8E which for 2rs. !andy was a startlingly long and hu0anitarian state0ent.

E:es. .asty enough. But what "ve got to -eep re0e0bering is that 9indrip is only the lightest cor- on the whirlpool. #e didn"t plot all this thing. 9ith all the justified discontent there is against the s0art politicians and the Plush #orses of Plutocracy--oh8 if it hadn"t been one 9indrip8 it"d been another. . . . 9e had it co0ing8 we <espectables. . . . But that isn"t going to 0a-e us li-e itJE thought Dore0us.

&

Those who have never been on the inside in the !ouncils of *tate can never realiGe that with really high-class *tates0en8 their chief @uality is not political canniness8 but a big8 rich8 overflowing +ove for all sorts and conditions of people and for the whole land. That +ove and that Patriotis0 have been 0y sole guiding principles in Politics. 2y one a0bition is to get all A0ericans to realiGe that they are8 and 0ust continue to be8 the greatest <ace on the face of this old 1arth8 and second8 to realiGe that whatever apparent Differences there 0ay be a0ong us8 in wealth8 -nowledge8 s-ill8 ancestry or strength--though8 of course8 all this does not apply to people who are racially different fro0 us--we are all brothers8 bound together in the great and wonderful bond of .ational Dnity8 for which we should all be very glad. And thin- we ought to for this be willing to sacrifice any individual gains at all.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

BerGelius 9indrip8 of who0 in late su00er and early autu0n of %&'K there were so 0any published photographs--showing hi0 popping into cars and out of aeroplanes8 dedicating bridges8 eating corn pone and side-0eat with *outherners and cla0 chowder and bran with .ortherners8 addressing the A0erican +egion8 the +iberty +eague8 the :.2.#.A.8 the :oung People"s *ocialist +eague8 the 1l-s8 the Bartenders" and 9aiters" Dnion8 the Anti-*aloon +eague8 the *ociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Afghanistan--showing hi0 -issing lady centenarians and sha-ing hands with ladies called 2ada0e8 but never the opposite--showing hi0 in *avile <ow riding-clothes on +ong sland and in overalls and a -ha-i shirt in the 3Gar-s-this BuGG 9indrip was al0ost a dwarf8 yet with an enor0ous head8 a bloodhound head8 of huge ears8 pendulous chee-s8 0ournful eyes. #e had a lu0inous8 ungrudging s0ile which $declared the 9ashington correspondents) he turned on and off deliberately8 li-e an electric light8 but which could 0a-e his ugliness 0ore attractive than the si0pers of any pretty 0an.

#is hair was so coarse and blac- and straight8 and worn so long in the bac-8 that it hinted of ndian blood. n the *enate he preferred clothes that suggested the co0petent insurance sales0an8 but when far0er constituents were in 9ashington he appeared in an historic tengallon hat with a 0ussy gray EcutawayE which so0ehow you erroneously re0e0bered as a blacEPrince Albert.E

n that costu0e8 he loo-ed li-e a sawed-off 0useu0 0odel of a 0edicine-show Edoctor8E and indeed it was ru0ored that during one law-school vacation BuGG 9indrip had played the banjo and done card tric-s and handed down 0edicine bottles and 0anaged the shell ga0e for no less scientific an e=pedition than 3ld Dr. Alagash"s Traveling +aboratory8 which specialiGed in the !hoctaw !ancer !ure8 the !hinoo- !onsu0ption *oother8 and the 3riental <e0edy for Piles and <heu0atis0 Prepared fro0 a 9orld-old *ecret >or0ula by the Gipsy Princess8 Iueen Peshawara. The co0pany8 ardently assisted by BuGG8 -illed off @uite a nu0ber of persons who8 but for their confidence in Dr. Alagash"s bottles of water8 coloring 0atter8 tobacco juice8 and raw corn whis-y8 0ight have gone early enough to doctors. But since then8 9indrip had redee0ed hi0self8 no doubt8 by ascending fro0 the vulgar fraud of selling bogus 0edicine8 standing in front of a 0egaphone8 to the dignity of selling bogus econo0ics8 standing on an indoor platfor0 under 0ercury-vapor lights in front of a 0icrophone.

#e was in stature but a s0all 0an8 yet re0e0ber that so were .apoleon8 +ord Beaverbroo-8 *tephen A. Douglas8 >rederic- the Great8 and the Dr. Goebbels who is privily -nown throughout Ger0any as E9otan"s 2ic-ey 2ouse.E

Dore0us 5essup8 so inconspicuous an observer8 watching *enator 9indrip fro0 so hu0ble a Boeotia8 could not e=plain his power of bewitching large audiences. The *enator was vulgar8 al0ost illiterate8 a public liar easily detected8 and in his EideasE al0ost idiotic8 while his celebrated piety was that of a traveling sales0an for church furniture8 and his yet 0ore celebrated hu0or the sly cynicis0 of a country store.

!ertainly there was nothing e=hilarating in the actual words of his speeches8 nor anything convincing in his philosophy. #is political platfor0s were only wings of a wind0ill. *even years before his present credo--derived fro0 +ee *arason8 #itler8 Gottfried >eder8 <occo8 and probably the revue 3f Thee *ing--little BuGG8 bac- ho0e8 had advocated nothing 0ore revolutionary than better beef stew in the county poor-far0s8 and plenty of graft for loyal 0achine politicians8 with jobs for their brothers-in-law8 nephews8 law partners8 and creditors.

Dore0us had never heard 9indrip during one of his orgas0s of oratory8 but he had been told by political reporters that under the spell you thought 9indrip was Plato8 but that on the way ho0e you could not re0e0ber anything he had said.

There were two things8 they told Dore0us8 that distinguished this prairie De0osthenes. #e was an actor of genius. There was no 0ore overwhel0ing actor on the stage8 in the 0otion pictures8 nor even in the pulpit. #e would whirl ar0s8 bang tables8 glare fro0 0ad eyes8 vo0it Biblical wrath fro0 a gaping 0outhH but he would also coo li-e a nursing 0other8 beseech li-e an aching lover8 and in between tric-s would coldly and al0ost conte0ptuously jab his crowds with figures and facts--figures and facts that were inescapable even when8 as often happened8 they were entirely incorrect.

But below this surface stagecraft was his unco00on natural ability to be authentically e=cited by and with his audience8 and they by and with hi0. #e could dra0atiGe his assertion that he was neither a .aGi nor a >ascist but a De0ocrat--a ho0espun 5effersonian-+incolnian-!levelandian9ilsonian De0ocrat--and $sans scenery and costu0e) 0a-e you see hi0 veritably defending the !apitol against barbarian hordes8 the while he innocently presented as his own war0-hearted

De0ocratic inventions8 every anti-libertarian8 anti-*e0itic 0adness of 1urope.

Aside fro0 his dra0atic glory8 BuGG 9indrip was a Professional !o00on 2an.

3h8 he was co00on enough. #e had every prejudice and aspiration of every A0erican !o00on 2an. #e believed in the desirability and therefore the sanctity of thic- buc-wheat ca-es with adulterated 0aple syrup8 in rubber trays for the ice cubes in his electric refrigerator8 in the especial nobility of dogs8 all dogs8 in the oracles of *. Par-es !ad0an8 in being chu00y with all waitresses at all junction lunch roo0s8 and in #enry >ord $when he beca0e President8 he e=ulted8 0aybe he could get 2r. >ord to co0e to supper at the 9hite #ouse)8 and the superiority of anyone who possessed a 0illion dollars. #e regarded spats8 wal-ing stic-s8 caviar8 titles8 tea-drin-ing8 poetry not daily syndicated in newspapers and all foreigners8 possibly e=cepting the British8 as degenerate.

But he was the !o00on 2an twenty-ti0es-0agnified by his oratory8 so that while the other !o00oners could understand his every purpose8 which was e=actly the sa0e as their own8 they saw hi0 towering a0ong the08 and they raised hands to hi0 in worship.

n the greatest of all native A0erican arts $ne=t to the tal-ies8 and those *pirituals in which .egroes e=press their desire to go to heaven8 to *t. +ouis8 or al0ost any place distant fro0 the ro0antic old plantations)8 na0ely8 in the art of Publicity8 +ee *arason was in no way inferior even to such ac-nowledged 0asters as 1dward Bernays8 the late Theodore <oosevelt8 5ac- De0psey8 and Dpton *inclair.

*arason had8 as it was scientifically called8 been Ebuilding upE *enator 9indrip for seven years before his no0ination as President. 9here other *enators were encouraged by their secretaries and wives $no potential dictator ought ever to have a visible wife8 and none ever has had8 e=cept .apoleon) to e=pand fro0 village bac--slapping to noble8 rotund8 !iceronian gestures8 *arason had encouraged 9indrip to -eep up in the Great 9orld all of the clownishness which $along with

considerable legal shrewdness and the endurance to 0a-e ten speeches a day) had endeared hi0 to his si0ple-hearted constituents in his native state.

9indrip danced a hornpipe before an alar0ed acade0ic audience when he got his first honorary degreeH he -issed 2iss >landreau at the *outh Da-ota beauty contestH he entertained the *enate8 or at least the *enate galleries8 with detailed accounts of how to catch catfish--fro0 the bait-digging to the ulti0ate effects of the jug of corn whis-yH he challenged the venerable !hief 5ustice of the *upre0e !ourt to a duel with sling-shots.

Though she was not visible8 9indrip did have a wife--*arason had none8 nor was li-ely toH and 9alt Trowbridge was a widower. BuGG"s lady stayed bac- ho0e8 raising spinach and chic-ens and telling the neighbors that she e=pected to go to 9ashington ne=t year8 the while 9indrip was infor0ing the press that his E>rauE was so edifyingly devoted to their two s0all children and to Bible study that she si0ply could not be coa=ed to co0e 1ast.

But when it ca0e to asse0bling a political 0achine8 9indrip had no need of counsel fro0 +ee *arason.

9here BuGG was8 there were the vultures also. #is hotel suite8 in the capital city of his ho0e state8 in 9ashington8 in .ew :or-8 or in Lansas !ity8 was li-e--well8 >ran- *ullivan once suggested that it rese0bled the office of a tabloid newspaper upon the i0possible occasion of Bishop !annon"s setting fire to *t. Patric-"s !athedral8 -idnaping the Dionne @uintuplets8 and eloping with Greta Garbo in a stolen tan-.

n the EparlorE of any of these suites8 BuGG 9indrip sat in the 0iddle of the roo08 a telephone on the floor beside hi08 and for hours he shrie-ed at the instru0ent8 E#ello--yuh--spea-ing8E or at the door8 E!o0e in--co0e inJE and E*it down "n" ta-e a load off your feetJE All day8 all night till dawn8 he would be bellowing8 ETell hi0 he can ta-e his bill and go cli0b a tree8E or E9hy certainly8 old 0an--tic-led to death to support it--utility corporations cer"nly been getting a raw deal8E and E:ou tell the Governor want Lippy elected sheriff and want the indict0ent against hi0 @uashed and want it da0n @uic-JE Dsually8 s@uatted there cross-legged8 he would be wearing a s0art belted ca0el"s-hair coat with an atrocious chec-ed cap.

n a fury8 as he was at least every @uarter hour8 he would leap up8 peel off the overcoat $showing

either a white boiled shirt and clerical blac- bow8 or a canary-yellow sil- shirt with a scarlet tie)8 fling it on the floor8 and put it on again with slow dignity8 while he bellowed his anger li-e 5ere0iah cursing 5erusale08 or li-e a sic- cow 0ourning its -idnaped young.

There ca0e to hi0 stoc-bro-ers8 labor leaders8 distillers8 anti-vivisectionists8 vegetarians8 disbarred shyster lawyers8 0issionaries to !hina8 lobbyists for oil and electricity8 advocates of war and of war against war. EGawJ 1very guy in the country with a bad case of the gi00es co0es to see 0eJE he growled to *arason. #e pro0ised to further their causes8 to get an appoint0ent to 9est Point for the nephew who had just lost his job in the crea0ery. #e pro0ised fellow politicians to support their bills if they would support his. #e gave interviews upon subsistence far0ing8 bac-less bathing suits8 and the secret strategy of the 1thiopian ar0y. #e grinned and -nee-patted and bac--slappedH and few of his visitors8 once they had tal-ed with hi08 failed to loo- upon hi0 as their +ittle >ather and to support hi0 forever. . . . The few who did fail8 0ost of the0 newspaper0en8 disli-ed the s0ell of hi0 0ore than before they had 0et hi0. . . . 1ven they8 by the unusual spiritedness and color of their attac-s upon hi08 -ept his na0e alive in every colu0n. . . . By the ti0e he had been a *enator for one year8 his 0achine was as co0plete and s0ooth-running--and as hidden away fro0 ordinary passengers--as the engines of a liner.

3n the beds in any of his suites there would8 at the sa0e ti0e8 repose three top-hats8 two clerical hats8 a green object with a feather8 a brown derby8 a ta=i-driver"s cap8 and nine ordinary8 !hristian brown felts.

3nce8 within twenty-seven 0inutes8 he tal-ed on the telephone fro0 !hicago to Palo Alto8 9ashington8 Buenos Aires8 9il0ette8 and 3-laho0a !ity. 3nce8 in half a day8 he received si=teen calls fro0 clergy0en as-ing hi0 to conde0n the dirty burles@ue show8 and seven fro0 theatrical pro0oters and real-estate owners as-ing hi0 to praise it. #e called the clergy0en EDoctorE or EBrotherE or bothH he called the pro0oters EBuddyE and EPalEH he gave e@ually ringing pro0ises to bothH and for both he loyally did nothing whatever.

.or0ally8 he would not have thought of cultivating foreign alliances8 though he never doubted that so0e day8 as President8 he would be leader of the world orchestra. +ee *arason insisted that BuGG loo- into a few international funda0entals8 such as the relationship of sterling to the lira8 the proper way in which to address a baronet8 the chances of the Archdu-e 3tto8 the +ondon oyster bars and the brothels near the Boulevard de *ebastopol best to reco00end to jun-eting <epresentatives.

But the actual cultivation of foreign diplo0ats resident in 9ashington he left to *arason8 who entertained the0 on terrapin and canvasbac- duc- with blac--currant jelly8 in his apart0ent that was considerably 0ore tapestried than BuGG"s own ostentatiously si0ple 9ashington @uarters. . . . #owever8 in *arason"s place8 a roo0 with a large sil--hung 10pire double bed was reserved for BuGG.

t was *arason who had persuaded 9indrip to let hi0 write Oero #our8 based on 9indrip"s own dictated notes8 and who had beguiled 0illions into reading--and even thousands into buying-that Bible of 1cono0ic 5usticeH *arason who had perceived there was now such a spate of private political wee-lies and 0onthlies that it was a distinction not to publish oneH *arason who had the inspiration for BuGG"s e0ergency radio address at ' A.2. upon the occasion of the *upre0e !ourt"s throttling the ..<.A.8 in 2ay8 %&'(. . . . Though not 0any adherents8 including BuGG hi0self8 were @uite certain as to whether he was pleased or disappointedH though not 0any actually heard the broadcast itself8 everyone in the country e=cept sheep-herders and Professor Albert 1instein heard about it and was i0pressed.

:et it was BuGG who all by hi0self thought of first offending the Du-e of :or- by refusing to appear at the 10bassy dinner for hi0 in Dece0ber8 %&'(8 thus gaining8 in all far0 -itchens and parsonages and barroo0s8 a splendid reputation for #o0espun De0ocracyH and of later 0ollifying #is #ighness by calling on hi0 with a touching little ho0e bou@uet of geraniu0s $fro0 the hothouse of the 5apanese a0bassador)8 which endeared hi08 if not necessarily to <oyalty yet certainly to the D.A.<.8 the 1nglish-*pea-ing Dnion8 and all 0otherly hearts who thought the pudgy little bunch of geraniu0s too sweet for anything.

By the newspaper0en BuGG was credited with having insisted on the no0ination of Perley Beecroft for vice-president at the De0ocratic convention8 after Dore0us 5essup had frenetically ceased listening. Beecroft was a *outhern tobacco-planter and store-eeper8 an e=-Governor of his state8 0arried to an e=-schoolteacher fro0 2aine who was sufficiently scented with salt spray and potato blosso0s to win any :an-ee. But it was not his geographical superiority which 0ade 2r. Beecroft the perfect running 0ate for BuGG 9indrip but that he was 0alaria-yellowed and la=ly 0ustached8 where BuGG"s horsey face was ruddy and s0oothH while Beecroft"s oratory had a vacuity8 a profundity of slowly enunciated nonsense8 which beguiled such sole0n deacons as were irritated by BuGG"s cataract of slang.

.or could *arason ever have convinced the wealthy that the 0ore BuGG denounced the0 and

pro0ised to distribute their 0illions to the poor8 the 0ore they could trust his Eco00on senseE and finance his ca0paign. But with a hint8 a grin8 a win-8 a handsha-e8 BuGG could convince the08 and their contributions ca0e in by the hundred thousand8 often disguised as assess0ents on i0aginary business partnerships.

t had been the peculiar genius of BerGelius 9indrip not to wait until he should be no0inated for this office or that to begin shanghaiing his band of buccaneers. #e had been coa=ing in supporters ever since the day when8 at the age of four8 he had captivated a neighborhood co0rade by giving hi0 an a00onia pistol which later he thriftily stole bac- fro0 the co0rade"s poc-et. BuGG 0ight not have learned8 perhaps could not have learned8 0uch fro0 sociologists !harles Beard and 5ohn Dewey8 but they could have learned a great deal fro0 BuGG.

And it was BuGG"s8 not *arason"s8 0aster stro-e that8 as war0ly as he advocated everyone"s getting rich by just voting to be rich8 he denounced all E>ascis0E and E.aGi-is08E so that 0ost of the <epublicans who were afraid of De0ocratic >ascis08 and all the De0ocrats who were afraid of <epublican >ascis08 were ready to vote for hi0.

%/

9hile hate befogging 0y pages with scientific technicalities and even neologies8 feel constrained to say here that the 0ost ele0entary perusal of the 1cono0y of Abundance would convince any intelligent student that the !assandras who 0iscall the 0uch-needed increase in

the fluidity of our currential circulation E nflation8E erroneously basing their parallel upon the inflationary 0isfortunes of certain 1uropean nations in the era %&%&-%&6'8 fallaciously and perhaps ine=cusably fail to co0prehend the different 0onetary status in A0erica inherent in our vastly greater reservoir of .atural <esources.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

2ost of the 0ortgaged far0ers.

2ost of the white-collar wor-ers who had been une0ployed these three years and four and five.

2ost of the people on relief rolls who wanted 0ore relief.

2ost of the suburbanites who could not 0eet the install0ent pay0ents on the electric washing 0achine.

*uch large sections of the A0erican +egion as believed that only *enator 9indrip would secure for the08 and perhaps increase8 the bonus.

*uch popular 2yrtle Boulevard or 1l0 Avenue preachers as8 spurred by the e=a0ples of Bishop Prang and >ather !oughlin8 believed they could get useful publicity out of supporting a slightly @ueer progra0 that pro0ised prosperity without anyone"s having to wor- for it.

The re0nants of the Lu-lu= Llan8 and such leaders of the A0erican >ederation of +abor as felt they had been inade@uately courted and bepro0ised by the old-line politicians8 and the nonunioniGed co00on laborers who felt they had been inade@uately courted by the sa0e A.>. of +.

Bac--street and over-the-garage lawyers who had never yet wangled govern0ental jobs.

The +ost +egion of the Anti-*aloon +eague--since it was -nown that8 though he dran- a lot8 *enator 9indrip also praised teetotalis0 a lot8 while his rival8 9alt Trowbridge8 though he dranbut little8 said nothing at all in support of the 2essiahs of Prohibition. These 0essiahs had not found professional 0orality profitable of late8 with the <oc-efellers and 9ana0a-ers no longer praying with the0 nor paying.

Besides these necessitous petitioners8 a goodish nu0ber of burghers who8 while they were 0illionaires8 yet 0aintained that their prosperity had been sorely chec-ed by the fiendishness of the ban-ers in li0iting their credit.

These were the supporters who loo-ed to BerGelius 9indrip to play the divine raven and feed the0 handso0ely when he should beco0e President8 and fro0 such ca0e 0ost of the fervid elocutionists who ca0paigned for hi0 through *epte0ber and 3ctober.

Pushing in a0ong this 0ob of ca0p followers who identified political virtue with 0oney for their rent ca0e a flying s@uad who suffered not fro0 hunger but fro0 congested idealis0: ntellectuals and <efor0ers and even <ugged ndividualists8 who saw in 9indrip8 for all his clownish swindleris08 a free vigor which pro0ised a rejuvenation of the crippled and senile capitalistic syste0.

Dpton *inclair wrote about BuGG and spo-e for hi0 just as in %&%C8 unyielding pacifist though he was8 2r. *inclair had advocated A0erica"s whole-hearted prosecution of the Great 9ar8 foreseeing that it would un@uestionably e=ter0inate Ger0an 0ilitaris0 and thus forever end all wars. 2ost of the 2organ partners8 though they 0ay have shuddered a little at association with Dpton *inclair8 saw that8 however 0uch inco0e they the0selves 0ight have to sacrifice8 only 9indrip could start the Business <ecoveryH while Bishop 2anning of .ew :or- !ity pointed out that 9indrip always spo-e reverently of the church and its shepherds8 whereas 9alt Trowbridge

went horsebac--riding every *abbath 0orning and had never been -nown to telegraph any fe0ale relative on 2other"s Day.

3n the other hand8 the *aturday 1vening Post enraged the s0all shop-eepers by calling 90drip a de0agogue8 and the .ew :or- Ti0es8 once ndependent De0ocrat8 was anti-9indrip. But 0ost of the religious periodicals announced that with a saint li-e Bishop Prang for bac-er8 9indrip 0ust have been called of God.

1ven 1urope joined in.

9ith the 0ost 0odest friendliness8 e=plaining that they wished not to intrude on A0erican do0estic politics but only to e=press personal ad0iration for that great 9estern advocate of peace and prosperity8 BerGelius 9indrip8 there ca0e representatives of certain foreign powers8 lecturing throughout the land: General Balbo8 so popular here because of his leadership of the flight fro0 taly to !hicago in %&''H a scholar who8 though he now lived in Ger0any and was an inspiration to all patriotic leaders of Ger0an <ecovery8 yet had graduated fro0 #arvard Dniversity and had been the 0ost popular piano-player in his class--na0ely8 Dr. 1rnst $PutGi) #anfstPnglH and Great Britain"s lion of diplo0acy8 the Gladstone of the %&'/"s8 the handso0e and gracious +ord +ossie0outh who8 as Pri0e 2inister8 had been -nown as the <t. #on. <a0say 2acDonald8 P.!.

All three of the0 were e=pensively entertained by the wives of 0anufacturers8 and they persuaded 0any 0illionaires who8 in the refine0ent of wealth8 had considered BuGG vulgar8 that actually he was the world"s one hope of efficient international co00erce.

>ather !oughlin too- one loo- at all the candidates and indignantly retired to his cell.

2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch8 who would surely have written to the friends she had 0ade at the <otary !lub Dinner in >ort Beulah if she could only have re0e0bered the na0e of the town8 was a considerable figure in the ca0paign. *he e=plained to wo0en voters how -ind it was of *enator 9indrip to let the0 go on voting8 so farH and she sang EBerGelius 9indrip"s gone to 9ash.E an average of eleven ti0es a day.

BuGG hi0self8 Bishop Prang8 *enator Por-wood $the fearless +iberal and friend of labor and the far0ers)8 and !olonel 3sceola +uthorne8 the editor8 though their pri0e tas- was reaching 0illions by radio8 also8 in a forty-day tra0 trip8 traveled over 6C8/// 0iles8 through every state in the Dnion8 on the scarlet-and-silver8 ebony-paneled8 sil--upholstered8 strea0lined8 Dieselengined8 rubber-padded8 air-conditioned8 alu0inu0 >orgotten 2en *pecial.

t had a private bar that was forgotten by none save the Bishop.

The train fares were the generous gift of the co0bined railways.

3ver si= hundred speeches were discharged8 ranging fro0 eight-0inute hallos delivered to the crowds gathered at stations8 to two-hour ful0inations in auditoriu0s and fairgrounds. BuGG was present at every speech8 usually starring8 but so0eti0es so hoarse that he could only wave his hand and croa-8 E#owdy8 fol-sJE while he was spelled by Prang8 Por-wood8 !olonel +uthorne8 or such volunteers fro0 his regi0ent of secretaries8 doctoral consulting specialists in history and econo0ics8 coo-s8 bartenders8 and barbers8 as could be lured away fro0 playing craps with the acco0panying reporters8 photographers8 sound-recorders8 and broadcasters. Tieffer of the Dnited Press has esti0ated that BuGG thus appeared personally before 0ore than two 0illion persons.

2eanwhile8 al0ost daily hurtling by aeroplane between 9ashington and BuGG"s ho0e8 +ee *arason supervised doGens of telephone girls and scores of girl stenographers8 who answered thousands of daily telephone calls and letters and telegra0s and cables--and bo=es containing

poisoned candy. . . . BuGG hi0self had 0ade the rule that all these girls 0ust be pretty8 reasonable8 thoroughly s-illed8 and related to people with political influence.

>or *arason it 0ust be said that in this bedla0 of Epublic relationsE he never once used contact as a transitive verb.

The #on. Perley Beecroft8 vice-presidential candidate8 specialiGed on the conventions of fraternal orders8 religious deno0inations8 insurance agents8 and traveling 0en.

!olonel Dewey #ai-8 who had no0inated BuGG at !leveland8 had an assign0ent uni@ue in ca0paigning--one of *arason"s slic-est inventions. #ai- spo-e for 9indrip not in the 0ost fre@uented8 0ost obvious places8 but at places so unusual that his appearance there 0ade news--and *arason and #ai- saw to it that there were ni0ble chroniclers present to get that news. >lying in his own plane8 covering a thousand 0iles a day8 he spo-e to nine astonished 0iners who0 he caught in a copper 0ine a 0ile below the surface--while thirty-nine photographers snapped the nineH he spo-e fro0 a 0otorboat to a stilled fishing fleet during a fog in Gloucester harborH he spo-e fro0 the steps of the *ub-Treasury at noon on 9all *treetH he spo-e to the aviators and ground crew at *hushan Airport8 .ew 3rleans--and even the flyers were ribald only for the first five 0inutes8 till he had described BuGG 9indrip"s gallant but ludicrous efforts to learn to flyH he spo-e to state police0en8 to sta0p-collectors8 players of chess in secret clubs8 and steeplejac-s at wor-H he spo-e in breweries8 hospitals8 0agaGine offices8 cathedrals8 crossroad churches forty-by-thirty8 prisons8 lunatic asylu0s8 night clubs--till the art editors began to send photographers the 0e0o: E>or Pete"s sa-e8 no 0ore fotos Lunnel #ai- spieling in sporting houses and hoose-gow.E

:et went on using the pictures.

>or !olonel Dewey #ai- was a figure as sharp-lighted8 al0ost8 as BuGG 9indrip hi0self. *on of a decayed Tennessee fa0ily8 with one !onfederate general grandfather and one a Dewey of ?er0ont8 he had pic-ed cotton8 beco0e a youthful telegraph operator8 wor-ed his way through the Dniversity of Ar-ansas and the Dniversity of 2issouri law school8 settled as a lawyer in a 9yo0ing village and then in 3regon8 and during the war $he was in %&'K but forty-four years old) served in >rance as captain of infantry8 with credit. <eturned to A0erica8 he had been elected to !ongress8 and beco0e a colonel in the 0ilitia. #e studied 0ilitary historyH he learned to fly8 to bo=8 to fenceH he was a ra0rod-li-e figure yet had a fairly a0iable s0ileH he was li-ed

e@ually by disciplinary ar0y officers of high ran-8 and by such roughnec-s as 2r. *had +edue8 the !aliban of Dore0us 5essup.

#ai- brought to BuGG"s fold the very picaroons who had 0ost snic-ered at Bishop Prang"s sole0nity.

All this while8 #ector 2acgoblin8 the cultured doctor and burly bo=ing fan8 co-author with *arason of the ca0paign anthe08 EBring 3ut the 3ld-ti0e 2us-et8E was specialiGing in the inspiration of college professors8 associations of high-school teachers8 professional baseball tea0s8 training-ca0ps of pugilists8 0edical 0eetings8 su00er schools in which well--nown authors taught the art of writing to earnest aspirants who could never learn to write8 golf tourna0ents8 and all such cultural congresses.

But the pugilistic Dr. 2acgoblin ca0e nearer to danger than any other ca0paigner. During a 0eeting in Alaba0a8 where he had satisfactorily proved that no .egro with less than 6( per cent Ewhite bloodE can ever rise to the cultural level of a patent-0edicine sales0an8 the 0eeting was raided8 the costly residence section of the whites was raided8 by a band of colored people headed by a .egro who had been a corporal on the 9estern >ront in %&%4. 2acgoblin and the town were saved by the elo@uence of a colored clergy0an.

Truly8 as Bishop Prang said8 the apostles of *enator 9indrip were now preaching his 2essage unto all 0anner of 0en8 even unto the #eathen.

But what Dore0us 5essup said8 to Buc- Titus and >ather Perefi=e8 was:

EThis is <evolution in ter0s of <otary.E

%%

9hen was a -id8 one ti0e had an old-0aid teacher that used to tell 0e8 EBuGG8 you"re the thic-est-headed dunce in school.E But noticed that she told 0e this a whole lot oftener than she used to tell the other -ids how s0art they were8 and ca0e to be the 0ost tal-ed-about scholar in the whole township. The Dnited *tates *enate isn"t so different8 and want to than- a lot of stuffed shirts for their re0ar-s about :ours Truly.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

But there were certain of the #eathen who did not heed those heralds Prang and 9indrip and #ai- and Dr. 2acgoblin.

9alt Trowbridge conducted his ca0paign as placidly as though he were certain to win. #e did not spare hi0self8 but he did not 0oan over the >orgotten 2en $he"d been one hi0self8 as a youngster8 and didn"t thin- it was so badJ) nor beco0e hysterical at a private bar in a scarlet-andsilver special tra0. Iuietly8 steadfastly8 spea-ing on the radio and in a few great halls8 he e=plained that he did advocate an enor0ously i0proved distribution of wealth8 but that it 0ust

be achieved by steady digging and not by dyna0ite that would destroy 0ore than it e=cavated. #e wasn"t particularly thrilling. 1cono0ics rarely are8 e=cept when they have been dra0atiGed by a Bishop8 staged and lighted by a *arason8 and passionately played by a BuGG 9indrip with rapier and blue satin tights.

>or the ca0paign the !o00unists had brightly brought out their sacrificial candidates--in fact8 all seven of the current !o00unist parties had. *ince8 if they all stuc- together8 they 0ight entice &//8/// votes8 they had avoided such bourgeois grossness by enthusiastic schis0s8 and their creeds now included: The Party8 the 2ajority Party8 the +eftist Party8 the TrotG-y Party8 the !hristian !o00unist Party8 the 9or-ers" Party8 and8 less baldly na0ed8 so0ething called the A0erican .ationalist Patriotic !ooperative >abian Post-2ar=ian !o00unist Party--it sounded li-e the na0es of royalty but was otherwise dissi0ilar.

But these radical e=cursions were not very significant co0pared with the new 5effersonian Party8 suddenly fathered by >ran-lin D. <oosevelt.

>orty-eight hours after the no0ination of 9indrip at !leveland8 President <oosevelt had issued his defiance.

*enator 9indrip8 he asserted8 had been chosen Enot by the brains and hearts of genuine De0ocrats but by their te0porarily craGed e0otions.E #e would no 0ore support 9indrip because he clai0ed to be a De0ocrat than he would support 5i00y 9al-er.

:et8 he said8 he could not vote for the <epublican Party8 the Eparty of intrenched special privilege8E however 0uch8 in the past three years8 he had appreciated the loyalty8 the honesty8 the intelligence of *enator 9alt Trowbridge.

<oosevelt 0ade it clear that his 5effersonian or True De0ocratic faction was not a Ethird partyE in the sense that it was to be per0anent. t was to vanish as soon as honest and coolly thin-ing 0en got control again of the old organiGation. BuGG 9indrip aroused 0irth by dubbing it the EBull 2ouse Party8E but President <oosevelt was joined by al0ost all the liberal 0e0bers of !ongress8 De0ocratic or <epublican8 who had not followed 9alt TrowbridgeH by .or0an Tho0as and the *ocialists who had not turned !o00unistH by Governors >loyd 3lson and 3lin 5ohnstonH and by 2ayor +a Guardia.

The conspicuous fault of the 5effersonian Party8 li-e the personal fault of *enator Trowbridge8 was that it represented integrity and reason8 in a year when the electorate hungered for fris-y e0otions8 for the peppery sensations associated8 usually8 not with 0onetary syste0s and ta=ation rates but with baptis0 by i00ersion in the cree-8 young love under the el0s8 straight whis-y8 angelic orchestras heard soaring down fro0 the full 0oon8 fear of death when an auto0obile teeters above a canyon8 thirst in a desert and @uenching it with spring water--all the pri0itive sensations which they thought they found in the screa0ing of BuGG 9indrip.

>ar fro0 the hot-lighted ballroo0s where all these cri0son-tuniced band0asters shrills@uabbled as to which should lead for the 0o0ent the tre0endous spiritual jaGG8 far off in the cool hills a little 0an na0ed Dore0us 5essup8 who wasn"t even a bass dru00er but only a citiGen editor8 wondered in confusion what he should do to be saved.

#e wanted to follow <oosevelt and the 5effersonian Party--partly for ad0iration of the 0anH partly for the pleasure of shoc-ing the ingrown <epublicanis0 of ?er0ont. But he could not believe that the 5effersonians would have a chanceH he did believe that8 for all the 0othball odor of 0any of his associates8 9alt Trowbridge was a valiant and co0petent 0anH and night and day Dore0us bounced up and down Beulah ?alley ca0paigning for Trowbridge.

3ut of his very confusion there ca0e into his writing a desperate sureness which surprised accusto0ed readers of the nfor0er. >or once he was not a0used and tolerant. Though he never said anything worse of the 5effersonian Party than that it was ahead of its ti0es8 in both

editorials and news stories he went after BuGG 9indrip and his gang with whips8 turpentine8 and scandal.

n person8 he was into and out of shops and houses all 0orning long8 arguing with voters8 getting 0iniature interviews.

#e had e=pected that traditionally <epublican ?er0ont would give hi0 too drearily easy a tas- in preaching Trowbridge. 9hat he found was a dis0aying preference for the theoretically De0ocratic BuGG 9indrip. And that preference8 Dore0us perceived8 wasn"t even a pathetic trust in 9indrip"s pro0ises of Dtopian bliss for everyone in general. t was a trust in increased cash for the voter hi0self8 and for his fa0ily8 very 0uch in particular.

2ost of the0 had8 a0ong all the factors in the ca0paign8 noticed only what they regarded as 9indrip"s hu0or8 and three plan-s in his platfor0: >ive8 which pro0ised to increase ta=es on the richH Ten8 which conde0ned the .egroes--since nothing so elevates a dispossessed far0er or a factory wor-er on relief as to have so0e race8 any race8 on which he can loo- downH and8 especially8 1leven8 which announced8 or see0ed to announce8 that the average toiler would i00ediately receive N(/// a year. $And ever-so-0any railway-station debaters e=plained that it would really be N%/8///. 9hy8 they were going to have every cent offered by Dr. Townsend8 plus everything planned by the late #uey +ong8 Dpton *inclair8 and the Dtopians8 all put togetherJ)

*o beatifically did hundreds of old people in Beulah ?alley believe this that they s0ilingly trotted into <ay0ond Pridewell"s hardware store8 to order new -itchen stoves and alu0inu0 sauce pans and co0plete bathroo0 furnishings8 to be paid for on the day after inauguration. 2r. Pridewell8 a cobwebbed old #enry !abot +odge <epublican8 lost half his trade by chasing out these happy heirs to fabulous estates8 but they went on drea0ing8 and Dore0us8 nagging at the08 discovered that 0ere figures are defenseless against a drea0 . . . even a drea0 of new Ply0ouths and unli0ited cans of sausages and 0otion-picture ca0eras and the prospect of never having to arise till C:'/ A.2.

Thus answered Alfred TiGra8 E*na-eE TiGra8 friend to Dore0us"s handy0an8 *had +edue. *na-e was a steel-tough truc--driver and ta=i-owner who had served sentences for assault and for transporting bootleg li@uor. #e had once 0ade a living catching rattlesna-es and copperheads in southern .ew 1ngland. Dnder President 9indrip8 *na-e jeeringly assured Dore0us8 he would have enough 0oney to start a chain of roadhouses in all the dry co00unities in ?er0ont.

1d #owland8 one of the lesser >ort Beulah grocers8 and !harley Betts8 furniture and underta-ing8 while they were dead against anyone getting groceries8 furniture8 or even underta-ing on 9indrip credit8 were all for the population"s having credit on other wares.

Aras Dilley8 a s@uatter dairy far0er living with a toothless wife and seven slattern children in a tilted and unscrubbed cabin way up on 2ount Terror8 snarled at Dore0us--who had often ta-en food bas-ets and bo=es of shotgun shells and 0asses of cigarettes to Aras--E9ell8 want to tell you8 when 2r. 9indrip gets in8 we far0ers are going to fi= our own prices on our crops8 and not you s0art city fellowsJE

Dore0us could not bla0e hi0. 9hile Buc- Titus8 at fifty8 loo-ed thirty-odd8 Aras8 at thirty-four8 loo-ed fifty.

+orinda Pi-e"s singularly unpleasant partner in the Beulah ?alley Tavern8 one 2r. .ipper8 who0 she hoped soon to lose8 co0bined boasting how rich he was with gloating how 0uch 0ore he was going to get under 9indrip. EProfessorE *taub0eyer @uoted nice things 9indrip had said about higher pay for teachers. +ouis <otenstern8 to prove that his heart8 at least8 was not 5ewish8 beca0e 0ore lyric than any of the0. And even >ran- Tasbrough of the @uarries8 2edary !ole of the grist 0ill and real-estate holdings8 <. !. !rowley of the ban-8 who presu0ably were not tic-led by projects of higher inco0e ta=es8 s0iled pussy-cattishly and hinted that 9indrip was a Elot sounder fellowE than people -new.

But no one in >ort Beulah was a 0ore active crusader for BuGG 9indrip than *had +edue.

Dore0us had -nown that *had possessed talent for argu0ent and for displayH that he had once persuaded old 2r. Pridewell to trust hi0 for a .66 rifle8 value twenty-three dollarsH that8 re0oved fro0 the sphere of coal bins and grass-stained overalls8 he had once sung E<ollic-y Bill the *ailorE at a s0o-er of the Ancient and ndependent 3rder of <a0sH and that he had enough 0e0ory to be able to @uote8 as his own profound opinions8 the editorials in the #earst newspapers. :et even -nowing all this e@uip0ent for a political career8 an e@uip0ent not 0uch short of BuGG 9indrip"s8 Dore0us was surprised to find *had soap-bo=ing for 9indrip a0ong the @uarrywor-ers8 then actually as chair0an of a rally in 3ddfellows" #all. *had spo-e little8 but with brutal taunting of the believers in Trowbridge and <oosevelt.

At 0eetings where he did not spea-8 *had was an inco0parable bouncer8 and in that valued capacity he was su00oned to 9indrip rallies as far away as Burlington. t was he who8 in a 0ilitia unifor08 handso0ely riding a large white plow-horse8 led the final 9indrip parade in <utland . . . and substantial 0en of affairs8 even dry-goods jobbers8 fondly called hi0 E*had.E

Dore0us was a0aGed8 felt a little apologetic over his failure to have appreciated this new-found paragon8 as he sat in A0erican +egion #all and heard *had bellowing: E don"t pretend to be anything but a plain wor-ing-stiff8 but there"s forty 0illion wor-ers li-e 0e8 and we -now that *enator 9indrip is the first states0an in years that thin-s of what guys li-e us need before he thin-s one doggone thing about politics. !o0e on8 you boGosJ The swell fol-s tell you to not be selfishJ 9alt Trowbridge tells you to not be selfishJ 9ell8 be selfish8 and vote for the one 0an that"s willing to give you so0ething--give you so0ethingJ--and not just grab off every cent and every hour of wor- that he can getJE

Dore0us groaned inwardly8 E3h8 0y *hadJ And you"re doing 0ost of this on 0y ti0eJE

*issy 5essup sat on the running board of her coupe $hers by s@uatter"s right)8 with 5ulian >alc-8 up fro0 A0herst for the wee--end8 and 2alcol0 Tasbrough wedged in on either side of her.

E3h nuts8 let"s @uit tal-ing politics. 9indrip"s going to be elected8 so why waste ti0e yodeling when we could drive down to the river and have a swi08E co0plained 2alcol0.

E#e"s not going to win without our putting up a tough scrap against hi0. "0 going to tal- to the high-school alu0ni this evening--about how they got to tell their parents to vote for either Trowbridge or <oosevelt8E snapped 5ulian >alc-.

E#aa8 haa8 haaJ And of course the parents will be tic-led to death to do whatever you tell "e08 :ulianJ :ou college 0en certainly are the goodsJ Besides--9ant to be serious about this fool businessME 2alcol0 had the insolent self-assurance of beef8 slic- blac- hair8 and a large car of his ownH he was the perfect leader of Blac- *hirts8 and he loo-ed conte0ptuously on 5ulian who8 though a year older8 was pale and thinnish. E2atter of fact8 it"ll be a good thing to have BuGG. #e"ll put a da0n @uic- stop to all this radicalis0--all this free speech and libel of our 0ost funda0ental institutions--E

EBoston A0ericanH last TuesdayH page eight8E 0ur0ured *issy.

E--and no wonder you"re scared of hi08 :ulianJ #e sure will drag so0e of your favorite A0herst anarchist profs off to the hoosegow8 and 0aybe you too8 !o0radeJE

The two young 0en loo-ed at each other with slow fury. *issy @uieted the0 by raging8 E>reavensa-eJ 9ill you two heels @uit scrappingM . . . 3h8 0y dears8 this beastly electionJ BeastlyJ *ee0s as if it"s brea-ing up every town8 every ho0e. . . . 2y poor DadJ Dore0us is just about all inJE

%6

shall not be content till this country can produce every single thing we need8 even coffee8 cocoa8 and rubber8 and so -eep all our dollars at ho0e. f we can do this and at the sa0e ti0e wor- up tourist traffic so that foreigners will co0e fro0 every part of the world to see such re0ar-able wonders as the Grand !anyon8 Glacier and :ellowstone etc. par-s8 the fine hotels of !hicago8 A etc.8 thus leaving their 0oney here8 we shall have such a balance of trade as will go far to carry out 0y often-criticiGed yet co0pletely sound idea of fro0 N'/// to N(/// per year for every single fa0ily--that is8 0ean every real A0erican fa0ily. *uch an aspiring ?ision is what

we want8 and not all this nonsense of wasting our ti0e at Geneva and tal-y-tal- at +ugano8 wherever that is.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

1lection day would fall on Tuesday8 .ove0ber third8 and on *unday evening of the first8 *enator 9indrip played the finale of his ca0paign at a 0ass 0eeting in 2adison *@uare Garden8 in .ew :or-. The Garden would hold8 with seats and standing roo08 about %&8///8 and a wee- before the 0eeting every tic-et had been sold--at fro0 fifty cents to five dollars8 and then by speculators resold and resold8 at fro0 one dollar to twenty.

Dore0us had been able to get one single tic-et fro0 an ac@uaintance on one of the #earst dailies--which8 alone a0ong the .ew :or- papers8 were supporting 9indrip--and on the afternoon of .ove0ber first he traveled the three hundred 0iles to .ew :or- for his first visit in three years.

t had been cold in ?er0ont8 with early snow8 but the white drifts lay to the earth so @uietly8 in unstained air8 that the world see0ed a silver-painted carnival8 left to silence. 1ven on a 0oonless night8 a pale radiance ca0e fro0 the snow8 fro0 the earth itself8 and the stars were drops of @uic-silver.

But8 following the redcap carrying his shabby Gladstone bag8 Dore0us ca0e out of the Grand !entral8 at si= o"cloc-8 into a gray tric-le of cold dishwater fro0 heaven"s -itchen sin-. The renowned towers which he e=pected to see on >orty-second *treet were dead in their 0u00y cloths of ragged fog. And as to the 0ob that8 with cruel disinterest8 galloped past hi08 a new and heedless s0ear of faces every second8 the 0an fro0 >ort Beulah could thin- only that .ew :or0ust be holding its county fair in this cla00y driGGle8 or else that there was a big fire so0ewhere.

#e had sensibly planned to save 0oney by using the subway--the substantial village burgher is so poor in the city of the Babylonian gardensJ--and he even re0e0bered that there were still to

be found in 2anhattan five-cent trolley cars8 in which a rustic 0ight divert hi0self by loo-ing at sailors and poets and shawled wo0en fro0 the steppes of LaGa-stan. To the redcap he had piped with what he conceived to be traveled urbanity8 EGuess "ll ta-e a trolley--jus" few bloc-s.E But deafened and diGGied and elbow-jabbed by the crowd8 soa-ed and depressed8 he too- refuge in a ta=i8 then wished he hadn"t8 as he saw the slippery rubber-colored pave0ent8 and as his ta=i got wedged a0ong other cars stin-ing of carbon-0ono=ide and frenGiedly tooting for release fro0 the ja0--a huddle of robot sheep bleating their terror with 0echanical lungs of a hundred horsepower.

#e painfully hesitated before going out again fro0 his s0all hotel in the 9est >orties8 and when he did8 when he 0uddily crept a0ong the shrill shopgirls8 the weary chorus girls8 the hard cigarcla0ping ga0blers8 and the pretty young 0en on Broadway8 he felt hi0self8 with the rubbers and u0brella which 100a had forced upon hi08 a very !aspar 2il@uetoast.

#e 0ost noticed a nu0ber of stray i0itation soldiers8 without side-ar0s or rifles8 but in a unifor0 li-e that of an A0erican cavalry0an in %4C/: slant-topped blue forage caps8 dar- blue tunics8 light blue trousers8 with yellow stripes at the sea08 tuc-ed into leggings of blacrubberoid for what appeared to be the privates8 and boots of slee- blac- leather for officers. 1ach of the0 had on the right side of his collar the letters E2.2.E and on the left8 a five-pointed star. There were so 0any of the0H they swaggered so braGenly8 shouldering civilians out of the wayH and upon insignificances li-e Dore0us they loo-ed with frigid insolence.

#e suddenly understood.

These young condottieri were the E2inute 2enE: the private troops of BerGelius 9indrip8 about which Dore0us had been publishing uneasy news reports. #e was thrilled and a little dis0ayed to see the0 now--the printed words 0ade brutal flesh.

Three wee-s ago 9indrip had announced that !olonel Dewey #ai- had founded8 just for the ca0paign8 a nationwide league of 9indrip 0arching-clubs8 to be called the 2inute 2en. t was probable that they had been in for0ation for 0onths8 since already they had three or four hundred thousand 0e0bers. Dore0us was afraid the 2.2."s 0ight beco0e a per0anent organiGation8 0ore 0enacing than the Lu-lu= Llan.

Their unifor0 suggested the pioneer A0erica of !old #arbor and of the ndian fighters under 2iles and !uster. Their e0ble08 their swasti-a $here Dore0us saw the cunning and 0ysticis0 of +ee *arason)8 was a five-pointed star8 because the star on the A0erican flag was five-pointed8 whereas the stars of both the *oviet banner and the 5ews--the seal of *olo0on--were si=pointed.

The fact that the *oviet star8 actually8 was also five-pointed8 no one noticed8 during these e=cited days of regeneration. Anyway8 it was a nice idea to have this star si0ultaneously challenge the 5ews and the Bolshevi-s--the 2.2."s had good intentions8 even if their sy0bolis0 did slip a little.

:et the craftiest thing about the 2.2."s was that they wore no colored shirts8 but only plain white when on parade8 and light -ha-i when on outpost duty8 so that BuGG 9indrip could thunder8 and fre@uently8 EBlac- shirtsM Brown shirtsM <ed shirtsM :es8 and 0aybe cow-brindle shirtsJ All these degenerate 1uropean unifor0s of tyrannyJ .o sirJ The 2inute 2en are not >ascist or !o00unist or anything at all but plain De0ocratic--the -night-cha0pions of the rights of the >orgotten 2en--the shoc- troops of >reedo0JE

Dore0us dined on !hinese food8 his invariable self-indulgence when he was in a large city without 100a8 who stated that chow 0ein was nothing but fried e=celsior with flour-paste gravy. #e forgot the leering 2.2. troopers a littleH he was happy in glancing at the gilded woodcarvings8 at the octagonal lanterns painted with doll-li-e !hinese peasants crossing arched bridges8 at a @uartette of guests8 two 0ale and two fe0ale8 who loo-ed li-e Public 1ne0ies and who all through dinner @uarreled with restrained viciousness.

9hen he headed toward 2adison *@uare Garden and the cul0inating 9indrip rally8 he was plunged into a 0aelstro0. A whole nation see0ed @uerulously to be headed the sa0e way. #e could not get a ta=icab8 and wal-ing through the dreary stor0 so0e fourteen bloc-s to 2adison *@uare Garden he was aware of the 0urderous te0per of the crowd.

1ighth Avenue8 lined with cheapjac- shops8 was pac-ed with drab8 discouraged people who yet8 tonight8 were tipsy with the hashish of hope. They filled the sidewal-s8 nearly filled the pave0ent8 while irritable 0otors s@ueeGed tediously through the08 and angry police0en were pushed and whirled about and8 if they tried to be haughty8 got jeered at by lively shopgirls.

Through the welter8 before Dore0us"s eyes8 jabbed a flying wedge of 2inute 2en8 led by what he was later to recogniGe as a cornet of 2.2."s. They were not on duty8 and they were not belligerentH they were cheering8 and singing EBerGelius 9indrip went to 9ash.8E re0inding Dore0us of a slightly drun-en -not of students fro0 an inferior college after a football victory. #e was to re0e0ber the0 so afterward8 0onths afterward8 when the ene0ies of the 2.2."s all through the country derisively called the0 E2ic-ey 2ousesE and E2innies.E

An old 0an8 shabbily neat8 stood bloc-ing the0 and yelled8 ETo hell with BuGGJ Three cheers for >.D.<.JE

The 2.2."s burst into hoodlu0 wrath. The cornet in co00and8 a bruiser uglier even than *had +edue8 hit the old 0an on the jaw8 and he sloped down8 sic-eningly. Then8 fro0 nowhere8 facing the cornet8 there was a chief petty officer of the navy8 big8 s0iling8 rec-less. The !.P.3. bellowed8 in a voice tuned to hurricanes8 E*well bunch o" tin soldiersJ .ine o" yuh to one grandpappyJ 5ust about even--E

The cornet soc-ed hi0H he laid out the cornet with one foul to the bellyH instantly the other eight 2.2."s were on the !.P.3.8 li-e sparrows after a haw-8 and he crashed8 his face8 suddenly vealwhite8 laced with rivulets of blood. The eight -ic-ed hi0 in the head with their thic- 0archingshoes. They were still -ic-ing hi0 when Dore0us wriggled away8 very sic-8 altogether helpless.

#e had not turned away @uic-ly enough to avoid seeing an 2.2. trooper8 girlish-faced8 cri0sonlipped8 fawn-eyed8 throw hi0self on the fallen cornet and8 whi0pering8 stro-e that roustabout"s roast-beef chee-s with shy gardenia-petal fingers.

There were 0any argu0ents8 a few private fist fights8 and one 0ore battle8 before Dore0us reached the auditoriu0.

A bloc- fro0 it so0e thirty 2.2."s8 headed by a battalion-leader--so0ething between a captain and a 0ajor--started raiding a street 0eeting of !o00unists. A 5ewish girl in -ha-i8 her bare head soa-ed with rain8 was beseeching fro0 the elevation of a wheelbarrow8 E>ellow travelersJ Don"t just chew the rag and "sy0pathiGe"J 5oin usJ .owJ t"s life and deathJE Twenty feet fro0 the !o00unists8 a 0iddle-aged 0an who loo-ed li-e a social wor-er was e=plaining the 5effersonian Party8 recalling the record of President <oosevelt8 and reviling the !o00unists ne=t door as word-drun- un-A0erican cran-s. #alf his audience were people who 0ight be co0petent votersH half of the0--li-e half of any group on this evening of tragic fiesta--were cigarette-sniping boys in hand-0e-downs.

The thirty 2.2."s cheerfully s0ashed into the !o00unists. The battalion leader reached up8 slapped the girl spea-er8 dragged her down fro0 the wheelbarrow. #is followers casually waded in with fists and blac-jac-s. Dore0us8 0ore nauseated8 feeling 0ore helpless than ever8 heard the s0ac- of a blac-jac- on the te0ple of a scrawny 5ewish intellectual.

A0aGingly8 then8 the voice of the rival 5effersonian leader spiraled up into a screa0: E!o0e on8 youJ Going to let those hellhounds attac- our !o00unist friends--friends now8 by GodJE 9ith which the 0ild boo-wor0 leaped into the air8 ca0e down s@uarely upon a fat 2ic-ey 2ouse8 capsiGed hi08 seiGed his blac-jac-8 too- ti0e to -ic- another 2.2."s shins before arising fro0 the wrec-8 sprang up8 and waded into the raiders as8 Dore0us guessed8 he would have waded into a table of statistics on the proportion of butter fat in loose 0il- in &C.C per cent of shops on Avenue B.

Till then8 only half-a-doGen !o00unist Party 0e0bers had been facing the 2.2."s8 their bac-s to a garage wall. >ifty of their own8 fifty 5effersonians besides8 now joined the08 and with bric-s and u0brellas and deadly volu0es of sociology they drove off the enraged 2.2."s--partisans of Bela Lun side by side with the partisans of Professor 5ohn Dewey--until a riot s@uad of police0en battered their way in to protect the 2.2."s by arresting the girl !o00unist spea-er and the 5effersonian.

Dore0us had often Eheaded upE sports stories about E2adison *@uare Garden PriGe >ights8E but he did -now that the place had nothing to do with 2adison *@uare8 fro0 which it was a day"s journey by bus8 that it was decidedly not a garden8 that the fighters there did not fight for EpriGesE but for fi=ed partnership shares in the business8 and that a good 0any of the0 did not fight at all.

The 0a00oth building8 as in e=haustion Dore0us crawled up to it8 was entirely ringed with 2.2."s8 elbow to elbow8 all carrying heavy canes8 and at every entrance8 along every aisle8 the 2.2."s were rigidly in line8 with their officers galloping about8 whispering orders8 and bearing uneasy ru0ors li-e scared calves in a dipping-pen.

These past wee-s hungry 0iners8 dispossessed far0ers8 !arolina 0ill hands had greeted *enator 9indrip with a flutter of worn hands beneath gasoline torches. .ow he was to face8 not the une0ployed8 for they could not afford fifty-cent tic-ets8 but the s0all8 scared side-street traders of .ew :or-8 who considered the0selves altogether superior to clodhoppers and 0ine-creepers8 yet were as desperate as they. The swelling 0ass that Dore0us saw8 proud in seats or standing chin-to-nape in the aisles8 in a ree- of da0pened clothes8 was not ro0anticH they were people concerned with the tailor"s goose8 the tray of potato salad8 the card of hoo-s-and-eyes8 the leech-li-e 0ortgage on the owner-driven ta=i8 with8 at ho0e8 the baby"s diapers8 the dull safetyraGor blade8 the awful rise in the cost of ru0p stea- and -osher chic-en. And a few8 and very proud8 civil-service cler-s and letter carriers and superintendents of s0all apart0ent houses8 curiously fashionable in seventeen-dollar ready-0ade suits and feebly stitched foulard ties8 who boasted8 E don"t -now why all these bu0s go on relief. 0ay not be such a wiG8 but let 0e tell you8 even since %&6&8 "ve never 0ade less than two thousand dollars a yearJE

2anhattan peasants. Lind people8 industrious people8 generous to their aged8 eager to find any desperate cure for the sic-ness of worry over losing the job.

2ost facile 0aterial for any rabble-rouser.

The historic rally opened with e=tre0e dullness. A regi0ental band played the Tales fro0 #off0an barcarole with no apparent significance and not 0uch 0ore liveliness. The <everend Dr. #endri- ?an +ollop of *t. Apologue"s +utheran !hurch offered prayer8 but one felt that probably it had not been accepted. *enator Por-wood provided a dissertation on *enator 9indrip which was co0posed in e@ual parts of apostolic adoration of BuGG and of the uh-uh-uh"s with which #on. Por-wood always interspersed his words.

And 9indrip wasn"t yet even in sight.

!olonel Dewey #ai-8 no0inator of BuGG at the !leveland convention8 was considerably better. #e told three jo-es8 and an anecdote about a faithful carrier pigeon in the Great 9ar which had see0ed to understand8 really better than 0any of the hu0an soldiers8 just why it was that the A0ericans were over there fighting for >rance against Ger0any. The connection of this ornithological hero with the virtues of *enator 9indrip did not see0 evident8 but8 after having sat under *enator Por-wood8 the audience enjoyed the note of 0ilitary gallantry.

Dore0us felt that !olonel #ai- was not 0erely ra0bling but pounding on toward so0ething definite. #is voice beca0e 0ore insistent. #e began to tal- about 9indrip: E0y friend--the one 0an who dares beard the 0onetary lion--the 0an who in his great and si0ple heart cherishes the woe of every co00on 0an as once did the brooding tenderness of Abraha0 +incoln.E Then8 wildly waving toward a side entrance8 he shrie-ed8 EAnd here he co0esJ 2y friends--BuGG 9indripJE

The band ha00ered out EThe !a0pbells Are !o0ing.E A s@uadron of 2inute 2en8 s0art as #orse Guards8 carrying long lances with starred pennants8 clic-ed into the gigantic bowl of the auditoriu08 and after the08 shabby in an old blue-serge suit8 nervously twisting a sweat-stained slouch hat8 stooped and tired8 li0ped BerGelius 9indrip. The audience leaped up8 thrusting one another aside to have a loo- at the deliverer8 cheering li-e artillery at dawn.

9indrip started prosaically enough. :ou felt rather sorry for hi08 so aw-wardly did he lu0ber up the steps to the platfor08 across to the center of the stage. #e stoppedH stared owlishly. Then he @uac-ed 0onotonously:

EThe first ti0e ever ca0e to .ew :or- was a greenhorn--no8 don"t laugh8 0ebbe still a0J But had already been elected a Dnited *tates *enator8 and bac- ho0e8 the way they"d serenaded 0e8 thought was so0e pun-ins. thought 0y na0e was just about as fa0iliar to everybody as Al !apone"s or !a0el !igarettes or !astoria--Babies !ry >or t. But co0e to .ew :or- on 0y way to 9ashington8 and say8 sat in 0y hotel lobby here for three days8 and the only fellow ever spo-e to 0e was the hotel detectiveJ And when he did co0e up and address 0e8 was tic-led to death-- thought he was going to tell 0e the whole burg was pleased by 0y condescending to visit "e0. But all he wanted to -now was8 was a guest of the hotel and did have any right to be holding down a lobby chair per0anently that wayJ And tonight8 friends8 "0 pretty near as scared of 3ld Gotha0 as was thenJE

The laughter8 the hand-clapping8 were fair enough8 but the proud electors were disappointed by his drawl8 his weary hu0ility.

Dore0us @uivered hopefully8 E2aybe he isn"t going to get electedJE

9indrip outlined his too-fa0iliar platfor0--Dore0us was interested only in observing that 9indrip 0is@uoted his own figures regarding the li0itation of fortunes8 in Point >ive.

#e slid into a rhapsody of general ideas--a 0ish0ash of polite regards to 5ustice8 >reedo08 1@uality8 3rder8 Prosperity8 Patriotis08 and any nu0ber of other noble but slippery abstractions.

Dore0us thought he was being bored8 until he discovered that8 at so0e 0o0ent which he had not noticed8 he had beco0e absorbed and e=cited.

*o0ething in the intensity with which 9indrip loo-ed at his audience8 loo-ed at all of the08 his glance slowly ta-ing the0 in fro0 the highest-perched seat to the nearest8 convinced the0 that

he was tal-ing to each individual8 directly and solelyH that he wanted to ta-e each of the0 into his heartH that he was telling the0 the truths8 the i0perious and dangerous facts8 that had been hidden fro0 the0.

EThey say want 0oney--powerJ *ay8 "ve turned down offers fro0 law fir0s right here in .ew :or- of three ti0es the 0oney "ll get as PresidentJ And power--why8 the President is the servant of every citiGen in the country8 and not just of the considerate fol-s8 but also of every cran- that co0es pestering hi0 by telegra0 and phone and letter. And yet8 it"s true8 it"s absolutely true do want power8 great8 big8 i0perial power--but not for 0yself--no--for youJ--the power of your per0ission to s0ash the 5ew financiers who"ve enslaved you8 who"re wor-ing you to death to pay the interest on their bondsH the grasping ban-ers--and not all of "e0 5ews by a darn sightJ-the croo-ed labor-leaders just as 0uch as the croo-ed bosses8 and8 0ost of all8 the snea-ing spies of 2oscow that want you to lic- the boots of their self-appointed tyrants that rule not by love and loyalty8 li-e want to8 but by the horrible power of the whip8 the dar- cell8 the auto0atic pistolJE

#e pictured8 then8 a Paradise of de0ocracy in which8 with the old political 0achines destroyed8 every hu0blest wor-er would be -ing and ruler8 do0inating representatives elected fro0 a0ong his own -ind of people8 and these representatives not growing indifferent8 as hitherto they had done8 once they were far off in 9ashington8 but -ept alert to the public interest by the supervision of a strengthened 1=ecutive.

t sounded al0ost reasonable8 for a while.

The supre0e actor8 BuGG 9indrip8 was passionate yet never grotes@uely wild. #e did not gesture too e=travagantlyH only8 li-e Gene Debs of old8 he reached out a bony forefinger which see0ed to jab into each of the0 and hoo- out each heart. t was his 0ad eyes8 big staring tragic eyes8 that startled the08 and his voice8 now thundering8 now hu0bly pleading8 that soothed the0.

#e was so obviously an honest and 0erciful leaderH a 0an of sorrows and ac@uaint with woe.

Dore0us 0arveled8 E "ll be hangedJ 9hy8 he"s a darn good sort when you co0e to 0eet hi0J And war0-hearted. #e 0a-es 0e feel as if "d been having a good evening with Buc- and *teve Perefi=e. 9hat if BuGG is rightM 9hat if--in spite of all the de0agogic pap that8 suppose8 he has got to feed out to the boobs--he"s right in clai0ing that it"s only he8 and not Trowbridge or <oosevelt8 that can brea- the hold of the absentee ownersM And these 2inute 2en8 his followers--oh8 they were pretty nasty8 what saw out on the street8 but still8 0ost of "e0 are 0ighty nice8 clean-cut young fellows. *eeing BuGG and then listening to what he actually says does -ind of surprise you---ind of 0a-e you thin-JE

But what 2r. 9indrip actually had said8 Dore0us could not re0e0ber an hour later8 when he had co0e out of the trance.

#e was so convinced then that 9indrip would win that8 on Tuesday evening8 he did not re0ain at the nfor0er office until the returns were all in. But if he did not stay for the evidences of the election8 they ca0e to hi0.

Past his house8 after 0idnight8 through 0uddy snow tra0ped a triu0phant and reasonably drun-en parade8 carrying torches and bellowing to the air of E:an-ee DoodleE new words revealed just that wee- by 2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch:

EThe sna-es disloyal to our BuGG 9e"re riding on a rail8

They"ll wish to God they never was8 9hen we get the0 in jailJ

!horus:

EBuGG and buGG and -eep it up To victory he"s floated. :ou were a 0ost ungrateful pup8 Dnless for BuGG you voted.

E1very 2.2. gets a whip To use upon so0e traitor8 And every AntibuGG we s-ip Today8 we"ll tend to later.E

EAntibuGG8E a word credited to 2rs. Gi00itch but 0ore probably invented by Dr. #ector 2acgoblin8 was to be e=tensively used by lady patriots as a ter0 e=pressing such vicious disloyalty to the *tate as 0ight call for the firing s@uad. :et8 li-e 2rs. Gi00itch"s splendid synthesis EDn-ies8E for soldiers of the A.1.>.8 it never really caught on.

A0ong the winter-coated paraders Dore0us and *issy thought they could 0a-e out *had +edue8 Aras Dilley8 that philoprogenitive s@uatter fro0 2ount Terror8 !harley Betts8 the furniture dealer8 and Tony 2ogliani8 the fruit-seller8 0ost ardent e=pounder of talian >ascis0 in central ?er0ont.

And8 though he could not be sure of it in the di0ness behind the torches8 Dore0us rather thought that the lone large 0otorcar following the procession was that of his neighbor8 >rancis Tasbrough.

.e=t 0orning8 at the nfor0er office8 Dore0us did not learn of so very 0uch da0age wrought by the triu0phant .ordics--they had 0erely upset a couple of privies8 torn down and burned the tailor-shop sign of +ouis <otenstern8 and so0ewhat badly beaten !lifford +ittle8 the jeweler8 a slight8 curly-headed young 0an who0 *had +edue despised because he organiGed theatricals and played the organ in 2r. >alc-"s church.

That night Dore0us found8 on his front porch8 a notice in red chal- upon butcher"s paper:

:ou will get yrs Dorey sweethart unles you get rite down on yr belly and crawl in front of the 22 and the +eague and the !hief and

A friend

t was the first ti0e that Dore0us had heard of Ethe !hief8E a sound A0erican variant of Ethe +eaderE or Ethe #ead of the Govern0ent8E as a popular title for 2r. 9indrip. t was soon to be 0ade official.

Dore0us burned the red warning without telling his fa0ily. But he often wo-e to re0e0ber it8 not very laughingly.

%'

And when get ready to retire "0 going to build 0e an up-to-date bungalow in so0e lovely resort8 not in !o0o or any other of the proverbial Grecian isles you 0ay be sure8 but in so0ewheres li-e >lorida8 !alifornia8 *anta >e8 A etc.8 and devote 0yself just to reading the classics8 li-e +ongfellow8 5a0es 9hitco0b <iley8 +ord 2acaulay8 #enry ?an Dy-e8 1lbert #ubbard8 Plato8 #iawatha8 A etc. *o0e of 0y friends laugh at 0e for it8 but have always cultivated a taste for the finest in literature. got it fro0 0y 2other as did everything that so0e people have been so good as to ad0ire in 0e.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

!ertain though Dore0us had been of 9indrip"s election8 the event was li-e the long-dreaded passing of a friend.

EAll right. #ell with this country8 if it"s li-e that. All these years "ve wor-ed--and never did want to be on all these co00ittees and boards and charity drivesJ--and don"t they loo- silly nowJ 9hat always wanted to do was to snea- off to an ivory tower--or anyway8 celluloid8 i0itation ivory--and read everything "ve been too busy to read.E

Thus Dore0us8 in late .ove0ber.

And he did actually atte0pt it8 and for a few days reveled in it8 avoiding everyone save his fa0ily and +orinda8 Buc- Titus8 and >ather Perefi=e. 2ostly8 though8 he found that he did not relish the EclassicsE he had so far 0issed8 but those fa0iliar to his youth: vanhoe8 #uc-leberry >inn8 2idsu00er .ight"s Drea08 The Te0pest8 +"Allegro8 The 9ay of All >lesh $not @uite so youthful8 there)8 2oby Dic-8 The 1arthly Paradise8 *t. Agnes" 1ve8 The dylls of the Ling8 0ost of *winburne8 Pride and Prejudice8 <eligio 2edici8 ?anity >air.

Probably he was not so very different fro0 President-1lect 9indrip in his rather uncritical reverence toward any boo- he had heard of before he was thirty. . . . .o A0erican whose fathers have lived in the country for over two generations is so utterly different fro0 any other A0erican.

n one thing8 Dore0us"s literary escapis0 failed hi0 thoroughly. #e tried to relearn +atin8 but he could not now8 uncajoled by a 0aster8 believe that E2ensa8 0ensae8 0ensae8 0ensa08 0ensaE-all that idiotic A table8 of a table8 to a table8 toward a table8 at in by or on a table--could bear hi0 again as once it had to the honey-sweet tran@uillity of ?ergil and the *abine >ar0.

Then he saw that in everything his @uest failed hi0.

The reading was good enough8 toothso0e8 satisfying8 e=cept that he felt guilty at having snea-ed away to an vory Tower at all. Too 0any years he had 0ade a habit of social duty. #e wanted to be EinE things8 and he was daily 0ore irritable as 9indrip began8 even before his inauguration8 to dictate to the country.

BuGG"s party8 with the desertions to the 5effersonians8 had less than a 0ajority in !ongress. E nside dopeE ca0e to Dore0us fro0 9ashington that 9indrip was trying to buy8 to flatter8 to blac-0ail opposing !ongress0en. A President-1lect has unhallowed power8 if he so wishes8 and 9indrip--no doubt with pro0ises of abnor0al favors in the way of patronage--won over a few. >ive 5effersonian !ongress0en had their elections challenged. 3ne sensationally disappeared8 and s0o-ing after his galloping heels there was a devilish fu0e of e0beGGle0ents. And with

each such triu0ph of 9indrip8 all the well-0eaning8 cloistered Dore0uses of the country were the 0ore an=ious.

All through the EDepression8E ever since %&6&8 Dore0us had felt the insecurity8 the confusion8 the sense of futility in trying to do anything 0ore per0anent than shaving or eating brea-fast8 that was general to the country. #e could no longer plan8 for hi0self or for his dependants8 as the citiGens of this once unsettled country had planned since %K6/.

9hy8 their whole lives had been predicated on the privilege of planning. Depressions had been only cyclic stor0s8 certain to end in sunshineH !apitalis0 and parlia0entary govern0ent were eternal8 and eternally being i0proved by the honest votes of Good !itiGens.

Dore0us"s grandfather8 !alvin8 !ivil 9ar veteran and ill-paid8 illiberal !ongregational 0inister8 had yet planned8 E2y son8 +oren8 shall have a theological education8 and thin- we shall be able to build a fine new house in fifteen or twenty years.E That had given hi0 a reason for wor-ing8 and a goal.

#is father8 +oren8 had vowed8 E1ven if have to econo0iGe on boo-s a little8 and perhaps give up this e=travagance of eating 0eat four ti0es a wee---very bad for the digestion8 anyway--0y son8 Dore0us8 shall have a college education8 and when8 as he desires8 he beco0es a publicist8 thinperhaps shall be able to help hi0 for a year or two. And then hope--oh8 in a 0ere five or si= years 0ore--to buy that co0plete Dic-ens with all the illustrations--oh8 an e=travagance8 but a thing to leave to 0y grandchildren to treasure foreverJE

But Dore0us 5essup could not plan8 E "ll have *issy go to *0ith before she studies architecture8E or E f 5ulian >alc- and *issy get 0arried and stic- here in the >ort8 "ll give "e0 the southwest lot and so0e day8 0aybe fifteen years fro0 now8 the whole place will be filled with nice -ids againJE .o. >ifteen years fro0 now8 he sighed8 *issy 0ight be hustling hash for the sort of wor-ers who called the waiter"s art Ehustling hashEH and 5ulian 0ight be in a concentration ca0p-->ascist or

!o00unistJ

The #oratio Alger tradition8 fro0 rags to <oc-efellers8 was clean gone out of the A0erica it had do0inated.

t see0ed faintly silly to hope8 to try to prophesy8 to give up sleep on a good 0attress for toil on a typewriter8 and as for saving 0oney--idioticJ

And for a newspaper editor--for one who 0ust -now8 at least as well as the 1ncyclopQdia8 everything about local and foreign history8 geography8 econo0ics8 politics8 literature8 and 0ethods of playing football--it was 0addening that it see0ed i0possible now to -now anything surely.

E#e don"t -now what it"s all aboutE had in a year or two changed fro0 a collo@uial sneer to a sound general state0ent regarding al0ost any econo0ist. 3nce8 0odestly enough8 Dore0us had assu0ed that he had a decent -nowledge of finance8 ta=ation8 the gold standard8 agricultural e=ports8 and he had s0ilingly pontificated everywhere that +iberal !apitalis0 would pastorally lead into *tate *ocialis08 with govern0ental ownership of 0ines and railroads and water-power so settling all ine@ualities of inco0e that every lion of a structural steel wor-er would be willing to lie down with any la0b of a contractor8 and all the jails and tuberculosis sanatoria would be clean e0pty.

.ow he -new that he -new nothing funda0ental and8 li-e a lone 0on- stric-en with a conviction of sin8 he 0ourned8 E f only -new 0oreJ . . . :es8 and if could only re0e0ber statisticsJE

The co0ing and the going of the ..<.A.8 the >.1.<.A.8 the P.9.A.8 and all the rest8 had convinced Dore0us that there were four sets of people who did not clearly understand anything whatever

about how the govern0ent 0ust be conducted: all the authorities in 9ashingtonH all of the citiGenry who tal-ed or wrote profusely about politicsH the bewildered untouchables who said nothingH and Dore0us 5essup.

EBut8E said he8 Enow8 after BuGG"s inauguration8 everything is going to be co0pletely si0ple and co0prehensible again--the country is going to be run as his private do0ainJE

5ulian >alc-8 now sopho0ore in A0herst8 had co0e ho0e for !hrist0as vacation8 and he dropped in at the nfor0er office to beg fro0 Dore0us a ride ho0e before dinner.

#e called Dore0us EsirE and did not see0 to thin- he was a co0ic fossil. Dore0us li-ed it.

3n the way they stopped for gasoline at the garage of 5ohn Polli-op8 the seething *ocial De0ocrat8 and were waited upon by Larl Pascal--so0eti0e don-ey-engine-0an at Tasbrough"s @uarry8 so0eti0e stri-e leader8 so0eti0e political prisoner in the county jail on a thin charge of inciting to riot8 and ever since then8 a 0odel of !o00unistic piety.

Pascal was a thin 0an8 but sinewyH his gaunt and hu0orous face of a good 0echanic was so grease-dar-ened that the s-in above and below his eyes see0ed white as a fish-belly8 and8 in turn8 that pallid ri0 0ade his eyes8 alert dar- gipsy eyes8 see0 the larger. . . . A panther chained to a coal cart.

E9ell8 what you going to do after this electionME said Dore0us. E3hJ That"s a fool @uestionJ guess none of us chronic -ic-ers want to say 0uch about what we plan to do after 5anuary8 when BuGG gets his hands on us. +ie low8 ehME

E "0 going to lie the lowest lie that ever did. :ou betJ But 0aybe there"ll be a few !o00unist cells around here now8 when >ascis0 begins to get into people"s hair. .ever did have 0uch success with 0y propaganda before8 but now8 you watchJE e=ulted Pascal.

E:ou don"t see0 so depressed by the election8E 0arveled Dore0us8 while 5ulian offered8 E.o-you see0 @uite cheerful about itJE

EDepressedM 9hy good +ord8 2r. 5essup8 thought you -new your revolutionary tactics better than that8 way you supported us in the @uarry stri-e--even if you are the perfect type of s0all capitalist bourgeoisJ DepressedM 9hy8 can"t you see8 if the !o00unists had paid for it they couldn"t have had anything 0ore elegant for our purposes than the election of a pro-plutocrat8 itching 0ilitarist dictator li-e BuGG 9indripJ +oo-J #e"ll get everybody plenty dissatisfied. But they can"t do anything8 barehanded against the ar0ed troops. Then he"ll whoop it up for a war8 and so 0illions of people will have ar0s and food rations in their hands--all ready for the revolutionJ #urray for BuGG and 5ohn Prang the BaptistJE

ELarl8 it"s funny about you. honestly believe you believe in !o00unis0JE 0arveled young 5ulian. EDon"t youME

E9hy don"t you go and as- your friend >ather Perefi=e if he believes in the ?irginME

EBut you see0 to li-e A0erica8 and you don"t see0 so fanatical8 Larl. re0e0ber when was a -id of about ten and you-- suppose you were about twenty-five or -si= then--you used to slide with us and whoop li-e hell8 and you 0ade 0e a s-i-stic-.E

E*ure li-e A0erica. !a0e here when was two years old-- was born in Ger0any--0y fol-s weren"t #einies8 though--0y dad was >rench and 0y 0other a #un-ie fro0 *erbia. $Guess that 0a-es 0e a hundred per cent A0erican8 all rightJ) thin- we"ve got the 3ld !ountry beat8 lots of ways. 9hy8 say8 5ulian8 over there "d have to call you "2ein #err" or ":our 1=cellency8" or so0e fool thing8 and you"d call 0e8 " say-uh8 PascalJ" and 2r. 5essup here8 0y +ord8 he"d be "!o00endatore" or "#err Do-tor"J .o8 li-e it here. There"s sy0pto0s of possible future de0ocracy. But--but--what burns 0e up--it isn"t that old soap-bo=er"s chestnut about how one tenth of % per cent of the population at the top have an aggregate inco0e e@ual to B6 per cent at the botto0. >igures li-e that are too astrono0ical. Don"t 0ean a thing in the world to a fellow

with his eyes--and nose--down in a trans0ission bo=--fellow that doesn"t see the stars e=cept after & P.2. on odd 9ednesdays. But what burns 0e up is the fact that even before this Depression8 in what you fol-s called prosperous ti0es8 C per cent of all the fa0ilies in the country earned N(// a year or less--re0e0ber8 those weren"t the une0ployed8 on reliefH those were the guys that had the honor of still doing honest labor.

E>ive hundred dollars a year is ten dollars a wee---and that 0eans one dirty little roo0 for a fa0ily of four peopleJ t 0eans N(.// a wee- for all their food--eighteen cents per day per person for foodJ--and even the lousiest prisons allow 0ore than that. And the 0agnificent re0ainder of N6.(/ a wee-8 that 0eans nine cents per day per person for clothes8 insurance8 carfares8 doctors" bills8 dentists" bills8 and for God"s sa-e8 a0use0ents--a0use0entsJ--and all the rest of the nine cents a day they can fritter away on their >ords and autogiros and8 when they feel fagged8 s-ipping across the pond on the .or0andieJ *even per cent of all the fortunate A0erican fa0ilies where the old 0an has got a jobJE

5ulian was silentH then whispered8 E:ou -now--fellow gets discussing econo0ics in college-theoretically sy0pathetic--but to see your own -ids living on eighteen cents a day for grub-guess that would 0a-e a 0an pretty e=tre0istJE

Dore0us fretted8 EBut what percentage of forced labor in your <ussian lu0ber ca0ps and *iberian prison 0ines are getting 0ore than thatME

E#aaaJ That"s all baloneyJ That"s the old standard co0e-bac- at every !o00unist--just li-e once8 twenty years ago8 the 0uttonheads used to thin- they"d crushed any *ocialist when they snic-ered " f all the 0oney was divided up8 inside five years the hustlers would have all of it again." Prob"ly there"s so0e standard coup de grace li-e that in <ussia8 to crush anybody that defends A0erica. BesidesJE Larl Pascal glowed with nationalistic fervor. E9e A0ericans aren"t li-e those du0b <uss-i peasantsJ 9e"ll do a whole lot better when we get !o00unis0JE

And on that8 his e0ployer8 the e=pansive 5ohn Polli-op8 a woolly *cotch terrier of a 0an8 returned to the garage. 5ohn was an e=cellent friend of Dore0usH had8 indeed8 been his bootlegger all through Prohibition8 personally running in his whis-y fro0 !anada. #e had been -nown8 even in that singularly scrupulous profession8 as one of its 0ost trustworthy practitioners. .ow he flowered into 0id-1uropean dialectics:

E1venin"8 2ist" 5essup8 evenin"8 5ulianJ Larl fill up y" tan- for youM :ou want t" watch that guy--he"s li-ely to hold out a gallon on you. #e"s one of these craGy dogs of !o00unists--they all believe in ?iolence instead of 1volution and +egality. The0--why say8 if they hadn"t been so croo-ed8 if they"d joined 0e and .or0an Tho0as and the other intelligent *ocialists in a Dnited >ront with <oosevelt and the 5effersonians8 why say8 we"d of lic-ed the pants off BuGGard 9indripJ 9indrip and his plansJE

$EBuGGardE 9indrip. That was good8 Dore0us reflected. #e"d be able to use it in the nfor0erJ)

Pascal protested8 E.ot that BuGGard"s personal plans and a0bitions have got 0uch to do with it. Altogether too easy to e=plain everything just bla0ing it on 9indrip. 9hy don"t you read your 2ar=8 5ohn8 instead of always gassing about hi0M 9hy8 9indrip"s just so0ething nasty that"s been vo0ited up. Plenty others still left fer0enting in the sto0ach--@uac- econo0ists with every sort of econo0ic pto0ainJ .o8 BuGG isn"t i0portant--it"s the sic-ness that 0ade us throw hi0 up that we"ve got to attend to--the sic-ness of 0ore than '/ per cent per0anently une0ployed8 and growing larger. Got to cure itJE

E!an you craGy Tovarishes cure itME snapped Polli-op8 and8 EDo you thin- !o00unis0 will cure itME s-eptically wondered Dore0us8 and8 0ore politely8 EDo you really thin- Larl 2ar= had the dopeME worried 5ulian8 all three at once.

E:ou bet your life we canJE said Pascal vaingloriously.

As Dore0us8 driving away8 loo-ed bac- at the08 Pascal and Polli-op were re0oving a flat tire together and @uarreling bitterly8 @uite happily.

Dore0us"s attic study had been to hi0 a refuge fro0 the tender solicitudes of 100a and 2rs. !andy and his daughters8 and all the i0pulsive hand-sha-ing strangers who wanted the local editor to start off their ca0paigns for the sale of life insurance or gas-saving carburetors8 for the *alvation Ar0y or the <ed !ross or the 3rphans" #o0e or the Anti-cancer !rusade8 or the assorted 0agaGines which would enable to go through college young 0en who at all cost should be -ept out of college.

t was a refuge now fro0 the considerably less tender solicitudes of supporters of the President1lect. 3n the pretense of wor-8 Dore0us too- to snea-ing up there in 0id-eveningH and he sat not in an easy chair but stiffly8 at his des-8 0a-ing crosses and five-pointed stars and si=-pointed stars and fancy delete signs on sheets of yellow copy paper8 while he sorely 0editated.

Thus8 this evening8 after the de0ands of Larl Pascal and 5ohn Polli-op:

E"The <evolt against !iviliGationJ"

EBut there"s the worst trouble of this whole cursed business of analysis. 9hen get to defending De0ocracy against !o00unis0 and >ascis0 and what-not8 sound just li-e the +othrop *toddards--why8 sound al0ost li-e a #earst editorial on how so0e college has got to -ic- out a Dangerous <ed instructor in order to preserve our De0ocracy for the ideals of 5efferson and 9ashingtonJ :et so0ehow8 singing the sa0e words8 have a notion 0y tune is entirely different fro0 #earst"s. don"t thin- we"ve done very well with all the plowland and forest and 0inerals and hus-y hu0an stoc- we"ve had. 9hat 0a-es 0e sic- about #earst and the D.A.<. is that if they are against !o00unis08 have to be for it8 and don"t want to beJ

E9astage of resources8 so they"re about gone--that"s been the A0erican share in the revolt against !iviliGation.

E9e can go bac- to the Dar- AgesJ The crust of learning and good 0anners and tolerance is so thinJ t would just ta-e a few thousand big shells and gas bo0bs to wipe out all the eager young 0en8 and all the libraries and historical archives and patent offices8 all the laboratories and art galleries8 all the castles and Periclean te0ples and Gothic cathedrals8 all the cooperative stores and 0otor factories--every storehouse of learning. .o inherent reason why *issy"s grandchildren--if anybody"s grandchildren will survive at all--shouldn"t be living in caves and

heaving roc-s at cata0ounts.

EAnd what"s the solution of preventing this debacleM Plenty of "e0J The !o00unists have a patent *olution they -now will wor-. *o have the >ascists8 and the rigid A0erican !onstitutionalists--who call the0selves advocates of De0ocracy8 without any notion what the word ought to 0eanH and the 2onarchists--who are certain that if we could just resurrect the Laiser and the !Gar and Ling Alfonso8 everybody would be loyal and happy again8 and the ban-s would si0ply force credit on s0all business0en at 6 per cent. And all the preachers--they tell you that they alone have the inspired *olution.

E9ell8 gentle0en8 have listened to all your *olutions8 and now infor0 you that 8 and alone8 e=cept perhaps for 9alt Trowbridge and the ghost of Pareto8 have the perfect8 the inevitable8 the only *olution8 and that is: There is no *olutionJ There will never be a state of society anything li-e perfectJ

EThere never will be a ti0e when there won"t be a large proportion of people who feel poor no 0atter how 0uch they have8 and envy their neighbors who -now how to wear cheap clothes showily8 and envy neighbors who can dance or 0a-e love or digest better.E

Dore0us suspected that8 with the 0ost scientific state8 it would be i0possible for iron deposits always to find the0selves at e=actly the rate decided upon two years before by the .ational Technocratic 2inerals !o00ission8 no 0atter how elevated and fraternal and Dtopian the principles of the co00issioners.

#is *olution8 Dore0us pointed out8 was the only one that did not flee before the thought that a thousand years fro0 now hu0an beings would probably continue to die of cancer and earth@ua-e and such clownish 0ishaps as slipping in bathtubs. t presu0ed that 0an-ind would continue to be burdened with eyes that grow wea-8 feet that grow tired8 noses that itch8 intestines vulnerable to bacilli8 and generative organs that are nervous until the age of virtue and senility. t see0ed to hi0 unidealistically probable8 for all the Econte0porary furnitureE of the %&'/"s8 that 0ost people would continue8 at least for a few hundred years8 to sit in chairs8 eat fro0 dishes upon tables8 read boo-s--no 0atter how 0any cunning phonographic substitutes 0ight be invented8 wear shoes or sandals8 sleep in beds8 write with so0e sort of pens8 and in general spend twenty or twenty-two hours a day 0uch as they had spent the0 in %&'/8 in %K'/. #e suspected that tornadoes8 floods8 droughts8 lightning8 and 0os@uitoes would re0ain8 along

with the ho0icidal tendency -nown in the best of citiGens when their sweethearts go dancing off with other 0en.

And8 0ost fatally and abys0ally8 his *olution guessed that 0en of superior cunning8 of slyer fo=iness8 whether they 0ight be called !o0rades8 Brethren8 !o00issars8 Lings8 Patriots8 +ittle Brothers of the Poor8 or any other rosy na0e8 would continue to have 0ore influence than slower-witted 0en8 however worthy.

All the warring *olutions--e=cept his8 Dore0us chuc-led--were ferociously propagated by the >anatics8 the E.uts.E

#e recalled an article in which .eil !arothers asserted that the Erabble-rousersE of A0erica in the 0id-"thirties had a long and dishonorable ancestry of prophets who had felt called upon to stir up the 0asses to save the world8 and save it in the prophets" own way8 and do it right now8 and 0ost violently: Peter the #er0it8 the ragged8 0ad8 and stin-ing 0on- who8 to rescue the $unidentified) to0b of the *avior fro0 undefined Eoutrages by the pagans8E led out on the !rusades so0e hundreds of thousands of 1uropean peasants8 to die on the way of starvation8 after burning8 raping8 and 0urdering fellow peasants in foreign villages all along the road.

There was 5ohn Ball who Ein %'4% was a share-the-wealth advocateH he preached e@uality of wealth8 the abolition of class distinctions8 and what would now be called co00unis08E and whose follower8 9at Tyler8 looted +ondon8 with the final gratifying result that afterward +abor was by the frightened govern0ent 0ore oppressed than ever. And nearly three hundred years later8 !ro0well"s 0ethods of e=pounding the sweet winso0eness of Purity and +iberty were shooting8 slashing8 clubbing8 starving8 and burning people8 and after hi0 the wor-ers paid for the spree of bloody righteousness with blood.

Brooding about it8 fishing in the 0uddy slew of recollection which 0ost A0ericans have in place of a clear pool of history8 Dore0us was able to add other na0es of well-0eaning rabble-rousers:

2urat and Danton and <obespierre8 who helped shift the control of >rance fro0 the 0oldy aristocrats to the stuffy8 centi0e-pinching shop-eepers. +enin and TrotG-y who gave to the illiterate <ussian peasants the privileges of punching a ti0e cloc- and of being as learned8 gay8 and dignified as the factory hands in DetroitH and +enin"s 0an8 Borodin8 who e=tended this boon to !hina. And that 9illia0 <andolph #earst who in %4&4 was the +enin of !uba and switched the 0astery of the golden isle fro0 the cruel *paniards to the peaceful8 unar0ed8 brotherly-loving !uban politicians of today.

The A0erican 2oses8 Dowie8 and his theocracy at Oion !ity8 llinois8 where the only results of the direct leadership of God--as directed and encouraged by 2r. Dowie and by his even 0ore spirited successor8 2r. ?oliva--were that the holy deniGens were deprived of oysters and cigarettes and cursing8 and died without the aid of doctors instead of with it8 and that the stretch of road through Oion !ity incessantly caused the brea-age of springs on the cars of citiGens fro0 1vanston8 9il0ette8 and 9innet-a8 which 0ay or not have been a desirable Good Deed.

!ecil <hodes8 his vision of 0a-ing *outh Africa a British paradise8 and the actuality of 0a-ing it a graveyard for British soldiers.

All the Dtopias--Broo- >ar08 <obert 3wen"s sanctuary of chatter8 Dpton *inclair"s #elicon #all-and their regulation end in scandal8 feuds8 poverty8 gri0iness8 disillusion.

All the leaders of Prohibition8 so certain that their cause was world-regenerating that for it they were willing to shoot down violators.

t see0ed to Dore0us that the only rabble-rouser to build per0anently had been Brigha0 :oung8 with his bearded 2or0on captains8 who not only turned the Dtah desert into an 1den but 0ade it pay and -ept it up.

Pondered Dore0us: Blessed be they who are not Patriots and dealists8 and who do not feel they 0ust dash right in and Do *o0ething About t8 so0ething so i00ediately i0portant that all doubters 0ust be li@uidated--tortured--slaughteredJ Good old 0urder8 that since the slaying of Abel by !ain has always been the new device by which all oligarchies and dictators have8 for all

future ages to co0e8 re0oved oppositionJ

n this acid 0ood Dore0us doubted the efficacy of all revolutionsH dared even a little to doubt our two A0erican revolutions--against 1ngland in %CCK8 and the !ivil 9ar.

>or a .ew 1ngland editor to conte0plate even the s0allest criticis0 of these wars was what it would have been for a *outhern Baptist funda0entalist preacher to @uestion 00ortality8 the nspiration of the Bible8 and the ethical value of shouting #allelujah. :et had it8 Dore0us @ueried nervously8 been necessary to have four years of inconceivably 0urderous !ivil 9ar8 followed by twenty years of co00ercial oppression of the *outh8 in order to preserve the Dnion8 free the slaves8 and establish the e@uality of ndustry with AgricultureM #ad it been just to the .egroes the0selves to throw the0 so suddenly8 with so little preparation8 into full citiGenship8 that the *outhern states8 in what they considered self-defense8 dis@ualified the0 at the polls and lynched the0 and lashed the0M !ould they not8 as +incoln at first desired and planned8 have been freed without the vote8 then gradually and co0petently educated8 under federal guardianship8 so that by %4&/ they 0ight8 without too 0uch en0ity8 have been able to enter fully into all the activities of the landM

A generation and a half $Dore0us 0editated) of the sturdiest and 0ost gallant -illed or crippled in the !ivil 9ar or8 perhaps worst of all8 beco0ing garrulous professional heroes and satellites of the politicians who in return for their solid vote 0ade all laGy jobs safe for the G.A.<. The 0ost valorous8 it was they who suffered the 0ost8 for while the 5ohn D. <oc-efellers8 the 5. P. 2organs8 the ?anderbilts8 Astors8 Goulds8 and all their ni0ble financial co0rades of the *outh8 did not enlist8 but stayed in the war08 dry counting-house8 drawing the fortune of the country into their webs8 it was 5eb *tuart8 *tonewall 5ac-son8 .athaniel +yon8 Pat !leburne8 and the -nightly 5a0es B. 2cPherson who were -illed . . . and with the0 Abraha0 +incoln.

*o8 with the hundreds of thousands who should have been the progenitors of new A0erican generations drained away8 we could show the world8 which fro0 %C4/ to %4K/ had so ad0ired 0en li-e >ran-lin8 5efferson8 9ashington8 #a0ilton8 the Ada0ses8 9ebster8 only such salvages as

2cLinley8 Benja0in #arrison8 9illia0 5ennings Bryan8 #arding . . . and *enator BerGelius 9indrip and his rivals.

*lavery had been a cancer8 and in that day was -nown no re0edy save bloody cutting. There had been no R-rays of wisdo0 and tolerance. :et to senti0entaliGe this cutting8 to justify and rejoice in it8 was an altogether evil thing8 a national superstition that was later to lead to other Dnavoidable 9ars--wars to free !ubans8 to free >ilipinos who didn"t want our brand of freedo08 to 1nd All 9ars.

+et us8 thought Dore0us8 not throb again to the bugles of the !ivil 9ar8 nor find diverting the gallantry of *her0an"s dashing :an-ee boys in burning the houses of lone wo0en8 nor particularly ad0ire the cal0ness of General +ee as he watched thousands writhe in the 0ud.

#e even wondered if8 necessarily8 it had been such a desirable thing for the Thirteen !olonies to have cut the0selves off fro0 Great Britain. #ad the Dnited *tates re0ained in the British 10pire8 possibly there would have evolved a confederation that could have enforced 9orld Peace8 instead of tal-ing about it. Boys and girls fro0 9estern ranches and *outhern plantations and .orthern 0aple groves 0ight have added 3=ford and :or- 2inster and Devonshire villages to their own do0ain. 1nglish0en8 and even virtuous 1nglishwo0en8 0ight have learned that persons who lac- the accent of a Lentish rectory or of a :or-shire te=tile village 0ay yet in 0any ways be literateH and that astonishing nu0bers of persons in the world cannot be persuaded that their chief ai0 in life ought to be to increase British e=ports on behalf of the stoc--holdings of the Better !lasses.

t is co00only asserted8 Dore0us re0e0bered8 that without co0plete political independence the Dnited *tates could not have developed its own peculiar virtues. :et it was not apparent to hi0 that A0erica was any 0ore individual than !anada or AustraliaH that Pittsburgh and Lansas !ity were to be preferred before 2ontreal and 2elbourne8 *ydney and ?ancouver.

.o @uestioning of the eventual wisdo0 of the EradicalsE who had first advocated these two A0erican revolutions8 Dore0us warned hi0self8 should be allowed to give any co0fort to that eternal ene0y: the conservative 0anipulators of privilege who da0n as Edangerous agitatorsE any 0an who 0enaces their fortunesH who ju0p in their chairs at the sting of a gnat li-e Debs8 and blandly swallow a ca0el li-e 9indrip.

Between the rabble-rousers--chiefly to be detected by desire for their own personal power and notoriety--and the un-self-see-ing fighters against tyranny8 between 9illia0 9al-er or Danton8 and 5ohn #oward or 9illia0 +loyd Garrison8 Dore0us saw8 there was the difference between a noisy gang of thieves and an honest 0an noisily defending hi0self against thieves. #e had been brought up to revere the Abolitionists: +ovejoy8 Garrison8 9endell Phillips8 #arriet Beecher *towe--though his father had considered 5ohn Brown insane and a 0enace8 and had thrown sly 0ud at the 0arble statues of #enry 9ard Beecher8 the apostle in the fancy vest. And Dore0us could not do otherwise than revere the Abolitionists now8 though he wondered a little if *tephen Douglas and Thaddeus *tephens and +incoln8 0ore cautious and less ro0antic 0en8 0ight not have done the job better.

E s it just possible8E he sighed8 Ethat the 0ost vigorous and boldest idealists have been the worst ene0ies of hu0an progress instead of its greatest creatorsM Possible that plain 0en with the hu0ble trait of 0inding their own business will ran- higher in the heavenly hierarchy than all the plu0ed souls who have shoved their way in a0ong the 0asses and insisted on saving the0ME

%B

joined the !hristian8 or as so0e call it8 the !a0pbellite !hurch as a 0ere boy8 not yet dry behind the ears. But wished then and wish now that it were possible for 0e to belong to the whole glorious brotherhoodH to be one in !o00union at the sa0e ti0e with the brave Presbyterians that fight the pusillani0ous8 0endacious8 destructive8 to0-fool #igher !ritics8 socalledH and with the 2ethodists who so strongly oppose war yet in war-ti0e can always be counted upon for Patriotis0 to the li0itH and with the splendidly tolerant Baptists8 the earnest *eventh-Day Adventists8 and guess could even say a -ind word for the Dnitarians8 as that great e=ecutive 9illia0 #oward Taft belonged to the08 also his wife.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

3fficially8 Dore0us belonged to the Dniversalist !hurch8 his wife and children to the 1piscopal--a natural A0erican transition. #e had been reared to ad0ire #osea Ballou8 the Dniversalist *t. Augustine who8 fro0 his tiny parsonage in Barnard8 ?er0ont8 had proclai0ed his faith that even the wic-edest would have8 after earthly death8 another chance of salvation. But now8 Dore0us could scarce enter the >ort Beulah Dniversalist !hurch. t had too 0any 0e0ories of his father8 the pastor8 and it was depressing to see how the old-ti0e congregations8 in which two hundred thic- beards would wag in the grained pine benches every *unday 0orning8 and their wo0enfol-s and children line up beside the patriarchs8 had dwindled to aged widows and far0ers and a few schoolteachers.

But in this ti0e of see-ing8 Dore0us did venture there. The church was a s@uat and gloo0y building of granite8 not particularly enlivened by the arches of colored slate above the windows8 yet as a boy Dore0us had thought it and its sawed-off tower the superior of !hartres. #e had loved it as in saiah !ollege he had loved the +ibrary which8 for all its appearance of being a crouching red-bric- toad8 had 0eant to hi0 freedo0 for spiritual discovery--still cavern of a reading roo0 where for hours one could forget the world and never be nagged away to supper.

#e found8 on his one attendance at the Dniversalist church8 a scattering of thirty disciples8 being addressed by a Esupply8E a theological student fro0 Boston8 0onotonously shouting his well0eant8 frightened8 and slightly plagiaristic elo@uence in regard to the sic-ness of Abijah8 the son

of 5eroboa0. Dore0us loo-ed at the church walls8 painted a hard and glistening green8 unorna0ented8 to avoid all the sinful trappings of papistry8 while he listened to the preacher"s hesitant droning:

E.ow8 uh8 now what so 0any of us fail to realiGe is how8 uh8 how sin8 how any sin that we8 uh8 we ourselves 0ay co00it8 any sin reflects not on ourselves but on those that we8 uh8 that we hold near and dear--E

#e would have given anything8 Dore0us yearned8 for a ser0on which8 however irrational8 would passionately lift hi0 to renewed courage8 which would bathe hi0 in consolation these beleagured 0onths. But with a shoc- of anger he saw that that was e=actly what he had been conde0ning just a few days ago: the irrational dra0atic power of the crusading leader8 clerical or political.

?ery well then--sadly. #e"d just have to get along without the spiritual consolation of the church that he had -nown in college days.

.o8 first he"d try the ritual of his friend 2r. >alc---the Padre8 Buc- Titus so0eti0es called hi0.

n the coGy Anglicanis0 of *t. !rispin"s P. 1. !hurch8 with its i0itation 1nglish 0e0orial brasses and i0itation !eltic font and brass-eagle reading des- and dusty-s0elling 0aroon carpet8 Dore0us listened to 2r. >alc-: EAl0ighty God8 the >ather of our +ord 5esus !hrist8 who desireth not the death of a sinner8 but rather that he 0ay turn fro0 his wic-edness8 and liveH and hath given power and co00and0ent to his 2inisters8 to declare and pronounce to his people8 being penitent8 the Absolution and <e0ission of their sins--E

Dore0us glanced at the placidly pious faSade of his wife8 100a. The lovely8 fa0iliar old ritual see0ed 0eaningless to hi0 now8 with no 0ore pertinence to a life 0enaced by BuGG 9indrip and his 2inute 2en8 no 0ore co0fort for having lost his old deep pride in being an A0erican8 than a stage revival of an e@ually lovely and fa0iliar 1liGabethan play. #e loo-ed about nervously. #owever e=alted 2r. >alc- hi0self 0ight be8 0ost of the congregation were :or-shire pudding. The Anglican !hurch was8 to the08 not the aspiring hu0ility of .ew0an nor the hu0anity of Bishop Brown $both of who0 left itJ) but the sign and proof of prosperity--an ecclesiastical version of owning a twelve-cylinder !adillac--or even 0ore8 of -nowing that one"s grandfather

owned his own surrey and a respectable old fa0ily horse.

The whole place s0elled to Dore0us of stale 0uffins. 2rs. <. !. !rowley was wearing white gloves and on her bust--for a 2rs. !rowley8 even in %&'K8 did not yet have breasts--was a tight bou@uet of tuberoses. >rancis Tasbrough had a 0orning coat and striped trousers and on the lilac-colored pew cushion beside hi0 was $uni@ue in >ort Beulah) a sil- top-hat. And even the wife of Dore0us"s boso08 or at least of his brea-fast coffee8 the good 100a8 had a pedantic e=pression of superior goodness which irritated hi0.

E9hole outfit stifles 0eJE he snapped. E<ather be at a yelling8 ju0ping #oly <oller orgy--no-that"s BuGG 9indrip"s -ind of jungle hysterics. want a church8 if there can possibly be one8 that"s advanced beyond the jungle and beyond the chaplains of Ling #enry the 1ighth. -now why8 even though she"s painfully conscientious8 +orinda never goes to church.E

+orinda Pi-e8 on that sleety Dece0ber afternoon8 was darning a tea cloth in the lounge of her Beulah ?alley Tavern8 five 0iles up the river fro0 the >ort. t wasn"t8 of course8 a tavern: it was a super-boarding-house as regards its twelve guest bedroo0s8 and a slightly too arty tearoo0 in its dining facilities. Despite his long affection for +orinda8 Dore0us was always annoyed by the *inghalese brass finger bowls8 the .orth !arolina table 0ats8 and the talian ash trays displayed for sale on wabbly card tables in the dining roo0. But he had to ad0it that the tea was e=cellent8 the scones light8 the *tilton sound8 +orinda"s private ru0 punches ad0irable8 and that +orinda herself was intelligent yet adorable--particularly when8 as on this gray afternoon8 she was bothered neither by other guests nor by the presence of that wor08 her partner8 2r. .ipper8 whose pleasing notion it was that because he had invested a few thousand in the Tavern he should have none of the wor- or responsibility and half the profits.

Dore0us thrust his way in8 patting off the snow8 puffing to recover fro0 the sha-iness caused by s-idding all the way fro0 >ort Beulah. +orinda nodded carelessly8 dropped another stic- on the fireplace8 and went bac- to her darning with nothing 0ore inti0ate than E#ullo. .asty out.E

E:uh--fierce.E

But as they sat on either side the hearth their eyes had no need of s0iling for a bridge between the0.

+orinda reflected8 E9ell8 0y darling8 it"s going to be pretty bad. guess 9indrip A !o. will put the wo0an"s struggle right bac- in the si=teen-hundreds8 with Anne #utchinson and the Antino0ians.E

E*ure. Bac- to the -itchen.E

E1ven if you haven"t got oneJE

EAny worse than us 0enM .otice that 9indrip never 0entioned free speech and the freedo0 of the press in his articles of faithM 3h8 he"d "ve co0e out for "e0 strong and hearty if he"d even thought of "e0JE

EThat"s so. Tea8 darlingME

E.o. +inda8 da0n it8 feel li-e ta-ing the fa0ily and snea-ing off to !anada before get nabbed-right after BuGG"s inauguration.E

E.o. :ou 0ustn"t. 9e"ve got to -eep all the newspaper0en that"ll go on fighting hi08 and not go sniffling up to the garbage pail. BesidesJ 9hat would do without youME >or the first ti0e +orinda sounded i0portunate.

E:ou"ll be a lot less suspect if "0 not around. But guess you"re right. can"t go till they put the s-ids under 0e. Then "ll have to vanish. "0 too old to stand jail.E

E.ot too old to 0a-e love8 hopeJ That would be hard on a girlJE

E.obody ever is8 e=cept the -ind that used to be too young to 0a-e loveJ Anyway8 "ll stay--for a while.E

#e had8 suddenly8 fro0 +orinda8 the resoluteness he had sought in church. #e would go on trying to sweep bac- the ocean8 just for his own satisfaction. t 0eant8 however8 that his her0itage in the vory Tower was closed with slightly ludicrous speed. But he felt strong again8 and happy. #is brooding was interrupted by +orinda"s curt:

E#ow"s 100a ta-ing the political situationME

EDoesn"t -now there is oneJ #ears 0e croa-ing8 and she heard 9alt Trowbridge"s warning on the radio8 last evening--did you listen inM--and she says8 "3h 0y8 how dreadfulJ" and then forgets all about it and worries about the saucepan that got burntJ *he"s luc-yJ 3h well8 she probably cal0s 0e down and -eeps 0e fro0 beco0ing a co0plete neuroteJ Probably that"s why "0 so darned everlastingly fond of her. And yet "0 chu0p enough to wish you and were together--uh-recogniGedly together8 all the ti0e--and could fight together to -eep so0e little light burning in this co0ing new glacial epoch. do. All the ti0e. thin- that8 at this 0o0ent8 all things considered8 should li-e to -iss you.E

E s that so unusual a celebrationME

E:es. Always. Always it"s the first ti0e againJ +oo-8 +inda8 do you ever stop to thin- how curious it is8 that with--everything between us--li-e that night in the hotel at 2ontreal--we neither one of us see0 to feel any guilt8 any e0barrass0ent--can sit and gossip li-e thisME

E.o8 dear. . . . DarlingJ . . . t doesn"t see0 a bit curious. t was all so natural. *o goodJE

EAnd yet we"re reasonably responsible people--E

E3f course. That"s why nobody suspects us8 not even 100a. Than- God she doesn"t8 Dore0usJ wouldn"t hurt her for anything8 not even for your -ind-hearted favorsJE

EBeastJE

E3h8 you 0ight be suspected8 all by yourself. t"s -nown that you so0eti0es drin- li--er and play po-er and tell "hot ones." But who"d ever suspect that the local fe0ale cran-8 the suffragist8 the pacifist8 the anti-censorshipist8 the friend of 5ane Adda0s and 2other Bloor8 could be a libertineJ #ighbrowsJ Bloodless refor0ersJ 3h8 and "ve -nown so 0any wo0en agitators8 all dressed in !arrie .ation hatchets and 0odest sheets of statistics8 that have been ten ti0es as passionate8 intolerably passionate8 as any crea0-faced plu0p little Lept 9ife in chiffon stepinsJE

>or a 0o0ent their e0bracing eyes were not 0erely friendly and accusto0ed and careless.

#e fretted8 E3h thin- of you all the ti0e and want you and yet thin- of 100a too--and don"t even have the fine novelistic egotis0 of feeling guilty and intolerably caught in co0ple=ities. :es8 it does all see0 so natural8 Dear +indaJE

#e stal-ed restlessly to the case0ent window8 loo-ing bac- at her every second step. t was dusnow8 and the roads s0o-ing. #e stared out inattentively--then very attentively indeed.

EThat"s curious. !uriouser and curiouser. *tanding bac- behind that big bush8 lilac bush guess it is8 across the road8 there"s a fellow watching this place. can see hi0 in the headlights whenever a car co0es along. And thin- it"s 0y hired 0an8 3scar +edue--*had.E #e started to draw the cheerful red-and-white curtains.

E.oJ .oJ Don"t draw the0J #e"ll get suspicious.E

EThat"s right. >unny8 his watching there--if it is hi0. #e"s supposed to be at 0y house right now8

loo-ing after the furnace--winters8 he only wor-s for 0e couple of hours a day8 wor-s in the sash factory8 rest of the ti0e8 but he ought to--A little light blac-0ail8 suppose. 9ell8 he can publish everything he saw today8 wherever he wants toJE

E3nly what he saw todayME

EAnythingJ Any dayJ "0 awfully proud--old dish rag li-e 0e8 twenty years older than youJ--to be your loverJE

And he was proud8 yet all the while he was re0e0bering the warning in red chal- that he had found on his front porch after the election. Before he had ti0e to beco0e very co0plicated about it8 the door vociferously banged open8 and his daughter8 *issy8 sailed in.

E9ot-oh8 wot-oh8 wot-ohJ Toodle-ooJ Good-0orning8 5eevesJ 2awnin"8 2iss +indy. #ow"s all de fol-s on de ole plantation everywhere roa0M #ello8 Dad. .o8 it isn"t coc-tails--least8 just one very s0all coc-tail--it"s youthful spiritsJ 2y God8 but it"s coldJ Tea8 +inda8 0y good wo0an--teaJE

They had tea. A thoroughly do0estic circle.

E<ace you ho0e8 Dad8E said *issy8 when they were ready to go.

E:es--no--wait a secondJ +orinda: lend 0e a flashlight.E

As he 0arched out of the door8 0arched belligerently across the road8 in Dore0us seethed all the agitated anger he had been concealing fro0 *issy. And part hidden behind bushes8 leaning on his 0otorcycle8 he did find *had +edue.

*had was startledH for once he loo-ed less conte0ptuously 0asterful than a >ifth Avenue traffic police0an8 as Dore0us snapped8 E9hat you doing thereME and he stu0bled in answering: E3h just--so0ething happened to 0y 0otor-bi-e.E

E*oJ :ou ought to be ho0e tending the furnace8 *had.E

E9ell8 guess got 0y 0achine fi=ed now. "ll hi-e along.E

E.o. 2y daughter is to drive 0e ho0e8 so you can put your 0otorcycle in the bac- of 0y car and drive it bac-.E $*o0ehow8 he had to tal- privately to *issy8 though he was not in the least certain what it was he had to say.)

E#erM <atsJ *issy can"t drive for sour applesJ !raGy"s a loonJE

E+edueJ 2iss *issy is a highly co0petent driver. At least she satisfies 0e8 and if you really feel she doesn"t @uite satisfy your standard--E

E#er driving don"t 0a-e a da0n bit of difference to 0e one way or th" otherJ G"-nightJE

<ecrossing the road8 Dore0us rebu-ed hi0self8 EThat was childish of 0e. Trying to tal- to hi0 li-e a gentJ But how would enjoy 0urdering hi0JE

#e infor0ed *issy8 at the door8 E*had happened to co0e along--0otorcycle in bad shape--let hi0 ta-e 0y !hrysler-- "ll drive with you.E

E>ineJ 3nly si= boys have had their hair turn gray8 driving with 0e8 this wee-.E

EAnd -- 0eant to say8 thin- "d better do the driving. t"s pretty slippery tonight.E

E9ouldn"t that destroy youJ 9hy8 0y dear idiot parent8 "0 the best driver in--E

E:ou can"t drive for sour applesJ !raGy8 that"s allJ Get inJ "0 driving8 d"you hearM .ight8 +orinda.E

EAll right8 dearest >ather8E said *issy with an i0pishness which reduced his -nees to feebleness.

#e assured hi0self8 though8 that this flip 0anner of *issy8 characteristic of even the provincial boys and girls who had been nursed on gasoline8 was only an i0itation of the nicer .ew :orharlots and would not last 0ore than another year or two. Perhaps this rattle-tongued generation needed a BuGG 9indrip <evolution and all its pain.

EBeautiful8 -now it"s swell to drive carefully8 but do you have to e0ulate the prudent snailME said *issy.

E*nails don"t s-id.E

E.o8 they get run over. <ather s-idJE

E*o your father"s a fossilJE

E3h8 wouldn"t--E

E9ell8 0aybe he is8 at that. There"s advantages. Anyway: wonder if there isn"t a lot of bunabout Age being so cautious and conservative8 and :outh always being so adventurous and bold and originalM +oo- at the young .aGis and how they enjoy beating up the !o00unists. +oo- at

al0ost any college class--the students disapproving of the instructor because he"s iconoclastic and ridicules the sacred ho0e-town ideas. 5ust this afternoon8 was thin-ing8 driving out here--E

E+isten8 Dad8 do you go to +indy"s oftenME

E9hy--why8 not especially. 9hyME

E9hy don"t you--9hat are you two so scared ofM :ou two wild-haired refor0ers--you and +indy belong together. 9hy don"t you--you -now---ind of be loversME

EGood God Al0ightyJ !eciliaJ "ve never heard a decent girl tal- that way in all 0y lifeJE

ETstJ TstJ #aven"t youM Dear8 dearJ *o sorryJE

E9ell8 0y +ord--At least you"ve got to ad0it that it"s slightly unusual for an apparently loyal daughter to suggest her father"s deceiving her 0otherJ 1specially a fine lovely 0other li-e yoursJE

E s itM 9ell8 0aybe. Dnusual to suggest it--aloud. But wonder if lots of young fe0ales don"t so0eti0es -ind of thin- it8 just the sa0e8 when they see the ?enerable Parent going staleJE

E*issy--E

E#ey8 watch that telephone poleJE

E#ang it8 didn"t go anywheres near itJ .ow you loo- here8 *issy: you si0ply 0ust not be so froward--or forward8 whichever it isH always get those two words balled up. This is serious business. "ve never heard of such a preposterous suggestion as +inda--+orinda and being lovers. 2y dear child8 you si0ply can"t be flip about such final things as thatJE

E3h8 can"t J 3h8 sorry8 Dad. just 0ean--About 2other 100a. !ourse wouldn"t have anybody hurt her8 not even +indy and you. But8 why8 bless you8 ?enerable8 she"d never even drea0 of such a thing. :ou could have your nice pie and she"d never 0iss one single slice. 2other"s 0ental grooves aren"t8 uh8 well8 they aren"t so very se=-conditioned8 if that"s how you say it--0ore sort of along the new-vacuu0-cleaner co0ple=8 if you -now what 0ean--page >reudJ 3h8 she"s swell8 but not so analytical and--E

EAre those your ethics8 thenME

E#uhM 9ell for cat"s sa-e8 why notM #ave a swell ti0e that"ll get you full of beans again and yet not hurt anybody"s feelingsM 9hy8 say8 that"s the entire second chapter in 0y boo- on ethicsJE

E*issyJ #ave you8 by any chance8 any vaguest notion of what you"re tal-ing about8 or thin- you"re tal-ing aboutM 3f course--and perhaps we ought to be asha0ed of our cowardly negligence--but 8 and don"t suppose your 0other8 have taught you so very 0uch about "se=" and--E

EThan- heavenJ :ou spared 0e the dear little flower and its si0ply shoc-ing affair with that tough to0cat of a tiger lily in the ne=t bed--e=cuse 0e-- 0ean in the ne=t plot. "0 so glad you did. Pete"s sa-eJ "d certainly hate to blush every ti0e loo-ed at a gardenJE

E*issyJ !hildJ PleaseJ :ou 0ustn"t be so beastly cuteJ These are all weighty things--E

Penitently: E -now8 Dad. "0 sorry. t"s just--if you only -new how wretched feel when see you so wretched and so @uiet and everything. This horrible 9indrip8 +eague of >orgodsa-ers business has got you down8 hasn"t itJ f you"re going to fight "e08 you"ve got to get so0e pep bac- into you--you"ve got to ta-e off the lace 0itts and put on the brass -nuc-les--and got -ind of a hunch +orinda 0ight do that for you8 and only her. #ehJ #er pretending to be so high0indedJ $<e0e0ber that old wheeGe Buc- Titus used to love so--" f you"re saving the fallen wo0en8 save 0e one"M 3h8 not so good. guess we"ll ta-e that line right out of the s-etchJ) But anyway8 our +indy has a pretty 0oist and hungry eye--E

E 0possibleJ 0possibleJ By the way8 *issyJ 9hat do you -now about all of thisM Are you a virginME

EDadJ s that your idea of a @uestion to--3h8 guess was as-ing for it. And the answer is: :es. *o far. But not pro0ising one single thing about the future. +et 0e tell you right now8 if conditions in this country do get as bad as you"ve been clai0ing they will8 and 5ulian >alc- is threatened with having to go to war or go to prison or so0e rotten thing li-e that8 "0 0ost certainly not going to let any 0aidenly 0odesty interfere between 0e and hi08 and you 0ight just as well be prepared for thatJE

E t is 5ulian then8 not 2alcol0ME

E3h8 thin- so. 2alcol0 gives 0e a pain in the nec-. #e"s getting all ready to ta-e his proper place as a colonel or so0ething with 9indrip"s wooden soldiers. And a0 so fond of 5ulianJ 1ven if he is the doggonedest8 0ost i0practical soul--li-e his grandfather--or youJ #e"s a sweet thing. 9e sat up purring pretty nothings till about two8 last night8 guess.E

E*issyJ But you haven"t--3h8 0y little girlJ 5ulian is probably decent enough--not a bad sort--but you--:ou haven"t let 5ulian ta-e any fa0iliarities with youME

EDear @uaint old wordJ As if anything could be so awfully 0uch 0ore fa0iliar than a good8 capable8 %/8/// h.p. -issJ But darling8 just so you won"t worry--no. The few ti0es8 late nights8 in our sitting roo08 when "ve slept with 5ulian--well8 we"ve sleptJE

E "0 glad8 but--:our apparent--probably only apparent--infor0ation on a variety of delicate subjects slightly e0barrasses 0e.E

E.ow you listen to 0eJ And this is so0ething you ought to be telling 0e8 not 0e you8 2r. 5essupJ +oo-s as if this country8 and 0ost of the world-- a0 being serious8 now8 DadH plenty serious8 God help us allJ--it loo-s as if we"re headed right bac- into barbaris0. t"s warJ There"s not going to be 0uch ti0e for coyness and 0odesty8 any 0ore than there is for a base-hospital nurse when they bring in the wounded. .ice young ladies--they"re outJ t"s +orinda and 0e that you 0en are going to want to have around8 isn"t it--isn"t it--now isn"t itME

E2aybe--perhaps8E Dore0us sighed8 depressed at seeing a little 0ore of his fa0iliar world slide fro0 under his feet as the flood rose.

They were co0ing into the 5essup driveway. *had +edue was just leaving the garage.

E*-ip in the house8 @uic-8 will youJE said Dore0us to his girl.

E*ure. But do be careful8 honJE *he no longer sounded li-e his little daughter8 to be protected8 adorned with pale blue ribbons8 slyly laughed at when she tried to show off in grown-up ways. *he was suddenly a dependable co0rade8 li-e +orinda.

Dore0us slipped resolutely out of his car and said cal0ly:

E*hadJE

E:uhME

ED"you ta-e the car -eys into the -itchenME

E#uhM .o. guess left "e0 in the car.E

E "ve told you a hundred ti0es they belong inside.E

E:uhM 9ell8 how"d you li-e 2iss !ecilia"s drivingM #ave a good visit with old 2rs. Pi-eME

#e was derisive now8 beyond conceal0ent.

E+edue8 rather thin- you"re fired--right nowJE

E9ellJ 5ust feature thatJ 3.L.8 !hiefJ was just going to tell you that we"re for0ing a second chapter of the +eague of >orgotten 2en in the >ort8 and "0 to be the secretary. They don"t pay 0uch--only about twice what you pay 0e--pretty tight-fisted--but it"ll 0ean so0ething in politics. Good-nightJE

Afterward8 Dore0us was sorry to re0e0ber that8 for all his longshore0an clu0siness8 *had had learned a precise script in his red ?er0ont schoolhouse8 and enough 0astery of figures so that probably he would be able to -eep this rather bogus secretaryship. Too badJ

9hen8 as +eague secretary8 a fortnight later8 *had wrote to hi0 de0anding a donation of two hundred dollars to the +eague8 and Dore0us refused8 the nfor0er began to lose circulation within twenty-four hours.

%(

Dsually "0 pretty 0ild8 in fact 0any of 0y friends are -ind enough to call it E>ol-sy8E when "0 writing or speechifying. 2y a0bition is to Elive by the side of the road and be a friend to 0an.E

But hope that none of the gentle0en who have honored 0e with their en0ity thin- for one single 0o0ent that when run into a gross enough public evil or a persistent enough detractor8 can"t get up on 0y hind legs and 0a-e a sound li-e a two-tailed griGGly in April. *o right at the start of this account of 0y ten-year fight with the08 as private citiGen8 *tate *enator8 and D. *. *enator8 let 0e say that the *angfrey <iver +ight8 Power8 and >uel !orporation are--and invite a suit for libel--the 0eanest8 lowest8 cowardliest gang of yellow-livered8 bac--slapping8 hypocritical gun-toters8 bo0b-throwers8 ballot-stealers8 ledger-fa-ers8 givers of bribes8 suborners of perjury8 scab-hirers8 and general lowdown croo-s8 liars8 and swindlers that ever tried to do an honest servant of the People out of an election--not but what have always succeeded in lic-ing the08 so that 0y indignation at these ho0icidal -lepto0aniacs is not personal but entirely on behalf of the general public.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

3n 9ednesday8 5anuary K8 %&'C8 just a fortnight before his inauguration8 President-1lect 9indrip announced his appoint0ents of cabinet 0e0bers and of diplo0ats.

*ecretary of *tate: his for0er secretary and press-agent8 +ee *arason8 who also too- the position of #igh 2arshal8 or !o00ander-in-!hief8 of the 2inute 2en8 which organiGation was to be established per0anently8 as an innocent 0arching club.

*ecretary of the Treasury: one 9ebster <. *-ittle8 president of the prosperous >ur A #ide .ational Ban- of *t. +ouis--2r. *-ittle had once been indicted on a charge of defrauding the govern0ent on his inco0e ta=8 but he had been ac@uitted8 0ore or less8 and during the ca0paign8 he was said to have ta-en a convincing way of showing his faith in BuGG 9indrip as the *avior of the >orgotten 2en.

*ecretary of 9ar: !olonel 3sceola +uthorne8 for0erly editor of the Tope-a $Lans.) Argus8 and the >ancy Goods and .ovelties GaGetteH 0ore recently high in real estate. #is title ca0e fro0 his position on the honorary staff of the Governor of Tennessee. #e had long been a friend and fellow ca0paigner of 9indrip.

t was a universal regret that Bishop Paul Peter Prang should have refused the appoint0ent as *ecretary of 9ar8 with a letter in which he called 9indrip E2y dear >riend and !ollaboratorE and asserted that he had actually 0eant it when he had said he desired no office. +ater8 it was a si0ilar regret when >ather !oughlin refused the A0bassadorship to 2e=ico8 with no letter at all but only a telegra0 cryptically stating8 E5ust si= 0onths too late.E

A new cabinet position8 that of *ecretary of 1ducation and Public <elations8 was created. .ot for 0onths would !ongress investigate the legality of such a creation8 but 0eanti0e the new post was brilliantly held by #ector 2acgoblin8 2.D.8 Ph.D.8 #on. +itt.D.

*enator Por-wood graced the position of Attorney General8 and all the other offices were acceptably filled by 0en who8 though they had roundly supported 9indrip"s al0ost socialistic projects for the distribution of e=cessive fortunes8 were yet -nown to be thoroughly sensible 0en8 and no fanatics.

t was said8 though Dore0us 5essup could never prove it8 that 9indrip learned fro0 +ee *arason the *panish custo0 of getting rid of e0barrassing friends and ene0ies by appointing the0 to posts abroad8 preferably @uite far abroad. Anyway8 as A0bassador to BraGil8 9indrip appointed #erbert #oover8 who not very enthusiastically acceptedH as A0bassador to Ger0any8 *enator BorahH as Governor of the Philippines8 *enator <obert +a >ollette8 who refusedH and as A0bassadors to the !ourt of *t. 5a0es"s8 >rance8 and <ussia8 none other than Dpton *inclair8 2ilo <eno8 and *enator Bilbo of 2ississippi.

These three had a fine ti0e. 2r. *inclair pleased the British by ta-ing so friendly an interest in their politics that he openly ca0paigned for the ndependent +abor Party and issued a lively brochure called E 8 Dpton *inclair8 Prove That Pri0e-2inister 9alter 1lliot8 >oreign *ecretary Anthony 1den8 and >irst +ord of the Ad0iralty .ancy Astor Are All +iars and #ave <efused to Accept 2y >reely 3ffered Advice.E 2r. *inclair also aroused considerable interest in British do0estic circles by advocating an act of Parlia0ent forbidding the wearing of evening clothes and all hunting of fo=es e=cept with shotgunsH and on the occasion of his official reception at Buc-ingha0 Palace8 he war0ly invited Ling George and Iueen 2ary to co0e and live in !alifornia.

2r. 2ilo <eno8 insurance sales0an and for0er president of the .ational >ar0 #oliday Association8 who0 all the >rench royalists co0pared to his great predecessor8 Benja0in >ran-lin8 for forthrightness8 beca0e the greatest social favorite in the international circles of Paris8 the Basses-PyrFnFes8 and the <iviera8 and was once photographed playing tennis at Antibes with the Duc de TropeG8 +ord <other0ere8 and Dr. <udolph #ess.

*enator Bilbo had8 possibly8 the best ti0e of all.

*talin as-ed his advice8 as based on his ripe e=perience in the Gleichshaltung of 2ississippi8 about the cultural organiGation of the so0ewhat bac-ward natives of Tadji-istan8 and so valuable did it prove that 1=cellency Bilbo was invited to review the 2oscow 0ilitary celebration8 the following .ove0ber seventh8 in the sa0e stand with the very highest class of representatives of the classless state. t was a triu0ph for #is 1=cellency. Generalissi0o ?oroshilov fainted after 6//8/// *oviet troops8 C/// tan-s8 and &/// aeroplanes had passed byH *talin had to be carried ho0e after reviewing '%C8///H but A0bassador Bilbo was there in the stand when the very last of the K6K8/// soldiers had gone by8 all of the0 saluting hi0 under the @uite erroneous i0pression that he was the !hinese A0bassadorH and he was still tirelessly returning their salutes8 fourteen to the 0inute8 and softly singing with the0 the E nternational.E

#e was less of a hit later8 however8 when to the uns0iling Anglo-A0erican Association of 1=iles to *oviet <ussia fro0 0perialis08 he sang to the tune of the E nternationalE what he regarded as a0using private words of his own:

EArise8 ye prisoners of starvation8 >ro0 <ussia 0a-e your getaway. They all are rich in Bilbo"s nation. God bless the D. *. A.JE

2rs. Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch8 after her spirited ca0paign for 2r. 9indrip8 was publicly angry that she was offered no position higher than a post in the custo0s office in .o0e8 Alas-a8 though this was offered to her very urgently indeed. *he had de0anded that there be created8 especially for her8 the cabinet position of *ecretaryess of Do0estic *cience8 !hild 9elfare8 and Anti-?ice. *he threatened to turn 5effersonian8 <epublican8 or !o00unistic8 but in April she was heard of in #ollywood8 writing the scenario for a giant picture to be called8 They Did t in Greece.

As an insult and boy-fro0-ho0e jo-e8 the President-1lect appointed >ran-lin D. <oosevelt 0inister to +iberia. 2r. <oosevelt"s opponents laughed very 0uch8 and opposition newspapers did cartoons of hi0 sitting unhappily in a grass hut with a sign on which E..<.A.E had been crossed out and ED.*.A.E substituted. But 2r. <oosevelt declined with so a0iable a s0ile that the jo-e see0ed rather to have slipped.

The followers of President 9indrip tru0peted that it was significant that he should be the first president inaugurated not on 2arch fourth8 but on 5anuary twentieth8 according to the provision of the new Twentieth A0end0ent to the !onstitution. t was a sign straight fro0 #eaven $though8 actually8 #eaven had not been the author of the a0end0ent8 but *enator George 9. .orris of .ebras-a)8 and proved that 9indrip was starting a new paradise on earth.

The inauguration was turbulent. President <oosevelt declined to be present--he politely suggested that he was about half ill unto death8 but that sa0e noon he was seen in a .ew :orshop8 buying boo-s on gardening and loo-ing abnor0ally cheerful.

2ore than a thousand reporters8 photographers8 and radio 0en covered the inauguration. Twenty-seven constituents of *enator Por-wood8 of all se=es8 had to sleep on the floor of the *enator"s office8 and a hall-bedroo0 in the suburb of Bladensburg rented for thirty dollars for two nights. The presidents of BraGil8 the Argentine8 and !hile flew to the inauguration in a PanA0erican aeroplane8 and 5apan sent seven hundred students on a special train fro0 *eattle.

A 0otor co0pany in Detroit had presented to 9indrip a li0ousine with ar0or plate8 bulletproof glass8 a hidden nic-el-steel safe for papers8 a concealed private bar8 and upholstery 0ade fro0 the Troissant tapestries of %KC/. But BuGG chose to drive fro0 his ho0e to the !apitol in his old #up0obile sedan8 and his driver was a youngster fro0 his ho0e town whose notion of a unifor0 for state occasions was a blue-serge suit8 red tie8 and derby hat. 9indrip hi0self did wear a topper8 but he saw to it that +ee *arason saw to it that the one hundred and thirty 0illion plain citiGens learned8 by radio8 even while the inaugural parade was going on8 that he had borrowed the topper for this one sole occasion fro0 a .ew :or- <epublican <epresentative who had ancestors.

But following 9indrip was an un-5ac-sonian escort of soldiers: the A0erican +egion and8 i00ensely grander than the others8 the 2inute 2en8 wearing trench hel0ets of polished silver and led by !olonel Dewey #ai- in scarlet tunic and yellow riding-breeches and hel0et with golden plu0es.

*ole0nly8 for once loo-ing a little awed8 a little li-e a s0all-town boy on Broadway8 9indrip toothe oath8 ad0inistered by the !hief 5ustice $who disli-ed hi0 very 0uch indeed) and8 edging even closer to the 0icrophone8 s@uaw-ed8 E2y fellow citiGens8 as the President of the Dnited *tates of A0erica8 want to infor0 you that the real .ew Deal has started right this 0inute8 and we"re all going to enjoy the 0anifold liberties to which our history entitles us--and have a whale of a good ti0e doing itJ than- youJE

That was his first act as President. #is second was to ta-e up residence in the 9hite #ouse8 where he sat down in the 1ast <oo0 in his stoc-ing feet and shouted at +ee *arason8 EThis is what "ve been planning to do now for si= yearsJ bet this is what +incoln used to doJ .ow let "e0 assassinate 0eJE

#is third8 in his role as !o00ander-in-!hief of the Ar0y8 was to order that the 2inute 2en be recogniGed as an unpaid but official au=iliary of the <egular Ar0y8 subject only to their own officers8 to BuGG8 and to #igh 2arshal *arasonH and that rifles8 bayonets8 auto0atic pistols8 and 0achine guns be instantly issued to the0 by govern0ent arsenals. That was at B P.2. *ince ' P.2.8 all over the country8 bands of 2.2."s had been sitting gloating over pistols and guns8 twitching with desire to seiGe the0.

>ourth coup was a special 0essage8 ne=t 0orning8 to !ongress $in session since 5anuary fourth8 the third having been a *unday)8 de0anding the instant passage of a bill e0bodying Point >ifteen of his election platfor0--that he should have co0plete control of legislation and e=ecution8 and the *upre0e !ourt be rendered incapable of bloc-ing anything that it 0ight a0use hi0 to do.

By 5oint <esolution8 with less than half an hour of debate8 both houses of !ongress rejected that de0and before ' P.2.8 on 5anuary twenty-first. Before si=8 the President had proclai0ed that a state of 0artial law e=isted during the Epresent crisis8E and 0ore than a hundred !ongress0en had been arrested by 2inute 2en8 on direct orders fro0 the President. The !ongress0en who were hotheaded enough to resist were cynically charged with Einciting to riotEH they who went @uietly were not charged at all. t was blandly e=plained to the agitated press by +ee *arason that these latter @uiet lads had been so threatened by Eirresponsible and seditious ele0entsE that they were 0erely being safeguarded. *arason did not use the phrase Eprotective arrest8E which 0ight have suggested things.

To the veteran reporters it was strange to see the titular *ecretary of *tate8 theoretically a person of such dignity and conse@uence that he could deal with the representatives of foreign powers8 acting as press-agent and yes-0an for even the President.

There were riots8 instantly8 all over 9ashington8 all over A0erica.

The recalcitrant !ongress0en had been penned in the District 5ail. Toward it8 in the winter evening8 0arched a 0ob that was noisily 0utinous toward the 9indrip for who0 so 0any of the0 had voted. A0ong the 0ob buGGed hundreds of .egroes8 ar0ed with -nives and old pistols8 for one of the -idnaped !ongress0en was a .egro fro0 Georgia8 the first colored Georgian to hold high office since carpetbagger days.

*urrounding the jail8 behind 0achine guns8 the rebels found a few <egulars8 0any police8 and a horde of 2inute 2en8 but at these last they jeered8 calling the0 E2innie 2ousesE and Etin soldiersE and E0a0a"s boys.E The 2.2."s loo-ed nervously at their officers and at the <egulars who were 0a-ing so professional a pretense of not being scared. The 0ob heaved bottles and dead fish. #alf-a-doGen police0en with guns and night stic-s8 trying to push bac- the van of the 0ob8 were buried under a hu0an surf and ca0e up grotes@uely battered and ununifor0ed-those who ever did co0e up again. There were two shotsH and one 2inute 2an slu0ped to the

jail steps8 another stood ludicrously holding a wrist that spurted blood.

The 2inute 2en--why8 they said to the0selves8 they"d never 0eant to be soldiers anyway--just wanted to have so0e fun 0archingJ They began to snea- into the edges of the 0ob8 hiding their unifor0 caps. That instant8 fro0 a powerful loudspea-er in a lower window of the jail brayed the voice of President BerGelius 9indrip:

E a0 addressing 0y own boys8 the 2inute 2en8 everywhere in A0ericaJ To you and you only loo- for help to 0a-e A0erica a proud8 rich land again. :ou have been scorned. They thought you were the "lower classes." They wouldn"t give you jobs. They told you to snea- off li-e bu0s and get relief. They ordered you into lousy !.!.!. ca0ps. They said you were no good8 because you were poor. tell you that you are8 ever since yesterday noon8 the highest lords of the land-the aristocracy--the 0a-ers of the new A0erica of freedo0 and justice. BoysJ need youJ #elp 0e--help 0e to help youJ *tand fastJ Anybody tries to bloc- you--give the swine the point of your bayonetJE

A 0achine-gunner 2.2.8 who had listened reverently8 let loose. The 0ob began to drop8 and into the bac-s of the wounded as they went staggering away the 2.2. infantry8 running8 po-ed their bayonets. *uch a juicy s@uash it 0ade8 and the fugitives loo-ed so a0aGed8 so funny8 as they tu0bled in grotes@ue heapsJ

The 2.2."s hadn"t8 in dreary hours of bayonet drill8 -nown this would be such sport. They"d have 0ore of it now--and hadn"t the President of the Dnited *tates hi0self told each of the08 personally8 that he needed their aidM

9hen the re0nants of !ongress ventured to the !apitol8 they found it seeded with 2.2."s8 while a regi0ent of <egulars8 under 2ajor General 2einec-e8 paraded the grounds.

The *pea-er of the #ouse8 and the #on. 2r. Perley Beecroft8 ?ice-President of the Dnited *tates and Presiding 3fficer of the *enate8 had the power to declare that @uoru0s were present. $ f a lot of 0e0bers chose to dally in the district jail8 enjoying the0selves instead of attending !ongress8 whose fault was thatM) Both houses passed a resolution declaring Point >ifteen te0porarily in effect8 during the EcrisisE--the legality of the passage was doubtful8 but just who was to contest it8 even though the 0e0bers of the *upre0e !ourt had not been placed under protective arrest . . . 0erely confined each to his own house by a s@uad of 2inute 2enJ

Bishop Paul Peter Prang had $his friends said afterward) been dis0ayed by 9indrip"s stro-e of state. *urely8 he co0plained8 2r. 9indrip hadn"t @uite re0e0bered to include !hristian A0ity in the progra0 he had ta-en fro0 the +eague of >orgotten 2en. Though 2r. Prang had contentedly given up broadcasting ever since the victory of 5ustice and >raternity in the person of BerGelius 9indrip8 he wanted to caution the public again8 but when he telephoned to his fa0iliar station8 9+>2 in !hicago8 the 0anager infor0ed hi0 that Ejust te0porarily8 all access to the air was forbidden8E e=cept as it was especially licensed by the offices of +ee *arason. $3h8 that was only one of si=teen jobs that +ee and his si= hundred new assistants had ta-en on in the past wee-.)

<ather ti0orously8 Bishop Prang 0otored fro0 his ho0e in Persepolis8 ndiana8 to the ndianapolis airport and too- a night plane for 9ashington8 to reprove8 perhaps even playfully to span-8 his naughty disciple8 BuGG.

#e had little trouble in being ad0itted to see the President. n fact8 he was8 the press feverishly reported8 at the 9hite #ouse for si= hours8 though whether he was with the President all that ti0e they could not discover. At three in the afternoon Prang was seen to leave by a private entrance to the e=ecutive offices and ta-e a ta=i. They noted that he was pale and staggering.

n front of his hotel he was elbowed by a 0ob who in curiously un0enacing and 0echanical tones yelped8 E+ynch u0--downutha ene0ies 9indripJE A doGen 2.2."s pierced the crowd and surrounded the Bishop. The 1nsign co00anding the0 bellowed to the crowd8 so that all 0ight hear8 E:ou cowards leave the Bishop aloneJ Bishop8 co0e with us8 and we"ll see you"re safeJE

2illions heard on their radios that evening the official announce0ent that8 to ward off 0ysterious plotters8 probably Bolshevi-s8 Bishop Prang had been safely shielded in the district jail. And with it a personal state0ent fro0 President 9indrip that he was filled with joy at having been able to Erescue fro0 the foul agitators 0y friend and 0entor8 Bishop P. P. Prang8 than who0 there is no 0an living who so ad0ire and respect.E

There was8 as yet8 no absolute censorship of the pressH only a confused i0prison0ent of journalists who offended the govern0ent or local officers of the 2.2."sH and the papers chronically opposed to 9indrip carried by no 0eans flattering hints that Bishop Prang had rebu-ed the President and been plain jailed8 with no nonsense about a Erescue.E These 0utters reached Persepolis.

.ot all the Persepolitans ached with love for the Bishop or considered hi0 a 0odern *t. >rancis gathering up the little fowls of the fields in his handso0e +a*alle car. There were neighbors who hinted that he was a window-peeping snooper after bootleggers and obliging grass widows. But proud of hi08 their best advertise0ent8 they certainly were8 and the Persepolis !ha0ber of !o00erce had caused to be erected at the 1astern gateway to 2ain *treet the sign: E#o0e of Bishop Prang8 <adio"s Greatest *tar.E

*o as one 0an Persepolis telegraphed to 9ashington8 de0anding Prang"s release8 but a 0essenger in the 1=ecutive 3ffices who was a Persepolis boy $he was8 it is true8 a colored 0an8 but suddenly he beca0e a favorite son8 lovingly re0e0bered by old school0ates) tipped off the 2ayor that the telegra0s were a0ong the hundredweight of 0essages that were daily hauled away fro0 the 9hite #ouse unanswered.

Then a @uarter of the citiGenry of Persepolis 0ounted a special train to E0archE on 9ashington. t was one of those s0all incidents which the opposition press could use as a bo0b under 9indrip8 and the train was acco0panied by a score of high-ran-ing reporters fro0 !hicago and8

later8 fro0 Pittsburgh8 Balti0ore8 and .ew :or-.

9hile the train was on its way--and it was curious what delays and sidetrac-ings it encountered-a co0pany of 2inute 2en at +ogansport8 ndiana8 rebelled against having to arrest a group of !atholic nuns who were accused of having taught treasonably. #igh 2arshal *arason felt that there 0ust be a +esson8 early and i0pressive. A battalion of 2.2."s8 sent fro0 !hicago in fast truc-s8 arrested the 0utinous co0pany8 and shot every third 0an.

9hen the Persepolitans reached 9ashington8 they were tearfully infor0ed8 by a brigadier of 2.2."s who 0et the0 at the Dnion *tation8 that poor Bishop Prang had been so shoc-ed by the treason of his fellow ndianans that he had gone 0elancholy 0ad and they had tragically been co0pelled to shut hi0 up in *t. 1liGabeth"s govern0ent insane asylu0.

.o one willing to carry news about hi0 ever saw Bishop Prang again.

The Brigadier brought greetings to the Persepolitans fro0 the President hi0self8 and an invitation to stay at the 9illard8 at govern0ent e=pense. 3nly a doGen acceptedH the rest toothe first train bac-8 not a0iablyH and fro0 then on there was one town in A0erica in which no 2.2. ever dared to appear in his duc-y forage cap and dar--blue tunic.

The !hief of *taff of the <egular Ar0y had been deposedH in his place was 2ajor General 100anuel !oon. Dore0us and his li-e were disappointed by General !oon"s acceptance8 for they had always been infor0ed8 even by the .ation8 that 100anuel !oon8 though a professional ar0y officer who did enjoy a fight8 preferred that that fight be on the side of the +ordH that he was generous8 literate8 just8 and a 0an of honor--and honor was the one @uality that BuGG 9indrip wasn"t even e=pected to understand. <u0or said that !oon $as E.ordicE a Lentuc-ian as ever e=isted8 a descendant of 0en who had fought beside Lit !arson and !o00odore Perry) was particularly i0patient with the puerility of anti-*e0itis08 and that nothing so pleased hi0 as8 when he heard new ac@uaintances being superior about the 5ews8 to snarl8 EDid you by any

chance happen to notice that 0y na0e is 100anuel !oon and that !oon 0ight be a corruption of so0e na0e rather fa0iliar on the 1ast *ide of .ew :or-ME

E3h well8 suppose even General !oon feels8 "3rders are 3rders8"E sighed Dore0us.

President 9indrip"s first e=tended procla0ation to the country was a pretty piece of literature and of tenderness. #e e=plained that powerful and secret ene0ies of A0erican principles--one rather gathered that they were a co0bination of 9all *treet and *oviet <ussia--upon discovering8 to their fury8 that he8 BerGelius8 was going to be President8 had planned their last charge. 1verything would be tran@uil in a few 0onths8 but 0eanti0e there was a !risis8 during which the country 0ust Ebear with hi0.E

#e recalled the 0ilitary dictatorship of +incoln and *tanton during the !ivil 9ar8 when civilian suspects were arrested without warrant. #e hinted how delightful everything was going to be-right away now--just a 0o0ent--just a 0o0ent"s patience--when he had things in handH and he wound up with a co0parison of the !risis to the urgency of a fire0an rescuing a pretty girl fro0 a Econflagration8E and carrying her down a ladder8 for her own sa-e8 whether she li-ed it or not8 and no 0atter how appealingly she 0ight -ic- her pretty an-les.

The whole country laughed.

EGreat card8 that BuGG8 but 0ighty co0petent guy8E said the electorate.

E should worry whether Bish Prang or any other nut is in the boobyhatch8 long as get 0y five thousand buc-s a year8 li-e 9indrip pro0ised8E said *had +edue to !harley Betts8 the furniture 0an.

t had all happened within the eight days following 9indrip"s inauguration.

%K

have no desire to be President. would 0uch rather do 0y hu0ble best as a supporter of Bishop Prang8 Ted Bilbo8 Gene Tal0adge or any other broad-gauged but peppy +iberal. 2y only longing is to *erve.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

+i-e 0any bachelors given to vigorous hunting and riding8 Buc- Titus was a fastidious house-eeper8 and his 0id-?ictorian far0house fussily neat. t was also pleasantly bare: the living roo0 a 0onastic hall of heavy oa- chairs8 tables free of dainty covers8 nu0erous and rather sole0n boo-s of history and e=ploration8 with the conventional Esets8E and a tre0endous fireplace of rough stone. And the ash trays were solid pottery and pewter8 able to cope with a whole evening of cigarette-s0o-ing. The whis-y stood honestly on the oa- buffet8 with siphons8 and with crac-ed ice always ready in a ther0os jug.

t would8 however8 have been too 0uch to e=pect Buc- Titus not to have red-and-blac- i0itation 1nglish hunting-prints.

This her0itage8 always grateful to Dore0us8 was sanctuary now8 and only with Buc- could he ade@uately da0n 9indrip A !o. and people li-e >rancis Tasbrough8 who in >ebruary was still saying8 E:es8 things do loo- -ind of hectic down there in 9ashington8 but that"s just because there"s so 0any of these bullheaded politicians that still thin- they can buc- 9indrip. Besides8 anyway8 things li-e that couldn"t ever happen here in .ew 1ngland.E

And8 indeed8 as Dore0us went on his lawful occasions past the red-bric- Georgian houses8 the slender spires of old white churches facing the Green8 as he heard the laGy irony of fa0iliar greetings fro0 his ac@uaintances8 0en as enduring as their ?er0ont hills8 it see0ed to hi0 that the 0adness in the capital was as alien and distant and uni0portant as an earth@ua-e in Tibet.

!onstantly8 in the nfor0er8 he criticiGed the govern0ent but not too acidly.

The hysteria can"t lastH be patient8 and wait and see8 he counseled his readers.

t was not that he was afraid of the authorities. #e si0ply did not believe that this co0ic tyranny could endure. t can"t happen here8 said even Dore0us--even now.

The one thing that 0ost perple=ed hi0 was that there could be a dictator see0ingly so different fro0 the fervent #itlers and gesticulating >ascists and the !Qsars with laurels round bald do0esH a dictator with so0ething of the earthy A0erican sense of hu0or of a 2ar- Twain8 a George Ade8 a 9ill <ogers8 an Arte0us 9ard. 9indrip could be ever so funny about sole0n jawdrooping opponents8 and about the best 0ethod of training what he called Ea *ia0ese flea hound.E Did that8 puGGled Dore0us8 0a-e hi0 less or 0ore dangerousM

Then he re0e0bered the 0ost cruel-0ad of all pirates8 *ir #enry 2organ8 who had thought it ever so funny to sew a victi0 up in wet rawhide and watch it shrin- in the sun.

>ro0 the perseverance with which they bic-ered8 you could tell that Buc- Titus and +orinda were 0uch fonder of each other than they would ad0it. Being a person who read little and therefore too- what he did read seriously8 Buc- was distressed by the nor0ally studious +orinda"s vacation li-ing for novels about distressed princesses8 and when she airily insisted that they were better guides to conduct than Anthony Trollope or Tho0as #ardy8 Buc- roared at her and8 in the feebleness of baited strength8 nervously filled pipes and -noc-ed the0 out against the stone 0antel. But he approved of the relationship between Dore0us and +orinda8 which only he $and *had +edueJ) had guessed8 and over Dore0us8 ten years his senior8 this shaggy-headed woods0an fussed li-e a thwarted spinster.

To both Dore0us and +orinda8 Buc-"s overgrown shac- beca0e their refuge. And they needed it8 late in >ebruary8 five wee-s or thereabouts after 9indrip"s election.

Despite stri-es and riots all over the country8 bloodily put down by the 2inute 2en8 9indrip"s power in 9ashington was 0aintained. The 0ost liberal four 0e0bers of the *upre0e !ourt resigned and were replaced by surprisingly un-nown lawyers who called President 9indrip by his first na0e. A nu0ber of !ongress0en were still being EprotectedE in the District of !olu0bia jailH others had seen the blinding light forever shed by the goddess <eason and happily returned to the !apitol. The 2inute 2en were increasingly loyal--they were still unpaid volunteers8 but provided with Ee=pense accountsE considerably larger than the pay of the regular troops. .ever in A0erican history had the adherents of a President been so well satisfiedH they were not only appointed to whatever political jobs there were but to ever so 0any that really were notH and with such annoyances as !ongressional nvestigations hushed8 the official awarders of contracts were on the 0erriest of ter0s with all contractors. . . . 3ne veteran lobbyist for steel corporations co0plained that there was no 0ore sport in his hunting--you were not only allowed but e=pected to shoot all govern0ent purchasing-agents sitting.

.one of the changes was so publiciGed as the Presidential 0andate abruptly ending the separate e=istence of the different states8 and dividing the whole country into eight EprovincesE--thus8 asserted 9indrip8 econo0iGing by reducing the nu0ber of governors and all other state officers and8 asserted 9indrip"s ene0ies8 better enabling hi0 to concentrate his private ar0y and hold the country.

The new E.ortheastern ProvinceE included all of .ew :or- *tate north of a line through 3ssining8 and all of .ew 1ngland e=cept a strip of !onnecticut shore as far east as .ew #aven. This was8 Dore0us ad0itted8 a natural and ho0ogeneous division8 and even 0ore natural see0ed the urban and industrial E2etropolitan Province8E which included Greater .ew :or-8 9estchester !ounty up to 3ssining8 +ong sland8 the strip of !onnecticut dependent on .ew :or!ity8 .ew 5ersey8 northern Delaware8 and Pennsylvania as far as <eading and *cranton.

1ach province was divided into nu0bered districts8 each district into lettered counties8 each county into townships and cities8 and only in these last did the old na0es8 with their traditional appeal8 re0ain to endanger President 9indrip by 0e0ories of honorable local history. And it was gossiped that8 ne=t8 the govern0ent would change even the town na0es--that they were already thin-ing fondly of calling .ew :or- EBerGelianE and *an >rancisco E*an *arason.E Probably that gossip was false.

The .ortheastern Province"s si= districts were: %8 Dpper .ew :or- *tate west of and including *yracuseH 68 .ew :or- east of itH '8 ?er0ont and .ew #a0pshireH B8 2aineH (8 2assachusettsH K8 <hode sland and the unraped portion of !onnecticut.

District '8 Dore0us 5essup"s district8 was divided into the four EcountiesE of southern and northern ?er0ont8 and southern and northern .ew #a0pshire8 with #anover for capital--the District !o00issioner 0erely chased the Dart0outh students out and too- over the college buildings for his offices8 to the considerable approval of A0herst8 9illia0s8 and :ale.

*o Dore0us was living8 now8 in .ortheastern Province8 District '8 !ounty B8 township of Beulah8 and over hi0 for his ad0iration and rejoicing were a provincial co00issioner8 a district co00issioner8 a county co00issioner8 an assistant county co00issioner in charge of Beulah Township8 and all their appertaining 2.2. guards and e0ergency 0ilitary judges.

!itiGens who had lived in any one state for 0ore than ten years see0ed to resent 0ore hotly the loss of that state"s identity than they did the castration of the !ongress and *upre0e !ourt of the Dnited *tates--indeed8 they resented it al0ost as 0uch as the fact that8 while late 5anuary8 >ebruary8 and 0ost of 2arch went by8 they still were not receiving their govern0ental gifts of N(/// $or perhaps it would beautifully be N%/8///) apieceH had indeed received nothing 0ore than cheery bulletins fro0 9ashington to the effect that the E!apital +evy Board8E or !.+.B. was holding sessions.

?irginians whose grandfathers had fought beside +ee shouted that they"d be da0ned if they"d give up the hallowed state na0e and for0 just one arbitrary section of an ad0inistrative unit containing eleven *outhern statesH *an >ranciscans who had considered +os Angelinos even worse than deniGens of 2ia0i now wailed with agony when !alifornia was sundered and the northern portion lu0ped in with 3regon8 .evada8 and others as the E2ountain and Pacific Province8E while southern !alifornia was8 without her per0ission8 assigned to the *outhwestern Province8 along with AriGona8 .ew 2e=ico8 Te=as8 3-laho0a8 and #awaii. As so0e hint of BuGG 9indrip"s vision for the future8 it was interesting to read that this *outhwestern Province was also to be per0itted to clai0 Eall portions of 2e=ico which the Dnited *tates 0ay fro0 ti0e to ti0e find it necessary to ta-e over8 as a protection against the notorious treachery of 2e=ico and the 5ewish plots there hatched.E

E+ee *arason is even 0ore generous than #itler and Alfred <osenberg in protecting the future of other countries8E sighed Dore0us.

As Provincial !o00issioner of the .ortheastern Province8 co0prising Dpper .ew :or- *tate and .ew 1ngland8 was appointed !olonel Dewey #ai-8 that soldier-lawyer-politician-aviator who was the chilliest-blooded and 0ost arrogant of all the satellites of 9indrip yet had so captivated 0iners and fisher0en during the ca0paign. #e was a strong-flying eagle who li-ed his 0eat bloody. As District !o00issioner of District '--?er0ont and .ew #a0pshire--appeared8 to Dore0us"s 0ingled derision and fury8 none other than 5ohn *ullivan <ee-8 that stuffiest of stuffed-shirts8 that 0ost gaseous gas bag8 that 0ost a0enable 0achine politician of .orthern .ew 1nglandH a <epublican e=-governor who had8 in the ale0bic of 9indrip"s patriotis08 rosily turned +eaguer.

.o one had ever troubled to be obse@uious to the #on. 5. *. <ee-8 even when he had been Governor. The weediest bac--country <epresentative had called hi0 E5ohnny8E in the gubernatorial 0ansion $twelve roo0s and a lea-y roof)H and the youngest reporter had bawled8 E9ell8 what bull you handing out today8 1=ME

t was this !o00issioner <ee- who su00oned all the editors in his district to 0eet hi0 at his new viceregal lodge in Dart0outh +ibrary and receive the precious privileged infor0ation as to how 0uch President 9indrip and his subordinate co00issioners ad0ired the gentle0en of the press.

Before he left for the press conference in #anover8 Dore0us received fro0 *issy a Epoe0E--at least she called it that--which Buc- Titus8 +orinda Pi-e8 5ulian >alc-8 and she had painfully co0posed8 late at night8 in Buc-"s fortified 0anor house:

Be 0ee- with <ee-8 Go fa-e with #ai-. 3ne rhy0es with snea-8 And t" other with sna-e. #ai-8 with his bea-8 s on the 0a-e8

But *ullivan <ee--3h GodJ

E9ell8 anyway8 9indrip"s put everybody to wor-. And he"s driven all these unsightly billboards off the highways--0uch better for the tourist trade8E said all the old editors8 even those who wondered if the President wasn"t perhaps the least bit arbitrary.

As he drove to #anover8 Dore0us saw hundreds of huge billboards by the road. But they bore only 9indrip propaganda and underneath8 Ewith the co0pli0ents of a loyal fir0E and--very large--E2ontgo0ery !igarettesE or E5on@uil >oot *oap.E 3n the short wal- fro0 a par-ing-space to the for0er Dart0outh ca0pus8 three several 0en 0uttered to hi08 EGive us a nic-el for cuppa coffee8 Boss--a 2innie 2ouse has got 0y job and the 2ouses won"t ta-e 0e--they say "0 too old.E But that 0ay have been propaganda fro0 2oscow.

3n the long porch of the #anover nn8 officers of the 2inute 2en were reclining in dec- chairs8 their spurred boots $in all the 2.2. organiGation there was no cavalry) up on the railing.

Dore0us passed a science building in front of which was a pile of bro-en laboratory glassware8 and in one stripped laboratory he could see a s0all s@uad of 2.2."s drilling.

District !o00issioner 5ohn *ullivan <ee- affectionately received the editors in a classroo0. . . . 3ld 0en8 used to being revered as prophets8 sitting an=iously in trifling chairs8 facing a fat 0an in the unifor0 of an 2.2. co00ander8 who s0o-ed an un0ilitary cigar as his pulpy hand waved greeting.

<ee- too- not 0ore than an hour to relate what would have ta-en the 0ost intelligent 0an five or si= hours--that is8 five 0inutes of speech and the rest of the five hours to recover fro0 the

nausea caused by having to utter such sha0eless rot. . . . President 9indrip8 *ecretary of *tate *arason8 Provincial !o00issioner #ai-8 and hi0self8 5ohn *ullivan <ee-8 they were all being 0isrepresented by the <epublicans8 the 5effersonians8 the !o00unists8 1ngland8 the .aGis8 and probably the jute and herring industriesH and what the govern0ent wanted was for any reporter to call on any 0e0ber of this Ad0inistration8 and especially on !o00issioner <ee-8 at any ti0e--e=cept perhaps between ' and C A.2.--and Eget the real low-down.E

1=cellency <ee- announced8 then: EAnd now8 gentle0en8 a0 giving 0yself the privilege of introducing you to all four of the !ounty !o00issioners8 who were just chosen yesterday. Probably each of you will -now personally the co00issioner fro0 your own county8 but want you to inti0ately and cooperatively -now all four8 because8 who0ever they 0ay be8 they join with 0e in 0y un@uenchable ad0iration of the press.E

The four !ounty !o00issioners8 as one by one they sha0bled into the roo0 and were introduced8 see0ed to Dore0us an oddish lot: A 0oth-eaten lawyer -nown 0ore for his @uotations fro0 *ha-espeare and <obert 9. *ervice than for his shrewdness before a jury. #e was lu0inously bald e=cept for a pric-le of faded rusty hair8 but you felt that8 if he had his rights8 he would have the floating loc-s of a tragedian of %4&/.

A battling clergy0an fa0ed for raiding roadhouses.

A rather shy wor-0an8 an authentic proletarian8 who see0ed surprised to find hi0self there. $#e was replaced8 a 0onth later8 by a popular osteopath with an interest in politics and vegetarianis0.)

The fourth dignitary to co0e in and affectionately bow to the editors8 a bul-y 0an8 for0idableloo-ing in his unifor0 as a battalion leader of 2inute 2en8 introduced as the !o00issioner for northern ?er0ont8 Dore0us 5essup"s county8 was 2r. 3scar +edue8 for0erly -nown as E*had.E

2r. <ee- called hi0 E!aptainE +edue. Dore0us re0e0bered that *had"s only 0ilitary service8 prior to 9indrip"s election8 had been as an A.1.>. private who had never got beyond a trainingca0p in A0erica and whose fiercest e=perience in battle had been lic-ing a corporal when in li@uor.

E2r. 5essup8E bubbled the #on. 2r. <ee-8 E i0agine you 0ust have 0et !aptain +edue--co0es fro0 your char0ing city.E

EDh-uh-ur8E said Dore0us.

E*ure8E said !aptain +edue. E "ve 0et old 5essup8 all right8 all rightJ #e don"t -now what it"s all about. #e don"t -now the first thing about the econo0ics of our social <evolution. #e"s a !hovinis. But he isn"t such a bad old coot8 and "ll let hi0 ride as long as he behaves hi0selfJE

E*plendidJE said the #on. 2r. <ee-.

%C

+i-e beefstea- and potatoes stic- to your ribs even if you"re wor-ing your head off8 so the words of the Good Boo- stic- by you in perple=ity and tribulation. f ever held a high position over 0y people8 hope that 0y 0inisters would be @uoting8 fro0 Lings8 %4H '% A '6: E!o0e out to 0e8 and then eat ye every 0an of his own vine8 and every one of his fig tree8 and drin- ye every one the waters of his cistern8 until co0e and ta-e you away to a land of corn and wine8 a land of bread and vineyards8 a land of olive oil and honey8 that ye 0ay live and not die.E

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

Despite the clai0s of 2ontpelier8 the for0er capital of ?er0ont8 and of Burlington8 largest town in the state8 !aptain *had +edue fi=ed on >ort Beulah as e=ecutive center of !ounty B8 which was 0ade out of nine for0er counties of northern ?er0ont. Dore0us never decided whether this was8 as +orinda Pi-e asserted8 because *had was in partnership with Ban-er <. !. !rowley in the profits derived fro0 the purchase of @uite useless old dwellings as part of his head@uarters8 or for the even sounder purpose of showing hi0self off8 in battalion leader"s unifor0 with the letters E!.!.E beneath the five-pointed star on his collar8 to the pals with who0 he had once played pool and drun- applejac-8 and to the EsnobsE whose lawns he once had 0owed.

Besides the conde0ned dwellings8 *had too- over all of the for0er *cotland !ounty courthouse and established his private office in the judge"s cha0bers8 0erely chuc-ing out the law boo-s and replacing the0 with piles of 0agaGines devoted to the 0ovies and the detection of cri0e8 hanging up portraits of 9indrip8 *arason8 #ai-8 and <ee-8 installing two deep chairs upholstered in poison-green plush $ordered fro0 the store of the loyal !harley Betts but8 to Betts"s fury8 charged to the govern0ent8 to be paid for if and when) and doubling the nu0ber of judicial cuspidors.

n the top center drawer of his des- *had -ept a photograph fro0 a nudist ca0p8 a flas- of Benedictine8 a .BB revolver8 and a dog whip.

!ounty co00issioners were allowed fro0 one to a doGen assistant co00issioners8 depending on the population. Dore0us 5essup was alar0ed when he discovered that *had had had the shrewdness to choose as assistants 0en of so0e education and pretense to 0anners8 with EProfessorE 10il *taub0eyer as Assistant !ounty !o00issioner in charge of the Township of Beulah8 which included the villages of >ort Beulah8 9est and .orth Beulah8 Beulah !enter8 Trianon8 #osea8 and LeeG0et.

As *had had8 without benefit of bayonets8 beco0e a captain8 so 2r. *taub0eyer $author of #itler

and 3ther Poe0s of Passion--unpublished) auto0atically beca0e a doctor.

Perhaps8 thought Dore0us8 he would understand 9indrip A !o. better through seeing the0 faintly reflected in *had and *taub0eyer than he would have in the confusing glare of 9ashingtonH and understand thus that a BuGG 9indrip--a Bis0arc---a !Qsar--a Pericles was li-e all the rest of itching8 indigesting8 aspiring hu0anity e=cept that each of these heroes had a higher degree of a0bition and 0ore willingness to -ill.

By 5une8 the enroll0ent of the 2inute 2en had increased to (K68///8 and the force was now able to accept as new 0e0bers only such trusty patriots and pugilists as it preferred. The 9ar Depart0ent was fran-ly allowing the0 not just Ee=pense 0oneyE but pay0ent ranging fro0 ten dollars a wee- for EinspectorsE with a few hours of wee-ly duty in drilling8 to N&C// a year for EbrigadiersE on full ti0e8 and N%K8/// for the #igh 2arshal8 +ee *arason . . . fortunately without interfering with the salaries fro0 his other onerous duties.

The 2.2. ran-s were: inspector8 0ore or less corresponding to privateH s@uad leader8 or corporalH cornet8 or sergeantH ensign8 or lieutenantH battalion leader8 a co0bination of captain8 0ajor8 and lieutenant colonelH co00ander8 or colonelH brigadier8 or generalH high 0arshal8 or co00anding general. !ynics suggested that these honorable titles derived 0ore fro0 the *alvation Ar0y than the fighting forces8 but be that cheap sneer justified or no8 the fact re0ains that an 2.2. helot had ever so 0uch 0ore pride in being called an Einspector8E an awing designation in all police circles8 than in being a Eprivate.E

*ince all 0e0bers of the .ational Guard were not only allowed but encouraged to beco0e 0e0bers of the 2inute 2en also8 since all veterans of the Great 9ar were given special privileges8 and since E!olonelE 3sceola +uthorne8 the *ecretary of 9ar8 was generous about lending regular ar0y officers to *ecretary of *tate *arason for use as drill 0asters in the 2.2."s8 there was a surprising proportion of trained 0en for so newly born an ar0y.

+ee *arason had proven to President 9indrip by statistics fro0 the Great 9ar that college education8 and even the study of the horrors of other conflicts8 did not wea-en the 0asculinity of the students8 but actually 0ade the0 0ore patriotic8 flag-waving8 and s-illful in the direction of slaughter than the average youth8 and nearly every college in the country was to have8 this co0ing autu0n8 its own battalion of 2.2."s8 with drill counting as credit toward graduation. The collegians were to be schooled as officers. Another splendid source of 2.2. officers were the gy0nasiu0s and the classes in Business Ad0inistration of the :.2.!.A.

2ost of the ran- and file8 however8 were young far0ers delighted by the chance to go to town and to drive auto0obiles as fast as they wanted toH young factory e0ployees who preferred unifor0s and the authority to -ic- elderly citiGens above overalls and stooping over 0achinesH and rather a large nu0ber of for0er cri0inals8 e=-bootleggers8 e=-burglars8 e=-labor rac-eteers8 who8 for their s-ill with guns and leather life-preservers8 and for their assurances that the 0ajesty of the >ive-Pointed *tar had co0pletely refor0ed the08 were forgiven their earlier blunders in ethics and were war0ly accepted in the 2.2. *tor0 Troops.

t was said that one of the least of these erring children was the first patriot to na0e President 9indrip Ethe !hief8E 0eaning >Threr8 or 0perial 9iGard of the L.L.L.8 or l Duce8 or 0perial Potentate of the 2ystic *hrine8 or !o00odore8 or Dniversity !oach8 or anything else supre0ely noble and good-hearted. *o8 on the glorious anniversary of 5uly B8 %&'C8 0ore than five hundred thousand young unifor0ed vigilantes8 scattered in towns fro0 Gua0 to Bar #arbor8 fro0 Point Barrow to Ley 9est8 stood at parade rest and sang8 li-e the choiring seraphi0:

EBuGG and buGG and hail the !hief8 And his five-pointed sta-ar8 The D.*. ne"er can co0e to grief 9ith us prepared for wa-ar.E

!ertain critical spirits felt that this version of the chorus of EBuGG and BuGG8E now the official 2.2. anthe08 showed8 in a certain roughness8 the lac- of Adelaide Tarr Gi00itch"s fastidious hand. But nothing could be done about it. *he was said to be in !hina8 organiGing chain letters. And even while that uneasiness was over the 2.2.8 upon the very ne=t day ca0e the blow.

*o0eone on #igh 2arshal *arason"s staff noticed that the D.*.*.<."s e0ble0 was not a si=pointed star8 but a five-pointed one8 even li-e A0erica"s8 so that we were not insulting the *oviets at all.

!onsternation was universal. >ro0 *arason"s office ca0e sulphurous rebu-e to the un-nown idiot who had first 0ade the 0ista-e $generally he was believed to be +ee *arason) and the co00and that a new e0ble0 be suggested by every 0e0ber of the 2.2. Day and night for three days8 2.2. barrac-s were hectic with telegra0s8 telephone calls8 letters8 placards8 and thousands of young 0en sat with pencils and rulers earnestly drawing tens of thousands of substitutes for the five-pointed star: circles in triangles8 triangles in circles8 pentagons8 he=agons8 alphas and o0egas8 eagles8 aeroplanes8 arrows8 bo0bs bursting in air8 bo0bs bursting in bushes8 billy-goats8 rhinoceri8 and the :ose0ite ?alley. t was circulated that a young ensign on #igh 2arshal *arason"s staff had8 in agony over the error8 co00itted suicide. 1verybody thought that this hara--iri was a fine idea and showed sensibility on the part of the better 2.2."sH and they went on thin-ing so even after it proved that the 1nsign had 0erely got drun- at the BuGG Bac-ga00on !lub and tal-ed about suicide.

n the end8 despite his uncounted co0petitors8 it was the great 0ystic8 +ee *arason hi0self8 who found the perfect new e0ble0--a ship"s steering wheel.

t sy0boliGed8 he pointed out8 not only the *hip of *tate but also the wheels of A0erican industry8 the wheels and the steering wheel of 0otorcars8 the wheel diagra0 which >ather !oughlin had suggested two years before as sy0boliGing the progra0 of the .ational Dnion for *ocial 5ustice8 and8 particularly8 the wheel e0ble0 of the <otary !lub.

*arason"s procla0ation also pointed out that it would not be too far-fetched to declare that8 with a little drafting treat0ent8 the ar0s of the *wasti-a could be seen as un@uestionably related to the circle8 and how about the L.L.L. of the Lu-lu= LlanM Three L"s 0ade a triangle8 didn"t theyM and everybody -new that a triangle was related to a circle.

*o it was that in *epte0ber8 at the de0onstrations on +oyalty Day $which replaced +abor Day)8 the sa0e wide-flung seraphi0 sang:

EBuGG and buGG and hail the !hief8 And th" 0ystic steering whee-el8 The D.*. ne"er can co0e to grief 9hile we defend its we-al.E

n 0id-August8 President 9indrip announced that8 since all its ai0s were being acco0plished8 the +eague of >orgotten 2en $founded by one <ev. 2r. Prang8 who was 0entioned in the procla0ation only as a person in past history) was now ter0inated. *o were all the older parties8 De0ocratic8 <epublican8 >ar0er-+abor8 or what not. There was to be only one: The A0erican !orporate *tate and Patriotic Party--noJ added the President8 with so0ething of his for0er good-hu0or: Ethere are two parties8 the !orporate and those who don"t belong to any party at all8 and so8 to use a co00on phrase8 are just out of luc-JE

The idea of the !orporate or !orporative *tate8 *ecretary *arason had 0ore or less ta-en fro0 taly. All occupations were divided into si= classes: agriculture8 industry8 co00erce8 transportation and co00unication8 ban-ing and insurance and invest0ent8 and a grab-bag class including the arts8 sciences8 and teaching. The A0erican >ederation of +abor8 the <ailway Brotherhoods8 and all other labor organiGations8 along with the >ederal Depart0ent of +abor8 were supplanted by local *yndicates co0posed of individual wor-ers8 above which were Provincial !onfederations8 all under govern0ental guidance. Parallel to the0 in each occupation were *yndicates and !onfederations of e0ployers. >inally8 the si= !onfederations of wor-ers and

the si= !onfederations of e0ployers were co0bined in si= joint federal !orporations8 which elected the twenty-four 0e0bers of the .ational !ouncil of !orporations8 which initiated or supervised all legislation relating to labor or business.

There was a per0anent chair0an of this .ational !ouncil8 with a deciding vote and the power of regulating all debate as he saw fit8 but he was not elected--he was appointed by the PresidentH and the first to hold the office $without interfering with his other duties) was *ecretary of *tate +ee *arason. 5ust to safeguard the liberties of +abor8 this chair0an had the right to dis0iss any unreasonable 0e0ber of the .ational !ouncil.

All stri-es and loc-outs were forbidden under federal penalties8 so that wor-0en listened to reasonable govern0ent representatives and not to unscrupulous agitators.

9indrip"s partisans called the0selves the !orporatists8 or8 fa0iliarly8 the E!orpos8E which nic-na0e was generally used.

By ill-natured people the !orpos were called Ethe !orpses.E But they were not at all corpse-li-e. That description would 0ore correctly8 and increasingly8 have applied to their ene0ies.

Though the !orpos continued to pro0ise a gift of at least N(/// to every fa0ily8 Eas soon as funding of the re@uired bond issue shall be co0pleted8E the actual 0anage0ent of the poor8 particularly of the 0ore surly and dissatisfied poor8 was underta-en by the 2inute 2en.

t could now be published to the world8 and decidedly it was published8 that une0ploy0ent had8 under the benign reign of President BerGelius 9indrip8 al0ost disappeared. Al0ost all wor-less 0en were asse0bled in enor0ous labor ca0ps8 under 2.2. officers. Their wives and children acco0panied the0 and too- care of the coo-ing8 cleaning8 and repair of clothes. The 0en did

not 0erely wor- on state projectsH they were also hired out at the reasonable rate of one dollar a day to private e0ployers. 3f course8 so selfish is hu0an nature even in Dtopia8 this did cause 0ost e0ployers to discharge the 0en to who0 they had been paying 0ore than a dollar a day8 but that too- care of itself8 because these overpaid 0alcontents in their turn were forced into the labor ca0ps.

3ut of their dollar a day8 the wor-ers in the ca0ps had to pay fro0 seventy to ninety cents a day for board and lodging.

There was a certain discontent0ent a0ong people who had once owned 0otorcars and bathroo0s and eaten 0eat twice daily8 at having to wal- ten or twenty 0iles a day8 bathe once a wee-8 along with fifty others8 in a long trough8 get 0eat only twice a wee---when they got it-and sleep in bun-s8 a hundred in a roo0. :et there was less rebellion than a 0ere rationalist li-e 9alt Trowbridge8 9indrip"s ludicrously defeated rival8 would have e=pected8 for every evening the loudspea-er brought to the wor-ers the precious voices of 9indrip and *arason8 ?icePresident Beecroft8 *ecretary of 9ar +uthorne8 *ecretary of 1ducation and Propaganda 2acgoblin8 General !oon8 or so0e other genius8 and these 3ly0pians8 tal-ing to the dirtiest and tiredest 0udsills as war0 friend to friend8 told the0 that they were the honored foundation stones of a .ew !iviliGation8 the advance guards of the con@uest of the whole world.

They too- it8 too8 li-e .apoleon"s soldiers. And they had the 5ews and the .egroes to loo- down on8 0ore and 0ore. The 2.2."s saw to that. 1very 0an is a -ing so long as he has so0eone to loo- down on.

1ach wee- the govern0ent said less about the findings of the board of in@uiry which was to decide how the N(/// per person could be wangled. t beca0e easier to answer 0alcontents with a cuff fro0 a 2inute 2an than by repetitious state0ents fro0 9ashington.

But 0ost of the plan-s in 9indrip"s platfor0 really were carried out--according to a sane

interpretation of the0. >or e=a0ple8 inflation.

n A0erica of this period8 inflation did not even co0pare with the Ger0an inflation of the %&6/"s8 but it was sufficient. The wage in the labor ca0ps had to be raised fro0 a dollar a day to three8 with which the wor-ers were receiving an e@uivalent of si=ty cents a day in %&%B values. 1verybody delightfully profited8 e=cept the very poor8 the co00on wor-0en8 the s-illed wor-0en8 the s0all business 0en8 the professional 0en8 and old couples living on annuities or their savings--these last did really suffer a little8 as their inco0es were cut in three. The wor-ers8 with apparently tripled wages8 saw the cost of everything in the shops 0uch 0ore than triple.

Agriculture8 which was 0ost of all to have profited fro0 inflation8 on the theory that the 0ercurial crop-prices would rise faster than anything else8 actually suffered the 0ost of all8 because8 after a first flurry of foreign buying8 i0porters of A0erican products found it i0possible to deal in so s-ittish a 0ar-et8 and A0erican food e=ports--such of the0 as were left--ceased co0pletely.

t was Big Business8 that ancient dragon which Bishop Prang and *enator 9indrip had gone forth to slay8 that had the interesting ti0e.

9ith the value of the dollar changing daily8 the elaborate syste0s of cost-0ar-ing and credit of Big Business were so confused that presidents and sales-0anagers sat in their offices after 0idnight8 with wet towels. But they got so0e co0fort8 because with the depreciated dollar they were able to recall all bonded indebtedness and8 paying it off at the old face values8 get rid of it at thirty cents on the hundred. 9ith this8 and the currency so wavering that e0ployees did not -now just what they ought to get in wages8 and labor unions eli0inated8 the larger industrialists ca0e through the inflation with perhaps double the wealth8 in real values8 that they had had in %&'K.

And two other plan-s in 9indrip"s encyclical vigorously respected were those eli0inating the .egroes and patroniGing the 5ews.

The for0er race too- it the less agreeably. There were horrible instances in which whole *outhern counties with a 0ajority of .egro population were overrun by the blac-s and all property seiGed. True8 their leaders alleged that this followed 0assacres of .egroes by 2inute 2en. But as Dr. 2acgoblin8 *ecretary of !ulture8 so well said8 this whole subject was unpleasant and therefore not helpful to discuss.

All over the country8 the true spirit of 9indrip"s Plan- .ine8 regarding the 5ews8 was faithfully carried out. t was understood that the 5ews were no longer to be barred fro0 fashionable hotels8 as in the hideous earlier day of race prejudice8 but 0erely to be charged double rates. t was understood that 5ews were never to be discouraged fro0 trading but were 0erely to pay higher graft to co00issioners and inspectors and to accept without debate all regulations8 wage rates8 and price lists decided upon by the stainless Anglo-*a=ons of the various 0erchants" associations. And that all 5ews of all conditions were fre@uently to sound their ecstasy in having found in A0erica a sanctuary8 after their deplorable e=periences a0ong the prejudices of 1urope.

n >ort Beulah8 +ouis <otenstern8 since he had always been the first to stand up for the older official national anthe0s8 EThe *tar-*pangled BannerE or EDi=ie8E and now for EBuGG and BuGG8E since he had of old been considered al0ost an authentic friend by >rancis Tasbrough and <. !. !rowley8 and since he had often good-naturedly pressed the unrecogniGed *had +edue"s *unday pants without charge8 was per0itted to retain his tailor shop8 though it was understood that he was to charge 0e0bers of the 2.2. prices that were only no0inal8 or @uarter no0inal.

But one #arry Linder0ann8 a 5ew who had profiteered enough as agent for 0aple-sugar and dairy 0achinery so that in %&'K he had been paying the last install0ent on his new bungalow and on his Buic-8 had always been what *had +edue called Ea fresh Li-e.E #e had laughed at the flag8 the !hurch8 and even <otary. .ow he found the 0anufacturers canceling his agencies8 without e=planation.

By the 0iddle of %&'C he was selling fran-furters by the road8 and his wife8 who had been so proud of the piano and the old A0erican pine cupboard in their bungalow8 was dead8 fro0 pneu0onia caught in the one-roo0 tar-paper shac- into which they had 0oved.

At the ti0e of 9indrip"s election8 there had been 0ore than 4/8/// relief ad0inistrators e0ployed by the federal and local govern0ents in A0erica. 9ith the labor ca0ps absorbing 0ost people on relief8 this ar0y of social wor-ers8 both a0ateurs and long-trained professional uplifters8 was stranded.

The 2inute 2en controlling the labor ca0ps were generous: they offered the charitarians the sa0e dollar a day that the proletarians received8 with special low rates for board and lodging. But the cleverer social wor-ers received a 0uch better offer: to help list every fa0ily and every un0arried person in the country8 with his or her finances8 professional ability8 0ilitary training and8 0ost i0portant and 0ost tactfully to be ascertained8 his or her secret opinion of the 2.2."s and of the !orpos in general.

A good 0any of the social wor-ers indignantly said that this was as-ing the0 to be spies8 stool pigeons for the A0erican 3h Gay Pay 3o. These were8 on various uni0portant charges8 sent to jail or8 later8 to concentration ca0ps--which were also jails8 but the private jails of the 2.2."s8 unshac-led by any old-fashioned8 nonsensical prison regulations.

n the confusion of the su00er and early autu0n of %&'C8 local 2.2. officers had a splendid ti0e 0a-ing their own laws8 and such congenital traitors and bellyachers as 5ewish doctors8 5ewish 0usicians8 .egro journalists8 socialistic college professors8 young 0en who preferred reading or che0ical research to 0anly service with the 2.2."s8 wo0en who co0plained when their 0en had been ta-en away by the 2.2."s and had disappeared8 were increasingly beaten in the streets8 or arrested on charges that would not have been very fa0iliar to pre-!orpo jurists.

And8 increasingly8 the bourgeois counter revolutionists began to escape to !anadaH just as once8 by the Eunderground railroadE the .egro slaves had escaped into that free .orthern air.

n !anada8 as well as in 2e=ico8 Ber0uda8 5a0aica8 !uba8 and 1urope8 these lying <ed propagandists began to publish the vilest little 0agaGines8 accusing the !orpos of 0urderous terroris0--allegations that a band of si= 2.2."s had beaten an aged rabbi and robbed hi0H that the editor of a s0all labor paper in Paterson had been tied to his printing press and left there while the 2.2."s burned the plantH that the pretty daughter of an e=->ar0er-+abor politician in owa had been raped by giggling young 0en in 0as-s.

To end this cowardly flight of the lying counter revolutionists $0any of who08 once accepted as reputable preachers and lawyers and doctors and writers and e=-congress0en and e=-ar0y officers8 were able to give a wic-edly false i0pression of !orpois0 and the 2.2."s to the world outside A0erica) the govern0ent @uadrupled the guards who were halting suspects at every harbor and at even the 0inutest trails crossing the borderH and in one @uic- raid8 it poured 2.2. stor0 troopers into all airports8 private or public8 and all aeroplane factories8 and thus8 they hoped8 closed the air lanes to s-ul-ing traitors.

As one of the 0ost poisonous counter revolutionists in the country8 1=-*enator 9alt Trowbridge8 9indrip"s rival in the election of %&'K8 was watched night and day by a rotation of twelve 2.2. guards. But there see0ed to be s0all danger that this opponent8 who8 after all8 was a cran- but not an intransigent 0aniac8 would 0a-e hi0self ridiculous by fighting against the great Power which $per Bishop Prang) #eaven had been pleased to send for the healing of distressed

A0erica.

Trowbridge re0ained prosaically on a ranch he owned in *outh Da-ota8 and the govern0ent agent co00anding the 2.2."s $a s-illed 0an8 trained in brea-ing stri-es) reported that on his tapped telephone wire and in his stea0ed-open letters8 Trowbridge co00unicated nothing 0ore seditious than reports on growing alfalfa. #e had with hi0 no one but ranch hands and8 in the house8 an innocent aged couple.

9ashington hoped that Trowbridge was beginning to see the light. 2aybe they would 0a-e hi0 A0bassador to Britain8 vice *inclair.

3n the >ourth of 5uly8 when the 2.2"s gave their glorious but unfortunate tribute to the !hief and the >ive-pointed *tar8 Trowbridge gratified his cow-punchers by holding an unusually pyrotechnic celebration. All evening s-yroc-ets flared up8 and round the ho0e pasture glowed pots of <o0an fire. >ar fro0 cold-shouldering the 2.2. guards8 Trowbridge war0ly invited the0 to help set off roc-ets and join the gang in beer and sausages. The lonely soldier boys off there on the prairie--they were so happy shooting roc-etsJ

An aeroplane with a !anadian license8 a large plane8 flying without lights8 sped toward the roc-et-lighted area and8 with engine shut off8 so that the guards could not tell whether it had flown on8 circled the pasture outlined by the <o0an fire and swiftly landed.

The guards had felt sleepy after the last bottle of beer. Three of the0 were napping on the short8 rough grass.

They were rather disconcertingly surrounded by 0en in 0as-ing flying-hel0ets8 0en carrying auto0atic pistols8 who handcuffed the guards that were still awa-e8 pic-ed up the others8 and stored all twelve of the0 in the barred baggage co0part0ent of the plane.

The raiders" leader8 a 0ilitary-loo-ing 0an8 said to 9alt Trowbridge8 E<eady8 sirME

E:ep. 5ust ta-e those four bo=es8 will you8 please8 !olonelME

The bo=es contained photostats of letters and docu0ents.

Dnregally clad in overalls and a huge straw hat8 *enator Trowbridge entered the pilots" co0part0ent. #igh and swift and alone8 the plane flew toward the pre0ature .orthern +ights.

.e=t 0orning8 still in overalls8 Trowbridge brea-fasted at the >ort Garry #otel with the 2ayor of 9innipeg.

A fortnight later8 in Toronto8 he began the republication of his wee-ly8 A +ance for De0ocracy8 and on the cover of the first nu0ber were reproductions of four letters indicating that before he beca0e President8 BerGelius 9indrip had profited through personal gifts fro0 financiers to an a0ount of over N%8///8///. To Dore0us 5essup8 to so0e thousands of Dore0us 5essups8 were s0uggled copies of the +ance8 though possession of it was punishable $perhaps not legally8 but certainly effectively) by death.

But it was not till the winter8 so carefully did his secret agents have to wor- in A0erica8 that Trowbridge had in full operation the organiGation called by its operatives the E.ew Dnderground8E the E..D.8E which aided thousands of counter revolutionists to escape into !anada.

%4

n the little towns8 ah8 there is the abiding peace that love8 and that can never be disturbed by even the noisiest *0art Alec-s fro0 these haughty 0egalopolises li-e 9ashington8 .ew :or-8 A etc.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

Dore0us"s policy of Ewait and see8E li-e 0ost >abian policies8 had grown sha-y. t see0ed particularly sha-y in 5une8 %&'C8 when he drove to .orth Beulah for the fortieth graduation anniversary of his class in saiah !ollege.

As the custo0 was8 the returned alu0ni wore co0ic costu0es. #is class had sailor suits8 but they wal-ed about8 bald-headed and lugubrious8 in these well-0eant gar0ents of joy8 and there was a loo- of instability even in the eyes of the three 0e0bers who were ardent !orpos $being local !orpo co00issioners).

After the first hour Dore0us saw little of his class0ates. #e had loo-ed up his fa0iliar correspondent8 ?ictor +oveland8 teacher in the classical depart0ent who8 a year ago8 had infor0ed hi0 of President 3wen 5. Peaseley"s ban on criticis0 of 0ilitary training.

At its best8 +oveland"s jerry-built i0itation of an Anne #athaway cottage had been no palace-saiah assistant professors did not custo0arily rent palaces. .ow8 with the pretentiously s0art living roo0 heaped with burlap-covered chairs and rolled rugs and bo=es of boo-s8 it loo-ed li-e a jun-shop. A0id the wrec-age sat +oveland8 his wife8 his three children8 and one Dr. Arnold Ling8 e=peri0enter in che0istry.

E9hat"s all thisME said Dore0us.

E "ve been fired. As too "radical8"E growled +oveland.

E:esJ And his 0ost vicious attac- has been on Glic-now"s treat0ent of the use of the aorist in #esiodJE wailed his wife.

E9ell8 deserve it--for not having been vicious about anything since A.D. '//J 3nly thing "0 asha0ed of is that they"re not firing 0e for having taught 0y students that the !orpos have ta-en 0ost of their ideas fro0 Tiberius8 or 0aybe for having decently tried to assassinate District !o00issioner <ee-JE said +oveland.

E9here you goingME in@uired Dore0us.

EThat"s just itJ 9e don"t -nowJ 3h8 first to 0y dad"s house--which is a si=-roo0 pac-ing-bo= in Burlington--Dad"s got diabetes. But teaching--President Peaseley -ept putting off signing 0y new contract and just infor0ed 0e ten days ago that "0 through--0uch too late to get a job for ne=t year. 2yself8 don"t care a da0nJ <eally don"tJ "0 glad to have been 0ade to ad0it that as a college prof haven"t been8 as so li-ed to convince 0yself8 any 1ras0us 5unior8 inspiring noble young souls to drea0 of chaste classic beauty--save the 0ar-J--but just a plain hired 0an8 another counter-ju0per in the 2ar-ed-down !lassics Goods Depart0ent8 with students for bored custo0ers8 and as subject to being hired and fired as any janitor. Do you re0e0ber that in 0perial <o0e8 the teachers8 even the tutors of the nobility8 were slaves--allowed a lot of leeway8 suppose8 in their theories about the anthropology of !rete8 but just as li-ely to be strangled as the other slavesJ "0 not -ic-ing--E

Dr. Ling8 the che0ist8 interrupted with a whoop: E*ure you"re -ic-ingJ 9hy the hell notM 9ith three -idsM 9hy not -ic-J .ow 0e8 "0 luc-yJ "0 half 5ew--one of these snea-ing8 cunning 5ews that BuGG 9indrip and his boyfriend #itler tell you aboutH so cunning suspected what was going on 0onths ago and so-- "ve also just been fired8 2r. 5essup-- arranged for a job with the Dniversal 1lectric !orporation. . . . They don"t 0ind 5ews there8 as long as they sing at their worand find boondoggles worth a 0illion a year to the co0pany--at thirty-five hundred a year salaryJ A fond farewell to all 0y grubby studesJ Though--E and Dore0us thought he was8 at heart8 sadder than +oveland--E do -ind of hate to give up 0y research. 3h8 hell with "e0JE

The version of 3wen 5. Peaseley8 2.A. $3berlin)8 ++.D. $!onn. *tate)8 president of saiah !ollege8 was @uite different.

E9hy no8 2r. 5essupJ 9e believe absolutely in freedo0 of speech and thought8 here at old saiah. The fact is that we are letting +oveland go only because the !lassics Depart0ent is overstaffed--so little de0and for Gree- and *ans-rit and so on8 you -now8 with all this 0odern interest in @uantitative bio-physics and aeroplane-repairing and so on. But as to Dr. Ling--u0-"0 afraid we did a little feel that he was riding for a fall8 boasting about being a 5ew and all8 you -now8 and--But can"t we tal- of pleasanter subjectsM :ou have probably learned that *ecretary of !ulture 2acgoblin has now co0pleted his plan for the appoint0ent of a director of education in each province and districtM--and that Professor Al0eric Trout of Au0bry Dniversity is slated for Director in our .ortheastern ProvinceM 9ell8 have so0ething very gratifying to add. Dr. Trout-and what a profound scholar8 what an elo@uent orator he isJ--did you -now that in Teutonic "Al0eric" 0eans "noble prince"M--and he"s been so -ind as to designate 0e as Director of 1ducation for the ?er0ont-.ew #a0pshire DistrictJ sn"t that thrillingJ wanted you to be one of the first to hear it8 2r. 5essup8 because of course one of the chief jobs of the Director will be to wor- with and through the newspaper editors in the great tas- of spreading correct !orporate ideals and co0bating false theories--yes8 oh yes.E

t see0ed as though a large nu0ber of people were Gealous to wor- with and through the editors these days8 thought Dore0us.

#e noticed that President Peaseley rese0bled a du00y 0ade of faded gray flannel of a @uality intended for petticoats in an orphan asylu0.

The 2inute 2en"s organiGation was less favored in the staid villages than in the industrial centers8 but all through the su00er it was -nown that a co0pany of 2.2."s had been for0ed in >ort Beulah and were drilling in the Ar0ory under .ational Guard officers and !ounty

!o00issioner +edue8 who was seen sitting up nights in his lu=urious new roo0 in 2rs. ngot"s boarding-house8 reading a 0anual of ar0s. But Dore0us declined to go loo- at the08 and when his rustic but a0bitious reporter8 EDocE $otherwise 3tis) tchitt8 ca0e in throbbing about the 2.2."s and wanted to run an illustrated account in the *aturday nfor0er8 Dore0us sniffed.

t was not till their first public parade8 in August8 that Dore0us saw the08 and not gladly.

The whole countryside had turned outH he could hear the0 laughing and shuffling beneath his office windowH but he stubbornly stuc- to editing an article on fertiliGers for cherry orchards. $And he loved parades8 childishlyJ) .ot even the sound of a band pounding out EBoola8 BoolaE drew hi0 to the window. Then he was pluc-ed up by Dan 9ilgus8 the veteran job co0positor and head of the nfor0er chapel8 a 0an tall as a house and possessed of such a sweeping blac0ustache as had not otherwise been seen since the passing of the old-ti0e bartender. E:ou got to ta-e a loo-8 BossH great showJE i0plored Dan.

Through the !hester-Arthur8 red-bric- prissiness of President *treet8 Dore0us saw 0arching a surprisingly well-drilled co0pany of young 0en in the unifor0s of !ivil 9ar cavalry0en8 and just as they were opposite the nfor0er office8 the town band rollic-ed into E2arching through Georgia.E The young 0en s0iled8 they stepped 0ore @uic-ly8 and held up their banner with the steering wheel and 2.2. upon it.

9hen he was ten8 Dore0us had seen in this self-sa0e street a 2e0orial Day parade of the G.A.<. The veterans were an average of under fifty then8 and so0e of the0 only thirty-fiveH they had swung ahead lightly and gayly--and to the tune of E2arching through Georgia.E *o now in %&'C he was loo-ing down again on the veterans of Gettysburg and 2issionary <idge. 3h--he could see the0 all--Dncle To0 ?eeder8 who had 0ade hi0 the willow whistlesH old 2r. !rowley with his cornflower eyesH 5ac- Greenhill who played leapfrog with the -ids and who was to die in 1than !ree---They found hi0 with thic- hair dripping. Dore0us thrilled to the 2.2. flags8 the 0usic8 the valiant young 0en8 even while he hated all they 0arched for8 and hated the *had +edue who0 he incredulously recogniGed in the brawny horse0an at the head of the procession.

#e understood now why the young 0en 0arched to war. But E3h yeh--you thin- soJE he could hear *had sneering through the 0usic.

The unwieldy hu0or characteristic of A0erican politicians persisted even through the eruption. Dore0us read about and sardonically Eplayed upE in the nfor0er a 0instrel show given at the .ational !onvention of Boosters" !lubs at Atlantic !ity8 late in August. As end-0en and interlocutor appeared no less distinguished persons than *ecretary of the Treasury 9ebster <. *-ittle8 *ecretary of 9ar +uthorne8 and *ecretary of 1ducation and Public <elations8 Dr. 2acgoblin. t was good8 old-ti0e 1l-s !lub hu0or8 uncorroded by any of the notions of dignity and of international obligations which8 despite his great services8 that @ueer stic- +ee *arason was suspected of trying to introduce. 9hy $0arveled the Boosters) the Big Boys were so de0ocratic that they even -idded the0selves and the !orpos8 that"s how unassu0ing they wereJ

E9ho was this lady seen you going down the street withME de0anded the plu0p 2r. *ecretary *-ittle $disguised as a colored wench in pol-a-dotted cotton) of 2r. *ecretary +uthorne $in blac-face and large red gloves).

EThat wasn"t no lady8 that was 9alt Trowbridge"s paper.E

EAh don"t thin- Ah cognosticates youse8 2ist" Bones.E

E9hy--you -now--"A .ance for Plutocracy."E

!lean fun8 not too confusingly subtle8 drawing the people $several 0illions listened on the radio to the Boosters" !lub show) closer to their great-hearted 0asters.

But the high point of the show was Dr. 2acgoblin"s daring to tease his own faction by singing:

BuGG and booGe and biG8 what funJ This job gets drearier and drearier8 9hen get out of 9ashington8 "0 going to *iberiaJ

t see0ed to Dore0us that he was hearing a great deal about the *ecretary of 1ducation. Then8 in late *epte0ber8 he heard so0ething not @uite pleasant about Dr. 2acgoblin. The story8 as he got it8 ran thus:

#ector 2acgoblin8 that great surgeon-bo=er-poet-sailor8 had always contrived to have plenty of ene0ies8 but after the beginning of his investigation of schools8 to purge the0 of any teachers he did not happen to li-e8 he 0ade so unusually 0any that he was acco0panied by bodyguards. At this ti0e in *epte0ber8 he was in .ew :or-8 finding @uantities of Esubversive ele0entsE in !olu0bia Dniversity--against the protests of President .icholas 2urray Butler8 who insisted that he had already cleaned out all willful and dangerous thin-ers8 especially the pacifists in the 0edical school--and 2acgoblin"s bodyguards were two for0er instructors in philosophy who in their respective universities had been ad0ired even by their deans for everything e=cept the fact that they would get drun- and @uarrelso0e. 3ne of the08 in that state8 always too- off one shoe and hit people over the head with the heel8 if they argued in defense of 5ung.

9ith these two in unifor0s as 2.2. battalion leaders--his own was that of a brigadier--after a day usefully spent in -ic-ing out of !olu0bia all teachers who had voted for Trowbridge8 Dr. 2acgoblin started off with his brace of bodyguards to try out a wager that he could ta-e a drinat every bar on >ifty-second *treet and still not pass out.

#e had done well when8 at ten-thirty8 being then affectionate and philanthropic8 he decided that it would be a splendid idea to telephone his revered for0er teacher in +eland *tanford8 the biologist Dr. 9illy *ch0idt8 once of ?ienna8 now in <oc-efeller nstitute. 2acgoblin was

indignant when so0eone at Dr. *ch0idt"s apart0ent infor0ed hi0 that the doctor was out. >uriously: E3utM 3utM 9hat d"you 0ean he"s outM 3ld goat li-e that got no right to be outJ At 0idnightJ 9here is heM This is the Police Depart0ent spea-ingJ 9here is heME

Dr. *ch0idt was spending the evening with that gentle scholar8 <abbi Dr. ?incent de ?ereG.

2acgoblin and his learned gorillas went to call on De ?ereG. 3n the way nothing of note happened e=cept that when 2acgoblin discussed the fare with the ta=i-driver8 he felt i0pelled to -noc- hi0 out. The three8 and they were in the happiest8 0ost boyish of spirits8 burst joyfully into Dr. de ?ereG"s pri0eval house in the *i=ties. The entrance hall was shabby enough8 with a hu0ble show of the good rabbi"s u0brellas and stor0 rubbers8 and had the invaders seen the bedroo0s they would have found the0 Trappist cells. But the long living roo08 front- and bac-parlor thrown together8 was half 0useu08 half lounge. 5ust because he hi0self li-ed such things and resented a stranger"s possessing the08 2acgoblin loo-ed sniffily at a Beluchi prayer rug8 a 5acobean court cupboard8 a s0all case of incunabula and of Arabic 0anuscripts in silver upon scarlet parch0ent.

E*well jointJ #ello8 DocJ #ow"s the Dutch0anM #ow"s the antibody research goingM These are Doc .e0o and Doc8 uh8 Doc 9hooGis8 the fa0ous glue lifters. Great frenGh 0ine. ntroduce us to your 5ew friend.E

.ow it is 0ore than possible that <abbi de ?ereG had never heard of *ecretary of 1ducation 2acgoblin.

The house0an who had let in the intruders and who nervously hovered at the living-roo0 door-he is the sole authority for 0ost of the story--said that 2acgoblin staggered8 slid on a rug8 al0ost fell8 then giggled foolishly as he sat down8 waving his plug-ugly friends to chairs and de0anding8 E#ey8 <abbi8 how about so0e whis-yM +il *cotch and soda. -now you Geoni0 never lap up anything but snow-cooled nectar handed out by a 0aiden with a dulci0er8 singing of 2ount Abora8 or 0aybe just a little shot of !hristian children"s sacrificial blood--ha8 ha8 just a jo-e8 <abbiH -now these "Protocols of the 1lders of Oion" are all the bun-8 but awful handy in propaganda8 just the sa0e and--But 0ean8 for plain Goyi0 li-e us8 a little real hootchJ #ear 0eME

Dr. *ch0idt started to protest. The <abbi8 who had been carding his white beard8 silenced hi0 and8 with a wave of his fragile old hand8 signaled the waiting house0an8 who reluctantly brought in whis-y and siphons.

The three coordinators of culture al0ost filled their glasses before they poured in the soda.

E+oo- here8 De ?ereG8 why don"t you -i-es ta-e a tu0ble to yourselves and get out8 beat it8 e=eunt bearing corpses8 and start a real Oion8 say in *outh A0ericaME

The <abbi loo-ed bewildered at the attac-. Dr. *ch0idt snorted8 EDr. 2acgoblin--once a pro0ising pupil of 0ine--is *ecretary of 1ducation and a lot of t"ings-- don"t -now votJ--at 9ashington. !orpoJE

E3hJE The <abbi sighed. E have heard of that cult8 but 0y people have learned to ignore persecution. 9e have been so i0pudent as to adopt the tactics of your 1arly !hristian 2artyrsJ 1ven if we were invited to your !orporate feast--which8 understand8 we 0ost war0ly are notJ-a0 afraid we should not be able to attend. :ou see8 we believe in only one Dictator8 God8 and a0 afraid we cannot see 2r. 9indrip as a rival to 5ehovahJE

EAah8 that"s all baloneyJE 0ur0ured one of the learned gun0en8 and 2acgoblin shouted8 E3h8 can the two-dollar wordsJ There"s just one thing where we agree with the dirty8 Li-e-loving !o00unists--that"s in chuc-ing the whole bunch of divinities8 5ehovah and all the rest of "e08 that"ve been on relief so longJE

The <abbi was unable even to answer8 but little Dr. *ch0idt $he had a doughnut 0ustache8 a beer belly8 and blac- button boots with soles half-an-inch thic-) said8 E2acgoblin8 suppose 0ay tal- fran- wit" an old student8 there not being any reporters or loutspea-ers arount. Do you -now why you are drin-ing li-e a pigM Because you are asha0tJ Asha0t that you8 once a pro0ising researcher8 should have solt out to freebooters with brains li-e decayed liver and--E

EThat"ll do fro0 you8 ProfJE

E*ay8 we oughtta tie those seditious sons of hounds up and beat the daylight out of "e0JE whi0pered one of the watchdogs.

2acgoblin shrie-ed8 E:ou highbrows--you stin-ing intellectualsJ :ou8 you Li-e8 with your lushluGurious library8 while !o00on People been starving--would be now if the !hief hadn"t saved "e0J :our c"lection boo-s--stolen fro0 the pennies of your poor8 du0b8 foot--issing congregation of pushcart peddlersJE

The <abbi sat bespelled8 fingering his beard8 but Dr. *ch0idt leaped up8 crying8 E:ou three scoundrels were not invited hereJ :ou pushed your way inJ Get outJ GoJ Get outJE

3ne of the acco0panying dogs de0anded of 2acgoblin8 EGoing to stand for these two :iddles insulting us--insulting the whole by God !orpo state and the 2.2. unifor0M Lill "e0JE

.ow8 to his already abundant pri0ing8 2acgoblin had added two huge whis-ies since he had co0e. #e yan-ed out his auto0atic pistol8 fired twice. Dr. *ch0idt toppled. <abbi De ?ereG slid down in his chair8 his te0ple throbbing out blood. The house0an tre0bled at the door8 and one of the guards shot at hi08 then chased hi0 down the street8 firing8 and whooping with the hu0or of the jo-e. This learned guard was -illed instantly8 at a street crossing8 by a traffic police0an.

2acgoblin and the other guard were arrested and brought before the !o00issioner of the 2etropolitan District8 the great !orpo viceroy8 whose power was that of three or four state governors put together.

Dr. de ?ereG8 though he was not yet dead8 was too sun-en to testify. But the !o00issioner thought that in a case so closely touching the federal govern0ent8 it would not be see0ly to postpone the trial.

Against the terrified evidence of the <abbi"s <ussian-Polish house0an were the earnest $and by now sober) accounts of the federal *ecretary of 1ducation8 and of his surviving aide8 for0erly Assistant Professor of Philosophy in Pelouse Dniversity. t was proven that not only De ?ereG but also Dr. *ch0idt was a 5ew--which8 incidentally8 he %// per cent was not. t was al0ost proven

that this sinister pair had been coa=ing innocent !orpos into De ?ereG"s house and perfor0ing upon the0 what a scared little 5ewish stool pigeon called Eritual 0urders.E 2acgoblin and friend were ac@uitted on grounds of self-defense and handso0ely co0pli0ented by the !o00issioner--and later in telegra0s fro0 President 9indrip and *ecretary of *tate *arason-for having defended the !o00onwealth against hu0an va0pires and one of the 0ost horrifying plots -nown in history.

The police0an who had shot the other guard wasn"t8 so scrupulous was !orpo justice8 heavily punished--0erely sent out to a dreary beat in the Bron=. *o everybody was happy.

But Dore0us 5essup8 on receiving a letter fro0 a .ew :or- reporter who had tal-ed privately with the surviving guard8 was not so happy. #e was not in a very gracious te0per8 anyway. !ounty !o00issioner *had +edue8 on grounds of hu0anitarianis08 had 0ade hi0 discharge his delivery boys and e0ploy 2.2."s to distribute $or cheerfully chuc- into the river) the nfor0er.

E+ast straw--plenty last8E he raged.

#e had read about <abbi de ?ereG and seen pictures of hi0. #e had once heard Dr. 9illy *ch0idt spea-8 when the *tate 2edical Association had 0et at >ort Beulah8 and afterward had sat near hi0 at dinner. f they were 0urderous 5ews8 then he was a 0urderous 5ew too8 he swore8 and it was ti0e to do so0ething for #is 3wn People.

That evening--it was late in *epte0ber8 %&'C--he did not go ho0e to dinner at all but8 with a paper container of coffee and a slab of pie untouched before hi08 he stooped at his des- in the nfor0er office8 writing an editorial which8 when he had finished it8 he 0ar-ed: E2ust. %6-pt bold face--bo= top front p.E

The beginning of the editorial8 to appear the following 0orning was:

Believing that the inefficiency and cri0es of the !orpo ad0inistration were due to the difficulties attending a new for0 of govern0ent8 we have waited patiently for their end. 9e apologiGe to our readers for that patience.

t is easy to see now8 in the revolting cri0e of a drun-en cabinet 0e0ber against two innocent and valuable old 0en li-e Dr. *ch0idt and the <ev. Dr. de ?ereG8 that we 0ay e=pect nothing but 0urderous e=tirpation of all honest opponents of the tyranny of 9indrip and his !orpo gang.

.ot that all of the0 are as vicious as 2acgoblin. *o0e are 0erely inco0petent--li-e our friends +edue8 <ee-8 and #ai-. But their ludicrous incapability per0its the ho0icidal cruelty of their chieftains to go on without chec-.

BuGGard 9indrip8 the E!hief8E and his pirate gang--

A s0allish8 neat8 gray-bearded 0an8 furiously rattling an aged typewriter8 typing with his two forefingers.

Dan 9ilgus8 head of the co0posing roo08 loo-ed and bar-ed li-e an old sergeant and8 li-e an old sergeant8 was only theoretically 0ee- to his superior officer. #e was sha-ing when he brought in

this copy and8 al0ost rubbing Dore0us"s nose in it8 protested8 E*ay8 boss8 you don"t honest t" God thin- we"re going to set this up8 do youME

E certainly doJE

E9ell8 don"tJ <attlesna-e poisonJ t"s all right your getting thrown in the hoosegow and probably shot at dawn8 if you li-e that -ind of sport8 but we"ve held a 0eeting of the chapel8 and we all say8 da0ned if we"ll ris- our nec-s tooJE

EAll right8 you yellow pupJ All right8 Dan8 "ll set it 0yselfJE

EAw8 don"tJ Gosh8 don"t want to have to go to your funeral after the 2.2."s get through with you8 and say8 "Don"t he loo- unnaturalJ"E

EAfter wor-ing for 0e for twenty years8 DanJ TraitorJE

E+oo- hereJ "0 no 1noch Arden or--oh8 what the hell was his na0eM--1than >ro0e or Benedict Arnold or whatever it wasJ--and 0ore "n once "ve lic-ed so0e galoot that was standing around a saloon telling the world you were the lousiest highbrow editor in ?er0ont8 and at that8 guess 0aybe he was telling the truth8 but sa0e ti0e--E Dan"s effort to be hu0orous and coa=ing bro-e8 and he wailed8 EGod8 boss8 please don"tJE

E -now8 Dan. Prob"ly our friend *had +edue will be annoyed. But can"t go on standing things li-e slaughtering old De ?ereG any 0ore and--#ereJ Gi00e that copyJE

9hile co0positors8 press0en8 and the young devil stood alternately fretting and snic-ering at his clu0siness8 Dore0us ranged up before a type case8 in his left hand the first co0posing-stiche had held in ten years8 and loo-ed doubtfully at the case. t was li-e a labyrinth to hi0. E>orgot how it"s arranged. !an"t find anything e=cept the e-bo=JE he co0plained.

E#ellJ "ll do itJ All you pussyfooters get the hell out of thisJ :ou don"t -now one doggone thing about who set this upJE Dan 9ilgus roared8 and the other printers vanishedJ--as far as the toilet door.

n the editorial office8 Dore0us showed proofs of his indiscretion to Doc tchitt8 that enterprising though aw-ward reporter8 and to 5ulian >alc-8 who was off now to A0herst but who had been wor-ing for the nfor0er all su00er8 co0bining unprintable articles on Ada0 *0ith with e=tre0ely printable accounts of golf and dances at the country club.

EGee8 hope you will have the nerve to go on and print it--and sa0e ti0e8 hope you don"tJ They"ll get youJE worried 5ulian.

E.awJ Gwan and print itJ They won"t dare to do a thingJ They 0ay get funny in .ew :or- and 9ashington8 but you"re too strong in the Beulah ?alley for +edue and *taub0eyer to dare lift a handJE brayed Doc tchitt8 while Dore0us considered8 E wonder if this s0art young journalistic 5udas wouldn"t li-e to see 0e in trouble and get hold of the nfor0er and turn it !orpoME

#e did not stay at the office till the paper with his editorial had gone to press. #e went ho0e early8 and showed the proof to 100a and *issy. 9hile they were reading it8 with yelps of disapproval8 5ulian >alc- slipped in.

100a protested8 E3h8 you can"t--you 0ustn"t do itJ 9hat will beco0e of us allM #onestly8

Dor0ouse8 "0 not scared for 0yself8 but what would do if they beat you or put you in prison or so0ethingM t would just brea- 0y heart to thin- of you in a cellJ And without any clean underclothesJ t isn"t too late to stop it8 is itME

E.o. As a 0atter of fact the paper doesn"t go to bed till eleven. . . . *issy8 what do you thin-ME

E don"t -now what to thin-J 3h da0nJE

E9hy *is-sy8E fro0 100a8 @uite 0echanically.

E t used to be8 you did what was right and got a nice stic- of candy for it8E said *issy. E.ow8 it see0s as if whatever"s right is wrong. 5ulian--funny-face--what do you thin- of Pop"s -ic-ing *had in his sweet hairy earsME

E9hy8 *is--E

5ulian blurted8 E thin- it"d be fierce if so0ebody didn"t try to stop these fellows. wish could do it. But how could ME

E:ou"ve probably answered the whole business8E said Dore0us. E f a 0an is going to assu0e the right to tell several thousand readers what"s what--0ost agreeable8 hitherto--he"s got a -ind of you 0ight say priestly obligation to tell the truth. "3 cursed spite." 9ellJ thin- "ll drop into the office again. #o0e about 0idnight. Don"t sit up8 anybody--and *issy8 and you8 5ulian8 that particularly goes for you two night prowlersJ As for 0e and 0y house8 we will serve the +ord-and in ?er0ont8 that 0eans going to bed.E

EAnd aloneJE 0ur0ured *issy.

E9hy--!ecilia--5es-supJE

As Dore0us trotted out8 >oolish8 who had sat adoring hi08 ju0ped up8 hoping for a run.

*o0ehow8 0ore than all of 100a"s i0ploring8 the dog"s fa0iliar devotion 0ade Dore0us feel what it 0ight be to go to prison.

#e had lied. #e did not return to the office. #e drove up the valley to the Tavern and to +orinda Pi-e.

But on the way he stopped in at the ho0e of his son-in-law8 bustling young Dr. >owler GreenhillH not to show hi0 the proof but to have--perhaps in prisonM--another 0e0ory of the do0estic life in which he had been rich. #e stepped @uietly into the front hall of the Greenhill house--a jaunty i0itation of 2ount ?ernonH very prosperous and secure8 gay with the brass--nobbed walnut furniture and painted <ussian bo=es which 2ary Greenhill affected. Dore0us could hear David $but surely it was past his bedti0eM--what ti0e did nine-year-old -ids go to bed these degenerate daysM) e=citedly chattering with his father8 and his father"s partner8 old Dr. 2arcus 3l0sted8 who was al0ost retired but who -ept up the obstetrics and eye-and-ear wor- for the fir0.

Dore0us peeped into the living roo08 with its bright curtains of yellow linen. David"s 0other was writing letters8 a crisp8 fashionable figure at a 0aple des- co0plete with yellow @uill pen8 engraved notepaper8 and silver-bac-ed blotter. >owler and David were lounging on the two wide ar0s of Dr. 3l0sted"s chair.

E*o you don"t thin- you"ll be a doctor8 li-e your dad and 0eME Dr. 3l0sted was @uiGGing.

David"s soft hair fluttered as he bobbed his head in the agitation of being ta-en seriously by

grown-ups.

E3h--oh--oh yes8 would li-e to. 3h8 thin- it"d be slic- to be a doctor. But want to be a newspaper8 li-e Granddad. That"d be a wowJ :ou said itJE

$EDa-vidJ 9here you ever pic- up such languageJE)

E:ou see8 Dncle-Doctor8 a doctor8 oh gee8 he has to stay up all night8 but an editor8 he just sits in his office and ta-es it easy and never has to worry about nothingJE

That 0o0ent8 >owler Greenhill saw his father-in-law 0a-ing 0on-ey faces at hi0 fro0 the door and ad0onished David8 E.ow8 not alwaysJ 1ditors have to wor- pretty hard so0eti0es--just thin- of when there"s train wrec-s and floods and everythingJ "ll tell you. Did you -now have 0agic powerME

E9hat"s "0agic power8" DaddyME

E "ll show you. "ll su00on your granddad here fro0 0isty deeps--E

$EBut will he co0eME grunted Dr. 3l0sted.)

E--and have hi0 tell you all the troubles an editor has. 5ust 0a-e hi0 co0e flying through the airJE

EAw8 gee8 you couldn"t do that8 DadJE

E3h8 can"t JE >owler stood sole0nly8 the overhead lights 0a-ing soft his harsh red hair8 and he wind0illed his ar0s8 hooting8 EPresto--vesto--adsit--Granddad 5es-sup--voilUJE

And there8 co0ing through the doorway8 sure enough was Granddad 5essupJ

Dore0us re0ained only ten 0inutes8 saying to hi0self8 EAnyway8 nothing bad can happen here8 in this solid household.E 9hen >owler saw hi0 to the door8 Dore0us sighed to hi08 E9ish Davy were right--just had to sit in the office and not worry. But suppose so0e day "ll have a run-in with the !orpos.E

E hope not. .asty bunch. 9hat do you thin-8 DadM That swine *had +edue told 0e yesterday they wanted 0e to join the 2.2."s as 0edical officer. >at chanceJ told hi0 so.E

E9atch out for *had8 >owler. #e"s vindictive. 2ade us rewire our whole building.E

E "0 not scared of !aptain General +edue or fifty li-e hi0J #ope he calls 0e in for a bellyache so0e dayJ "ll give hi0 a good sedative--potassiu0 of cyanide. 2aybe "ll so0e day have the pleasure of seeing that gent in his coffin. That"s the advantage the doctor has8 you -nowJ G"night8 DadJ *leep tightJE

A good 0any tourists were still co0ing up fro0 .ew :or- to view the colored autu0n of ?er0ont8 and when Dore0us arrived at the Beulah ?alley Tavern he had irritably to wait while +orinda dug out e=tra towels and loo-ed up tra0 schedules and was polite to old ladies who

co0plained that there was too 0uch--or not enough--sound fro0 the Beulah <iver >alls at night. #e could not tal- to her apart until after ten. There was8 0eanwhile8 a curious e=alted lu=ury in watching each lost 0inute threaten hi0 with the approach of the final press ti0e8 as he sat in the tea roo08 i0perturbably scratching through the leaves of the latest >ortune.

+orinda led hi08 at ten-fifteen8 into her little office--just a roll-top des-8 a des- chair8 one straight chair8 and a table piled with heaps of defunct hotel-0agaGines. t was spinsterishly neat yet s0elled still of the cigar s0o-e and old letter files of proprietors long since gone.

E+et"s hurry8 Dor. "0 having a little dust-up with that snipe .ipper.E *he plu0ped down at the des-.

E+inda8 read this proof. >or to0orrow"s paper. . . . .o. 9ait. *tand up.E

E1hME

#e hi0self too- the des- chair and pulled her down on his -nees. E3h8 youJE she snorted8 but she nuGGled her chee- against his shoulder and 0ur0ured contentedly.

E<ead this8 +inda. >or to0orrow"s paper. thin- "0 going to publish it8 all right--got to decide finally before eleven--but ought toM was sure when left the office8 but 100a was scared--E

E3h8 100aJ *it still. +et 0e see it.E *he read @uic-ly. *he always did. At the end she said e0otionlessly8 E:es. :ou 0ust run it. Dore0usJ They"ve actually co0e to us here--the !orpos--it"s li-e reading about typhus in !hina and suddenly finding it in your own houseJE

*he rubbed his shoulder with her chee- again8 and raged8 EThin- of itJ That *had +edue--and taught hi0 for a year in district school8 though was only two years older than he was--and what a nasty bully he was8 tooJ #e ca0e to 0e a few days ago8 and he had the nerve to propose that if would give lower rates to the 2.2."s--he sort of hinted it would be nice of 0e to serve 2.2. officers free--they would close their eyes to 0y selling li@uor here8 without a license or anythingJ

9hy8 he had the inconceivable nerve to tell 0e8 and condescendinglyJ 0y dear--that he and his fine friends would be willing to hang out here a lotJ 1ven *taub0eyer--oh8 our "professor" is blosso0ing out as @uite a sporting characterJ And when chased +edue out8 with a flea in his ear--9ell8 just this 0orning got a notice that have to appear in the county court to0orrow-so0e co0plaint fro0 0y endearing partner8 2r. .ipper--see0s he isn"t satisfied with the division of our wor- here--and honestly8 0y darling8 he never does one bla0e thing but sit around and bore 0y best custo0ers to death by telling what a swell hotel he used to have in >lorida. And .ipper has ta-en his things out of here and 0oved into town. "0 afraid "ll have an unpleasant ti0e8 trying to -eep fro0 telling hi0 what thin- of hi08 in court.E

EGood +ordJ +oo-8 sweet8 have you got a lawyer for itME

E+awyerM #eavens noJ 5ust a 0isunderstanding--on little .ipper"s part.E

E:ou"d better. The !orpos are using the courts for all sorts of graft and for accusations of sedition. Get 2ungo Litteric-8 0y lawyer.E

E#e"s du0b. ce water in his veins.E

E -now8 but he"s a tidier-up8 li-e so 0any lawyers. +i-es to see everything all neat in pigeonholes. #e 0ay not care a da0n for justice8 but he"ll be awfully pained by any irregularities. Please get hi08 +indy8 because they"ve got 1ffingha0 *wan presiding at court to0orrow.E

E9hoME

E*wan--the 2ilitary 5udge for District Three--that"s a new !orpo office. Lind of circuit judge with court-0artial powers. This 1ffingha0 *wan-- had Doc tchitt interview hi0 today8 when he arrived--he"s the perfect gentle0an->ascist--3swald 2osley style. Good fa0ily--whatever that 0eans. #arvard graduate. !olu0bia +aw *chool8 year at 3=ford. But went into finance in Boston. nvest0ent ban-er. 2ajor or so0ething during the war. Plays polo and sailed in a yacht race to Ber0uda. tchitt says he"s a big brute8 with 0anners s0oother than a butterscotch sundae and 0ore language than a bishop.E

EBut "ll be glad to have a gentle0an to e=plain things to8 instead of *had.E

EA gentle0an"s blac-jac- hurts just as 0uch as a 0uc-er"sJE

E3h8 youJE with irritated tenderness8 running her forefinger along the line of his jaw.

3utside8 a footstep.

*he sprang up8 sat down pri0ly in the straight chair. The footsteps went by. *he 0used:

EAll this trouble and the !orpos--They"re going to do so0ething to you and 0e. 9e"ll beco0e so roused up that--either we"ll be desperate and really cling to each other and everybody else in the world can go to the devil or8 what "0 afraid is 0ore li-ely8 we"ll get so deep into rebellion against 9indrip8 we"ll feel so terribly that we"re standing for so0ething8 that we"ll want to give up everything else for it8 even give up you and 0e. *o that no one can ever find out and criticiGe. 9e"ll have to be beyond criticis0.E

E.oJ won"t listen. 9e will fight8 but how can we ever get so involved--detached people li-e us--E

E:ou are going to publish that editorial to0orrowME

E:es.E

E t"s not too late to -ill itME

#e loo-ed at the cloc- over her des---so ludicrously li-e a grade-school cloc- that it ought to

have been flan-ed with portraits of George and 2artha. E9ell8 yes8 it is too late--al0ost eleven. !ouldn"t get to the office till "way past.E

E:ou"re sure you won"t worry about it when you go to bed tonightM Dear8 so don"t want you to worryJ :ou"re sure you don"t want to telephone and -ill the editorialME

E*ure. AbsoluteJE

E "0 gladJ 2e8 "d rather be shot than go snea-ing around8 crippled with fear. Bless youJE

*he -issed hi0 and hurried off to another hour or two of wor-8 while he drove ho0e8 whistling vaingloriously.

But he did not sleep well8 in his big blac--walnut bed. #e startled to the night noises of an old fra0e house--the easing walls8 the step of bodiless assassins creeping across the wooden floors all night long.

%&

An honest propagandist for any !ause8 that is8 one who honestly studies and figures out the 0ost effective way of putting over his 2essage8 will learn fairly early that it is not fair to ordinary fol-s--it just confuses the0--to try to 0a-e the0 swallow all the true facts that would be suitable to a higher class of people. And one see0ingly s0all but al0ighty i0portant point he learns8 if he does 0uch speechifying8 is that you can win over fol-s to your point of view 0uch better in

the evening8 when they are tired out fro0 wor- and not so li-ely to resist you8 than at any other ti0e of day.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

The >ort Beulah nfor0er had its own three-story-and base0ent building8 on President *treet between 1l0 and 2aple8 opposite the side entrance of the #otel 9esse=. 3n the top story was the co0posing roo0H on the second8 the editorial and photographic depart0ents and the boo--eeperH in the base0ent8 the pressesH and on the first or street floor8 the circulation and advertising depart0ents8 and the front office8 open to the pave0ent8 where the public ca0e to pay subscriptions and insert want-ads. The private roo0 of the editor8 Dore0us 5essup8 loo-ed out on President *treet through one not too dirty window. t was larger but little 0ore showy than +orinda Pi-e"s office at the Tavern8 but on the wall it did have historic treasures in the way of a water-stained surveyor"s-0ap of >ort Beulah Township in %4&%8 a conte0porary oleograph portrait of President 2cLinley8 co0plete with eagles8 flags8 cannon8 and the 3hio state flower8 the scarlet carnation8 a group photograph of the .ew 1ngland 1ditorial Association $in which Dore0us was the third blur in a derby hat in the fourth row)8 and an entirely bogus copy of a newspaper announcing +incoln"s death. t was reasonably tidy--in the patent letter file8 otherwise e0pty8 there were only 6 %;6 pairs of winter 0ittens8 and an %4-gauge shotgun shell.

Dore0us was8 by habit8 e=tre0ely fond of his office. t was the only place aside fro0 his study at ho0e that was thoroughly his own. #e would have hated to leave it or to share it with anyone-possibly e=cepting Buc- and +orinda--and every 0orning he ca0e to it e=pectantly8 fro0 the ground floor8 up the wide brown stairs8 through the good s0ell of printer"s in-.

#e stood at the window of this roo0 before eight8 the 0orning when his editorial appeared8 loo-ing down at the people going to wor- in shops and warehouses. A few of the0 were in 2inute 2en unifor0s. 2ore and 0ore even the part-ti0e 2.2."s wore their unifor0s when on civilian duties. There was a bustle a0ong the0. #e saw the0 unfold copies of the nfor0erH he saw the0 loo- up8 point up8 at his window. #eads close8 they irritably discussed the front page of the paper. <. !. !rowley went by8 early as ever on his way to open the ban-8 and stopped to spea- to a cler- fro0 1d #owland"s grocery8 both of the0 sha-ing their heads. 3ld Dr. 3l0sted8 >owler"s partner8 and +ouis <otenstern halted on a corner. Dore0us -new they were both friends

of his8 but they were dubious8 perhaps frightened8 as they loo-ed at an nfor0er.

The passing of people beca0e a gathering8 the gathering a crowd8 the crowd a 0ob8 glaring up at his office8 beginning to cla0or. There were doGens of people there un-nown to hi0: respectable far0ers in town for shopping8 unrespectables in town for a drin-8 laborers fro0 the nearest wor- ca0p8 and all of the0 eddying around 2.2. unifor0s. Probably 0any of the0 cared nothing about insults to the !orpo state8 but had only the unprejudiced8 i0personal pleasure in violence natural to 0ost people.

Their 0utter beca0e louder8 less hu0an8 0ore li-e the snap of burning rafters. Their glances joined in one. #e was8 fran-ly8 scared.

#e was half conscious of big Dan 9ilgus8 the head co0positor8 beside hi08 hand on his shoulder8 but saying nothing8 and of Doc tchitt cac-ling8 E2y--0y gracious--hope they don"t--God8 hope they don"t co0e up hereJE

The 0ob acted then8 swift and together8 on no 0ore of an incite0ent than an un-nown 2.2."s shout: E3ught to burn the place8 lynch the whole bunch of traitorsJE They were running across the street8 into the front office. #e could hear a sound of s0ashing8 and his fright was gone in protective fury. #e galloped down the wide stairs8 and fro0 five steps above the front office loo-ed on the 0ob8 e@uipped with a=es and brush hoo-s grabbed fro0 in front of Pridewell"s near-by hardware store8 slashing at the counter facing the front door8 brea-ing the glass case of souvenir postcards and stationery sa0ples8 and with obscene hands reaching across the counter to rip the blouse of the girl cler-.

Dore0us cried8 EGet out of this8 all you bu0sJE

They were co0ing toward hi08 claws hideously opening and closing8 but he did not await that co0ing. #e clu0ped down the stairs8 step by step8 tre0bling not fro0 fear but fro0 insane anger. 3ne large burgher seiGed his ar08 began to bend it. The pain was atrocious. At that 0o0ent $Dore0us al0ost s0iled8 so grotes@uely was it li-e the nic--of-ti0e rescue by the landing party of 2arines) into the front office !o00issioner *had +edue 0arched8 at the head of twenty 2.2."s with unsheathed bayonets8 and8 lu0pishly cli0bing up on the shattered counter8 bellowed:

EThat"ll do fro0 you guysJ +a0 out of this8 the whole da0n bunch of youJE

Dore0us"s assailant had dropped his ar0. 9as he actually8 wondered Dore0us8 to be war0ly indebted to !o00issioner +edue8 to *had +edueM *uch a powerful8 dependable fellow--the dirty swineJ

*had roared on: E9e"re not going to bust up this place. 5essup sure deserves lynching8 but we got orders fro0 #anover--the !orpos are going to ta-e over this plant and use it. Beat it8 youJE

A wild wo0an fro0 the 0ountains--in another e=istence she had -nitted at the guillotine--had thrust through to the counter and was howling up at *had8 EThey"re traitorsJ #ang "e0J 9e"ll hang you8 if you stop usJ want 0y five thousand dollarsJE

*had casually stooped down fro0 the counter and slapped her. Dore0us felt his 0uscles tense with the effort to get at *had8 to revenge the good lady who8 after all8 had as 0uch right as *had to slaughter hi08 but he rela=ed8 i0patiently gave up all desire for 0oc- herois0. The bayonets of the 2.2."s who were clearing out the crowd were reality8 not to be attac-ed by hysteria.

*had8 fro0 the counter8 was blatting in a voice li-e a saw0ill8 E*nap into it8 5essupJ Ta-e hi0 along8 0en.E

And Dore0us8 with no volition whatever8 was 0arching through President *treet8 up 1l0 *treet8 and toward the courthouse and county jail8 surrounded by four ar0ed 2inute 2en. The strangest thing about it8 he reflected was that a 0an could go off thus8 on an uncharted journey which 0ight ta-e years8 without fussing over plans and tic-ets8 without baggage8 without even an e=tra clean hand-erchief8 without letting 100a -now where he was going8 without letting +orinda--oh8 +orinda could ta-e care of herself. But 100a would worry.

#e realiGed that the guard beside hi08 with the chevrons of a s@uad leader8 or corporal8 was Aras Dilley8 the slatternly far0er fro0 up on 2ount Terror who0 he had often helped . . . or thought he had helped.

EAh8 ArasJE said he.

E#uhJE said Aras.

E!o0e onJ *hut up and -eep 0ovingJE said the 2.2. behind Dore0us8 and prodded hi0 with the bayonet.

t did not8 actually8 hurt 0uch8 but Dore0us spat with fury. *o long now he had unconsciously assu0ed that his dignity8 his body8 were sacred. <ibald Death 0ight touch hi08 but no 0ore vulgar stranger.

.ot till they had al0ost reached the courthouse could he realiGe that people were loo-ing at hi0--at Dore0us 5essupJ--as a prisoner being ta-en to jail. #e tried to be proud of being a political prisoner. #e couldn"t. 5ail was jail.

The county loc-up was at the bac- of the courthouse8 now the center of +edue"s head@uarters. Dore0us had never been in that or any other jail e=cept as a reporter8 pityingly interviewing the curious8 inferior sort of people who did 0ysteriously get the0selves arrested.

To go into that sha0eful bac- door--he who had always stal-ed into the front entrance of the courthouse8 the editor8 saluted by cler- and sheriff and judgeJ

*had was not in sight. *ilently Dore0us"s four guards conducted hi0 through a steel door8 down a corridor8 to a s0all cell ree-ing of chloride of li0e and8 still unspea-ing8 they left hi0 there.

The cell had a cot with a da0p straw 0attress and da0per straw pillow8 a stool8 a wash basin with one tap for cold water8 a pot8 two hoo-s for clothes8 a s0all barred window8 and nothing else whatever e=cept a jaunty sign orna0ented with e0bossed forget-0e-nots and a te=t fro0 Deuterono0y8 E#e shall be free at ho0e one year.E

E hope soJE said Dore0us8 not very cordially.

t was before nine in the 0orning. #e re0ained in that cell8 without speech8 without food8 with only tap water caught in his doubled pal0 and with one cigarette an hour8 until after 0idnight8 and in the unaccusto0ed stillness he saw how in prison 0en could eventually go 0ad.

EDon"t whine8 though. :ou here a few hours8 and plenty of poor devils in solitary for years and years8 put there by tyrants worse than 9indrip . . . yes8 and so0eti0es put there by nice8 good8 social-0inded judges that "ve played bridge withJE

But the reasonableness of the thought didn"t particularly cheer hi0.

#e could hear a distant babble fro0 the bull pen8 where the drun-s and vagrants8 and the petty offenders a0ong the 2.2."s8 were crowded in enviable co0radeship8 but the sound was only a bac-ground for the corroding stillness.

#e san- into a twitching nu0bness. #e felt that he was cho-ing8 and gasped desperately. 3nly now and then did he thin- clearly--then only of the sha0e of i0prison0ent or8 even 0ore e0phatically8 of how hard the wooden stool was on his ill-upholstered ru0p8 and how 0uch pleasanter it was8 even so8 than the cot8 whose 0attress had the @uality of crushed wor0s.

3nce he felt that he saw the way clearly:

EThe tyranny of this dictatorship isn"t pri0arily the fault of Big Business8 nor of the de0agogues who do their dirty wor-. t"s the fault of Dore0us 5essupJ 3f all the conscientious8 respectable8 laGy-0inded Dore0us 5essups who have let the de0agogues wriggle in8 without fierce enough protest.

EA few 0onths ago thought the slaughter of the !ivil 9ar8 and the agitation of the violent Abolitionists who helped bring it on8 were evil. But possibly they had to be violent8 because easygoing citiGens li-e 0e couldn"t be stirred up otherwise. f our grandfathers had had the alertness and courage to see the evils of slavery and of a govern0ent conducted by gentle0en for gentle0en only8 there wouldn"t have been any need of agitators and war and blood.

E t"s 0y sort8 the <esponsible !itiGens who"ve felt ourselves superior because we"ve been wellto-do and what we thought was "educated8" who brought on the !ivil 9ar8 the >rench <evolution8 and now the >ascist Dictatorship. t"s who 0urdered <abbi de ?ereG. t"s who persecuted the 5ews and the .egroes. can bla0e no Aras Dilley8 no *had +edue8 no BuGG 9indrip8 but only 0y own ti0id soul and drowsy 0ind. >orgive8 3 +ordJ

E s it too lateME

3nce again8 as dar-ness was co0ing into his cell li-e the inescapable ooGe of a flood8 he thought furiously:

EAnd about +orinda. .ow that "ve been -ic-ed into reality--got to be one thing or the other: 100a $who"s 0y bread) or +orinda $0y wine) but can"t have both.

E3h8 da0nJ 9hat twaddleJ 9hy can"t a 0an have both bread and wine and not prefer one before the otherM

EDnless8 0aybe8 we"re all co0ing into a day of battles when the fighting will be too hot to let a

0an stop for anything save bread . . . and 0aybe8 even8 too hot to let hi0 stop for thatJE

The waiting--the waiting in the s0othering cell--the relentless waiting while the filthy window glass turned fro0 afternoon to a blea- dar-ness.

9hat was happening out thereM 9hat had happened to 100a8 to +orinda8 to the nfor0er office8 to Dan 9ilgus8 to Buc- and *issy and 2ary and DavidM

9hy8 it was today that +orinda was to answer the action against her by .ipperJ TodayJ $*urely all that 0ust have been done with a year agoJ) 9hat had happenedM #ad 2ilitary 5udge 1ffingha0 *wan treated her as she deservedM

But Dore0us slipped again fro0 this living agitation into the trance of waiting--waitingH and8 catnapping on the hideously unco0fortable little stool8 he was daGed when at so0e unholily late hour $it was just after 0idnight) he was aroused by the presence of ar0ed 2.2."s outside his barred cell door8 and by the hill-billy drawl of *@uad +eader Aras Dilley:

E9ell8 guess y" better git up now8 better git upJ 5edge wants to see you--jedge says he wants to see you. #ehJ Guess y" didn"t ever thin- "d be a s@uad leader8 did yuh8 2ist" 5essupJE

Dore0us was escorted through angling corridors to the fa0iliar side entrance of the courtroo0-the entrance where once he had seen Thad Dilley8 Aras"s degenerate cousin8 sha0ble in to receive sentence for clubbing his wife to death. . . . #e could not -eep fro0 feeling that Thad and he were -in8 now.

#e was -ept waiting--waitingJ--for a @uarter hour outside the closed courtroo0 door. #e had

ti0e to consider the three guards co00anded by *@uad +eader Aras. #e happened to -now that one of the0 had served a sentence at 9indsor for robbery with assaultH and one8 a surly young far0er8 had been rather doubtfully ac@uitted on a charge of barn-burning in revenge against a neighbor.

#e leaned against the slightly dirty gray plaster wall of the corridor.

E*tand straight there8 youJ 9hat the hell do you thin- this isM And -eeping us up late li-e thisJE said the rejuvenated8 the redee0ed Aras8 waggling his bayonet and shining with desire to use it on the bourjui.

Dore0us stood straight.

#e stood very straight8 he stood rigid8 beneath a portrait of #orace Greeley.

Till now8 Dore0us had li-ed to thin- of that 0ost fa0ous of radical editors8 who had been a printer in ?er0ont fro0 %46( to %4648 as his colleague and co0rade. .ow he felt colleague only to the revolutionary Larl Pascals.

#is legs8 not too young8 were tre0blingH his calves ached. 9as he going to faintM 9hat was happening in there8 in the courtroo0M

To save hi0self fro0 the disgrace of collapsing8 he studied Aras Dilley. Though his unifor0 was fairly new8 Aras had 0anaged to deal with it as his fa0ily and he had dealt with their house on 2ount Terror--once a sturdy ?er0ont cottage with shining white clapboards8 now 0ud-s0eared and rotting. #is cap was crushed in8 his breeches spotted8 his leggings gaping8 and one tunic button hung by a thread.

E wouldn"t particularly want to be dictator over an Aras8 but 0ost particularly do not want hi0 and his li-e to be dictators over 0e8 whether they call the0 >ascists or !orpos or !o00unists or 2onarchists or >ree De0ocratic 1lectors or anything elseJ f that 0a-es 0e a reactionary -ula-8

all rightJ don"t believe ever really li-ed the shiftless brethren8 for all 0y lying hand-sha-ing. Do you thin- the +ord calls on us to love the cowbirds as 0uch as the swallowsM don"tJ 3h8 -nowH Aras has had a hard ti0e: 0ortgage and seven -ids. But !ousin #enry ?eeder and Dan 9ilgus-yes8 and Pete ?utong8 the !anuc-8 that lives right across the road fro0 Aras and has just e=actly the sa0e -ind of land--they were all born poor8 and they"ve lived decently enough. They can wash their ears and their door sills8 at least. "0 cursed if "0 going to give up the A0erican9esleyan doctrine of >ree 9ill and of 9ill to Acco0plish0ent entirely8 even if it does get 0e read out of the +iberal !o00unionJE

Aras had peeped into the courtroo08 and he stood giggling.

Then +orinda ca0e out--after 0idnightJ

#er partner8 the wart .ipper8 was following her8 loo-ing sheepishly triu0phant.

E+indaJ +indaJE called Dore0us8 his hands out8 ignoring the snic-ers of the curious guards8 trying to 0ove toward her. Aras pushed hi0 bac- and at +orinda sneered8 EGo on--0ove on8 thereJE and she 0oved. *he see0ed twisted and rusty as Dore0us would have thought her bright steeliness could never have been.

Aras cac-led8 E#aa8 haa8 haaJ :our friend8 *ister Pi-e--E

E2y wife"s friendJE

EAll right8 boss. #ave it your wayJ :our wife"s friend8 *ister Pi-e8 got hers for trying to be fresh with 5udge *wanJ *he"s been -ic-ed out of her partnership with 2r. .ipper--he"s going to 0anage that Tavern of theirn8 and *ister Pi-e goes bac- to pot-walloping in the -itchen8 li-e she"d ought toJ--li-e 0aybe so0e of your wo0enfol-s8 that thin- they"re so al0ighty stylish and independent8 will be having to8 pretty soonJE

Again Dore0us had sense enough to regard the bayonetsH and a 0ighty voice fro0 inside the

courtroo0 tru0peted: E.e=t caseJ D. 5essupJE

3n the judges" bench were *had +edue in unifor0 as an 2.2. battalion leader8 e=superintendent 10il *taub0eyer presenting the rVle of ensign8 and a third 0an8 tall8 rather handso0e8 rather too face-0assaged8 with the letters E2.5.E on the collar of his unifor0 as co00ander8 or pseudo-colonel. #e was perhaps fifteen years younger than Dore0us.

This8 Dore0us -new8 0ust be 2ilitary 5udge 1ffingha0 *wan8 so0eti0e of Boston.

The 2inute 2en 0arched hi0 in front of the bench and retired8 with only two of the08 a 0il-yfaced far0 boy and a for0er gas-station attendant8 re0aining on guard inside the double doors of the side entrance . . . the entrance for cri0inals.

!o00ander *wan loafed to his feet and8 as though he were greeting his oldest friend8 cooed at Dore0us8 E2y dear fellow8 so sorry to have to trouble you. 5ust a routine @uery8 you -now. Do sit down. Gentle0en8 in the case of 2r. Dore0us8 surely we need not go through the farce of for0al in@uiry. +et"s all sit about that da0n big silly table down there--place where they always stic- the innocent defendants and the guilty attorneys8 y" -now--get down fro0 this high altar-little too 0ystical for the taste of a vulgar buc-et-shop ga0bler li-e 0yself. After you8 ProfessorH after you8 0y dear !aptain.E And8 to the guards8 E5ust wait outside in the hall8 will youM !lose the doors.E

*taub0eyer and *had loo-ing8 despite 1ffingha0 *wan"s frivolity8 as portentous as their unifor0s could 0a-e the08 clu0ped down to the table. *wan followed the0 airily8 and to Dore0us8 still standing8 he gave his tortoise-shell cigarette case8 caroling8 EDo have a s0o-e8 2r. Dore0us. 2ust we all be so painfully for0alME

Dore0us reluctantly too- a cigarette8 reluctantly sat down as *wan waved hi0 to a chair--with so0ething not @uite so airy and affable in the sharpness of the gesture.

E2y na0e is 5essup8 !o00ander. Dore0us is 0y first na0e.E

EAh8 see. t could be. Iuite so. ?ery .ew 1ngland. Dore0us.E *wan was leaning bac- in his wooden ar0chair8 powerful tri0 hands behind his nec-. E "ll tell you8 0y dear fellow. 3ne"s 0e0ory is so wretched8 you -now. "ll just call you "Dore0us8" sans 2ister. Then8 d" you see8 it 0ight apply to either the first $or !hristian8 as believe one"s wretched people in Bac- Bay insist on calling it)--either the !hristian or the surna0e. Then we shall feel all friendly and secure. .ow8 Dore0us8 0y dear fellow8 begged 0y friends in the 2.2.-- do trust they were not too i0portunate8 as these parochial units so0eti0es do see0 to be--but ordered the0 to invite you here8 really8 just to get your advice as a journalist. Does it see0 to you that 0ost of the peasants here are co0ing to their senses and ready to accept the !orpo fait acco0pliME

Dore0us gru0bled8 EBut understood was dragged here--and if you want to -now8 your s@uad was all of what you call "i0portunate"J--because of an editorial wrote about President 9indrip.E

E3h8 was that you8 Dore0usM :ou seeM-- was right--one does have such a wretched 0e0oryJ do see0 now to re0e0ber so0e 0inor incident of the sort--you -now--0entioned in the agenda. Do have another cigarette8 0y dear fellow.E

E*wanJ don"t care 0uch for this cat-and-0ouse ga0e--at least8 not while "0 the 0ouse. 9hat are your charges against 0eME

E!hargesM 3h8 0y only auntJ 5ust trifling things--cri0inal libel and conveying secret infor0ation to alien forces and high treason and ho0icidal incite0ent to violence--you -now8 the usual boreso0e line. And all so easily got rid of8 0y Dore0us8 if you"d just be persuaded--you see how @uite pitifully eager a0 to be friendly with you8 and to have the inesti0able aid of your e=perience here--if you"d just decide that it 0ight be the part of discretion--so suitable8 y" -now8 to your venerable years--E

EDa0n it8 "0 not venerable8 nor anything li-e it. 3nly si=ty. *i=ty-one8 should say.E

E2atter of ratio8 0y dear fellow. "0 forty-seven 0"self8 and have no doubt the young pups already call 0e venerableJ But as was saying8 Dore0us--E

$9hy was it he winced with fury every ti0e *wan called hi0 thatM)

E--with your position as one of the !ouncil of 1lders8 and with your responsibilities to your fa0ily--it would be too sic--0a-ing if anything happened to the08 y" -nowJ--you just can"t afford to be too brashJ And all we desire is for you to play along with us in your paper-- would adore the chance of e=plaining so0e of the !orpos" and the !hief"s still unrevealed plans to you. :ou"d see such a new lightJE

*had grunted8 E#i0M 5essup couldn"t see a new light if it was on the end of his noseJE

EA 0o0ent8 0y dear !aptain. . . . And also8 Dore0us8 of course we shall urge you to help us by giving us a co0plete list of every person in this vicinity that you -now of who is secretly opposed to the Ad0inistration.E

E*pyingM 2eME

EIuiteJE

E f "0 accused of-- insist on having 0y lawyer8 2ungo Litteric-8 and on being tried8 not all this bear-baiting--E

EIuaint na0e. 2ungo Litteric-J 3h8 0y only auntJ 9hy does it give 0e so absurd a picture of an e=plorer with a Gree- gra00ar in his handM :ou don"t @uite understand8 0y Dore0us. #abeas corpus--due processes of law--too8 too badJ--all those ancient sanctities8 dating8 no doubt8 fro0 2agna !harta8 been suspended--oh8 but just te0porarily8 y" -now--state of crisis--unfortunate necessity 0artial law--E

EDa0n it8 *wan--E

E!o00ander8 0y dear fellow--ridiculous 0atter of 0ilitary discipline8 y" -now--such rotJE

E:ou -now 0ighty well and good it isn"t te0poraryJ t"s per0anent--that is8 as long as the !orpos last.E

E t could beJE

E*wan--!o00ander--you get that "it could be" and "0y aunt" fro0 the <eggie >ortune stories8 don"t youME

E.ow there is a fellow detective-story fanaticJ But how too bogusJE

EAnd that"s 1velyn 9aughJ :ou"re @uite a literary 0an for so fa0ous a yachts0an and horse0an8 !o00ander.E

E#orse0un8 yachts0un8 lit-er-ary 0anJ A0 8 Dore0us8 even in 0y sanctu0 sanctoru08 having8 as the lesser breeds would say8 the pants -idded off 0eM 3h8 0y Dore0us8 that couldn"t beJ And just when one is so feeble8 after having been so8 shall say e=coriated8 by your so a0iable friend8 2rs. +orinda Pi-eM .o8 noJ #ow too unbefitting the 0ajesty of the lawJE

*had interrupted again8 E:eh8 we had a swell ti0e with your girl-friend8 5essup. But already had the dope about you and her before.E

Dore0us sprang up8 his chair crashing bac-ward on the floor. #e was reaching for *had"s throat across the table. 1ffingha0 *wan was on hi08 pushing hi0 bac- into another chair. Dore0us hiccuped with fury. *had had not even troubled to rise8 and he was going on conte0ptuously:

E:uh8 you two"ll have @uite so0e trouble if you try to pull any spy stuff on the !orpos. 2y8 0y8 Dore0us8 ain"t we had fun8 +indy and you8 playing footie-footie these last couple yearsJ Didn"t nobody -now about it8 did theyJ But what you didn"t -now was +indy--and don"t it beat hell a long-nosed8 s-inny old 0aid li-e her can have so 0uch pepJ--and she"s been cheating on you right along8 sleeping with every doggone 0an boarder she"s had at the Tavern8 and of course with her little s@uirt of a partner8 .ipperJE

*wan"s great hand--hand of an ape with a 0anicure--held Dore0us in his chair. *had snic-ered. 10il *taub0eyer8 who had been sitting with fingertips together8 laughed a0iably. *wan patted Dore0us"s bac-.

#e was less sun-en by the insult to +orinda than by the feeling of helpless loneliness. t was so lateH the night so @uiet. #e would have been glad if even the 2.2. guards had co0e in fro0 the hall. Their rustic innocence8 however barnyardishly brutal8 would have been co0forting after the easy viciousness of the three judges.

*wan was placidly resu0ing: EBut suppose we really 0ust get down to business--however agreeable8 0y dear clever literary detective8 it would be to discuss Agatha !hristie and Dorothy *ayers and .or0an Llein. Perhaps we can so0e day8 when the !hief puts us both in the sa0e prisonJ There"s really8 0y dear Dore0us8 no need of your troubling your legal gentle0an8 2r. 2on-ey Litteridge. a0 @uite authoriGed to conduct this trial--for @uaintly enough8 Dore0us8 it is a trial8 despite the delightful *t. Botolph"s at0osphereJ And as to testi0ony8 already have all need8 both in the good 2iss +orinda"s inadvertent ad0issions8 in the actual te=t of your editorial criticiGing the !hief8 and in the @uite thorough reports of !aptain +edue and Dr. *taub0eyer. 3ne really ought to ta-e you out and shoot you--and one is @uite e0powered to do so8 oh @uiteJ--but one has one"s faults--one is really too 0erciful. And perhaps we can find a better use for you than as fertiliGer--you are8 you -now8 rather too 0uch on the s-inny side to 0a-e ade@uate fertiliGer.

E:ou are to be released on parole8 to assist and coach Dr. *taub0eyer who8 by orders fro0 !o00issioner <ee-8 at #anover8 has just been 0ade editor of the nfor0er8 but who doubtless lac-s certain points of technical training. :ou will help hi0--oh8 gladly8 a0 sureJ--until he learns. Then we"ll see what we"ll do with youJ . . . :ou will write editorials8 with all your accusto0ed brilliance--oh8 assure you8 people constantly stop on Boston !o00on to discuss your 0asterpiecesH have done for yearsJ But you"ll write only as Dr. *taub0eyer tells you.

DnderstandM 3h. Today--since "tis already past the witching hour--you will write an abject apology for your diatribe--oh yes8 very 0uch on the abject sideJ :ou -now--you veteran journalists do these things so neatly--just ad0it you were a coc-eyed liar and that sort of thing-bright and bantering--you -nowJ And ne=t 2onday you will8 li-e 0ost of the other ditchwaterdull hic- papers8 begin the serial publication of the !hief"s Oero #our. :ou"ll enjoy thatJE

!latter and shouts at the door. Protests fro0 the unseen guards. Dr. >owler Greenhill pounding in8 stopping with ar0s a-i0bo8 shouting as he strode down to the table8 E9hat do you three co0ic judges thin- you"re doingME

EAnd who 0ay our i0petuous friend beM #e annoys 0e8 rather8E *wan as-ed of *had.

EDoc >owler--5essup"s son-in-law. And a bad actorJ 9hy8 couple days ago offered hi0 charge of 0edical inspection for all the 2.2."s in the county8 and he said--this red-headed s0art alechereJ--he said you and 0e and !o00issioner <ee- and Doc *taub0eyer and all of us were a bunch of hoboes that "d be digging ditches in a labor ca0p if we hadn"t stole so0e officers" unifor0sJE

EAh8 did he indeedME purred *wan.

>owler protested: E#e"s a liar. never 0entioned you. don"t even -now who you are.E

E2y na0e8 good sir8 is !o00ander 1ffingha0 *wan8 2.5.JE

E9ell8 2. 5.8 that still doesn"t enlighten 0e. .ever heard of youJE

*had interrupted8 E#ow the hell did you get past the guards8 >owleyME $#e who had never dared call that long-reaching8 swift-0oving redhead anything 0ore fa0iliar than EDoc.E)

E3h8 all your 2innie 2ouses -now 0e. "ve treated 0ost of your brightest gun0en for

un0entionable diseases. just told the0 at the door that was wanted in here professionally.E

*wan was at his sil-iest: E3h8 and how we did want you8 0y dear fellow--though we didn"t -now it until this 0o0ent. *o you are one of these brave rustic WsculapiusesME

E a0J And if you were in the war--which should doubt8 fro0 your pansy way of tal-ing--you 0ay be interested to -now that a0 also a 0e0ber of the A0erican +egion--@uit #arvard and joined up in %&%4 and went bac- afterwards to finish. And want to warn you three half-ba-ed #itlers--E

EAhJ But 0y dear friendJ A 0il-i-tary 0anJ #ow too tooJ Then we shall have to treat you as a responsible person--responsible for your idiocies--not just as the uncouth clodhopper that you appearJE

>owler was leaning both fists on the table. E.ow "ve had enoughJ "0 going to push in your booful face--E

*had had his fists up8 was rounding the table8 but *wan snapped8 E.oJ +et hi0 finishJ #e 0ay enjoy digging his own grave. :ou -now--people do have such @uaint variant notions about sports. *o0e laddies actually li-e to go fishing--all those sli0y scales and the shoc-ing odorJ By the way8 Doctor8 before it"s too late8 would li-e to leave with you the thought for the day that was also in the war to end wars--a 0ajor. But go on. do so want to listen to you yet a little.E

E!ut the cac-le8 will you8 2. 5.M "ve just co0e here to tell you that "ve had enough--everybody"s had enough--of your -idnaping 2r. 5essup--the 0ost honest and useful 0an in the whole Beulah ?alleyJ Typical low-down snea-ing -idnapersJ f you thin- your phony <hodes-*cholar accent -eeps you fro0 being just another cowardly8 0urdering Public 1ne0y8 in your toy-soldier unifor0--E

*wan held up his hand in his 0ost genteel Bac- Bay 0anner. EA 0o0ent8 Doctor8 if you will be so goodME And to *had: E should thin- we"d heard enough fro0 the !o0rade8 wouldn"t you8 !o00issionerM 5ust ta-e the bastard out and shoot hi0.E

E3.L.J *wellJE *had chuc-ledH and8 to the guards at the half-open door8 EGet the corporal of the guard and a s@uad--si= 0en--loaded rifles--0a-e it snappy8 seeME

The guard were not far down the corridor8 and their rifles were already loaded. t was in less than a 0inute that Aras Dilley was saluting fro0 the door8 and *had was shouting8 E!o0e hereJ Grab this dirty croo-JE #e pointed at >owler. ETa-e hi0 along outside.E

They did8 for all of >owler"s struggling. Aras Dilley jabbed >owler"s right wrist with a bayonet. t spilled blood down on his hand8 so scrubbed for surgery8 and li-e blood his red hair tu0bled over his forehead.

*had 0arched out with the08 pulling his auto0atic pistol fro0 its holster and loo-ing at it happily.

Dore0us was held8 his 0outh was clapped shut8 by two guards as he tried to reach >owler. 10il *taub0eyer see0ed a little scared8 but 1ffingha0 *wan8 suave and a0used8 leaned his elbows on the table and tapped his teeth with a pencil.

>ro0 the courtyard8 the sound of a rifle volley8 a terrifying wail8 one single e0phatic shot8 and nothing after.

6/

The real trouble with the 5ews is that they are cruel. Anybody with a -nowledge of history -nows how they tortured poor debtors in secret cataco0bs8 all through the 2iddle Ages. 9hereas the .ordic is distinguished by his gentleness and his -ind-heartedness to friends8 children8 dogs8 and people of inferior races.

Oero #our8 BerGelius 9indrip.

The review in Dewey #ai-"s provincial court of 5udge *wan"s sentence on Greenhill was influenced by !ounty !o00issioner +edue"s testi0ony that after the e=ecution he found in Greenhill"s house a cache of the 0ost seditious docu0ents: copies of Trowbridge"s +ance for De0ocracy8 boo-s by 2ar= and TrotG-y8 !o00unistic pa0phlets urging citiGens to assassinate the !hief.

2ary8 2rs. Greenhill8 insisted that her husband had never read such thingsH that8 if anything8 he had been too indifferent to politics. .aturally8 her word could not be ta-en against that of !o00issioner +edue8 Assistant !o00issioner *taub0eyer $-nown everywhere as a scholar and 0an of probity)8 and 2ilitary 5udge 1ffingha0 *wan. t was necessary to punish 2rs. Greenhill-or8 rather8 to give a strong warning to other 2rs. Greenhills--by seiGing all the property and 0oney Greenhill had left her.

Anyway8 2ary did not fight very vigorously. Perhaps she realiGed her guilt. n two days she turned fro0 the crispest8 s0artest8 0ost swift-spo-en wo0an in >ort Beulah into a silent hag8 dragging about in shabby and un-e0pt blac-. #er son and she went to live with her father8 Dore0us 5essup.

*o0e said that 5essup should have fought for her and her property. But he was not legally per0itted to do so. #e was on parole8 subject8 at the will of the properly constituted authorities8 to a penitentiary sentence.

*o 2ary returned to the house and the overfurnished bedroo0 she had left as a bride. *he could not8 she said8 endure its 0e0ories. *he too- the attic roo0 that had never been @uite Efinished off.E *he sat up there all day8 all evening8 and her parents never heard a sound. But within a wee- her David was playing about the yard 0ost joyfully . . . playing that he was an 2.2. officer.

The whole house see0ed dead8 and all that were in it see0ed frightened8 nervous8 forever waiting for so0ething un-nown--all save David and8 perhaps8 2rs. !andy8 bustling in her -itchen.

2eals had been notoriously cheerful at the 5essups"H Dore0us chattered to an audience of 2rs. !andy and *issy8 flustering 100a with the 0ost outrageous assertions--that he was planning to go to GreenlandH that President 9indrip had ta-en to riding down Pennsylvania Avenue on an elephantH and 2rs. !andy was as unscrupulous as all good coo-s in trying to render the0 speechlessly drowsy after dinner and to encourage the stealthy e=pansion of Dore0us"s already rotund little belly8 with her 0ince pie8 her apple pie with enough shortening to 0a-e the eyes pop out in sweet anguish8 the fat corn fritters and candied potatoes with the broiled chic-en8 the cla0 chowder 0ade with crea0.

.ow8 there was little tal- a0ong the adults at table and8 though 2ary was not showily Ebrave8E but colorless as a glass of water8 they were nervously watching her. 1verything they spo-e of see0ed to point toward the 0urder and the !orposH if you said8 E t"s @uite a war0 fall8E you felt that the table was thin-ing8 E*o the 2.2."s can go on 0arching for a long ti0e yet before snow flies8E and then you cho-ed and as-ed sharply for the gravy. Always 2ary was there8 a stone statue chilling the war0 and co00onplace people pac-ed in beside her.

*o it ca0e about that David do0inated the table tal-8 for the first delightful ti0e in his nine years of e=peri0ent with life8 and David li-ed that very 0uch indeed8 and his grandfather li-ed it not nearly so well.

#e chattered8 li-e an entire pal0-ful of 0on-eys8 about >oolish8 about his new play0ates

$children of 2edary !ole8 the 0iller)8 about the apparent fact that crocodiles are rarely found in the Beulah <iver8 and the 0ore 0oving fact that the <otenstern young had driven with their father clear to Albany.

.ow Dore0us was fond of childrenH approved of the0H felt with an earnestness unco00on to parents and grandparents that they were hu0an beings and as li-ely as the ne=t one to beco0e editors. But he hadn"t enough sap of the !hrist0as holly in his veins to enjoy listening without cessation to the bright prattle of children. >ew 0ales have8 outside of +ouisa 2ay Alcott. #e thought $though he wasn"t very dog0atic about it) that the tal- of a 9ashington correspondent about politics was li-ely to be 0ore interesting than Davy"s re0ar-s on cornfla-es and garter sna-es8 so he went on loving the boy and wishing he would shut up. And escaped as soon as possible fro0 2ary"s gloo0 and 100a"s suffocating thoughtfulness8 wherein you felt8 every ti0e 100a begged8 E3h8 you 0ust ta-e just a little 0ore of the nice chestnut dressing8 2ary dearie8E that you really ought to burst into tears.

Dore0us suspected that 100a was8 essentially8 0ore appalled by his having gone to jail than by the 0urder of her son-in-law. 5essups si0ply didn"t go to jail. People who went to jail were bad8 just as barn-burners and 0en accused of that fascinatingly obscure a0use0ent8 a Estatutory offense8E were badH and as for bad people8 you 0ight try to be forgiving and tender8 but you didn"t sit down to 0eals with the0. t was all so irregular8 and 0ost upsetting to the household routineJ

*o 100a loved hi0 and worried about hi0 till he wanted to go fishing and actually did go so far as to get out his flies.

But +orinda had said to hi08 with eyes brilliant and unworried8 EAnd thought you were just a cud-chewing +iberal that didn"t 0ind being 0il-edJ a0 so proud of youJ :ou"ve encouraged 0e to fight against--+isten8 the 0inute heard about your i0prison0ent chased .ipper out of 0y -itchen with a bread -nifeJ . . . 9ell8 anyway8 thought about doing itJE

The office was deader than his ho0e. The worst of it was that it wasn"t so very bad--that8 he saw8 he could slip into serving the !orpo state with8 eventually8 no 0ore sense of sha0e than was felt by old colleagues of his who in pre-!orpo days had written advertise0ents for fraudulent 0outh washes or tasteless cigarettes8 or written for supposedly reputable 0agaGines 0echanical stories about young love. n a wa-ing night0are after his i0prison0ent8 Dore0us had pictured *taub0eyer and +edue in the nfor0er office standing over hi0 with whips8 de0anding that he turn out sic-ening praise for the !orpos8 yelling at hi0 until he rose and -illed and was -illed. Actually8 *had stayed away fro0 the office8 and Dore0us"s 0aster8 *taub0eyer8 was ever so friendly and 0odest and rather nauseatingly full of praise for his crafts0anship. *taub0eyer see0ed satisfied when8 instead of the EapologyE de0anded by *wan8 Dore0us stated that E#enceforth this paper will cease all criticis0s of the present govern0ent.E

Dore0us received fro0 District !o00issioner <ee- a jolly telegra0 than-ing hi0 for Egallantly deciding turn your great talent service people and correcting errors doubtless 0ade by us in effort set up new 0ore realistic state.E DrJ said Dore0us and did not chuc- the 0essage at the clothes-bas-et waste-bas-et8 but carefully wal-ed over and ra00ed it down a0id the trash.

#e was able8 by re0aining with the nfor0er in her prostitute days8 to -eep *taub0eyer fro0 discharging Dan 9ilgus8 who was sniffy to the new boss and unnaturally respectful now to Dore0us. And he invented what he called the E:ow-yow editorial.E This was a dirty device of stating as strongly as he could an indict0ent of !orpois08 then answering it as feebly as he could8 as with a whining E:ow-yow-yow--that"s what you sayJE .either *taub0eyer nor *had caught hi0 at it8 but Dore0us hoped fearfully that the shrewd 1ffingha0 *wan would never see the :ow-yows.

*o wee- on wee- he got along not too badly--and there was not one 0inute when he did not hate this filthy slavery8 when he did not have to force hi0self to stay there8 when he did not snarl at hi0self8 EThen why do you stayME

#is answers to that challenge ca0e glibly and conventionally enough: E#e was too old to start in life again. And he had a wife and fa0ily to supportE--100a8 *issy8 and now 2ary and David.

All these years he had heard responsible 0en who weren"t being @uite honest--radio announcers

who soft-soaped spea-ers who were fools and wares that were trash8 and who canaryishly chirped EThan- you8 2ajor BlisterE when they would rather have -ic-ed 2ajor Blister8 preachers who did not believe the decayed doctrines they dealt out8 doctors who did not dare tell lady invalids that they were se=-hungry e=hibitionists8 0erchants who peddled brass for gold--heard all of the0 co0placently e=cuse the0selves by e=plaining that they were too old to change and that they had Ea wife and fa0ily to support.E

9hy not let the wife and fa0ily die of starvation or get out and hustle for the0selves8 if by no other 0eans the world could have the chance of being freed fro0 the 0ost boreso0e8 0ost dull8 and foulest disease of having always to be a little dishonestM

*o he raged--and went on grinding out a paper dull and a little dishonest--but not forever. 3therwise the history of Dore0us 5essup would be too drearily co00on to be worth recording.

Again and again8 figuring it out on rough sheets of copy paper $adorned also with concentric circles8 s@uares8 whorls8 and the 0ost i0probable fish)8 he esti0ated that even without selling the nfor0er or his house8 as under !orpo espionage he certainly could not if he fled to !anada8 he could cash in about N6/8///. *ay enough to give hi0 an inco0e of a thousand a year--twenty dollars a wee-8 provided he could s0uggle the 0oney out of the country8 which the !orpos were daily 0a-ing 0ore difficult.

9ell8 100a and *issy and 2ary and he could live on that8 in a four-roo0 cottage8 and perhaps *issy and 2ary could find wor-.

But as for hi0self--

t was all very well to tal- about 0en li-e Tho0as 2ann and +ion >euchtwanger and <o0ain

<olland8 who in e=ile re0ained writers whose every word was in de0and8 about Professors 1instein or *alve0ini8 or8 under !orpois08 about the recently e=iled or self-e=iled A0ericans8 9alt Trowbridge8 2i-e Gold8 9illia0 Allen 9hite8 5ohn Dos Passos8 #. +. 2enc-en8 <e=ford Tugwell8 3swald ?illard. .owhere in the world8 e=cept possibly in Greenland or Ger0any8 would such stars be unable to find wor- and soothing respect. But what was an ordinary newspaper hac-8 especially if he was over forty-five8 to do in a strange land--and 0ore especially if he had a wife na0ed 100a $or !arolina or .ancy or Griselda or anything else) who didn"t at all fancy going and living in a sod hut on behalf of honesty and freedo0M

*o debated Dore0us8 li-e so0e hundreds of thousands of other crafts0en8 teachers8 lawyers8 what-not8 in so0e doGens of countries under a dictatorship8 who were aware enough to resent the tyranny8 conscientious enough not to ta-e its bribes cynically8 yet not so abnor0ally courageous as to go willingly to e=ile or dungeon or chopping-bloc---particularly when they Ehad wives and fa0ilies to support.E

Dore0us hinted once to 10il *taub0eyer that 10il was Egetting onto the ropes so wellE that he thought of getting out8 of @uitting newspaper wor- for good.

The hitherto friendly 2r. *taub0eyer said sharply8 E9hat"d you doM *nea- off to !anada and join the propagandists against the !hiefM .othing doingJ :ou"ll stay right here and help 0e--help usJE And that afternoon !o00issioner *had +edue shouldered in and gru0bled8 EDr. *taub0eyer tells 0e you"re doing pretty fairly good wor-8 5essup8 but want to warn you to -eep it up. <e0e0ber that 5udge *wan only let you out on parole . . . to 0eJ :ou can do fine if you just set your 0ind to itJE

E f you just set your 0ind to itJE The one ti0e when the boy Dore0us had hated his father had been when he used that condescending phrase.

#e saw that8 for all the apparent prosaic cal0 of day after day on the paper8 he was e@ually in

danger of slipping into acceptance of his serfdo0 and of whips and bars if he didn"t slip. And he continued to be just as sic- each ti0e he wrote: EThe crowd of fifty thousand people who greeted President 9indrip in the university stadiu0 at owa !ity was an i0pressive sign of the constantly growing interest of all A0ericans in political affairs8E and *taub0eyer changed it to: EThe vast and enthusiastic crowd of seventy thousand loyal ad0irers who wildly applauded and listened to the stirring address of the !hief in the handso0e university stadiu0 in beautiful owa !ity8 owa8 is an i0pressive yet @uite typical sign of the growing devotion of all true A0ericans to political study under the inspiration of the !orpo govern0ent.E

Perhaps his worst irritations were that *taub0eyer had pushed a des- and his slee-8 sweaty person into Dore0us"s private office8 once sacred to his solitary grouches8 and that Doc tchitt8 hitherto his worshiping disciple8 see0ed always to be secretly laughing at hi0.

Dnder a tyranny8 0ost friends are a liability. 3ne @uarter of the0 turn EreasonableE and beco0e your ene0ies8 one @uarter are afraid to stop and spea- and one @uarter are -illed and you die with the0. But the blessed final @uarter -eep you alive.

9hen he was with +orinda8 gone was all the pleasant toying and sy0pathetic tal- with which they had relieved boredo0. *he was fierce now8 and vibrant. *he drew hi0 close enough to her8 but instantly she would be thin-ing of hi0 only as a co0rade in plots to -ill off the !orpos. $And it was pretty 0uch a real -illing-off that she 0eantH there wasn"t left to view any great a0ount of her plausible pacifis0.)

*he was busy with good and perilous wor-s. Partner .ipper had not been able to -eep her in the Tavern -itchenH she had so syste0atiGed the wor- that she had 0any days and evenings free8 and she had started a coo-ing-class for far0 girls and young far0 wives who8 caught between the provincial and the industrial generations8 had learned neither good rural coo-ing with a wood fire8 nor yet how to deal with canned goods and electric grills--and who 0ost certainly had not learned how to co0bine so as to co0pel the tight-fisted little locally owned power-and-light co0panies to furnish electricity at tolerable rates.

E#eavensa-e8 -eep this @uiet8 but "0 getting ac@uainted with these country gals--getting ready for the day when we begin to organiGe against the !orpos. depend on the08 not the well-to-do wo0en that used to want suffrage but that can"t endure the thought of revolution8E +orinda whispered to hi0. E9e"ve got to do so0ething.E

EAll right8 +orinda B. Anthony8E he sighed.

And Larl Pascal stuc-.

At Polli-op"s garage8 when he first saw Dore0us after the jailing8 he said8 EGod8 was sorry to hear about their pinching you8 2r. 5essupJ But say8 aren"t you ready to join us !o00unists nowME $#e loo-ed about an=iously as he said it.)

E thought there weren"t any 0ore Bolos.E

E3h8 we"re supposed to be wiped out. But guess you"ll notice a few 0ysterious stri-es starting now and then8 even though there can"t be any 0ore stri-esJ 9hy aren"t you joining usM There"s where you belong8 c-co0radeJE

E+oo- here8 Larl: you"ve always said the difference between the *ocialists and the !o00unists was that you believed in co0plete ownership of all 0eans of production8 not just utilitiesH and that you ad0itted the violent class war and the *ocialists didn"t. That"s poppycoc-J The real difference is that you !o00unists serve <ussia. t"s your #oly +and. 9ell--<ussia has all 0y prayers8 right after the prayers for 0y fa0ily and for the !hief8 but what "0 interested in civiliGing and protecting against its ene0ies isn"t <ussia but A0erica. s that so banal to sayM 9ell8 it wouldn"t be banal for a <ussian co0rade to observe that he was for <ussiaJ And A0erica

needs our propaganda 0ore every day. Another thing: "0 a 0iddle-class intellectual. "d never call 0yself any such a da0n silly thing8 but since you <eds coined it8 "ll have to accept it. That"s 0y class8 and that"s what "0 interested in. The proletarians are probably noble fellows8 but certainly do not thin- that the interests of the 0iddle-class intellectuals and the proletarians are the sa0e. They want bread. 9e want--well8 all right8 say it8 we want ca-eJ And when you get a proletarian a0bitious enough to want ca-e8 too--why8 in A0erica8 he beco0es a 0iddle-class intellectual just as fast as he can--if he canJE

E+oo- here8 when you thin- of ' per cent of the people owning &/ per cent of the wealth--E

E don"t thin- of itJ t does not follow that because a good 0any of the intellectuals belong to the &C per cent of the bro-e--that plenty of actors and teachers and nurses and 0usicians don"t get any better paid than stage hands or electricians8 therefore their interests are the sa0e. t isn"t what you earn but how you spend it that fi=es your class--whether you prefer bigger funeral services or 0ore boo-s. "0 tired of apologiGing for not having a dirty nec-JE

E#onestly8 2r. 5essup8 that"s da0n nonsense8 and you -now itJE

E s itM 9ell8 it"s 0y A0erican covered-wagon da0n nonsense8 and not the propagandaaeroplane da0n nonsense of 2ar= and 2oscowJE

E3h8 you"ll join us yet.E

E+isten8 !o0rade Larl8 9indrip and #itler will join *talin long before the descendants of Dan"l 9ebster. :ou see8 we don"t li-e 0urder as a way of argu0ent--that"s what really 0ar-s the +iberalJE

About his future >ather Perefi=e was brief: E "0 going bac- to !anada where belong--away to the freedo0 of the Ling. #ate to give up8 Dore0us8 but "0 no Tho0as U Bec-et8 but just a plain8 scared8 fat little clar-JE

The surprise a0ong old ac@uaintances was 2edary !ole8 the 0iller.

A little younger than >rancis Tasbrough and <. !. !rowley8 less intensely aristocratic than those noble0en8 since only one generation separated hi0 fro0 a chin-whis-ered :an-ee far0er and not two8 as with the08 he had been their satellite at the !ountry !lub and8 as to solid virtue8 been president of the <otary !lub. #e had always considered Dore0us a 0an who8 without such e=cuse as being a 5ew or a #un-y or poor8 was yet flippant about the sanctities of 2ain *treet and 9all *treet. They were neighbors8 as !ole"s E!ape !od cottageE was just below Pleasant #ill8 but they had not by habit been droppers-in.

.ow8 when !ole ca0e bringing David ho0e8 or calling for his daughter Angela8 David"s new 0ate8 toward supper ti0e of a chilly fall evening8 he stopped gratefully for a hot ru0 punch8 and as-ed Dore0us whether he really thought inflation was Esuch a good thing.E

#e burst out8 one evening8 E5essup8 there isn"t another person in this town "d dare say this to8 not even 0y wife8 but "0 getting awful sic- of having these 2innie 2ouses dictate where have to buy 0y gunnysac-s and what can pay 0y 0en. won"t pretend ever cared 0uch for labor unions. But in those days8 at least the union 0e0bers did get so0e of the swag. .ow it goes to support the 2.2."s. 9e pay the0 and pay the0 big to bully us. t don"t loo- so reasonable as it did in %&'K. But8 golly8 don"t tell anybody said thatJE

And !ole went off sha-ing his head8 bewildered--he who had ecstatically voted for 2r. 9indrip.

3n a day in late 3ctober8 suddenly stri-ing in every city and village and bac--hill hide-out8 the !orpos ended all cri0e in A0erica forever8 so titanic a feat that it was 0entioned in the +ondon Ti0es. *eventy thousand selected 2inute 2en8 wor-ing in co0bination with town and state police officers8 all under the chiefs of the govern0ent secret service8 arrested every -nown or faintly suspected cri0inal in the country. They were tried under court-0artial procedureH one in ten was shot i00ediately8 four in ten were given prison sentences8 three in ten released as innocent . . . and two in ten ta-en into the 2.2."s as inspectors.

There were protests that at least si= in ten had been innocent8 but this was ade@uately answered by 9indrip"s courageous state0ent: EThe way to stop cri0e is to stop itJE

The ne=t day8 2edary !ole crowed at Dore0us8 E*o0eti0es "ve felt li-e criticiGing certain features of !orpo policy8 but did you see what the !hief did to the gangsters and rac-eteersM 9onderfulJ "ve told you right along what this country"s needed is a fir0 hand li-e 9indrip"s. .o shilly-shallying about that fellowJ #e saw that the way to stop cri0e was to just go out and stop itJE

Then was revealed the .ew A0erican 1ducation8 which8 as *arason so justly said8 was to be ever so 0uch newer than the .ew 1ducations of Ger0any8 taly8 Poland8 or even Tur-ey.

The authorities abruptly closed so0e scores of the s0aller8 0ore independent colleges such as 9illia0s8 Bowdoin8 3berlin8 Georgetown8 Antioch8 !arleton8 +ewis nstitute8 !o00onwealth8 Princeton8 *warth0ore8 Lenyon8 all vastly different one fro0 another but ali-e in not yet having

entirely beco0e 0achines. >ew of the state universities were closedH they were 0erely to be absorbed by central !orpo universities8 one in each of the eight provinces. But the govern0ent began with only two. n the 2etropolitan District8 9indrip Dniversity too- over the <oc-efeller !enter and 10pire *tate buildings8 with 0ost of !entral Par- for playground $e=cluding the general public fro0 it entirely8 for the rest was an 2.2. drill ground). The second was 2acgoblin Dniversity8 in !hicago and vicinity8 using the buildings of !hicago and .orthwestern universities8 and 5ac-son Par-. President #utchins of !hicago was rather unpleasant about the whole thing and declined to stay on as an assistant professor8 so the authorities had politely to e=ile hi0.

Tattle-0ongers suggested that the na0ing of the !hicago plant after 2acgoblin instead of *arason suggested a beginning coolness between *arason and 9indrip8 but the two leaders were able to @uash such canards by appearing together at the great reception given to Bishop !annon by the 9o0an"s !hristian Te0perance Dnion and being photographed sha-ing hands.

1ach of the two pioneer universities started with an enroll0ent of fifty thousand8 0a-ing ridiculous the pre-!orpo schools8 none of which8 in %&'(8 had had 0ore than thirty thousand students. The enroll0ent was probably helped by the fact that anyone could enter upon presenting a certificate showing that he had co0pleted two years in a high school or business college8 and a reco00endation fro0 a !orpo co00issioner.

Dr. 2acgoblin pointed out that this founding of entirely new universities showed the enor0ous cultural superiority of the !orpo state to the .aGis8 Bolshevi-s8 and >ascists. 9here these a0ateurs in re-civiliGation had 0erely -ic-ed out all treacherous so-called EintellectualE teachers who 0ulishly declined to teach physics8 coo-ery8 and geography according to the principles and facts laid down by the political bureaus8 and the .aGis had 0erely added the sound 0easure of discharging 5ews who dared atte0pt to teach 0edicine8 the A0ericans were the first to start new and co0pletely orthodo= institutions8 free fro0 the very first of any taint of Eintellectualis0.E

All !orpo universities were to have the sa0e curriculu08 entirely practical and 0odern8 free of all snobbish tradition.

1ntirely o0itted were Gree-8 +atin8 *ans-rit8 #ebrew8 Biblical study8 archaeology8 philologyH all history before %(//--e=cept for one course which showed that8 through the centuries8 the -ey to civiliGation had been the defense of Anglo-*a=on purity against barbarians. Philosophy and its

history8 psychology8 econo0ics8 anthropology were retained8 but8 to avoid the superstitious errors in ordinary te=tboo-s8 they were to be conned only in new boo-s prepared by able young scholars under the direction of Dr. 2acgoblin.

*tudents were encouraged to read8 spea-8 and try to write 0odern languages8 but they were not to waste their ti0e on the so-called EliteratureEH reprints fro0 recent newspapers were used instead of anti@uated fiction and senti0ental poetry. As regards 1nglish8 so0e study of literature was per0itted8 to supply @uotations for political speeches8 but the chief courses were in advertising8 party journalis08 and business correspondence8 and no authors before %4// 0ight be 0entioned8 e=cept *ha-espeare and 2ilton.

n the real0 of so-called Epure science8E it was realiGed that only too 0uch and too confusing research had already been done8 but no pre-!orpo university had ever shown such a wealth of courses in 0ining engineering8 la-eshore-cottage architecture8 0odern fore0anship and production 0ethods8 e=hibition gy0nastics8 the higher accountancy8 therapeutics of athlete"s foot8 canning and fruit dehydration8 -indergarten training8 organiGation of chess8 chec-ers8 and bridge tourna0ents8 cultivation of will power8 band 0usic for 0ass 0eetings8 schnauGerbreeding8 stainless-steel for0ulQ8 ce0ent-road construction8 and all other really useful subjects for the for0ation of the new-world 0ind and character. And no scholastic institution8 even 9est Point8 had ever so richly recogniGed sport as not a subsidiary but a pri0ary depart0ent of scholarship. All the 0ore fa0iliar ga0es were earnestly taught8 and to the0 were added the 0ost absorbing speed contests in infantry drill8 aviation8 bo0bing8 and operation of tan-s8 ar0ored cars8 and 0achine guns. All of these carried acade0ic credits8 though students were urged not to elect sports for 0ore than one third of their credits.

9hat really showed the difference fro0 old-fogy inefficiency was that with the educational speed-up of the !orpo universities8 any bright lad could graduate in two years.

As he read the prospectuses for these 3ly0pian8 these <ingling-Barnu0 and Bailey universities8 Dore0us re0e0bered that ?ictor +oveland8 who a year ago had taught Gree- in a little college

called saiah8 was now grinding out reading and arith0etic in a !orpo labor ca0p in 2aine. 3h well8 saiah itself had been closed8 and its for0er president8 Dr. 3wen 5. Peaseley8 District Director of 1ducation8 was to be right-hand 0an to Professor Al0eric Trout when they founded the Dniversity of the .ortheastern Province8 which was to supplant #arvard8 <adcliffe8 Boston Dniversity8 and Brown. #e was already wor-ing on the university yell8 and for that EprojectE had sent out letters to %KC of the 0ore pro0inent poets in A0erica8 as-ing for suggestions.

6%

t was not only the .ove0ber sleet8 setting up a forbidding curtain before the 0ountains8 turning the roadways into slipperiness on which a car would swing around and crash into poles8 that -ept Dore0us stubbornly at ho0e that 0orning8 sitting on his shoulder blades before the fireplace. t was the feeling that there was no point in going to the officeH no chance even of a pictures@ue fight. But he was not contented before the fire. #e could find no authentic news even in the papers fro0 Boston or .ew :or-8 in both of which the 0orning papers had been co0bined by the govern0ent into one sheet8 rich in co0ic strips8 in syndicated gossip fro0 #ollywood8 and8 indeed8 lac-ing only any news.

#e cursed8 threw down the .ew :or- Daily !orporate8 and tried to read a new novel about a lady whose husband was indelicate in bed and who was too absorbed by the novels he wrote about lady novelists whose husbands were too absorbed by the novels they wrote about lady novelists to appreciate the fine sensibilities of lady novelists who wrote about gentle0an novelists-Anyway8 he chuc-ed the boo- after the newspaper. The lady"s woes didn"t see0 very i0portant now8 in a burning world.

#e could hear 100a in the -itchen discussing with 2rs. !andy the best way of 0a-ing a chic-en pie. They tal-ed without reliefH really8 they were not so 0uch tal-ing as thin-ing aloud. Dore0us ad0itted that the nice 0a-ing of a chic-en pie was a thing of conse@uence8 but the blur of

voices irritated hi0. Then *issy sla00ed into the roo08 and *issy should an hour ago have been at high school8 where she was a senior--to graduate ne=t year and possibly go to so0e new and horrible provincial university.

E9hat hoJ 9hat are you doing ho0eM 9hy aren"t you in schoolME

E3h. That.E *he s@uatted on the padded fender seat8 chin in hands8 loo-ing up at hi08 not seeing hi0. E don"t -now "s "ll ever go there any 0ore. :ou have to repeat a new oath every 0orning: " pledge 0yself to serve the !orporate *tate8 the !hief8 all !o00issioners8 the 2ystic 9heel8 and the troops of the <epublic in every thought and deed." .ow as- youJ s that tripeJE

E#ow you going to get into the universityME

E#uhJ *0ile at Prof *taub0eyer--if it doesn"t gag 0eJE

E3h8 well--9ell--E #e could not thin- of anything 0eatier to say.

The doorbell8 a shuffling in the hall as of snowy feet8 and 5ulian >alc- ca0e sheepishly in.

*issy snapped8 E9ell8 "ll be--9hat are you doing ho0eM 9hy aren"t you in A0herstME

E3h. That.E #e s@uatted beside her. #e absently held her hand8 and she did not see0 to notice it8 either. EA0herst"s got hers. !orpos closing it today. got tipped off last *aturday and beat it. $They have a cute way of rounding up the students when they close a college and arresting a few of "e08 just to cheer up the profs.)E To Dore0us: E9ell8 sir8 thin- you"ll have to find a place for 0e on the nfor0er8 wiping presses. !ould youME

EAfraid not8 boy. Give anything if could. But "0 a prisoner there. GodJ 5ust having to say that 0a-es 0e appreciate what a rotten position haveJE

E3h8 "0 sorry8 sir. understand8 of course. 9ell8 don"t just -now what a0 going to do. <e0e0ber bac- in "'' and "'B and "'( how 0any good eggs there were--and so0e of the0 0edics and law graduates and trained engineers and so on--that si0ply couldn"t get a jobM 9ell8 it"s worse now. loo-ed over A0herst8 and had a try at *pringfield8 and "ve been here in town two days-- "d hoped to have so0ething before saw you8 *is--why8 even as-ed 2rs. Pi-e if she didn"t need so0ebody to wash dishes at the Tavern8 but so far there isn"t a thing. ":oung gentle0an8 two years in college8 ninety-nine-point-three pure and thorough -nowledge Thirtynine Articles8 able drive car8 teach tennis and contract8 a0iable disposition8 desires position-digging ditches."E

E:ou will get so0ethingJ "ll see you do8 0y poppetJE insisted *issy. *he was less 0odernistic and cold with 5ulian now than Dore0us had thought her.

EThan-s8 *is8 but honest to God-- hope "0 not whining8 but loo-s li-e "d either have to enlist in the lousy 2.2."s8 or go to a labor ca0p. can"t stay ho0e and sponge on Granddad. The poor old <everend hasn"t got enough to -eep a pussycat in face powder.E

E+oo-itJ +oo-itJE *issy clinched with 5ulian and bussed hi08 unabashed. E "ve got an idea--a new stunt. :ou -now8 one of these ".ew !areers for :outh" things. +istenJ +ast su00er there was a friend of +indy Pi-e"s staying with her and she was an interior decorator fro0 Buffalo8 and she said they have a hell of a--E

$E*iss-syJE)

E--ti0e getting real8 genuine8 old hand-hewn bea0s that everybody wants so 0uch now in these phony-3ld-1nglish suburban living roo0s. 9ell8 loo-J <ound here there"s ten 0illion old barns with hand-adGed bea0s just falling down--far0ers probably be glad to have you haul "e0 off. -ind of thought about it for 0yself--being an architect8 you -now--and 5ohn Polli-op said he"d sell 0e a swell8 dirty-loo-ing old five-ton truc- for four hundred buc-s--in pre-inflation real 0oney8 0ean--and on ti0e. +et"s you and 0e try a load of assorted fancy bea0s.E

E*wellJE said 5ulian.

E9ell--E said Dore0us.

E!o0e onJE *issy leaped up. E+et"s go as- +indy what she thin-s. *he"s the only one in this fa0ily that"s got any business sense.E

E don"t see0 to han-er 0uch after going out there in this weather--nasty roads8E Dore0us puffed.

E.onsense8 Dore0usJ 9ith 5ulian drivingM #e"s a poor speller and his bac--hand is fierce8 but as a driver8 he"s better than a0J 9hy8 it"s a pleasure to s-id with hi0J !o0e onJ #ey8 2otherJ 9e"ll be bac- in nour or two.E

f 100a ever got beyond her distant8 E9hy8 thought you were in school8 already8E none of the three 0us-eteers heard it. They were bundling up and crawling out into the sleet.

+orinda Pi-e was in the Tavern -itchen8 in a calico print with rolled sleeves8 dipping doughnuts into deep fat--a picture right out of the ro0antic days $which BuGG 9indrip was trying to restore) when a fe0ale who had brought up eleven children and been 0idwife to doGens of cows was regarded as too fragile to vote. *he was ruddy-faced fro0 the stove8 but she coc-ed a lively eye at the08 and her greeting was E#ave a doughnutM GoodJE *he led the0 fro0 the -itchen with its attendant and eavesdropping horde of a !anuc- -itchen0aid and two cats8 and they sat in the beautiful butler"s-pantry8 with its shelved rows of talian 0ajolica plates and cups and saucers-entirely unsuitable to ?er0ont8 attesting a certain artiness in +orinda8 yet by their cleanness and order revealing her as a sound wor-er. *issy s-etched her plan--behind the statistics there was an agreeable picture of herself and 5ulian8 gipsies in -ha-i8 on the seat of a gipsy truc-8 peddling silvery old pine rafters.

E.ope. .ot a chance8E said +orinda regretfully. EThe e=pensive suburban-villa business--oh8 it isn"t gone: there"s a surprising nu0ber of 0iddle0en and professional 0en who are doing @uite well out of having their wealth ta-en away and distributed to the 0asses. But all the building is in the hands of contractors who are in politics--good old 9indrip is so consistently A0erican that he"s -ept up all our traditional graft8 even if he has thrown out all our traditional independence. They wouldn"t leave you one cent profit.E

E*he"s probably right8E said Dore0us.

EBe the first ti0e ever was8 thenJE sniffed +orinda. E9hy8 was so si0ple that thought wo0en voters -new 0en too well to fall for noble words on the radioJE

They sat in the sedan8 outside the TavernH 5ulian and *issy in front8 Dore0us in the bac- seat8 dignified and 0iserable in 0u00y swathings.

EThat"s that8E said *issy. E*well period for young drea0ers the Dictator"s brought in. :ou can 0arch to 0ilitary bands--or you can sit ho0e--or you can go to prison. Pri0avera di BelleGGaJE

E:es. . . . 9ell8 "ll find so0ething to do. . . . *issy8 are you going to 0arry 0e--soon as get a jobME

$ t was incredible8 thought Dore0us8 how these latter-day unsenti0ental senti0entalists could ignore hi0. . . . +i-e ani0als.)

EBefore8 if you want to. Though 0arriage see0s to 0e absolute rot now8 5ulian. They can"t go

and let us see that every doggone one of our old institutions is a rotten fa-e8 the way !hurch and *tate and everything has laid down to the !orpos8 and still e=pect us to thin- they"re so hotJ But for unfor0ed 0inds li-e your grandfather and Dore0us8 suppose we"ll have to pretend to believe that the preachers who stand for Big !hief 9indrip are still so sanctified that they can sell God"s license to loveJE

$E*is-syJE)

E$3h. forgot you were there8 DadJ) But anyway8 we"re not going to have any -ids. 3h8 li-e childrenJ "d li-e to have a doGen of the little devils around. But if people have gone so soft and turned the world over to stuffed shirts and dictators8 they needn"t e=pect any decent wo0an to bring children into such an insane asylu0J 9hy8 the 0ore you really do love children8 the 0ore you"ll want "e0 not to be born8 nowJE

5ulian boasted8 in a 0anner @uite as lover-li-e and naXve as that of any suitor a hundred years ago8 E:es. But just the sa0e8 we"ll be having children.E

E#ellJ suppose soJE said the golden girl.

t was the unconsidered Dore0us who found a job for 5ulian.

3ld Dr. 2arcus 3l0sted was trying to steel hi0self to carry on the wor- of his so0eti0e partner8 >owler Greenhill. #e was not strong enough for 0uch winter driving8 and so hotly now did he hate the 0urderers of his friend that he would not ta-e on any youngster who was in the 2.2."s or who had half ac-nowledged their authority by going to a labor ca0p. *o 5ulian was chosen to drive hi08 night and day8 and presently to help hi0 by giving anesthetic8 bandaging hurt legsH and the 5ulian who had within one wee- Edecided that he wanted to beE an aviator8 a 0usic

critic8 an air-conditioning engineer8 an archQologist e=cavating in :ucatan8 was dead-set on 0edicine and replaced for Dore0us his dead doctor son-in-law. And Dore0us heard 5ulian and *issy boasting and s@uabbling and s@uea-ing in the half-lighted parlor and fro0 the0--fro0 the0 and fro0 David and +orinda and Buc- Titus--got resolution enough to go on in the nfor0er office without cho-ing *taub0eyer to death.

66

Dece0ber tenth was the birthday of BerGelius 9indrip8 though in his earlier days as a politician8 before he fruitfully realiGed that lies so0eti0es get printed and unjustly re0e0bered against you8 he had been wont to tell the world that his birthday was on Dece0ber twenty-fifth8 li-e one who0 he ad0itted to be an even greater leader8 and to shout8 with real tears in his eyes8 that his co0plete na0e was BerGelius .oel 9einacht 9indrip.

#is birthday in %&'C he co00e0orated by the historical E3rder of <egulation8E which stated that though the !orporate govern0ent had proved both its stability and its good-will8 there were still certain stupid or vicious Eele0entsE who8 in their foul envy of !orpo success8 wanted to destroy everything that was good. The -ind-hearted govern0ent was fed-up8 and the country was infor0ed that8 fro0 this day on8 any person who by word or act sought to har0 or discredit the *tate8 would be e=ecuted or interned. nas0uch as the prisons were already too full8 both for these slanderous cri0inals and for the persons who0 the -ind-hearted *tate had to guard by Eprotective arrest8E there were i00ediately to be opened8 all over the country8 concentration ca0ps.

Dore0us guessed that the reason for the concentration ca0ps was not only the provision of e=tra roo0 for victi0s but8 even 0ore8 the provision of places where the livelier young 2.2."s could a0use the0selves without interference fro0 old-ti0e professional police0en and prison-eepers8 0ost of who0 regarded their charges not as ene0ies8 to be tortured8 but just as cattle8

to be -ept safely.

3n the eleventh8 a concentration ca0p was enthusiastically opened8 with band 0usic8 paper flowers8 and speeches by District !o00issioner <ee- and *had +edue8 at Trianon8 nine 0iles north of >ort Beulah8 in what had been a 0odern e=peri0ental school for girls. $The girls and their teachers8 no sound 0aterial for !orpois0 anyway8 were si0ply sent about their business.)

And on that day and every day afterward8 Dore0us got fro0 journalist friends all over the country secret news of !orpo terroris0 and of the first bloody rebellions against the !orpos.

n Ar-ansas8 a group of ninety-si= for0er sharecroppers8 who had always bellyached about their 0isfortunes yet see0ed not a bit happier in well-run8 hygienic labor ca0ps with free wee-ly band concerts8 attac-ed the superintendent"s office at one ca0p and -illed the superintendent and five assistants. They were rounded up by an 2.2. regi0ent fro0 +ittle <oc-8 stood up in a winter-ragged cornfield8 told to run8 and shot in the bac- with 0achine guns as they co0ically staggered away.

n *an >rancisco8 doc--wor-ers tried to start an absolutely illegal stri-e8 and their leaders8 -nown to be !o00unists8 were so treasonable in their speeches against the govern0ent that an 2.2. co00ander had three of the0 tied up to a bale of rattan8 which was soa-ed with oil and set afire. The !o00ander gave warning to all such 0alcontents by shooting off the cri0inals" fingers and ears while they were burning8 and so s-illed a 0ar-s0an was he8 so 0uch credit to the efficient 2.2. training8 that he did not -ill one single 0an while thus tri00ing the0 up. #e afterward went in search of To0 2ooney $released by the *upre0e !ourt of the Dnited *tates8 early in %&'K)8 but that notorious anti-!orpo agitator had had the fear of God put into hi0 properly8 and had escaped on a schooner for Tahiti.

n Pawtuc-et8 a 0an who ought to have been free fro0 the rotten seditious notions of such socalled labor-leaders8 in fact a 0an who was a fashionable dentist and director in a ban-8 absurdly resented the attentions which half-a-doGen unifor0ed 2.2."s--they were all on leave8 and 0erely full of youthful spirits8 anyway--bestowed upon his wife at a cafF and8 in the confusion8 shot and -illed three of the0. 3rdinarily8 since it was none of the public"s business anyway8 the 2.2."s did not give out details of their disciplining of rebels8 but in this case8 where the fool of a dentist had shown hi0self to be a ho0icidal 0aniac8 the local 2.2. co00ander per0itted the papers to print the fact that the dentist had been given si=ty-nine lashes with a fle=ible steel rod8

then8 when he ca0e to8 left to thin- over his 0urderous idiocy in a cell in which there was two feet of water in the botto0--but8 rather ironically8 none to drin-. Dnfortunately8 the fellow died before having the opportunity to see- religious consolation.

n *cranton8 the !atholic pastor of a wor-ing-class church was -idnaped and beaten.

n central Lansas8 a 0an na0ed George 9. *0ith pointlessly gathered a couple of hundred far0ers ar0ed with shotguns and sporting rifles and an absurdly few auto0atic-pistols8 and led the0 in burning an 2.2. barrac-s. 2.2. tan-s were called out8 and the hic- would-be rebels were not8 this ti0e8 used as warnings8 but were overco0e with 0ustard gas8 then disposed of with hand grenades8 which was an altogether intelligent 0ove8 since there was nothing of the scoundrels left for senti0ental relatives to bury and 0a-e propaganda over.

But in .ew :or- !ity the case was the opposite--instead of being thus surprised8 the 2.2."s rounded up all suspected !o00unists in the for0er boroughs of 2anhattan and the Bron=8 and all persons who were reported to have been seen consorting with such !o00unists8 and interned the lot of the0 in the nineteen concentration ca0ps on +ong sland. . . . 2ost of the0 wailed that they were not !o00unists at all.

>or the first ti0e in A0erica8 e=cept during the !ivil 9ar and the 9orld 9ar8 people were afraid to say whatever ca0e to their tongues. 3n the streets8 on trains8 at theaters8 0en loo-ed about to see who 0ight be listening before they dared so 0uch as say there was a drought in the 9est8 for so0eone 0ight suppose they were bla0ing the drought on the !hiefJ They were particularly s-ittish about waiters8 who were supposed to listen fro0 the a0bush which every waiter carries about with hi0 anyway8 and to report to the 2.2."s. People who could not resist tal-ing politics spo-e of 9indrip as E!olonel <obinsonE or EDr. BrownE and of *arason as E5udge 5onesE or E0y cousin Laspar8E and you would hear gossips hissing E*hhhJE at the see0ingly innocent state0ent8 E2y cousin doesn"t see0 to be as -een on playing bridge with the Doctor as he used to-- "ll bet so0eti0e they"ll @uit playing.E

1very 0o0ent everyone felt fear8 na0eless and o0nipresent. They were as ju0py as 0en in a plague district. Any sudden sound8 any une=plained footstep8 any unfa0iliar script on an envelope8 0ade the0 startleH and for 0onths they never felt secure enough to let the0selves go8 in co0plete sleep. And with the co0ing of fear went out their pride.

Daily--co00on now as weather reports--were the ru0ors of people who had suddenly been carried off Eunder protective arrest8E and daily 0ore of the0 were celebrities. At first the 2.2."s had8 outside of the one stro-e against !ongress8 dared to arrest only the un-nown and defenseless. .ow8 incredulously--for these leaders had see0ed invulnerable8 above the ordinary law--you heard of judges8 ar0y officers8 e=-state governors8 ban-ers who had not played in with the !orpos8 5ewish lawyers who had been a0bassadors8 being carted off to the co00on stinand 0ud of the cells.

To the journalist Dore0us and his fa0ily it was not least interesting that a0ong these i0prisoned celebrities were so 0any journalists: <ay0ond 2oley8 >ran- *i0onds8 >ran- Lent8 #eywood Broun8 2ar- *ullivan8 1arl Browder8 >ran-lin P. Ada0s8 George *eldes8 >raGier #unt8 Garet Garrett8 Granville #ic-s8 1dwin 5a0es8 <obert 2orss +ovett--0en who differed grotes@uely e=cept in their co00on disli-e of being little disciples of *arason and 2acgoblin.

>ew writers for #earst were arrested8 however.

The plague ca0e nearer to Dore0us when unrenowned editors in +owell and Providence and Albany8 who had done nothing 0ore than fail to be enthusiastic about the !orpos8 were ta-en away for E@uestioning8E and not released for wee-s--0onths.

t ca0e 0uch nearer at the ti0e of the boo--burning.

All over the country8 boo-s that 0ight threaten the Pa= <o0ana of the !orporate *tate were gleefully being burned by the 0ore scholarly 2inute 2en. This for0 of safeguarding the *tate-so 0odern that it had scarce been -nown prior to A.D. %'//--was instituted by *ecretary of !ulture 2acgoblin8 but in each province the crusaders were allowed to have the fun of pic-ing out their own paper-and-in- traitors. n the .ortheastern Province8 5udge 1ffingha0 *wan and Dr. 3wen 5. Peaseley were appointed censors by !o00issioner Dewey #ai-8 and their inde= was lyrically praised all through the country.

>or *wan saw that it was not such obvious anarchists and soreheads as Darrow8 *teffens8 .or0an Tho0as8 who were the real dangerH li-e rattlesna-es8 their noisiness betrayed their veno0. The real ene0ies were 0en whose sanctification by death had appallingly per0itted the0 to snea- even into respectable school libraries--0en so perverse that they had been traitors to the !orpo *tate years and years before there had been any !orpo *tateH and *wan $with Peaseley chirping agree0ent) barred fro0 all sale or possession the boo-s of Thoreau8 10erson8 9hittier8 9hit0an8 2ar- Twain8 #owells8 and The .ew >reedo08 by 9oodrow 9ilson8 for though in later life 9ilson beca0e a sound 0anipulative politician8 he had earlier been troubled with itching ideals.

t goes without saying that *wan denounced all such atheistic foreigners8 dead or alive8 as 9ells8 2ar=8 *haw8 the 2ann brothers8 Tolstoy8 and P. G. 9odehouse with his unscrupulous propaganda against the aristocratic tradition. $9ho could tellM Perhaps8 so0e day8 in a corporate e0pire8 he 0ight be *ir 1ffingha0 *wan8 Bart.)

And in one ite0 *wan showed blinding genius--he had the foresight to see the peril of that cynical volu0e8 The !ollected *ayings of 9ill <ogers.

3f the boo--burnings in *yracuse and *chenectady and #artford8 Dore0us had heard8 but they see0ed i0probable as ghost stories.

The 5essup fa0ily were at dinner8 just after seven8 when on the porch they heard the tra0ping they had half e=pected8 altogether dreaded. 2rs. !andy--even the icicle8 2rs. !andy8 held her breast in agitation before she stal-ed out to open the door. 1ven David sat at table8 spoon suspended in air.

*had"s voice8 E n the na0e of the !hiefJE #arsh feet in the hall8 and *had waddling into the dining roo08 cap on8 hand on pistol8 but grinning8 and with leering geniality bawling8 E#" are yuh8 fol-sJ *earch for bad boo-s. 3rders of the District !o00issioner. !o0e on8 5essupJE #e loo-ed at the fireplace to which he had once brought so 0any ar0fuls of wood8 and snic-ered.

E f you"ll just sit down in the other roo0--E

E will li-e hell "just sit down in the other roo0"J 9e"re burning the boo-s tonightJ *nap to it8 5essupJE *had loo-ed at the e=asperated 100aH he loo-ed at *issyH he win-ed with heavy deliberation and chuc-led8 E#" are you8 2is" 5essup. #ello8 *is. #ow"s the -idME

But at 2ary Greenhill he did not loo-8 nor she at hi0.

n the hall8 Dore0us found *had"s entourage8 four sheepish 2.2."s and a 0ore sheepish 10il *taub0eyer8 who whi0pered8 E5ust orders--you -now--just orders.E

Dore0us safely said nothingH led the0 up to his study.

.ow a wee- before he had re0oved every publication that any sane !orpo could consider radical: his Das Lapital and ?eblen and all the <ussian novels and even *u0ner"s >ol-ways and >reud"s !iviliGation and ts DiscontentsH Thoreau and the other hoary scoundrels banned by *wanH old files of the .ation and .ew <epublic and such copies as he had been able to get of 9alt Trowbridge"s +ance for De0ocracyH had re0oved the0 and hidden the0 inside an old horsehair sofa in the upper hall.

E told you there was nothing8E said *taub0eyer8 after the search. E+et"s go.E

*aid *had8 E#uhJ -now this house8 1nsign. used to wor- here--had the privilege of putting up those stor0 windows you can see there8 and of getting bawled out right here in this roo0. :ou won"t re0e0ber those ti0es8 Doc--when used to 0ow your lawn8 too8 and you used to be so snottyJE *taub0eyer blushed. E:ou bet. -now 0y way around8 and there"s a lot of fool boo-s downstairs in the sittin" roo0.E

ndeed in that apart0ent variously called the drawing roo08 the living roo08 the sittin" roo08 the Parlor and once8 even8 by a spinster who thought editors were ro0antic8 the studio8 there were two or three hundred volu0es8 0ostly in Estandard sets.E *had glu0ly stared at the08 the while he rubbed the faded Brussels carpet with his spurs. #e was worried. #e had to find so0ething seditiousJ

#e pointed at Dore0us"s dearest treasure8 the thirty-four-volu0e e=tra-illustrated edition of Dic-ens which had been his father"s8 and his father"s only insane e=travagance. *had de0anded of *taub0eyer8 EThat guy Dic-ens--didn"t he do a lot of co0plaining about conditions--about schools and the police and everythingME

*taub0eyer protested8 E:es8 but *had--but8 !aptain +edue8 that was a hundred years ago--E

E2a-es no difference. Dead s-un- stin-s worse "n a live one.E

Dore0us cried8 E:es8 but not for a hundred yearsJ Besides--E

The 2.2."s8 obeying *had"s gesture8 were already yan-ing the volu0es of Dic-ens fro0 the shelves8 dropping the0 on the floor8 covers crac-ing. Dore0us seiGed an 2.2."s ar0H fro0 the door *issy shrie-ed. *had lu0bered up to hi08 enor0ous red fist at Dore0us"s nose8 growling8 E9ant to get the daylights beaten out of you now . . . instead of laterME

Dore0us and *issy8 side by side on a couch8 watched the boo-s thrown in a heap. #e grasped her

hand8 0uttering to her8 E#ush--hushJE 3h8 *issy was a pretty girl8 and young8 but a pretty girl schoolteacher had been attac-ed8 her clothes stripped off8 and been left in the snow just south of town8 two nights ago.

Dore0us could not have stayed away fro0 the boo--burning. t was li-e seeing for the last ti0e the face of a dead friend.

Lindling8 e=celsior8 and spruce logs had been heaped on the thin snow on the Green. $To0orrow there would be a fine patch burned in the hundred-year-old sward.) <ound the pyre danced 2.2."s schoolboys8 students fro0 the rather ratty business college on 1l0 *treet8 and un-nown far0 lads8 seiGing boo-s fro0 the pile guarded by the broadly cheerful *had and s-i00ing the0 into the fla0es. Dore0us saw his 2artin !huGGlewit fly into air and land on the burning lid of an ancient co00ode. t lay there open to a PhiG drawing of *airey Ga0p8 which withered instantly. As a s0all boy he had always laughed over that drawing.

#e saw the old rector8 2r. >alc-8 s@ueeGing his hands together. 9hen Dore0us touched his shoulder8 2r. >alc- 0ourned8 EThey too- away 0y Drn Burial8 0y 0itatio !hristi. don"t -now why8 don"t -now whyJ And they"re burning the0 thereJE

9ho owned the08 Dore0us did not -now8 nor why they had been seiGed8 but he saw Alice in 9onderland and 30ar LhayyY0 and *helley and The 2an 9ho 9as Thursday and A >arewell to Ar0s all burning together8 to the greater glory of the Dictator and the greater enlighten0ent of his people.

The fire was al0ost over when Larl Pascal pushed up to *had +edue and shouted8 E hear you stin-ers-- "ve been out driving a guy8 and hear you raided 0y roo0 and too- off 0y boo-s while was awayJE

E:ou bet we did8 !o0radeJE

EAnd you"re burning the0--burning 0y--E

E3h no8 !o0radeJ .ot burning "e0. 9orth too bla0e 0uch8 !o0rade.E *had laughed very 0uch. EThey"re at the police station. 9e"ve just been waiting for you. t was awful nice to find all your little !o00unist boo-s. #ereJ Ta-e hi0 alongJE

*o Larl Pascal was the first prisoner to go fro0 >ort Beulah to the Trianon !oncentration !a0p-noH that"s wrongH the second. The first8 so inconspicuous that one al0ost forgets hi08 was an ordinary fellow8 an electrician who had never so 0uch as spo-en of politics. Brayden8 his na0e was. A 2inute 2an who stood well with *had and *taub0eyer wanted Brayden"s job. Brayden went to concentration ca0p. Brayden was flogged when he declared8 under *had"s @uestioning8 that he -new nothing about any plots against the !hief. Brayden died8 alone in a dar- cell8 before 5anuary.

An 1nglish globe-trotter who gave up two wee-s of Dece0ber to a thorough study of EconditionsE in A0erica8 wrote to his +ondon paper8 and later said on the wireless for the B.B.!.: EAfter a thorough glance at A0erica find that8 far fro0 there being any discontent with the !orpo ad0inistration a0ong the people8 they have never been so happy and so resolutely set on 0a-ing a Brave .ew 9orld. as-ed a very pro0inent #ebrew ban-er about the assertions that his people were being oppressed8 and he assured 0e8 "9hen we hear about such silly ru0ors8 we are highly a0used."E

6'

Dore0us was nervous. The 2inute 2en had co0e8 not with *had but with 10il and a strange battalion-leader fro0 #anover8 to e=a0ine the private letters in his study. They were polite enough8 but alar0ingly thorough. Then he -new8 fro0 the disorder in his des- at the nfor0er8 that so0eone had gone over his papers there. 10il avoided hi0 at the office. Dore0us was called to *had"s office and gruffly @uestioned about correspondence which so0e denouncer had reported his having with the agents of 9alt Trowbridge.

*o Dore0us was nervous. *o Dore0us was certain that his ti0e for going to concentration ca0p was co0ing. #e glanced bac- at every stranger who see0ed to be following hi0 on the street. The fruit0an8 Tony 2ogliani8 flowery advocate of 9indrip8 of 2ussolini8 and of tobacco @uid as a cure for cuts and burns8 as-ed hi0 too 0any @uestions about his plans for the ti0e when he should Eget through on the paperEH and once a tra0p tried to @uiG 2rs. !andy8 0eanti0e peering at the pantry shelves8 perhaps to see if there was any sign of their being understoc-ed8 as if for closing the house and fleeing. . . . But perhaps the tra0p really was a tra0p.

n the office8 in 0id-afternoon8 Dore0us had a telephone call fro0 that scholar-far0er8 BucTitus:

EGoing to be ho0e this evening8 about nineM GoodJ Got to see you. 0portantJ *ay8 see if you can have all your fa0ily and +inda Pi-e and young >alc- there8 too8 will youM Got an idea. 0portantJE

As i0portant ideas8 just now8 usually concerned being i0prisoned8 Dore0us and his wo0en waited ju0pily. +orinda ca0e in twittering8 for the sight of 100a always did 0a-e her twitter a little8 and in +orinda there was no relief. 5ulian ca0e in shyly8 and there was no relief in 5ulian. 2rs. !andy brought in unsolicited tea with a dash of ru08 and in her was so0e relief8 but it was all a dullness of fidgety waiting till Buc- sla00ed in8 ten 0inutes late and very snowy.

E*or-eepwaiting but "ve been telephoning. #ere"s so0e news you won"t have even in the office

yet8 Dor0ouse. The forest fire"s getting nearer. This afternoon they arrested the editor of the <utland #erald--no charge laid against hi0 yet--no publicity-- got it fro0 a co00ission 0erchant deal with in <utland. :ou"re ne=t8 Dore0us. rec-on they"ve just been laying off you till *taub0eyer pic-ed your brains. 3r 0aybe +edue has so0e nice idea about torturing you by -eeping you waiting. Anyway8 you"ve got to get out. And to0orrowJ To !anadaJ To stayJ By auto0obile. .o can do by plane any 0ore--!anadian govern0ent"s stopped that. :ou and 100a and 2ary and Dave and *is and the whole da0n shooting-0atch--and 0aybe >oolish and 2rs. !andy and the canaryJE

E!ouldn"t possiblyJ Ta-e 0e wee-s to realiGe on what invest0ents "ve got. Guess could raise twenty thousand8 but it"d ta-e wee-s.E

E*ign "e0 over to 0e8 if you trust 0e--and you betterJ can cash in everything better than you can--stand in with the !orpos better--been selling "e0 horses and they thin- "0 the -ind of loud-0outhed wal-ing gent that will join "e0J "ve got fifteen hundred !anadian dollars for you right here in 0y poc-et8 for a starter.E

E9e"d never get across the border. The 2.2."s are watching every inch8 just loo-ing for suspects li-e 0e.E

E "ve got a !anadian driver"s license8 and !anadian registration plates ready to put on 0y car-we"ll ta-e 0ine--less suspicious. can loo- li-e a real far0er--that"s because a0 one8 guess-"0 going to drive you all8 by the way. got the plates s0uggled in underneath the bottles in a case of aleJ *o we"re all set8 and we"ll start to0orrow night8 if the weather isn"t too clear--hope there"ll be snow.E

EBut Buc-J Good +ordJ "0 not going to flee. "0 not guilty of anything. haven"t anything to flee forJE

E5ust your life8 0y boy8 just your lifeJE

E "0 not afraid of "e0.E

E3h yes you areJE

E3h--well--if you loo- at it that way8 probably a0J But "0 not going to let a bunch of lunatics and gun0en drive 0e out of the country that and 0y ancestors 0adeJE

100a cho-ed with the effort to thin- of so0ething convincingH 2ary see0ed without tears to be weepingH *issy s@uea-edH 5ulian and +orinda started to spea- and interrupted each otherH and it was the uninvited 2rs. !andy who8 fro0 the doorway8 led off: E.ow isn"t that li-e a 0anJ *tubborn as 0ules. All of "e0. 1very one. And show-offs8 the whole lot of "e0. !ourse you just wouldn"t stop and thin- how your wo0enfol-s will feel if you get too- off and shotJ :ou just stand in front of the loco0otive and clai0 that because you were on the section gang that built the trac-8 you got 0ore right there than the engine has8 and then when it"s gone over you and gone away8 you e=pect us all to thin- what a hero you wereJ 9ell8 0aybe so0e call it being a hero8 but--E

E9ell8 confound it all8 all of you pic-ing on 0e and trying to get 0e all 0i=ed up and not carry out 0y duty to the *tate as see it--E

E:ou"re over si=ty8 Dore0us. 2aybe a lot of us can do our duty better now fro0 !anada than we can here--li-e 9alt Trowbridge8E besought +orinda. 100a loo-ed at her friend +orinda with no particular affection.

EBut to let the !orpos steal the country and nobody protestJ .oJE

EThat"s the -ind of argu0ent that sent a few 0illion out to die8 to 0a-e the world safe for de0ocracy and a cinch for >ascis0JE scoffed Buc-.

EDadJ !o0e with us. Because we can"t go without you. And "0 getting scared here.E *issy sounded scared8 tooH *issy the uncon@uerable. EThis afternoon *had stopped 0e on the street and wanted 0e to go out with hi0. #e tic-led 0y chin8 the little darlingJ But honestly8 the way he s0ir-ed8 as if he was so sure of 0e-- got scaredJE

E "ll get a shotgun and--E E9hy8 "ll -ill the dirty--E E9ait"ll get 0y hands on--E cried Dore0us8 5ulian8 and Buc-8 all together8 and glared at one another8 then loo-ed sheepish as >oolish bar-ed at the rac-et8 and 2rs. !andy8 leaning li-e a froGen codfish against the door ja0b8 snorted8 E*o0e 0ore loco0otive-battersJE

Dore0us laughed. >or one only ti0e in his life he showed genius8 for he consented: EAll right. 9e"ll go. But just i0agine that "0 a 0an of strong will power and "0 ta-ing all night to be convinced. 9e"ll start to0orrow night.E 9hat he did not say was that he planned8 the 0o0ent he had his fa0ily safe in !anada8 with 0oney in the ban- and perhaps a job to a0use *issy8 to run away fro0 the0 and co0e bac- to his proper fight. #e would at least -ill *had before he got -illed hi0self.

t was only a wee- before !hrist0as8 a holiday always greeted with good cheer and @uantities of colored ribbons in the 5essup householdH and that wild day of preparing for flight had a @ueer !hrist0as joyfulness. To dodge suspicion8 Dore0us spent 0ost of the ti0e at the office8 and a hundred ti0es it see0ed that *taub0eyer was glancing at hi0 with just the ruler-threatening hidden ire he had used on whisperers and li-e young cri0inals in school. But he too- off two hours at lunch ti0e8 and he went ho0e early in the afternoon8 and his long depression was gone in the prospect of !anada and freedo08 in an e=cited inspection of clothes that was li-e preparation for a fishing trip. They wor-ed upstairs8 behind drawn blinds8 feeling li-e spies in an 1. Phillips 3ppenhei0 story8 beleagured in the dar- and stone-floored ducal bedroo0 of an ancient inn just beyond Grasse. Downstairs8 2rs. !andy was pretentiously busy loo-ing nor0al-after their flight8 she and the canary were to re0ain and she was to be surprised when the 2.2."s reported that the 5essups see0ed to have escaped.

Dore0us had drawn five hundred fro0 each of the local ban-s8 late that afternoon8 telling the0 that he was thin-ing of ta-ing an option on an apple orchard. #e was too well-trained a do0estic ani0al to be raucously a0used8 but he could not help observing that while he hi0self was ta-ing on the flight to 1gypt only all the 0oney he could get hold of8 plus cigarettes8 si= hand-erchiefs8

two e=tra pairs of soc-s8 a co0b8 a toothbrush8 and the first volu0e of *pengler"s Decline of the 9est--decidedly it was not his favorite boo-8 but one he had been trying to 0a-e hi0self read for years8 on train journeys--while8 in fact8 he too- nothing that he could not stuff into his overcoat poc-ets8 *issy apparently had need of all her newest lingerie and of a large fra0ed picture of 5ulian8 100a of a -oda- albu0 showing the three children fro0 the ages of one to twenty8 David of his new 0odel aeroplane8 and 2ary of her still8 dar- hatred that was heavier to carry than 0any chests.

5ulian and +orinda were there to help the0H 5ulian off in corners with *issy.

9ith +orinda8 Dore0us had but one free 0o0ent . . . in the old-fashioned guest-bathroo0.

E+inda. 3h8 +ordJE

E9e"ll co0e throughJ n !anada you"ll have ti0e to catch your breath. 5oin TrowbridgeJE

E:es8 but to leave you-- "d hoped so0ehow8 by so0e 0iracle8 you and could have 0aybe a 0onth together8 say in 2onterey or ?enice or the :ellowstone. hate it when life doesn"t see0 to stic- together and get so0ewhere and have so0e plan and 0eaning.E

E t"s had 0eaningJ .o dictator can co0pletely s0other us nowJ !o0eJE

EGood-bye8 0y +indaJE

.ot even now did he alar0 her by confessing that he planned to co0e bac-8 into danger.

10bracing beside an aged tin-lined bathtub with woodwor- painted a dreary brown8 in a roo0 which s0elled slightly of gas fro0 an old hot-water heater--e0bracing in sunset-colored 0ist upon a 0ountain top.

Dar-ness8 edged wind8 wic-edly deliberate snow8 and in it Buc- Titus boisterously cheerful in his veteran .ash8 loo-ing as far0er-li-e as he could8 in seals-in cap with rubbed bare patches and an atrocious dogs-in overcoat. Dore0us thought of hi0 again as a !aptain !harles Ling cavalry0an chasing the *iou= across bliGGard-blinded prairies.

They pac-ed alar0ingly into the carH 2ary beside Buc-8 the driverH in the bac-8 Dore0us between 100a and *issyH on the floor8 David and >oolish and the toy aeroplane indistinguishably curled up together beneath a robe. Trun- rac- and front fenders were heaped with tarpaulin-covered suitcases.

E+ord8 wish were goingJE 0oaned 5ulian. E+oo-J *isJ Grand spy-story ideaJ But 0ean seriously: *end souvenir postcards to 0y granddad--views of churches and so on--just sign "e0 "5ane"--and whatever you say about the church8 "ll -now you really 0ean it about you and--3h8 da0n all 0ysteryJ want you8 *issyJE

2rs. !andy whis-ed a bundle in a0ong the already intolerable 0ess of baggage which pro0ised to descend on Dore0us"s -nees and David"s head8 and she snapped8 E9ell8 if you fol-s 0ust go flyin" around the country-- t"s a cocoanut layer ca-e.E *avagely: E*oon"s you get around the corner8 throw the fool thing in the ditch if you want toJE *he fled sobbing into the -itchen8 where +orinda stood in the lighted doorway8 silent8 her tre0bling hands out to the0.

The car was already lurching in the snow before they had snea-ed through >ort Beulah by shadowy bac--streets and started strea-ing northward.

*issy sang out cheerily8 E9ell8 !hrist0as in !anadaJ *-ittles and beer and lots of hollyJE

E3h8 do they have *anta !laus in !anadaME ca0e David"s voice8 wondering8 childish8 slightly 0uffled by lap robe and the furry ears of >oolish.

E3f course they do8 dearieJE 100a reassured hi0 and8 to the grown-ups8 E.ow wasn"t that the cutest thingJE

To Dore0us8 *issy whispered8 EDarn well ought to be cute. Too- 0e ten 0inutes to teach hi0 to say it8 this afternoonJ #old 0y hand. hope Buc- -nows how to driveJE

Buc- Titus -new every bac--road fro0 >ort Beulah to the border8 preferably in filthy weather8 li-e tonight. Beyond Trianon he pulled the car up deep-rutted roads8 on which you would have to bac- if you were to pass anyone. Dp grades on which the car -noc-ed and panted8 into lonely hills8 by a GigGag of roads8 they jer-ed toward !anada. 9et snow sheathed the windshield8 then froGe8 and Buc- had to drive with his head thrust out through the open window8 and the blast ca0e in and circled round their stiff nec-s.

Dore0us could see nothing save the bac- of Buc-"s twisted8 taut nec-8 and the icy windshield8

0ost of the ti0e. 5ust now and then a light far below the level of the road indicated that they were sliding along a shelf road8 and if they s-idded off8 they would -eep going a hundred feet8 two hundred feet8 downward--probably turning over and over. 3nce they did s-id8 and while they panted in an eternity of four seconds8 Buc- yan-ed the car up a ban- beside the road8 down to the left again8 and finally straight--speeding on as if nothing had happened8 while Dore0us felt feeble in the -nees.

>or a long while he -ept going rigid with fear8 but he san- into 0isery8 too cold and deaf to feel anything e=cept a slow desire to vo0it as the car lurched. Probably he slept--at least8 he awa-ened8 and awa-ened to a sensation of pushing the car an=iously up hill8 as she buc-ed and stuttered in the effort to 0a-e a slippery rise. *uppose the engine died--suppose the bra-es would not hold and they slid bac- downhill8 reeling8 bursting off the road and down--A great 0any suppositions tortured hi08 hour by hour.

Then he tried being awa-e and bright and helpful. #e noticed that the ice-lined windshield8 illu0inated fro0 the light on the snow ahead8 was a sheet of dia0onds. #e noticed it8 but he couldn"t get hi0self to thin- 0uch of dia0onds8 even in sheets.

#e tried conversation.

E!heer up. Brea-fast at dawn--across the borderJE he tried on *issy.

EBrea-fastJE she said bitterly.

And they crunched on8 in that 0oving coffin with only the sheet of dia0onds and Buc-"s silhouette alive in all the world.

After unnu0bered hours the car reared and tu0bled and reared again. The 0otor racedH its sound rose to an intolerable roaringH yet the car see0ed not to be 0oving. The 0otor stopped abruptly. Buc- cursed8 popped his head bac- into the car li-e a turtle8 and the starter ground long and whiningly. The 0otor again roared8 again stopped. They could hear stiff branches rattling8 hear >oolish 0oaning in sleep. The car was a stor0-0enaced cabin in the wilderness. The silence see0ed waiting8 as they were waiting.

E*troubleME said Dore0us.

E*tuc-. .o traction. #it a drift of wet snow--drainage fro0 a busted culvert8 sh" thin-. #ellJ #ave to get out and ta-e a loo-.E

3utside the car8 as Dore0us crept down fro0 the slippery running-board8 it was cold in a vicious wind. #e was so stiff he could scarcely stand.

As people do8 feeling i0portant and advisory8 Dore0us loo-ed at the drift with an electric torch8 and *issy loo-ed at the drift with the torch8 and Buc- i0patiently too- the torch away fro0 the0 and loo-ed twice.

EGet so0e--E and EBrush would help8E said *issy and Buc- together8 while Dore0us rubbed his chilly ears.

They three trotted bac- and forth with frag0ents of brush8 laying it in front of the wheels8 while 2ary politely as-ed fro0 within8 E!an helpME and no one see0ed particularly to have answered her.

The headlights pic-ed out an abandoned shac- beside the roadH an unpainted gray pine cabin with bro-en window glass and no door. 100a8 sighing her way out of the car and stepping through the lu0py snow as delicately as a pacer at a horse show8 said hu0bly8 EThat little house there--0aybe could go in and 0a-e so0e hot coffee on the alcohol stove--didn"t have roo0 for a ther0os. #ot coffee8 Dor0ouseME

To Dore0us she sounded8 just now8 not at all li-e a wife8 but as sensible as 2rs. !andy.

9hen the car did -ic- its way up on the pathway of twigs and stand panting safely beyond the drift8 they had8 in the sheltered shac-8 coffee with slabs of 2rs. !andy"s voluptuous cocoanut ca-e. Dore0us pondered8 EThis is a nice place. li-e this place. t doesn"t bounce or s-id. don"t

want to leave this place.E

#e did. The secure i00obility of the shac- was behind the08 dar- 0iles behind8 and they were again pitching and rolling and being sic- and inescapably chilly. David was alternately crying and going bac- to sleep. >oolish wo-e up to cough in@uiringly and returned to his drea0 of rabbiting. And Dore0us was sleeping8 his head swaying li-e a 0asthead in long rollers8 his shoulder against 100a"s8 his hand war0 about *issy"s8 and his soul in na0eless bliss.

#e roused to a half-dawn fil0y with snow. The car was standing in what see0ed to be a crossroads ha0let8 and Buc- was e=a0ining a 0ap by the light of the electric torch.

EGot anywhere yetME Dore0us whispered.

E5ust a few 0iles to the border.E

EAnybody stopped usME

E.ope. 3h8 we"ll 0a-e it8 all right8 o" 0an.E

3ut of 1ast Ber-shire8 Buc- too- not the 0ain road to the border but an old wood lane so little used that the ruts were twin sna-es. Though Dore0us said nothing8 the others felt his intensity8 his an=iety that was li-e listening for an ene0y in the dar-. David sat up8 the blue 0otor robe about hi0. >oolish started8 snorted8 loo-ed offended but8 catching the spirit of the 0o0ent8 co0fortingly laid a paw on Dore0us"s -nee and insisted on sha-ing hands8 over and over8 as gravely as a ?enetian senator or an underta-er.

They dropped into the di0ness of a tree-walled hollow. A searchlight darted8 and rested hotly on the08 so daGGling the0 that Buc- al0ost ran off the road.

E!onfound it8E he said gently. .o one else said anything.

#e crawled up to the light8 which was 0ounted on a platfor0 in front of a s0all shelter hut. Two 2inute 2en stood out in the road8 dripping with radiance fro0 the car. They were young and rural8 but they had efficient repeating rifles.

E9here you headed forME de0anded the elder8 good-naturedly enough.

E2ontreal8 where we live.E Buc- showed his !anadian license. . . . Gasoline 0otor and electric light8 yet Dore0us saw the frontier guard as a sentry in %4KB8 studying a pass by lantern light8 beside a far0 wagon in which hid General 5oe 5ohnston"s spies disguised as plantation hands.

E guess it"s all right. *ee0s in order. But we"ve had so0e trouble with refugees. :ou"ll have to wait till the Battalion-+eader co0es--0aybe "long about noon.E

EBut good +ord8 nspector8 we can"t do thatJ 2y 0other"s awful sic-8 in 2ontreal.E

E:uh8 "ve heard that one beforeJ And 0aybe it"s true8 this ti0e. But afraid you"ll have to wait for the Bat. :ou fol-s can co0e in and set by the fire8 if you want to.E

EBut we"ve got to--E

E:ou heard what saidJE The 2.2."s were fingering their rifles.

EAll right. But tell you what we"ll do. 9e"ll go bac- to 1ast Ber-shire and get so0e brea-fast and a wash and co0e bac- here. .oon8 you saidME

E3-ayJ And say8 Brother8 it does see0 -ind of funny8 your ta-ing this bac- road8 when there"s a first-rate highway. *" long. Be good. . . . 5ust don"t try it againJ The Bat 0ight be here ne=t ti0e-and he ain"t a far0er li-e you or 0eJE

The refugees8 as they drove away8 had an unco0fortable feeling that the guards were laughing at the0.

Three border posts they tried8 and at three posts they were turned bac-.

E9ellME said Buc-.

E:es. guess so. Bac- ho0e. 2y turn to drive8E said Dore0us wearily.

The hu0iliation of retreat was the worse in that none of the guards had troubled to do 0ore than laugh at the0. They were trapped too tightly for the trappers to worry. Dore0us"s only clear e0otion as8 tails between their legs8 they bac--trac-ed to *had +edue"s sneer and to 2rs. !andy"s E9ell8 neverJE was regret that he had not shot one guard8 at least8 and he raged:

E.ow -now why 0en li-e 5ohn Brown beca0e craGy -illersJE

6B

#e could not decide whether 10il *taub0eyer8 and through hi0 *had +edue8 -new that he had tried to escape. Did *taub0eyer really loo- 0ore -nowing8 or did he just i0agine itM 9hat the deuce had 10il 0eant when he said8 E hear the roads aren"t so good up north--not so goodJE 9hether they -new or not8 it was grinding that he should have to shiver lest an illiterate roustabout li-e *had +edue find out that he desired to go to !anada8 while a ruler-slapper li-e *taub0eyer8 a *@ueers with certificates in Epedagogy8E should now be able to cuff grown 0en instead of urchins and should be editor of the nfor0erJ Dore0us"s nfor0erJ *taub0eyerJ That hu0an blac-boardJ

Daily Dore0us found it 0ore cra0ping8 0ore instantly stirring to fury8 to write anything 0entioning 9indrip. #is private office--the cheerfully rattling linotype roo0--the shouting pressroo0 with its s0ell of in- that to hi0 hitherto had been li-e the s0ell of grease paint to an actor--they were hateful now8 and cho-ing. .ot even +orinda"s faith8 not even *issy"s jibes and Buc-"s stories8 could rouse hi0 to hope.

#e rejoiced the 0ore8 therefore8 when his son Philip telephoned hi0 fro0 9orcester: EBe ho0e *undayM 2erilla"s in .ew :or-8 gadding8 and "0 all alone here. Thought "d just drive up for the day and see how things are in your nec- of the woods.E

E!o0e onJ *plendidJ *o long since we"ve seen you. "ll have your 0other start a pot of beans right awayJE

Dore0us was happy. .ot for so0e ti0e did his cursed two-way-0indedness co0e to wea-en his joy8 as he wondered whether it wasn"t just a 0yth held over fro0 boyhood that Philip really cared so 0uch for 100a"s beans and brown breadH and wondered just why it was that Dp-toDate A0ericans li-e Philip always used the long-distance telephone rather than undergo the dreadful toil of dictating a letter a day or two earlier. t didn"t really see0 so efficient8 the oldfashioned village editor reflected8 to spend seventy-five cents on a telephone call in order to save five cents" worth of ti0e.

E3h hushJ Anyway8 "ll be delighted to see the boyJ "ll bet there isn"t a s0arter young lawyer in 9orcester. There"s one 0e0ber of the fa0ily that"s a real successJE

#e was a little shoc-ed when Philip ca0e8 li-e a one-0an procession8 into the living roo08 late on *aturday afternoon. #e had been forgetting how bald this upstanding young advocate was growing even at thirty-four. And it see0ed to hi0 that Philip was a little heavy and senatorial in speech and a bit too cordial.

EBy 5ove8 Dad8 you don"t -now how good it is to be bac- in the old digs. 2other and the girls upstairsM By 5ove8 sir8 that was a horrible business8 the -illing of poor >owler. #orribleJ was si0ply horrified. There 0ust have been a 0ista-e so0ewhere8 because 5udge *wan has a wonderful reputation for scrupulousness.E

EThere was no 0ista-e. *wan is a fiend. +iterallyJE Dore0us sounded less paternal than when he had first bounded up to sha-e hands with the beloved prodigal.

E<eallyM 9e 0ust tal- it over. "ll see if there can"t be a stricter investigation. *wanM <eallyJ 9e"ll certainly go into the whole business. But first 0ust just s-ip upstairs and give 2a00y a good s0ac-8 and 2ary and +ittle *is.E

And that was the last ti0e that Philip 0entioned 1ffingha0 *wan or any Estricter investigationE of the acts thereof. All afternoon he was relentlessly filial and fraternal8 and he s0iled li-e an auto0obile sales0an when *issy griped at hi08 E9hat"s the idea of all the tender hand-dusting8 PhilcoME

Dore0us and he were not alone till nearly 0idnight.

They sat upstairs in the sacred study. Philip lighted one of Dore0us"s e=cellent cigars as though he were a cine0a actor playing the role of a 0an lighting an e=cellent cigar8 and breathed

a0iably:

E9ell8 sir8 this is an e=cellent cigarJ t certainly is e=cellentJE

E9hy notME

E3h8 just 0ean-- was just appreciating it--E

E9hat is it8 PhilM There"s so0ething on your 0ind. *hootJ .ot rowing with 2erilla8 are youME

E!ertainly notJ 2ost certainly notJ 3h8 don"t approve of everything 2erry does--she"s a little e=travagant--but she"s got a heart of gold8 and let 0e tell you8 Pater8 there isn"t a young society wo0an in 9orcester that 0a-es a nicer i0pression on everybody8 especially at nice dinner parties.E

E9ell thenM +et"s have it8 Phil. *o0ething seriousME

E:e-es8 "0 afraid there is. +oo-8 Dad. . . . 3h8 do sit down and be co0fortableJ . . . "ve been awfully perturbed to hear that you"ve8 uh8 that you"re in slightly bad odor with so0e of the authorities.E

E:ou 0ean the !orposME

E.aturallyJ 9ho elseME

E2aybe don"t recogniGe "e0 as authorities.E

E3h8 listen8 Pater8 please don"t jo-e tonightJ "0 serious. As a 0atter fact8 hear you"re 0ore than just "slightly" in wrong with the0.E

EAnd who 0ay your infor0ant beME

E3h8 just letters--old school friends. .ow you aren"t really pro-!orpo8 are youME

E#ow did you ever guessME

E9ell8 "ve been-- didn"t vote for 9indrip8 personally8 but begin to see where was wrong. can see now that he has not only great personal 0agnetis08 but real constructive power--real sureenough states0anship. *o0e say it"s +ee *arason"s doing8 but don"t you believe it for a 0inute. +oo- at all BuGG did bac- in his ho0e state8 before he ever tea0ed up with *arasonJ And so0e say 9indrip is crude. 9ell8 so were +incoln and 5ac-son. .ow what thin- of 9indrip--E

EThe only thing you ought to thin- of 9indrip is that his gangsters 0urdered your fine brotherin-lawJ And plenty of other 0en just as good. Do you condone such 0urdersME

E.oJ !ertainly notJ #ow can you suggest such a thing8 DadJ .o one abhors violence 0ore than do. *till8 you can"t 0a-e an o0elet without brea-ing eggs--E

E#ell and da0nationJE

E9hy8 PaterJE

EDon"t call 0e "Pater"J f ever hear that "can"t 0a-e an o0elet" phrase again8 "ll start doing a little 0urder 0yselfJ t"s used to justify every atrocity under every despotis08 >ascist or .aGi or !o00unist or A0erican labor war. 30eletJ 1ggsJ By God8 sir8 0en"s souls and blood are not eggshells for tyrants to brea-JE

E3h8 sorry8 sir. guess 0aybe the phrase is a little shopwornJ just 0ean to say-- "0 just trying to figure this situation out realisticallyJE

E"<ealistically"J That"s another buttered bun to e=cuse 0urderJE

EBut honestly8 you -now--horrible things do happen8 than-s to the i0perfection of hu0an nature8 but you can forgive the 0eans if the end is a rejuvenated nation that--E

E can do nothing of the -indJ can never forgive evil and lying and cruel 0eans8 and still less can forgive fanatics that use that for an e=cuseJ f 0ay i0itate <o0ain <olland8 a country that tolerates evil 0eans--evil 0anners8 standards of ethics--for a generation8 will be so poisoned that it never will have any good end. "0 just curious8 but do you -now how perfectly you"re @uoting every Bolshevi- apologist that sneers at decency and -indness and truthfulness in daily dealings as "bourgeois 0orality"M hadn"t understood that you"d gone @uite so 2ar=o0aterialisticJE

E J 2ar=ianJ Good GodJE Dore0us was pleased to see that he had stirred his son out of his ifyour-honor-please s0ugness. E9hy8 one of the things 0ost ad0ire about the !orpos is that8 as -now8 absolutely-- have reliable infor0ation fro0 9ashington--they have saved us fro0 a si0ply ghastly invasion by red agents of 2oscow--!o00unists pretending to be decent laborleadersJE

E.ot reallyJE $#ad the fool forgotten that his father was a newspaper0an and not li-ely to be i0pressed by Ereliable infor0ation fro0 9ashingtonEM)

E<eallyJ And to be realistic--sorry8 sir8 if you don"t li-e the word8 but to be--to be--E

E n fact8 to be realisticJE

E9ell8 yes8 thenJE

$Dore0us recalled such te0pers in Philip fro0 years ago. #ad he been wise8 after all8 to restrain hi0self fro0 the do0estic pleasure of lic-ing the bratM)

EThe whole point is that 9indrip8 or anyway the !orpos8 are here to stay8 Pater8 and we"ve got to base our future actions not on so0e desired Dtopia but on what we really and truly have. And thin- of what they"ve actually doneJ 5ust8 for e=a0ple8 how they"ve re0oved the advertising billboards fro0 the highways8 and ended une0ploy0ent8 and their si0ply stupendous feat in getting rid of all cri0eJE

EGood GodJE

EPardon 0e--what y" say8 DadME

E.othingJ .othingJ Go onJE

EBut begin to see now that the !orpo gains haven"t been just 0aterial but spiritual.E

E1hME

E<eallyJ They"ve revitaliGed the whole country. >or0erly we had gotten pretty sordid8 just thin-ing about 0aterial possessions and co0forts--about electric refrigeration and television and air-conditioning. Lind of lost the sturdiness that characteriGed our pioneer ancestors. 9hy8 ever so 0any young 0en were refusing to ta-e 0ilitary drill8 and the discipline and will power and good-fellowship that you only get fro0 0ilitary training--3h8 pardon 0eJ forgot you were a pacifist.E

Dore0us gri0ly 0uttered8 E.ot any 0oreJE

E3f course there 0ust be any nu0ber of things we can"t agree on8 Dad. But after all8 as a publicist you ought to listen to the ?oice of :outh.E

E:ouM :outhM :ou"re not youth. :ou"re two thousand years old8 0entally. :ou date just about %// B.!. in your fine new i0perialistic theoriesJE

E.o8 but you 0ust listen8 DadJ 9hy do you suppose ca0e clear up here fro0 9orcester just to see youME

EGod only -nowsJE

E want to 0a-e 0yself clear. Before 9indrip8 we"d been lying down in A0erica8 while 1urope was throwing off all her bonds--both 0onarchy and this anti@uated parlia0entary-de0ocraticliberal syste0 that really 0eans rule by professional politicians and by egotistic "intellectuals." 9e"ve got to catch up to 1urope again--got to e=pand--it"s the rule of life. A nation8 li-e a 0an8 has to go ahead or go bac-ward. AlwaysJE

E -now8 Phil. used to write that sa0e thing in those sa0e words8 bac- before %&%BJE

EDid youM 9ell8 anyway--Got to e=pandJ 9hy8 what we ought to do is to grab all of 2e=ico8 and 0aybe !entral A0erica8 and a good big slice of !hina. 9hy8 just on their own behalf we ought to do it8 0isgoverned the way they areJ 2aybe "0 wrong but--E

E 0possibleJE

E--9indrip and *arason and Dewey #ai- and 2acgoblin8 all those fellows8 they"re big--they"re 0a-ing 0e stop and thin-J And now to co0e down to 0y errand here--E

E:ou thin- ought to run the nfor0er according to !orpo theologyJE

E9hy--why yesJ That was appro=i0ately what was going to say. $ just don"t see why you haven"t been 0ore reasonable about this whole thing--you with your @uic- 0indJ) After all8 the ti0e for selfish individualis0 is gone. 9e"ve got to have 0ass action. 3ne for all and all for one--E

EPhilip8 would you 0ind telling 0e what the deuce you"re really heading towardM !ut the cac-leJE

E9ell8 since you insist--to "cut the cac-le8" as you call it--not very politely8 see0s to 0e8 seeing "ve ta-en the trouble to co0e clear up fro0 9orcesterJ-- have reliable infor0ation that you"re going to get into 0ighty serious trouble if you don"t stop opposing--or at least 0ar-edly failing to support--the govern0ent.E

EAll right. 9hat of itM t"s 0y serious troubleJE

EThat"s just the pointJ t isn"tJ do thin- that just for once in your life you 0ight thin- of 2other and the girls8 instead of always of your own selfish "ideas" that you"re so proud ofJ n a crisis li-e this8 it just isn"t funny any longer to pose as a @uaint "liberal."E

Dore0us"s voice was li-e a firecrac-er. E!ut the cac-le8 told youJ 9hat you afterM 9hat"s the !orpo gang to youME

E have been approached in regard to the very high honor of an assistant 0ilitary judgeship8 but your attitude8 as 0y father--E

EPhilip8 thin-8 rather thin-8 that give you 0y parental curse not so 0uch because you are a traitor as because you have beco0e a stuffed shirtJ Good-night.E

6(

#olidays were invented by the devil8 to coa= people into the heresy that happiness can be won by ta-ing thought. 9hat was planned as a rac-ety day for David"s first !hrist0as with his grandparents was8 they saw too well8 perhaps David"s last !hrist0as with the0. 2ary had hidden her weeping8 but the day before !hrist0as8 when *had +edue tra0ped in to de0and of Dore0us whether Larl Pascal had ever spo-en to hi0 of !o00unis08 2ary ca0e on *had in the hall8 stared at hi08 raised her hand li-e a bo=ing cat8 and said with dreadful @uietness8 E:ou 0urdererJ shall -ill you and -ill *wanJE

>or once *had did not loo- a0used.

To 0a-e the holiday as good an i0itation of 0irth as possible8 they were very noisy8 but their holly8 their tinsel stars on a tall pine tree8 their fa0ily devotion in a serene old house in a little town8 was no different at heart fro0 despairing drun-enness in the city night. Dore0us reflected that it 0ight have been just as well for all of the0 to get drun- and let the0selves go8 elbows on slopped cafF tables8 as to toil at this pretense of do0estic bliss. #e now had another thing for which to hate the !orpos--for stealing the secure affection of !hrist0as.

>or noon dinner8 +ouis <otenstern was invited8 because he was a lorn bachelor and8 still 0ore8 because he was a 5ew8 now insecure and snubbed and threatened in an insane dictatorship. $There is no greater co0pli0ent to the 5ews than the fact that the degree of their unpopularity is always the scientific 0easure of the cruelty and silliness of the rFgi0e under which they live8 so that even a co00ercial-0inded 0oney-fondling heavily hu0orous 5ew burgher li-e <otenstern is still a sensitive 0eter of barbaris0.) After dinner ca0e Buc- Titus8 David"s 0ost favorite person8 bearing staggering a0ounts of 9oolworth tractors and fire engines and a real bow-and-arrow8 and he was raucously insisting that 2rs. !andy dance with hi0 what he not very precisely called Ethe light fantastic8E when the ha00ering sounded at the door.

Aras Dilley tra0ped in with four 0en.

E+oo-in" for <otenstern. 3h8 that you8 +ouieM Git your coat and co0e on--orders.E

E9hat"s the ideaM 9hat d"you want of hi0M 9hat"s the chargeME de0anded Buc-8 still standing with his ar0 about 2rs. !andy"s e0barrassed waist.

EDunno"s there be any charges. 5ust ordered to head@uarters for @uestioning. District !o00issioner <ee- in town. 5ust astin" few people a few @uestions. !o0e on8 youJE

The hilarious celebrants did not8 as they had planned8 go out to +orinda"s tavern for s-iing. .e=t day they heard that <otenstern had been ta-en to the concentration ca0p at Trianon8 along with that crabbed old Tory8 <ay0ond Pridewell8 the hardware dealer.

Both i0prison0ents were incredible. <otenstern had been too 0ee-. And if Pridewell had not ever been 0ee-8 if he had constantly and testily and loudly proclai0ed that he had not cared for +edue as a hired 0an and now cared even less for hi0 as a local governor8 yet--why8 Pridewell was a sacred institution. As well thin- of dragging the brownstone Baptist !hurch to prison.

+ater8 a friend of *had +edue too- over <otenstern"s shop.

t can happen here8 0editated Dore0us. t could happen to hi0. #ow soonM Before he should be arrested8 he 0ust 0a-e a0ends to his conscience by @uitting the nfor0er.

Professor ?ictor +oveland8 once a classicist of saiah !ollege8 having been fired fro0 a labor ca0p

for inco0petence in teaching arith0etic to lu0berjac-s8 was in town8 with wife and babies8 on his way to a job cler-ing in his uncle"s slate @uarry near >air #aven. #e called on Dore0us and was hysterically cheerful. #e called on !larence +ittle--Edropped in to visit with hi08E !larence would have said. .ow that twitchy8 intense jeweler8 !larence8 who had been born on a ?er0ont far0 and had supported his 0other till she died when he was thirty8 had longed to go to college and8 especially8 to study Gree-. Though +oveland was his own age8 in the 0id-thirties8 he loo-ed on hi0 as a co0bination of Leats and +iddell. #is greatest 0o0ent had been hearing +oveland read #o0er.

+oveland was leaning on the counter. EGone ahead with your +atin gra00ar8 !larenceME

EGolly8 Professor8 it just doesn"t see0 worth while any 0ore. guess "0 -ind of a wea- sister8 anyway8 but find that these days it"s about all can do to -eep going.E

E2e tooJ And don"t call 0e "Professor." "0 a ti0e-eeper in a slate @uarry. 9hat a lifeJE

They had not noticed the clu0sy-loo-ing 0an in plain clothes who had just co0e in. Presu0ably he was a custo0er. But he gru0bled8 E*o you two pansies don"t li-e the way things go nowadaysJ Don"t suppose you li-e the !orposJ Don"t thin- 0uch of the !hiefJE #e jabbed his thu0b into +oveland"s ribs so painfully that +oveland yelped8 E don"t thin- about hi0 at allJE

E3h8 you don"t8 ehM 9ell8 you two fairies can co0e along to the courthouse with 0eJE

EAnd who 0ay you beME

E3h8 just an ensign in the 2.2."s8 that"s allJE

#e had an auto0atic pistol.

+oveland was not beaten 0uch8 because he 0anaged to -eep his 0outh shut. But +ittle was so

hysterical that they laid hi0 on a -itchen table and decorated his na-ed bac- with forty slashes of a steel ra0rod. They had found that !larence wore yellow sil- underwear8 and the 2.2."s fro0 factory and plowland laughed--particularly one broad young inspector who was ru0ored to have a passionate friendship with a battalion-leader fro0 .ashua who was fat8 eyeglassed8 and high-pitched of voice.

+ittle had to be helped into the truc- that too- +oveland and hi0 to the Trianon concentration ca0p. 3ne eye was closed and so surrounded with bruised flesh that the 2.2. driver said it loo-ed li-e a *panish o0elet.

The truc- had an open body8 but they could not escape8 because the three prisoners on this trip were chained hand to hand. They lay on the floor of the truc-. t was snowing.

The third prisoner was not 0uch li-e +oveland or +ittle. #is na0e was Ben Trippen. #e had been a 0ill hand for 2edary !ole. #e cared no 0ore about the Gree- language than did a baboon8 but he did care for his si= children. #e had been arrested for trying to stri-e !ole and for cursing the !orpo rFgi0e when !ole had reduced his wages fro0 nine dollars a wee- $in pre-!orpo currency) to seven-fifty.

As to +oveland"s wife and babies8 +orinda too- the0 in till she could pass the hat and collect enough to send the0 bac- to 2rs. +oveland"s fa0ily on a roc-y far0 in 2issouri. But then things went better. 2rs. +oveland was favored by the Gree- proprietor of a lunch-roo0 and got worwashing dishes and otherwise pleasing the proprietor8 who brilliantined his 0ustache.

The county ad0inistration8 in a procla0ation signed by 10il *taub0eyer8 announced that they were going to regulate the agriculture on the sub0arginal land high up on 2ount Terror. As a starter8 half-a-doGen of the poorer fa0ilies were 0oved into the large8 s@uare8 @uiet8 old house of that large8 s@uare8 @uiet8 old far0er8 #enry ?eeder8 cousin of Dore0us 5essup. These poorer fa0ilies had 0any children8 a great 0any8 so that there were four or five persons bedded on the

floor in every roo0 of the ho0e where #enry and his wife had placidly lived alone since their own children had grown. #enry did not li-e it8 and said so8 not very tactfully8 to the 2.2."s herding the refugees. 9hat was worse8 the dispossessed did not li-e it any better. E"Tain"t 0uch8 but we got a house of our own. Dunno why we should git shoved in on #enry8E said one. EDon"t e=pect other fol-s to bother 0e8 and don"t e=pect to bother other fol-s. .ever did li-e that fool -ind of yellow color #enry painted his barn8 but guess that"s his business.E

*o #enry and two of the regulated agriculturists were ta-en to the Trianon concentration ca0p8 and the rest re0ained in #enry"s house8 doing nothing but finish up #enry"s large larder and wait for orders.

EAnd before "0 sent to join #enry and Larl and +oveland8 "0 going to clear 0y s-irts8E Dore0us vowed8 along in late 5anuary.

#e 0arched in to see !ounty !o00issioner +edue.

E want to @uit the nfor0er. *taub0eyer has learned all can teach hi0.E

E*taub0eyerM 3hJ :ou 0ean Assistant !o00issioner *taub0eyerJE

E!huc- it8 will youM 9e"re not on parade8 and we"re not playing soldiers. 2ind if sit downME

EDon"t loo- li-e you cared a hell of a lot whether 0ind or notJ But can tell you8 right here and now8 5essup8 without any 0on-ey business about it8 you"re not going to leave your job. guess could find enough grounds for sending you to Trianon for about a 0illion years8 with ninety lashes8 but--you"ve always been so stuc- on yourself as such an all-fired honest editor8 it -ind of

tic-les 0e to watch you -issing the !hief"s foot--and 0ineJE

E "ll do no 0ore of itJ That"s certainJ And ad0it that deserve your scorn for ever having done itJE

E9ell8 isn"t that elegantJ But you"ll do just what tell you to8 and li-e itJ 5essup8 suppose you thin- had a swell ti0e when was your hired 0anJ 9atching you and your old wo0an and the girls go off on a picnic while --oh8 was just your hired 0an8 with dirt in 0y ears8 your dirtJ could stay ho0e and clean up the base0entJE

E2aybe we didn"t want you along8 *hadJ Good-0orningJE

*had laughed. There was a sound of the gates of Trianon concentration ca0p in that laughter.

t was really *issy who gave Dore0us his lead.

#e drove to #anover to see *had"s superior8 District !o00issioner 5ohn *ullivan <ee-8 that erstwhile jovial and red-faced politician. #e was ad0itted after only half an hour"s waiting. #e was shoc-ed to see how pale and hesitant and frightened <ee- had beco0e. But the !o00issioner tried to be authoritative.

E9ell8 5essup8 what can do for youME

E2ay be fran-ME

E9hatM 9hatM 9hy8 certainlyJ >ran-ness has always been 0y 0iddle na0eJE

E hope so. Governor8 find "0 of no use on the nfor0er8 at >ort Beulah. As you probably -now8 "ve been brea-ing in 10il *taub0eyer as 0y successor. 9ell8 he"s @uite co0petent to ta-e hold now8 and want to @uit. "0 really just in his way.E

E9hy don"t you stic- around and see what you can still do to help hi0M There"ll be little jobs cropping up fro0 ti0e to ti0e.E

EBecause it"s got on 0y nerves to ta-e orders where used to give "e0 for so 0any years. :ou can appreciate that8 can"t youME

E2y God8 can appreciate itM And howJ 9ell8 "ll thin- it over. :ou wouldn"t 0ind writing little pieces for 0y own little sheet8 at ho0eM own part of a paper there.E

E.oJ *ureJ DelightedJE

$EDoes this 0ean that <ee- believes the !orpo tyranny is going to blow up8 in a revolution8 so that he"s beginning to tri0M 3r just that he"s fighting to -eep fro0 being thrown outME)

E:es8 can see how you 0ight feel8 Brother 5essup.E

EThan-sJ 9ould you 0ind giving 0e a note to !ounty !o00issioner +edue8 telling hi0 to let 0e out8 without prejudiceM--0a-ing it pretty strongME

E.o. .ot a bit. 5ust wait a 0inute8 ole fellowH "ll write it right now.E

Dore0us 0ade as little cere0ony as possible of leaving the nfor0er8 which had been his throne for thirty-seven years. *taub0eyer was patroniGing8 Doc tchitt loo-ed @uiGGical8 but the chapel8 headed by Dan 9ilgus8 shoo- hands profusely. And so8 at si=ty-two8 stronger and 0ore eager than he had been in all his life8 Dore0us had nothing to do 0ore i0portant than eating brea-fast and telling his grandson stories about the elephant.

But that lasted less than a wee-. Avoiding suspicion fro0 100a and *issy and even fro0 Bucand +orinda8 he too- 5ulian aside:

E+oo- here8 boy. thin- it"s ti0e now for 0e to begin doing a little high treason. $#eaven"s sa-e -eep all of this under your hat--don"t even tip off *issyJ) guess you -now8 the !o00unists are too theocratic for 0y tastes. But loo-s to 0e as though they have 0ore courage and devotion and s0art strategy than anybody since the 1arly !hristian 2artyrs--who0 they also rese0ble in hairiness and a fondness for cataco0bs. want to get in touch with "e0 and see if there"s any dirty wor- at the crossroads can do for "e0--say distributing a few 1arly !hristian tracts by *t. +enin. But of course8 theoretically8 the !o00unists have all been i0prisoned. !ould you get to Larl Pascal8 in Trianon8 and find out who0 could seeME

*aid 5ulian8 E thin- could. Dr. 3l0sted gets called in there so0eti0es on cases--they hate hi08 because he hates the08 but still8 their ca0p doctor is a drun-en bu08 and they have to have a real doc in when one of their warders busts his wrist beating up so0e prisoner. "ll try8 sir.E

Two days afterward 5ulian returned.

E2y God8 what a sewer that Trianon place isJ "d waited for 3l0sted before8 in the car8 but never had the nerve to butt inside. The buildings--they were nice buildings8 @uite pretty8 when the girls" school had the0. .ow the fittings are all torn out8 and they"ve put up wallboard partitions for cells8 and the whole place stin-s of carbolic acid and e=cre0ent8 and the air--there isn"t any--you feel as if you were nailed up in a bo=-- don"t -now how anybody lives in one of

those cells for an hour--and yet there"s si= 0en bun-ed in a cell twelve feet by ten8 with a ceiling only seven feet high8 and no light e=cept a twenty-five watt8 guess it is8 bulb in the ceiling--you couldn"t read by it. But they get out for e=ercise two hours a day--wal- around and around the courtyard--they"re all so stooped8 and they all loo- so asha0ed8 as if they"d had the defiance just lic-ed out of "e0--even Larl a little8 and you re0e0ber how proud and sort of sardonic he was. 9ell8 got to see hi08 and he says to get in touch with this 0an--here8 wrote it down--and for God"s sa-e8 burn it up soon as you"ve 0e0oriGed itJE

E9as he--had they--ME

E3h8 yes8 they"ve beaten hi08 all right. #e wouldn"t tal- about it. But there was a scar right across his chee-8 fro0 his te0ple right down to his chin. And had just a gli0pse of #enry ?eeder. <e0e0ber how he loo-ed--li-e an oa- treeM .ow he twitches all the ti0e8 and ju0ps and gasps when he hears a sudden sound. #e didn"t -now 0e. don"t thin- he"d -now anybody.E

Dore0us announced to his fa0ily and told it loudly in Gath that he was still loo-ing for an option on an apple orchard to which they 0ight retire8 and he journeyed southward8 with paja0as and a toothbrush and the first volu0e of *pengler"s Decline of the 9est in a briefcase.

The address given by Larl Pascal was that of a 0ost gentle0anly dealer in altar cloths and priestly robes8 who had his shop and office over a tea roo0 in #artford8 !onnecticut. #e tal-ed about the ce0balo and the spinetta di serenata and the 0usic of Palestrina for an hour before he sent Dore0us on to a busy engineer constructing a da0 in .ew #a0pshire8 who sent hi0 to a tailor in a side-street shop in +ynn8 who at last sent hi0 to northern !onnecticut and to the 1astern head@uarters of what was left of the !o00unists in A0erica.

*till carrying his little briefcase he wal-ed up a greasy hill8 i0passable to any 0otorcar8 and -noc-ed at the faded green door of a s@uat .ew 1ngland far0 cottage 0as-ed in wintry old lilac bushes and spirQa shrubs. A stringy far0 wife opened and loo-ed hostile.

E "d li-e to spea- to 2r. Ailey8 2r. Bailey8 or 2r. !ailey.E

E.one of "e0 ho0e. :ou"ll have to co0e again.E

EThen "ll wait. 9hat else should one do8 these daysME

EAll right. !0in.E

EThan-s. Give the0 this letter.E

$The tailor had warned hi08 E t vill all sount very foolish8 the passvorts und everyt"ing8 but if any of the central co00ittee gets caught--E #e 0ade a s@uirting sound and drew his scissors across his throat.)

Dore0us sat now in a tiny hall off a flight of stairs steep as the side of a roofH a hall with sprigged wall paper and !urrier A ves prints8 and blac--painted wooden roc-ing chairs with calico cushions. There was nothing to read but a 2ethodist hy0nal and a des- dictionary. #e -new the for0er by heart8 and anyway8 he always loved reading dictionaries--often had one seduced hi0 fro0 editorial-writing. #appily he sat conning:

Phenyl. n.8 !he0. The univalent radical !K #(8 regarded as the basis of nu0erous benGene derivativesH as8 phenyl hydro=id !K #( 3#.

Pherecratean. n. A choria0bic tri0eter catalectic8 or catalectic glyconicH co0posed of a spondee8 a choria0bus8 and a catalectic syllable.

E9ellJ never -new any of that beforeJ wonder if do nowME thought Dore0us contentedly8 before he realiGed that glowering fro0 a very narrow doorway was a very broad 0an with wild gray hair and a patch over one eye. Dore0us recogniGed hi0 fro0 pictures. #e was Bill Atterbury8 0iner8 longshore0an8 veteran .9.9. leader8 old A. >. of +. stri-e-leader8 five years in *an Iuentin and five honored years in 2oscow8 and reputed now to be the secretary of the illegal !o00unist Party.

E "0 2r. Ailey. 9hat can do for youME Bill de0anded.

#e led Dore0us into a 0usty bac- roo0 where8 at a table which was probably 0ahogany underneath the scars and the clots of dirt8 sat a s@uat 0an with -in-y tow-colored hair and with deep wrin-les in the thic- pale s-in of his face8 and a slender young elegant who suggested ParAvenue.

E#owryuhME said 2r. Bailey8 in a <ussian-5ewish accent. 3f hi0 Dore0us -new nothing save that he was not na0ed Bailey.

E2orning8E snapped 2r. !ailey--whose na0e was 1lphrey8 if Dore0us guessed rightly8 and who was the son of a 0illionaire private ban-er8 the brother of one e=plorer8 one bishop"s wife8 and one countess8 and hi0self a for0er teacher of econo0ics in the Dniversity of !alifornia.

Dore0us tried to e=plain hi0self to these hard-eyed8 @uic--glancing plotters of ruin.

EAre you willing to beco0e a Party 0e0ber8 in the e=tre0ely i0probable case that they accept you8 and to ta-e orders8 any orders8 without @uestionME as-ed 1lphrey8 so suavely.

EDo you 0ean8 A0 willing to -ill and stealME

E:ou"ve been reading detective stories about the "<eds"J .o. 9hat you"d have to do would be 0uch 0ore difficult than the a0use0ent of using a to00y-gun. 9ould you be willing to forget you ever were a respectable newspaper editor8 giving orders8 and wal- through the snow8 dressed li-e a bu08 to distribute seditious pa0phlets--even if8 personally8 you should believe the pa0phlets were of no slightest da0n good to the !auseME

E9hy8 -- don"t -now. *ee0s to 0e that as a newspaper0an of @uite a little training--E

E#ellJ 3ur only trouble is -eeping out the "trained newspaper0en"J 9hat we need is trained billposters that li-e the s0ell of flour paste and hate sleeping. And--but you"re a little old for this-craGy fanatics that go out and start stri-es8 -nowing they"ll get beaten up and thrown in the bull pen.E

E.o8 guess --+oo- here. "0 sure 9alt Trowbridge will be joining up with the *ocialists and so0e of the left-wing radical e=-*enators and the >ar0er-+aborites and so on--E

Bill Atterbury guffawed. t was a tre0endous8 so0ehow terrifying blast. E:es8 "0 sure they"ll join up--all the dirty8 snea-ing8 half-headed8 refor0ist *ocial >ascists li-e Trowbridge8 that are doing the wor- of the capitalists and wor-ing for war against *oviet <ussia without even having sense enough to -now they"re doing it and to collect good pay for their croo-ednessJE

E ad0ire TrowbridgeJE snarled Dore0us.

E:ou wouldJE

1lphrey rose8 al0ost cordial8 and dis0issed Dore0us with8 E2r. 5essup8 was brought up in a sound bourgeois household 0yself8 unli-e these two roughnec-s8 and appreciate what you"re trying to do8 even if they don"t. i0agine that your rejection of us is even fir0er than our rejection of youJE

EDot"s right8 !o0rade 1lphrey. Both you and dis fellow got ants in your bourjui pants8 li-e your

#ugh 5ohnson vould sayJE chuc-led the <ussian 2r. Bailey.

EBut just wonder if 9alt Trowbridge won"t be chasing out BuGG 9indrip while you boys are still arguing about whether !o0rade TrotG-y was once guilty of saying 0ass facing the northM GooddayJE said Dore0us.

9hen he recounted it to 5ulian8 two days later8 and 5ulian puGGled8 E wonder whether you won or they didME Dore0us asserted8 E don"t thin- anybody won--e=cept the antsJ Anyway8 now -now that 0an is not to be saved by blac- bread alone but by everything that proceedeth out of the 0outh of the +ord our God. . . . !o00unists8 intense and narrowH :an-ees8 tolerant and shallowH no wonder a Dictator can -eep us separate and all wor-ing for hi0JE

1ven in the %&'/"s8 when it was radiantly believed that 0ovies and the 0otorcar and glossy 0agaGines had ended the provinciality of all the larger A0erican villages8 in such co00unities as >ort Beulah all the retired business 0en who could not afford to go to 1urope or >lorida or !alifornia8 such as Dore0us8 were as ai0less as an old dog on *unday afternoon with the fa0ily away. They po-ed uptown to the shops8 the hotel lobbies8 the railway station8 and at the barber shop were pleased rather than irritated when they had to wait a @uarter-hour for the tri-wee-ly shave. There were no cafFs as there would have been in !ontinental 1urope8 and no club save the country club8 and that was chiefly a sanctuary for the younger people in the evening and late afternoons.

The superior Dore0us 5essup8 the boo-0an8 was al0ost as dreary in retire0ent as Ban-er !rowley would have been.

#e did pretend to play golf8 but he could not see any particular point in stopping a good wal- to wallop s0all balls and8 worse8 the lin-s were now bright with 2.2. unifor0s. And he hadn"t enough brass8 as no doubt 2edary !ole would have8 to feel welco0e hour on hour in the #otel 9esse= lobby.

#e stayed in his third-story study and read as long as his eyes would endure it. But he irritably felt 100a"s irritation and 2rs. !andy"s ire at having a 0an around the house all day. :esJ #e"d get what he could for the house and for what s0all share in nfor0er stoc- the govern0ent had left hi0 when they had ta-en it over8 and go--well8 just go--the <oc-ies or anywhere that was new.

But he realiGed that 100a did not at all wish to go new placesH and realiGed that the 100a to whose billowy war0th it had been co0forting to co0e ho0e after the office8 bored hi0 and was bored by hi0 when he was always there. The only difference was that she did not see0 capable of ad0itting that one 0ight8 without actual fiendishness or any signs of hot-footing it for <eno8 be bored by one"s faithful spouse.

E9hy don"t you drive out and see Buc- or +orindaME she suggested.

EDon"t you ever get a little jealous of 0y girl8 +indaME he said8 very lightly--because he very heavily wanted to -now.

*he laughed. E:ouM At your ageM As if anybody thought you could be a loverJE

9ell8 +orinda thought so8 he raged8 and pro0ptly he did Edrive out and see her8E a little easier in 0ind about his divided loyalties.

3nly once did he go bac- to the nfor0er office.

*taub0eyer was not in sight8 and it was evident that the real editor was that sly bu0p-in8 Doc tchitt8 who didn"t even rise at Dore0us"s entrance nor listen when Dore0us gave his opinion of the new 0a-e-up of the rural-correspondence pages.

That was an apostasy harder to endure than *had +edue"s8 for *had had always been rustically certain that Dore0us was a fool8 al0ost as bad as real Ecity fol-s8E while Doc tchitt had once

appreciated the tight joints and s0ooth surfaces and sturdy bases of Dore0us"s crafts0anship.

Day on day he waited. *o 0uch of a revolution for so 0any people is nothing but waiting. That is one reason why tourists rarely see anything but content0ent in a crushed population. 9aiting8 and its brother death8 see0 so contented.

>or several days now8 in late >ebruary8 Dore0us had noticed the insurance 0an. #e said he was a 2r. Di0ic-H a 2r. Di0ic- of Albany. #e was a gray and tasteless 0an8 in gray and dusty and wrin-led clothes8 and his pop-eyes stared with 0eaningless fervor. All over town you 0et hi08 at the four drugstores8 at the shoe-shine parlor8 and he was always droning8 E2y na0e is Di0ic--2r. Di0ic- of Albany--Albany8 .ew :or-. wonder if can interest you in a wonnerful new for0 of life-insurance policy. 9onnerfulJE But he didn"t sound as though he hi0self thought it was very wonnerful.

#e was a pest.

#e was always dragging hi0self into so0e unwelco0ing shop8 and yet he see0ed to sell few policies8 if any.

.ot for two days did Dore0us perceive that 2r. Di0ic- of Albany 0anaged to 0eet hi0 an astonishing nu0ber of ti0es a day. As he ca0e out of the 9esse=8 he saw 2r. Di0ic- leaning against a la0ppost8 ostentatiously not loo-ing his way8 yet three 0inutes later and two bloc-s away8 2r. Di0ic- trailed after hi0 into the ?ert 2ont Pool A Tobacco #ead@uarters8 and listened to Dore0us"s conversation with To0 Ai-en about fish hatcheries.

Dore0us was suddenly cold. #e 0ade it a point to snea- uptown that evening and saw 2r. Di0ic- tal-ing to the driver of a Beulah-2ontpelier bus with an intensity that wasn"t in the least

gray. Dore0us glared. 2r. Di0ic- loo-ed at hi0 with watery eyes8 croa-ed8 EDevenin"8 2r. D"re0usH li-e t" tal- t" you about insurance so0e ti0e when you got the ti0e8E and shuffled away.

+ater8 Dore0us too- out and cleaned his revolver8 said8 E3h8 ratsJE and put it away. #e heard a ring as he did so8 and went downstairs to find 2r. Di0ic- sitting on the oa- hat rac- in the hall8 rubbing his hat.

E "d li-e to tal- to you8 if y"ain"t too busy8E whined 2r. Di0ic-.

EAll right. Go in there. *it down.E

EAnybody hear usME

E.oJ 9hat of itME

2r. Di0ic-"s grayness and lassitude fell away. #is voice was sharp:

E thin- your local !orpos are on to 0e. Got to hustle. "0 fro0 9alt Trowbridge. :ou probably guessed-- "ve been watching you all wee-8 as-ing about you. :ou"ve got to be Trowbridge"s and our representative here. *ecret war against the !orpos. The "..D.8" the ".ew Dnderground8" we call it--li-e secret Dnderground that got the slaves into !anada before the !ivil 9ar. >our divisions: printing propaganda8 distributing it8 collecting and e=changing infor0ation about !orpo outrages8 s0uggling suspects into !anada or 2e=ico. 3f course you don"t -now one thing about 0e. 0ay be a !orpo spy. But loo- over these credentials and telephone your friend 2r. *a0son of the Burlington Paper !o0pany. God"s sa-e be carefulJ 9ire 0ay be tapped. As- hi0 about 0e on the grounds you"re interested in insurance. #e"s one of us. :ou"re going to be one of usJ .ow phoneJE

Dore0us telephoned to *a0son: E*ay8 1d8 is a fellow na0ed Di0ic-8 -ind of weedy-loo-ing8 popeyed fellow8 all rightM *hall ta-e his advice on insuranceME

E:es. 9or-s for 9albridge. *ure. :ou can ride along with hi0.E

E "0 ridingJE

6K

The nfor0er co0posing roo0 closed down at eleven in the evening8 for the paper had to be distributed to villages forty 0iles away and did not issue a later city edition. Dan 9ilgus8 the fore0an8 re0ained after the others had gone8 setting a 2inute 2an poster which announced that there would be a grand parade on 2arch ninth8 and incidentally that President 9indrip was defying the world.

Dan stopped8 loo-ed sharply about8 and tra0ped into the storeroo0. n the light fro0 a dusty electric bulb the place was li-e a to0b of dead news8 with ancient red-and-blac- posters of *cotland county fairs and proofs of indecent li0eric-s pasted on the walls. >ro0 a case of eightpoint8 once used for the setting of pa0phlets but superseded by a 0onotype 0achine8 Dan pic-ed out bits of type fro0 each of several co0part0ents8 wrapped the0 in scraps of print paper8 and stored the0 in the poc-et of his jac-et. The raped type bo=es loo-ed only half filled8 and to 0a-e up for it he did so0ething that should have shoc-ed any decent printer even if he were on stri-e. #e filled the0 up with type not fro0 another eight-point case8 but with old tenpoint.

Daniel8 the large and hairy8 thriftily pinching the tiny types8 was absurd as an elephant playing at being a hen.

#e turned out the lights on the third floor and clu0ped downstairs. #e glanced in at the editorial roo0s. .o one was there save Doc tchitt8 in a s0all circle of light that through the visor of his eye shade cast a green tint on his unwholeso0e face. #e was correcting an article by the titular editor8 1nsign 10il *taub0eyer8 and he snic-ered as he carved it with a large blac- pencil. #e raised his head8 startled.

E#ello8 Doc.E

E#ello8 Dan. *taying lateME

E:uh. 5ust finished so0e job wor-. G"night.E

E*ay8 Dan8 do you ever see old 5essup8 these daysME

EDon"t -now when "ve seen hi08 Doc. 3h yes8 ran into hi0 at the <e=all store8 couple days ago.E

E*till as sour as ever about the rFgi0eME

E3h8 he didn"t say anything. Darned old foolJ 1ven if he don"t li-e all the brave boys in unifor08 he ought to see the !hief is here for -eeps8 by gollyJE

E!ertainly ought toJ And it"s a swell rFgi0e. >ellow can get ahead in newspaper wor- now8 and not be held bac- by a bunch of snobs that thin- they"re so doggone educated just because they went to collegeJE

EThat"s right. 9ell8 hell with 5essup and all the old stiffs. G"night8 DocJE

Dan and Brother tchitt uns0ilingly gave the 2.2. salute8 ar0s held out. Dan thu0ped down to

the street and ho0eward. #e stopped in front of Billy"s Bar8 in the 0iddle of a bloc-8 and put his foot up on the hub of a dirty old >ord8 to tie his shoelace. As he tied it--after having untied it--he loo-ed up and down the street8 e0ptied the bundles in his poc-ets into a battered sap buc-et on the front seat of the car8 and 0ajestically 0oved on.

3ut of the bar ca0e Pete ?utong8 a >rench-!anadian far0er who lived up on 2ount Terror. Pete was obviously drun-. #e was singing the pre-historic ditty E#i lee8 hi lowE in what he conceived to be Ger0an8 viG.: EBy unG gays i00er8 yuh longer yuh sli00er.E #e was staggering so that he had to pull hi0self into the car8 and he steered in fancy patterns till he had turned the corner. Then he was a0aGingly and suddenly soberH and a0aGing was the speed with which the >ord clattered out of town.

Pete ?utong wasn"t a very good *ecret Agent. #e was a little obvious. But then8 Pete had been a spy for only one wee-.

n that wee- Dan 9ilgus had four ti0es dropped heavy pac-ages into a sap buc-et in the >ord.

Pete passed the gate to Buc- Titus"s do0ain8 slowed down8 dropped the sap buc-et into a ditch8 and sped ho0e.

5ust at dawn8 Buc- Titus8 out for a wal- with his three rish wolfhounds8 -ic-ed up the sap buc-et and transferred the bundles to his own poc-et.

And ne=t afternoon Dan 9ilgus8 in the base0ent of Buc-"s house8 was setting up8 in eight-point8 a pa0phlet entitled E#ow 2any People #ave the !orpos 2urderedME t was signed E*partan8E and *partan was one of several pen na0es of 2r. Dore0us 5essup.

They were all--all the ringleaders of the local chapter of the .ew Dnderground--rather glad when once8 on his way to Buc-"s8 Dan was searched by 2.2."s unfa0iliar to hi08 and on hi0 was found no printing-0aterial8 nor any docu0ents 0ore incri0inating than cigarette papers.

The !orpos had 0ade a regulation licensing all dealers in printing 0achinery and paper and co0pelling the0 to -eep lists of purchasers8 so that e=cept by bootlegging it was i0possible to get supplies for the issuance of treasonable literature. Dan 9ilgus stole the typeH Dan and Dore0us and 5ulian and Buc- together had stolen an entire old hand printing-press fro0 the nfor0er base0entH and the paper was s0uggled fro0 !anada by that veteran bootlegger8 5ohn Polli-op8 who rejoiced at being bac- in the good old occupation of which repeal had robbed hi0.

t is doubtful whether Dan 9ilgus would ever have joined anything so divorced as this fro0 the ti0e cloc- and the office cuspidors out of abstract indignation at 9indrip or !ounty !o00issioner +edue. #e was 0oved to sedition partly by fondness for Dore0us and partly by indignation at Doc tchitt8 who publicly rejoiced because all the printers" unions had been sun- in the govern0ental confederations. 3r perhaps because Doc jeered at hi0 personally on the few occasions--not 0ore than once or twice a wee---when there was tobacco juice on his shirt front.

Dan grunted to Dore0us8 EAll right8 boss8 guess 0aybe "ll co0e in with you. And say8 when we get this 0an"s revolution going8 let 0e drive the tu0bril with Doc in it. *ay8 re0e0ber Tale of Two !itiesM Good boo-. *ay8 how about getting out a hu0orous life of 9indripM :ou"d just have to tell the factsJE

Buc- Titus8 pleased as a boy invited to go ca0ping8 offered his secluded house and8 in especial8 its huge base0ent for the head@uarters of the .ew Dnderground8 and Buc-8 Dan8 and Dore0us 0ade their 0ost poisonous plots with the assistance of hot ru0 punches at Buc-"s fireplace.

The >ort Beulah cell of the ..D.8 as it was co0posed in 0id-2arch8 a couple of wee-s after Dore0us had founded it8 consisted of hi0self8 his daughters8 Buc-8 Dan8 +orinda8 5ulian >alc-8 Dr. 3l0sted8 5ohn Polli-op8 >ather Perefi=e $and he argued with the agnostic Dan8 the atheist Polli-op8 0ore than ever he had with Buc-)8 2rs. #enry ?eeder8 whose far0er husband was in Trianon !oncentration !a0p8 #arry Linder0ann8 the dispossessed 5ew8 2ungo Litteric-8 that 0ost un-5ewish and un-*ocialistic lawyer8 Pete ?utong and Daniel Babcoc-8 far0ers8 and so0e doGen others. The <everend 2r. >alc-8 100a 5essup8 and 2rs. !andy8 were 0ore or less

unconscious tools of the ..D. But whoever they were8 of whatever faith or station8 Dore0us found in all of the0 the religious passion he had 0issed in the churchesH and if altars8 if windows of 0any-colored glass8 had never been peculiarly holy objects to hi08 he understood the0 now as he gloated over such sacred trash as scarred type and a crea-ing hand press.

3nce it was 2r. Di0ic- of Albany againH once8 another insurance agent--who guffawed at the accidental luc- of insuring *had +edue"s new +incolnH once it was an Ar0enian peddling rugsH once8 2r. *a0son of Burlington8 loo-ing for pine-slashing for paper pulpH but whoever it was8 Dore0us heard fro0 the .ew Dnderground every wee-. #e was busy as he had never been in newspaper days8 and happy as on youth"s adventure in Boston.

#u00ing and 0ost cheerful8 he ran the s0all press8 with the hearty bu0p-bu0p-bu0p of the foot treadle8 ad0iring his own s-ill as he fed in the sheets. +orinda learned fro0 Dan 9ilgus to set type8 with 0ore fervor than accuracy about ei and ie. 100a and *issy and 2ary folded news sheets and sewed up pa0phlets by hand8 all of the0 wor-ing in the high old bric--walled base0ent that s0elled of sawdust and li0e and decaying apples.

Aside fro0 pa0phlets by *partan8 and by Anthony B. *usan--who was +orinda8 e=cept on >ridays--their chief illicit publication was ?er0ont ?igilance8 a four-page wee-ly which usually had only two pages and8 such was Dore0us"s unfettered liveliness8 ca0e out about three ti0es a wee-. t was filled with reports s0uggled to the0 fro0 other ..D. cells8 and with reprints fro0 9alt Trowbridge"s +ance for De0ocracy and fro0 !anadian8 British8 *wedish8 and >rench papers8 whose correspondents in A0erica got out8 by long-distance telephone8 news which *ecretary of 1ducation 2acgoblin8 head of the govern0ent press depart0ent8 spent a good part of his ti0e denying. An 1nglish correspondent sent news of the 0urder of the president of the Dniversity of *outhern llinois8 a 0an of seventy-two who was shot in the bac- Ewhile trying to escape8E out of the country by long-distance telephone to 2e=ico !ity8 fro0 which the story was relayed to +ondon.

Dore0us discovered that neither he nor any other s0all citiGen had been hearing one hundredth

of what was going on in A0erica. 9indrip A !o. had8 li-e #itler and 2ussolini8 discovered that a 0odern state can8 by the triple process of controlling every ite0 in the press8 brea-ing up at the start any association which 0ight beco0e dangerous8 and -eeping all the 0achine guns8 artillery8 ar0ored auto0obiles8 and aeroplanes in the hands of the govern0ent8 do0inate the co0ple= conte0porary population better than had ever been done in 0edieval days8 when rebellious peasantry were ar0ed only with pitchfor-s and good-will8 but the *tate was not ar0ed 0uch better.

Dreadful8 incredible infor0ation ca0e in to Dore0us8 until he saw that his own life8 and *issy"s and +orinda"s and Buc-"s8 were uni0portant accidents.

n .orth Da-ota8 two would-be leaders of the far0ers were 0ade to run in front of an 2.2. auto0obile8 through >ebruary drifts8 till they dropped breathless8 were beaten with a tire pu0p till they staggered on8 fell again8 then were shot in the head8 their blood s0earing the prairie snow.

President 9indrip8 who was apparently beco0ing considerably 0ore ju0py than in his old8 braGen days8 saw two of his personal bodyguard snic-ering together in the anteroo0 of his office and8 shrie-ing8 snatching an auto0atic pistol fro0 his des-8 started shooting at the0. #e was a bad 0ar-s0an. The suspects had to be finished off by the pistols of their fellow guards.

A crowd of young 0en8 not wearing any sort of unifor0s8 tore the clothes fro0 a nun on the station plaGa in Lansas !ity and chased her8 s0ac-ing her with bare hands. The police stopped the0 after a while. There were no arrests.

n Dtah a non-2or0on !ounty !o00issioner sta-ed out a 2or0on elder on a bare roc- where8 since the altitude was high8 the elder at once shivered and felt the glare rather botherso0e to his eyes--since the !o00issioner had thoughtfully cut off his eyelids first. The govern0ent press releases 0ade 0uch of the fact that the torturer was rebu-ed by the District !o00issioner and re0oved fro0 his post. t did not 0ention that he was reappointed in a county in >lorida.

The heads of the reorganiGed *teel !artel8 a good 0any of who0 had been officers of steel co0panies in the days before 9indrip8 entertained *ecretary of 1ducation 2acgoblin and *ecretary of 9ar +uthorne with an a@uatic festival in Pittsburgh. The dining roo0 of a large hotel

was turned into a tan- of rose-scented water8 and the celebrants floated in a gilded <o0an barge. The waitresses were na-ed girls8 who a0usingly swa0 to the barge holding up trays and8 0ore often8 wine buc-ets.

*ecretary of *tate +ee *arason was arrested in the base0ent of a handso0e boys" club in 9ashington on unspecified charges by a police0an who apologiGed as soon as he recogniGed *arason8 and released hi08 and who that night was shot in his bed by a 0ysterious burglar.

Albert 1instein8 who had been e=iled fro0 Ger0any for his guilty devotion to 0athe0atics8 world peace8 and the violin8 was now e=iled fro0 A0erica for the sa0e cri0es.

2rs. +eonard .i00et8 wife of a !ongregational pastor in +incoln8 .ebras-a8 whose husband had been sent to concentration ca0p for a pacifist ser0on8 was shot through the door and -illed when she refused to open to an 2.2. raiding section loo-ing for seditious literature.

n <hode sland8 the door of a s0all orthodo= synagogue in a base0ent was loc-ed fro0 the outside after thin glass containers of carbon 0ono=ide had been thrown in. The windows had been nailed shut8 and anyway8 the nineteen 0en in the congregation did not s0ell the gas until too late. They were all found slu0ped to the floor8 beards stic-ing up. They were all over si=ty.

To0 Lrell--but his was a really nasty case8 because he was actually caught with a copy of +ance for De0ocracy and credentials proving that he was a .ew Dnderground 0essenger--strange thing8 too8 because everybody had respected hi0 as a good8 decent8 uni0aginative baggage0an at a village railroad depot in .ew #a0pshire--was dropped down a well with five feet of water in it8 a s0ooth-sided ce0ent well8 and just left there.

1=-*upre0e !ourt 5ustice #oblin of 2ontana was yan-ed out of bed late at night and e=a0ined for si=ty hours straight on a charge that he was in correspondence with Trowbridge. t was said that the chief e=a0iner was a 0an who08 years before8 5udge #oblin had sentenced for robbery with assault.

n one day Dore0us received reports that four several literary or dra0atic societies-->innish8 !hinese8 owan8 and one belonging to a 0i=ed group of 0iners on the 2esaba <ange8

2innesota--had been bro-en up8 their officers beaten8 their clubroo0s s0ashed up8 and their old pianos wrec-ed8 on the charge that they possessed illegal ar0s8 which8 in each case8 the 0e0bers declared to be anti@uated pistols used in theatricals. And in that wee- three people were arrested--in Alaba0a8 3-laho0a8 and .ew 5ersey--for the possession of the following subversive boo-s: The 2urder of <oger Ac-royd8 by Agatha !hristie $and fair enough too8 because the sister-in-law of a county co00issioner in 3-laho0a was na0ed Ac-royd)H 9aiting for +efty8 by !lifford 3detsH and >ebruary #ill8 by ?ictoria +incoln.

EBut plenty things li-e this happened before BuGG 9indrip ever ca0e in8 Dore0us8E insisted 5ohn Polli-op. $.ever till they had 0et in the delightfully illegal base0ent had he called Dore0us anything save E2r. 5essup.E) E:ou never thought about the08 because they was just routine news8 to stic- in your paper. Things li-e the sharecroppers and the *cottsboro boys and the plots of the !alifornia wholesalers against the agricultural union and dictatorship in !uba and the way phony deputies in Lentuc-y shot stri-ing 0iners. And believe 0e8 Dore0us8 the sa0e reactionary crowd that put over those cri0es are just the big boys that are chu00y with 9indrip. And what scares 0e is that if 9alt Trowbridge ever does raise a -inda uprising and -icBuGG out8 the sa0e vultures will get awful patriotic and de0ocratic and parlia0entarian along with 9alt8 and sit in on the spoils just the sa0e.E

E*o Larl Pascal did convert you to !o00unis0 before he got sent to Trianon8E jeered Dore0us.

5ohn Polli-op ju0ped four straight feet up in the air8 or so it loo-ed8 and ca0e down screa0ing8 E!o00unis0J .ever get "e0 to 0a-e a Dnited >rontJ 9"y8 that fellow Pascal--he was just a propagandist8 and tell you-- tell you--E

Dore0us"s hardest job was the translation of ite0s fro0 the press in Ger0any8 which was 0ost favorable to the !orpos. *weating8 even in the 2arch coolness in Buc-"s high base0ent8 Dore0us leaned over a -itchen table8 ruffling through a Ger0an-1nglish le=icon8 grunting8 tapping his teeth with a pencil8 scratching the top of his head8 loo-ing li-e a schoolboy with a little false gray beard8 and wailing to +orinda8 E.ow how in the hec- would you translate "1r erhPlt noch i00er eine Gweideutige *tellung den 5uden gegenTber"ME *he answered8 E9hy8 darling8 the only Ger0an -now is the phrase that Buc- taught 0e for "God bless you"--"?erfluchter *chweinehund."E

#e translated word for word8 fro0 the ?Zl-ischer Beobachter8 and later turned into co0prehensible 1nglish8 this gratifying tribute to his !hief and nspirer:

A0erica has a brilliant beginning begun. .o one congratulates President 9indrip with greater sincerity than we Ger0ans. The tendency points as goal to the founding of a >ol-ish state. Dnfortunately is the President not yet prepared with the liberal tradition to brea-. #e holds still ever a two-0eaning attitude the 5ews visavis. 9e can but presu0e that logically this attitude change 0ust as the 0ove0ent forced is the co0plete conse@uences of its philosophy to draw. Ahasaver the 9andering 5ew will always the ene0y of a free self-conscious people be8 and A0erica will also learn that one even so 0uch with 5ewry co0pro0ise can as with the Bubonic plague.

>ro0 the .ew 2asses8 still published surreptitiously by the !o00unists8 at the ris- of their lives8 Dore0us got 0any ite0s about 0iners and factory wor-ers who were near starvation and who were i0prisoned if they so 0uch as criticiGed a straw boss. . . . But 0ost of the .ew 2asses8 with a pious s0ugness unsha-en by anything that had happened since %&'(8 was given over to the latest news about 2ar=8 and to vilifying all agents of the .ew Dnderground8 including those who

had been clubbed and jailed and -illed8 as Ereactionary stool pigeons for >ascis08E and it was all nicely decorated with a Gropper cartoon showing 9alt Trowbridge8 in 2.2. unifor08 -issing the foot of 9indrip.

The news bulletins ca0e to Dore0us in a doGen insane ways--carried by 0essengers on the thinnest of fli0sy tissue paperH 0ailed to 2rs. #enry ?eeder and to Daniel Babcoc- between the pages of catalogues8 by an ..3. operative who was a cler- in the 0ail-order house of 2iddlebury A <oeH shipped in cartons of toothpaste and cigarettes to 1arl Tyson"s drugstore--one cler- there was an ..D. agentH dropped near Buc-"s 0ansion by a tough-loo-ing and therefore innocentloo-ing driver of an interstate furniture-0oving truc-. !o0e by so precariously8 the news had none of the obviousness of his days in the office when8 in one batch of A.P. fli0sies8 were tidings of so 0any 0illions dead of starvation in !hina8 so 0any states0en assassinated in central 1urope8 so 0any new churches built by -ind-hearted 2r. Andrew 2ellon8 that it was all routine. .ow8 he was li-e an eighteenth-century 0issionary in northern !anada8 waiting for the news that would ta-e all spring to travel fro0 Bristol and down #udson Bay8 wondering every instant whether >rance had declared war8 whether #er 2ajesty had safely given birth.

Dore0us realiGed that he was hearing8 all at once8 of the battle of 9aterloo8 the Diaspora8 the invention of the telegraph8 the discovery of bacilli8 and the !rusades8 and if it too- hi0 ten days to get the news8 it would ta-e historians ten decades to appraise it. 9ould they not envy hi08 and consider that he had lived in the very crisis of historyM 3r would they just s0ile at the flagwaving children of the %&'/"s playing at being national heroesM >or he believed that these historians would be neither !o00unists nor >ascists nor bellicose A0erican or 1nglish .ationalists but just the sort of s0iling +iberals that the warring fanatics of today 0ost cursed as wea- waverers.

n all this secret tu0ult Dore0us"s 0ost arduous tas- was to avoid suspicions that 0ight land hi0 in concentration ca0p8 and to give appearance of being just the har0less old loafer he veritably had been8 three wee-s ago. Befogged with sleep because he had wor-ed all night at head@uarters8 he yawned all afternoon in the lobby of the #otel 9esse= and discussed fishing-the picture of a 0an too discouraged to be a 0enace.

#e dropped now and then8 on evenings when there was nothing to do at Buc-"s and he could loaf in his study at ho0e and sha0efully let hi0self be @uiet and civiliGed8 into renewed longing for the vory Tower. 3ften8 not because it was a great poe0 but because it was the first that8 when he had been a boy8 had definitely startled hi0 by evo-ing beauty8 he reread Tennyson"s EArabian .ightsE:

A real0 of pleasance8 0any a 0ound And 0any a shadow-che@uered lawn >ull of the city"s stilly sound8 And deep 0yrrh-thic-ets blowing round And stately cedar8 ta0aris-s8 Thic- rosaries of scented thorn8 Tall orient shrubs8 and obelis-s Graven with e0ble0s of the ti0e8 n honor of the golden pri0e 3f good #aroun Alraschid.

Awhile then he could wander with <o0eo and 5urgen8 with vanhoe and +ord Peter 9i0seyH the

PiaGGa *an 2arco he saw8 and i00e0orial towers of Bagdad that never wereH with Don 5ohn of Austria he was going forth to war8 and he too- the golden road to *a0arcand without a visa.

EBut Dan 9ilgus setting type on procla0ations of rebellion8 and Buc- Titus distributing the0 at night on a 0otorcycle8 0ay be as ro0antic as Ranadu . . . living in a bloo0ing epic8 right now8 but no #o0er co0e up fro0 the city roo0 yet to write it downJE

9hit Bibby was an ancient and wordless fish0onger8 and as ancient appeared his horse8 though it was by no 0eans silent8 but given to a variety of e0barrassing noises. >or twenty years his fa0iliar wagon8 li-e the s0allest of cabooses8 had conveyed 0ac-erel and cod and la-e trout and tinned oysters to all the far0steads in the Beulah ?alley. To have suspected 9hit Bibby of seditious practices would have been as absurd as to have suspected the horse. 3lder 0en re0e0bered that he had once been proud of his father8 a captain in the !ivil 9ar--and afterward a very drun-en failure at far0ing--but the young fry had forgotten that there ever had been a !ivil 9ar.

Dnconcealed in the sunshine of the late-2arch afternoon that touched the worn and ashen snow8 9hit jogged up to the far0house of Tru0an 9ebb. #e had left ten orders of fish8 just fish8 at far0s along the way8 but at 9ebb"s he also left8 not spea-ing of it8 a bundle of pa0phlets wrapped in very fishy newspaper.

By ne=t 0orning these pa0phlets had all been left in the post bo=es of far0ers beyond LeeG0et8 a doGen 0iles away.

+ate the ne=t night8 5ulian >alc- drove Dr. 3l0sted to the sa0e Tru0an 9ebb"s. .ow 2r. 9ebb had an ailing aunt. Dp to a fortnight ago she had not needed the doctor often8 but as all the countryside could8 and decidedly did8 learn fro0 listening in on the rural party telephone line8 the doctor had to co0e every three or four days now.

E9ell8 Tru0an8 how"s the old ladyME Dr. 3l0sted called cheerily.

>ro0 the front stoop 9ebb answered softly8 E*afeJ *hootJ "ve -ept a good loo-out.E

5ulian rapidly slid out8 opened the ru0ble seat of the doctor"s car8 and there was the astonishing appearance fro0 the ru0ble of a tall 0an in urban 0orning coat and striped trousers8 a broad felt hat under his ar08 rising8 rubbing hi0self8 groaning with the pain of stretching his cra0ped body. The doctor said:

ETru0an8 we"ve got a pretty i0portant 1liGa8 with the bloodhounds right after hi08 tonightJ !ongress0an ngra0--!o0rade 9ebb.E

E#uhJ .ever thought "d live to be called one of these "!o0rades." But 0ighty pleased to see you8 !ongress0an. 9e"ll put you across the border in !anada in two days--we"ve got so0e paths right through the woods along the border--and there"s so0e good hot beans waiting for you right now.E

The attic in which 2r. ngra0 slept that night8 an attic approached by a ladder concealed behind a pile of trun-s8 was the Eunderground stationE which8 in the %4(/"s8 when Tru0an"s grandfather was agent8 had sheltered seventy-two various blac- slaves escaping to !anada8 and on the wall above ngra0"s weary threatened head was still to be seen8 written in charcoal long ago8 EThou preparest a table for 0e in the presence of 0ine ene0ies.E

t was a little after si= in the evening8 near Tasbrough A *carlett"s @uarries. 5ohn Polli-op8 with his wrec-er car8 was towing Buc- Titus8 in his auto0obile. They stopped now and then8 and 5ohn loo-ed at the 0otor in Buc-"s car very ostentatiously8 in the sight of 2.2. patrols8 who ignored

so obvious a co0panionship. They stopped once at the edge of Tasbrough"s deepest pit. Bucstrolled about8 yawning8 while 5ohn did so0e 0ore tin-ering. E<ightJE snapped Buc-. Both of the0 leaped at the over-large toolbo= in the bac- of 5ohn"s car8 lifted out each an ar0ful of copies of ?er0ont ?igilance and hurled the0 over the edge of the @uarry. They scattered in the wind.

2any of the0 were gathered up and destroyed by Tasbrough"s fore0en8 ne=t 0orning8 but at least a hundred8 in the poc-ets of @uarry0en8 were started on their journey through the world of >ort Beulah wor-0en.

*issy ca0e into the 5essup dining roo0 wearily rubbing her forehead. E "ve got the story8 Dad. *ister !andy helped 0e. .ow we"ll have so0ething good to send on to other agents. +istenJ "ve been @uite chu00y with *had. .oJ Don"t blow upJ -now just how to yan- his gun out of his holster if should ever need to. And he got to boasting8 and he told 0e >ran- Tasbrough and *had and !o00issioner <ee- were all in together on the rac-et8 selling granite for public buildings8 and he told 0e--you see8 he was sort of boasting about how chu00y he and 2r. Tasbrough have beco0e--how 2r. Tasbrough -eeps all the figures on the graft in a little red noteboo- in his des---of course old >ran-y would never e=pect anybody to search the house of as loyal a !orpo as hi0J 9ell8 you -now 2rs. !andy"s cousin is wor-ing for the Tasbroughs for a while8 and da0n if--E

$E*is-syJE)

E--these two old gals didn"t pinch the lil red noteboo- this afternoon8 and photographed every page and had "e0 stic- it bac-J And the only co00ent our !andy 0a-es is8 "That stove t" the Tasbroughs" don"t draw well. !ouldn"t ba-e a decent ca-e in a stove li-e thatJ"E

6C

2ary Greenhill8 revenging the 0urdered >owler8 was the only one of the conspirators who see0ed 0oved 0ore by ho0icidal hate than by a certain incredulous feeling that it was all a good but slightly absurd ga0e. But to her8 hate and the deter0ination to -ill were tonic. *he soared up fro0 the shadowed pit of grief8 and her eyes lighted8 her voice had a tre0bling gayety. *he threw away her weeds and ca0e out in defiant colors--oh8 they had to econo0iGe8 these days8 to put every available penny into the 0issionary fund of the .ew Dnderground8 but 2ary had beco0e so fire-drawn that she could wear *issy"s giddiest old froc-s.

*he had 0ore daring than 5ulian8 or even Buc---indeed led Buc- into his ris-iest e=peditions.

n 0id-afternoon8 Buc- and 2ary8 loo-ing very 0atri0onial8 do0estically acco0panied by David and the rather doubtful >oolish8 a0bled through the center of Burlington8 where none of the0 were -nown--though a nu0ber of dogs8 city slic-ers and probably con-dogs8 insisted to the rustic and e0barrassed >oolish that they had 0et hi0 so0ewhere.

t was Buc- who 0uttered E<ightJE fro0 ti0e to ti0e8 when they were free fro0 being observed8 but it was 2ary who cal0ly8 a yard or two fro0 2.2."s or police0en8 distributed cru0pled-up copies of:

A +ittle *unday-school +ife of

53#. *D++ ?A. <11L

*econd-class Political !roo-8 A !ertain 1ntertaining Pictures of !ol. Dewey #ai-8 Torturer.

These cru0pled pa0phlets she too- fro0 a specially 0ade inside poc-et of her 0in- coatH one reaching fro0 shoulder to waist. t had been reco00ended by 5ohn Polli-op8 whose helpful lady had aforeti0e used just such a poc-et for illicit booGe. The cru0pling had been done carefully. *een fro0 two yards away8 the pa0phlets loo-ed li-e any waste paper8 but each was syste0atically so wadded up that the words8 printed in bold red type8 E#ai- hi0self -ic-ed an old 0an to deathE caught the eye. And8 lying in corner trash bas-ets8 in innocent toy wagons before hardware stores8 a0ong oranges in a fruit store where they had gone to buy David a bar of chocolate8 they caught so0e hundreds of eyes in Burlington that day.

3n their way ho0e8 with David sitting in front beside Buc- and 2ary in the bac-8 she cried8 EThat will stir "e0 upJ But oh8 when Daddy has finished his boo-let on *wan--GodJE

David peeped bac- at her. *he sat with eyes closed8 with hands clenched.

#e whispered to Buc-8 E wish 2other wouldn"t get so e=cited.E

E*he"s the finest wo0an living8 Dave.E

E -now it8 but--*he scares 0e soJE

3ne sche0e 2ary devised and carried out by herself. >ro0 the 0agaGine counter in Tyson"s drugstore8 she stole a doGen copies of the <eaders" Digest and a doGen larger 0agaGines. 9hen

she returned the08 they loo-ed untouched8 but each of the larger 0agaGines contained a leaflet8 EGet <eady to 5oin 9alt Trowbridge8E and each Digest had beco0e the cover for a pa0phlet: E+ies of the !orpo Press.E

To serve as center of their plot8 to be able to answer the telephone and receive fugitives and put off suspicious snoopers twenty-four hours a day8 when Buc- and the rest 0ight be gone8 +orinda chuc-ed her s0all re0aining interest in the Beulah ?alley Tavern and beca0e Buc-"s house-eeper8 living in the place. There was scandal. But in a day when it was increasingly hard to get enough bread and 0eat8 the town fol- had little ti0e to suc- scandal li-e lollipops8 and anyway8 who could 0uch suspect this nagging uplifter who so obviously preferred tuberculin tests to toying with !orydon in the gladeM And as Dore0us was always about8 as so0eti0es he stayed overnight8 for the first ti0e these ti0id lovers had space for passion.

t had never been their loyalty to the good 100a--since she was too contented to be pitied8 too sure of her necessary position in life to be jealous--so 0uch as hatred of a shabby hole-andcorner intrigue which had 0ade their love cautious and grudging. .either of the0 was so si0ple as to suppose that8 even with @uite decent people8 love is always as 0onoga0ic as bread and butter8 yet neither of the0 li-ed snea-ing.

#er roo0 at Buc-"s8 large and s@uare and light8 with old landscape paper showing an endlessness of little 0andarins daintily stepping out of sedan chairs beside pools laced with willows8 with a four-poster8 a colonial highboy8 and a craGy-colored rag carpet8 beca0e in two days8 so fast did one live now in ti0e of revolution8 the best-loved ho0e Dore0us had ever -nown. As eagerly as a young bridegroo0 he popped into and out of her roo08 and he was not overly particular about the state of her toilet. And Buc- -new all about it and just laughed.

<eleased now8 Dore0us saw her as physically 0ore alluring. 9ith parochial superiority8 he had noted8 during vacations on !ape !od8 how often the fluffy wo0en of fashion when they stripped to bathing suits were s-inny8 to hi0 unwo0anly8 with thin shoulder blades and with bac-bones as apparent as though they were chains fastened down their bac-s. They see0ed passionate to

hi0 and a little devilish8 with their thin restless legs and avid lips8 but he chuc-led as he considered that the +orinda whose pri0 gray suits and blouses see0ed so 0uch 0ore virginal than the gay8 flaunting su00er cottons of the Bright :oung Things was softer of s-in to the touch8 0uch richer in the curve fro0 shoulder to breast.

#e rejoiced to -now that she was always there in the house8 that he could interrupt the high seriousness of a tract on bond issues to dash out to the -itchen and braGenly let his ar0 slide round her waist.

*he8 the theoretically independent fe0inist8 beca0e flatteringly de0anding about every attention. 9hy hadn"t he brought her so0e candy fro0 townM 9ould he 0ind awfully calling up 5ulian for herM 9hy hadn"t he re0e0bered to bring her the boo- he had pro0ised--well8 would have pro0ised if she had only re0e0bered to as- hi0 for itM #e trotted on her errands8 idiotically happy. +ong ago 100a had reached the li0it of her i0agination in regard to de0ands. #e was discovering that in love it is really 0ore blessed to give than to receive8 a proverb about which8 as an e0ployer and as a steady fellow who0 forgotten class0ates regularly tried to touch for loans8 he had been very suspicious.

#e lay beside her8 in the wide four-poster8 at dawn8 2arch dawn with the el0 branches outside the window ugly and writhing in the wind8 but with the last coals still snapping in the fireplace8 and he was utterly content. #e glanced at +orinda8 who had on her sleeping face a frown that 0ade her loo- not older but schoolgirlish8 a schoolgirl who was frowning co0ically over so0e s0all woe8 and who defiantly clutched her old-fashioned lace-bordered pillow. #e laughed. They were going to be so adventurous togetherJ This little printing of pa0phlets was only the beginning of their revolutionary activities. They would penetrate into press circles in 9ashington and get secret infor0ation $he was drowsily vague about what infor0ation they were going to get and how they would ever get it) which would e=plode the !orpo state. And with the revolution over8 they would go to Ber0uda8 to 2artini@ue--lovers on purple pea-s8 by a purple sea--everything purple and grand. 3r $and he sighed and beca0e heroic as he e=@uisitely stretched and yawned in the wide war0 bed) if they were defeated8 if they were arrested and conde0ned by the 2.2."s8 they would die together8 sneering at the firing-s@uad8 refusing to

have their eyes bandaged8 and their fa0e8 li-e that of *ervetus and 2atteotti and Professor >errer and the #ay0ar-et 0artyrs8 would roll on forever8 acclai0ed by children waving little flags--

EGi00e a cigarette8 darlingJE

+orinda was regarding hi0 with a beady and s-eptical eye.

E:ou oughtn"t to s0o-e so 0uchJE

E:ou oughtn"t to boss so 0uchJ 3h8 0y darlingJE *he sat up8 -issed his eyes and te0ples8 and sturdily cli0bed out of bed8 see-ing her own cigarette.

EDore0usJ t"s been 0arvelous to have this co0panionship with you. But--E *he loo-ed a little ti0id8 sitting cross-legged on the rattan-topped stool before the old 0ahogany dressing table-no silver or lace or crystal was there8 but only plain wooden hairbrush and scant lu=ury of s0all drugstore bottles. EBut darling8 this cause--oh8 curse that word "cause"--can"t ever get free of itM--but anyway8 this .ew Dnderground business see0s to 0e so i0portant8 and -now you feel that way too8 but "ve noticed that since we"ve settled down together8 two awful senti0entalists8 you aren"t so e=cited about writing your nice veno0ous attac-s8 and "0 getting 0ore cautious about going out distributing tracts. have a foolish idea have to save 0y life8 for your sa-e. And ought to be only thin-ing about saving 0y life for the revolution. Don"t you feel that wayM Don"t youM Don"t youME

Dore0us swung his legs out of bed8 also lighted an unhygienic cigarette8 and said gru0pily8 E3h8 suppose soJ But--tractsJ :our attitude is si0ply a hold-over of your religious training. That you have a duty toward the dull hu0an race--which probably enjoys being bullied by 9indrip and getting bread and circuses--e=cept for the breadJE

E3f course it"s religious8 a revolutionary loyaltyJ 9hy notM t"s one of the few real religious feelings. A rational8 unsenti0ental *talin is still -ind of a priest. .o wonder 0ost preachers hate the <eds and preach against "e0J They"re jealous of their religious power. But--3h8 we can"t unfold the world8 this 0orning8 even over brea-fast coffee8 Dore0usJ 9hen 2r. Di0ic- ca0e

bac- here yesterday8 he ordered 0e to Beecher >alls--you -now8 on the !anadian border--to ta-e charge of the ..D. cell there--ostensibly to open up a tea roo0 for this su00er. *o8 hang it8 "ve got to leave you8 and leave Buc- and *is8 and go. #ang itJE

E+indaJE

*he would not loo- at hi0. *he 0ade 0uch8 too 0uch8 of grinding out her cigarette.

E+indaJE

E:esME

E:ou suggested this to Di0ic-J #e never gave any orders till you suggested itJE

E9ell--E

E+indaJ +indaJ Do you want to get away fro0 0e so 0uchM :ou--0y lifeJE

*he ca0e slowly to the bed8 slowly sat down beside hi0. E:es. Get away fro0 you and get away fro0 0yself. The world"s in chains8 and can"t be free to love till help tear the0 off.E

E t will never be out of chainsJE

EThen shall never be free to loveJ 3h8 if we could only have run away together for one sweet year8 when was eighteenJ Then would have lived two whole lives. 9ell8 nobody see0s to be very luc-y at turning the cloc- bac---al0ost twenty-five years bac-8 too. "0 afraid .ow is a fact you can"t dodge. And "ve been getting so--just this last two wee-s8 with April co0ing in--that can"t thin- of anything but you. Liss 0e. "0 going. Today.E

64

As usually happens in secret service8 no one detail that *issy ferreted out of *had +edue was drastically i0portant to the ..D.8 but8 li-e necessary bits of a picture puGGle8 when added to other details pic-ed up by Dore0us and Buc- and 2ary and >ather Perefi=e8 that trained e=tractor of confessions8 they showed up the rather si0ple sche0es of this gang of !orpo rac-eteers who were so touchingly accepted by the People as patriotic shepherds.

*issy lounged with 5ulian on the porch8 on a deceptively 0ild April day.

EGolly8 li-e to ta-e you off ca0ping8 couple 0onths fro0 now8 *is. 5ust the two of us. !anoe and sleep in a pup tent. 3h8 *is8 do you have to have supper with +edue and *taub0eyer tonightM hate it. God8 how hate itJ warn you8 "ll -ill *hadJ 0ean itJE

E:es8 do have to8 dear. thin- "ve got *had craGy enough about 0e so that tonight8 when he chases good old 10il8 and whatever foul fe0ale 10il 0ay bring8 out of the place8 "ll get hi0 to tell 0e so0ething about who they"re planning to pinch ne=t. "0 not scared of *had8 0y 5ulian of jewelians.E

#e did not s0ile. #e said8 with a gravity that had been un-nown to the lively college youth8 EDo you realiGe8 with your -idding yourself about being able to handle !o0rade *had so well8 that he"s hus-y as a gorilla and just about as pri0itiveM 3ne of these nights--GodJ thin- of itJ 0aybe tonightJ--he"ll go right off the deep end and grab you and--bingJE

*he was as grave. E5ulian8 just what do you thin- could happen to 0eM The worst that could happen would be that "d get raped.E

EGood +ord--E

EDo you honestly suppose that since the .ew !iviliGation began8 say in %&%B8 anyone believes that -ind of thing is 0ore serious than busting an an-leM "A fate worse than death"J 9hat nasty old side-whis-ered deacon ever invented that phraseM And how he 0ust have rolled it on his chapped old lipsJ can thin- of plenty worse fates--say8 years of running an elevator. .o--waitJ "0 not really flippant. haven"t any desire8 beyond 0aybe a slight curiosity8 to be raped--at least8 not by *hadH he"s a little too strong on the Bodily 3dor when he gets e=cited. $3h God8 darling8 what a nasty swine that 0an isJ hate hi0 fifty ti0es as 0uch as you do. DghJ) But "d be willing to have even that happen if could save one decent person fro0 his bloody blac-jac-. "0 not the playgirl of Pleasant #ill any 0oreH "0 a frightened wo0an fro0 2ount TerrorJE

t see0ed8 the whole thing8 rather unreal to *issyH a burles@ued version of the old 0elodra0as in which the !ity ?illain tries to ruin 3ur .ell8 apropos of a bottle of !ha0pagne 9ine. *had8 even in a belted tweed jac-et8 a -aleidoscopic *cotch sweater $fro0 2innesota)8 and white linen plus-fours8 hadn"t the absent-0inded seductiveness that beco0es a !ity *lic-er.

1nsign 10il *taub0eyer had showed up at *had"s new private suite at the *tar #otel with a grass widow who betrayed her gold teeth and who had tried to repair the erosions in the fair field of her nec- with over0uch topsoil of bric--tinted powder. *he was pretty dreadful. *he was harder to tolerate than the ru0bling *had--a 0an for who0 the chaplain 0ight even have been a little sorry8 after he was safely hanged. The synthetic widow was always nudging herself at 10il and when8 rather wearily8 he obliged by po-ing her shoulder8 she giggled8 E.ow you sssstopJE

*had"s suite was clean8 and had so0e air. Beyond that there was nothing 0uch to say. The EparlorE was fir0ly furnished in oa- chairs and settee with leather upholstery8 and four pictures

of 0ar@uises not doing anything interesting. The freshness of the linen spread on the brass bedstead in the other roo0 fascinated *issy unco0fortably.

*had served the0 rye highballs with ginger ale fro0 a @uart bottle that had first been opened at least a day ago8 sandwiches with chic-en and ha0 that tasted of niter8 and ice crea0 with si= colors but only two flavors--both strawberry. Then he waited8 not too patiently8 loo-ing as 0uch li-e General GZring as possible8 for 10il and his wo0an to get the devil out of here8 and for *issy to ac-nowledge his virile char0s. #e only grunted at 10il"s pedagogic little jo-es8 and the 0an of culture abruptly got up and re0oved his lady8 whinnying in farewell8 E.ow8 !aptain8 don"t you and your girl-friend do anything Papa wouldn"t doJE

E!o0e on now8 baby--co0e over here and give us a -iss8E *had roared8 as he flopped into the corner of the leather settee.

E.ow don"t -now whether will or notJE t nauseated her a good deal8 but she 0ade herself as pertly provocative as she could. *he 0inced to the settee8 and sat just far enough fro0 his hul-ing side for hi0 to reach over and draw her toward hi0. *he observed hi0 cynically8 recalling her e=perience with 0ost of the Boys . . . though not with 5ulian . . . well8 not so 0uch with 5ulian. They always8 all of the08 went through the sa0e procedure8 heavily pretending that there was no syste0 in their 0anual proposalsH and to a girl of spirit8 the chief diversion in the whole business was watching their s0ir-ing pride in their techni@ue. The only variation8 ever8 was whether they started in at the top or the botto0.

:es. *he thought so. *had8 not being so delicately fanciful as8 say8 2alcol0 Tasbrough8 started with an apparently careless hand on her -nee.

*he shivered. #is sinewy paw was to her li-e the sli0e and writhing of an eel. *he 0oved away with a 0aidenly alar0 which 0oc-ed the rVle of 2ata #ari she had felt herself to be gracing.

E+i-e 0eME he de0anded.

E3h--well--sort of.E

E3h8 shuc-sJ :ou thin- "0 still just a hired 0anJ 1ven though a0 a !ounty !o00issioner nowJ and a Battalion-+eaderJ and prob"ly pretty soon "ll be a !o00anderJE #e spo-e the sacred na0es with awe. t was the twentieth ti0e he had 0ade the sa0e plaint to her in the sa0e words. EAnd you still thin- ain"t good for anything e=cept lugging in -indlingJE

E3h8 *had dearJ 9hy8 always thin- of you as being just about 0y oldest play0ateJ The way used to tag after you and as- you could run the lawn0owerJ 2yJ always re0e0ber thatJE

EDo you8 honestME #e yearned at her li-e a lu0pish far0 dog.

E3f courseJ And honest8 it 0a-es 0e tired8 your acting as if you were asha0ed of having wor-ed for usJ 9hy8 don"t you -now that8 when he was a boy8 Daddy used to wor- as a far0 hand8 and split wood and tend lawn for the neighbors and all that8 and he was awful glad to get the 0oneyME *he reflected that this thu0ping and entirely i0pro0ptu lie was beautiful. . . . That it happened not to be a lie8 she did not -now.

EThat a factM 9ellJ #onestM 9ellJ *o the old 0an used to hustle the ra-e tooJ .ever -new thatJ :ou -now8 he ain"t such a bad old coot--just awful stubborn.E

E:ou do li-e hi08 don"t you8 *hadJ .obody -nows how sweet he is-- 0ean8 in these sort of co0plicated days8 we"ve got to protect hi0 against people that 0ight not understand hi08 against outsiders8 don"t you thin- so8 *hadM :ou will protect hi0JE

E9ell8 "ll do what can8E said the Battalion-+eader with such fat co0placency that *issy al0ost slapped hi0. EThat is8 as long as he behaves hi0self8 baby8 and don"t get 0i=ed up with any of these <ed rebels . . . and as long as you feel li-e being nice to a fellaJE #e pulled her toward hi0

as though he were hauling a bag of grain out of a wagon.

E3hJ *hadJ :ou frighten 0eJ 3h8 you 0ust be gentleJ A big8 strong 0an li-e you can afford to be gentle. t"s only the sissies that have to get rough. And you"re so strongJE

E9ell8 guess can still feed 0yselfJ *ay8 tal-ing about sissies8 what do you see in a light-waisted 0ollycoddle li-e 5ulianM :ou don"t really li-e hi08 do youME

E3h8 you -now how it is8E she said8 trying without too 0uch obviousness to ease her head away fro0 his shoulder. E9e"ve always been play0ates8 since we were -ids.E

E9ell8 you just said was8 tooJE

E:es8 that"s so.E

.ow in her effort to give all the fa0ous pleasures of seduction without ta-ing any of the ris-8 the a0ateur secret-service operative8 *issy8 had a slightly confused ai0. *he was going to get fro0 *had infor0ation valuable to the ..D. <apidly rehearsing it in her i0agination8 the while she was supposed to be wea-ened by the char0 of leaning against *had"s 0eaty shoulder8 she heard herself teasing hi0 into giving her the na0e of so0e citiGen who0 the 2.2."s were about to arrest8 slic-ly freeing herself fro0 hi08 dashing out to find 5ulian--oh8 hang it8 why hadn"t she 0ade an engage0ent with 5ulian for that nightM--well8 he"d either be at ho0e or out driving Dr. 3l0sted--5ulian"s 0elodra0atically dashing to the ho0e of the destined victi0 and starting hi0 for the !anadian border before dawn. . . . And it 0ight be a good idea for the refugee to tac- on his door a note dated two days ago8 saying that he was off on a trip8 so that *had would never suspect her. . . . All this in a second of hectic story-telling8 neatly illustrated in color by her fancy8 while she pretended that she had to blow her nose and thus had an e=cuse to sit straight. 1dging another inch or two away8 she purred8 EBut of course it isn"t just physical strength8 *had. :ou have so 0uch power politically. 2yJ i0agine you could send al0ost anybody in >ort Beulah off to concentration ca0p8 if you wanted to.E

E9ell8 could put a few of "e0 away8 if they got funnyJE

E "ll bet you could--and will8 tooJ 9ho you going to arrest ne=t8 *hadME

E#uhME

E3h co0e onJ Don"t be so tightwad with all your secretsJE

E9hat are you trying to do8 babyM Pu0p 0eME

E9hy no8 of course not8 just--E

E*ureJ :ou"d li-e to get the poor old fathead going8 and find out everything he -nows--and that"s plenty8 you can bet your sweet life on thatJ .othing doing8 baby.E

E*had8 "d just-- "d just love to see an 2.2. s@uad arresting so0ebody once. t 0ust be dreadfully e=citingJE

E3h8 it"s e=citing enough8 all right8 all rightJ 9hen the poor chu0ps try to resist8 and you throw their radio out of the windowJ 3r when the fellow"s wife gets fresh and shoots off her 0outh too 0uch8 and so you just teach her a little lesson by letting her loo- on while you trip hi0 up on the floor and beat hi0 up--0aybe that sounds a little rough8 but you see8 in the long run it"s the best thing you can do for these beggars8 because it teaches "e0 to not get ugly.E

EBut--you won"t thin- "0 horrid and unwo0anly8 will youM--but would li-e to see you hauling out one of those people8 just once. !o0e on8 tell a fellowJ 9ho are you going to arrest ne=tME

E.aughty8 naughtyJ 2ustn"t try to -id papaJ .o8 the wo0anly thing for you to do is a little love0a-ingJ Aw co0e on8 let"s have so0e fun8 babyJ :ou -now you"re craGy about 0eJE .ow he really seiGed her8 his hand across her breasts. *he struggled8 thoroughly frightened8 no longer

cynical and sophisticated. *he shrie-ed8 E3h don"t--don"tJE *he wept8 real tears8 0ore fro0 anger than fro0 0odesty. #e loosened his grip a little8 and she had the inspiration to sob8 E3h8 *had8 if you really want 0e to love you8 you 0ust give 0e ti0eJ :ou wouldn"t want 0e to be a hussy that you could do anything you wanted to with--you8 in your positionM 3h8 no8 *had8 you couldn"t do thatJE

E9ell8 0aybe8E said he8 with the s0ugness of a carp.

*he had sprung up8 dabbling at her eyes--and through the doorway8 in the bedroo08 on a flattopped des-8 she saw a bunch of two or three :ale -eys. Leys to his office8 to secret cupboards and drawers with !orpo plansJ DndoubtedlyJ #er i0agination in one second pictured her 0a-ing a rubbing of the -eys8 getting 5ohn Polli-op8 that o0nifarious 0echanic8 to file substitute -eys8 herself and 5ulian so0ehow or other snea-ing into !orpo head@uarters at night8 perilously creeping past the guards8 rifling *had"s every dread file--

*he sta00ered8 EDo you 0ind if go in and wash 0y faceM All teary--so sillyJ :ou don"t happen to have any face powder in your bathroo0ME

E*ay8 what d"you thin- a0M A hic-8 or a 0on-8 0aybeM :ou bet your life "ve got so0e face powder--right in the 0edicine cabinet--two -inds--how"s that for serviceM +adies ta-en care of by the day or hourJE

t hurt8 but she 0anaged so0ething li-e a giggle before she went in and shut the bedroo0 door8 and loc-ed it.

*he tore across to the -eys. *he snatched up a pad of yellow scratch-paper and a pencil8 and tried to 0a-e a rubbing of a -ey as once she had 0ade rubbings of coins8 for use in the s0all grocery shop of !. 51**Dp A 5. falc- gro*#1<*.

The pencil blur showed only the general outline of the -eyH the tiny notches which were the tricwould not co0e clear. n panic8 she e=peri0ented with a sheet of carbon paper8 then toilet paper8 dry and wet. *he could not get a 0old. *he pressed the -ey into a prop hotel candle in a china stic- by *had"s bed. The candle was too hard. *o was the bathroo0 soap. And *had was

now trying the -nob of the door8 re0ar-ing EDa0nJE then bellowing8 E9hayuh doin" in thereM Gone to sleepME

EBe right outJE *he replaced the -eys8 threw the yellow paper and the carbon paper out of the window8 replaced the candle and soap8 slapped her face with a dry towel8 dashed on powder as though she were wor-ing against ti0e at plastering a wall8 and sauntered bac- into the parlor. *had loo-ed hopeful. n panic she saw that now8 before he co0fortably sat down to it and beca0e passionate again8 was her one ti0e to escape. *he snatched up hat and coat8 said wistfully8 EAnother night8 *had--you 0ust let 0e go now8 dearJE and fled before he could open his red 0uGGle.

<ound the corner in the hotel corridor she found 5ulian.

#e was standing taut8 trying to loo- li-e a watchdog8 his right hand in his coat poc-et as though it was holding a revolver.

*he hurled herself against his boso0 and howled.

EGood GodJ 9hat did he do to youM "ll go in and -ill hi0JE

E3h8 didn"t get seduced. t isn"t things li-e that that "0 bawling aboutJ t"s because "0 such a si0ply terribly awful spyJE

But one thing ca0e out of it.

#er courage nerved 5ulian to so0ething he had longed for and feared: to join the 2.2."s8 put on unifor08 Ewor- fro0 within8E and supply Dore0us with infor0ation.

E can get +eo Iuinn--you -nowM--Dad"s a conductor on the railroadM--used to play bas-etball in high schoolM-- can get hi0 to drive Dr. 3l0sted for 0e8 and generally run errands for the ..D. #e"s got grit8 and he hates the !orpos. But loo-8 *issy--loo-8 2r. 5essup--in order to get the 2.2."s to trust 0e8 "ve got to pretend to have a fierce bust-up with you and all our friends. +oo-J *issy and will wal- up 1l0 *treet to0orrow evening8 giving an i0itation of estranged lovers. #ow "bout it8 *isME

E>ineJE glowed that incorrigible actress.

*he was to be8 every evening at eleven8 in a birch grove just up Pleasant #ill fro0 the 5essups"8 where they had played house as children. Because the road curved8 the rendeGvous could be entered fro0 four or five directions. There he was to hand on to her his reports of 2.2. plans.

But when he first crept into the grove at night and she nervously turned her poc-et torch on hi08 she shrie-ed at seeing hi0 in 2.2. unifor08 as an inspector. That blue tunic and slanting forage cap which8 in the cine0a and history boo-s8 had 0eant youth and hope8 0eant only death now. . . . *he wondered if in %4KB it had not 0eant death 0ore than 0oonlight and 0agnolias to 0ost wo0en. *he sprang to hi08 holding hi0 as if to protect hi0 against his own unifor08 and in the peril and uncertainty now of their love8 *issy began to grow up.

6&

The propaganda throughout the country was not all to the .ew DndergroundH not even 0ost of

itH and though the pa0phleteers for the ..D.8 at ho0e and e=iled abroad8 included hundreds of the 0ost capable professional journalists of A0erica8 they were cra0ped by a certain respect for facts which never enfeebled the press agents for !orpois0. And the !orpos had a notable staff. t included college presidents8 so0e of the 0ost renowned a0ong the radio announcers who aforeti0e had crooned their affection for 0outh washes and noninso0niac coffee8 fa0ous e=war-correspondents8 e=-governors8 for0er vice-presidents of the A0erican >ederation of +abor8 and no less an artist than the public relations counsel of a princely corporation of electricalgoods 0anufacturers.

The newspapers everywhere 0ight no longer be so wishily-washily liberal as to print the opinions of non-!orposH they 0ight give but little news fro0 those old-fashioned and de0ocratic countries8 Great Britain8 >rance8 and the *candinavian statesH 0ight indeed print al0ost no foreign news8 e=cept as regards the triu0phs of taly in giving 1thiopia good roads8 trains on ti0e8 freedo0 fro0 beggars and fro0 0en of honor8 and all the other spiritual benefactions of <o0an civiliGation. But8 on the other hand8 never had newspapers shown so 0any co0ic strips--the 0ost popular was a very funny one about a preposterous .ew Dnderground cran-8 who wore 0ortuary blac- with a high hat decorated with cr[pe and who was always being co0ically beaten up by 2.2."s. .ever had there been8 even in the days when 2r. #earst was freeing !uba8 so 0any large red headlines. .ever so 0any dra0atic drawings of 0urders--the 0urderers were always notorious anti-!orpos. .ever such a wealth of literature8 worthy its twenty-four-hour i00ortality8 as the articles proving8 and proving by figures8 that A0erican wages were universally higher8 co00odities universally lower-priced8 war budgets s0aller but the ar0y and its e@uip0ent 0uch larger8 than ever in history. .ever such righteous pole0ics as the proofs that all non-!orpos were !o00unists.

Al0ost daily8 9indrip8 *arason8 Dr. 2acgoblin8 *ecretary of 9ar +uthorne8 or ?ice-President Perley Beecroft hu0bly addressed their 2asters8 the great General Public8 on the radio8 and congratulated the0 on 0a-ing a new world by their e=a0ple of A0erican solidarity--0arching shoulder to shoulder under the Grand 3ld >lag8 co0rades in the blessings of peace and co0rades in the joys of war to co0e.

2uch-heralded 0ovies8 subsidiGed by the govern0ent $and could there be any better proof of the attention paid by Dr. 2acgoblin and the other .aGi leaders to the arts than the fact that 0ovie actors who before the days of the !hief were receiving only fifteen hundred gold dollars a wee- were now getting five thousandM)8 showed the 2.2."s driving ar0ored 0otors at eighty 0iles an hour8 piloting a fleet of one thousand planes8 and being very tender to a little girl with a -itten.

1veryone8 including Dore0us 5essup8 had said in %&'(8 E f there ever is a >ascist dictatorship here8 A0erican hu0or and pioneer independence are so 0ar-ed that it will be absolutely different fro0 anything in 1urope.E

>or al0ost a year after 9indrip ca0e in8 this see0ed true. The !hief was photographed playing po-er8 in shirtsleeves and with a derby on the bac- of his head8 with a newspaper0an8 a chauffeur8 and a pair of rugged steel-wor-ers. Dr. 2acgoblin in person led an 1l-s" brass band and dived in co0petition with the Atlantic !ity bathing-beauties. t was reputably reported that 2.2."s apologiGed to political prisoners for having to arrest the08 and that the prisoners jo-ed a0iably with the guards . . . at first.

All that was gone8 within a year after the inauguration8 and surprised scientists discovered that whips and handcuffs hurt just as sorely in the clear A0erican air as in the 0ias0ic fogs of Prussia.

Dore0us8 reading the authors he had concealed in the horsehair sofa--the gallant !o00unist8 Larl Billinger8 the gallant anti-!o00unist8 Tchernavin8 and the gallant neutral8 +orant--began to see so0ething li-e a biology of dictatorships8 all dictatorships. The universal apprehension8 the ti0orous denials of faith8 the sa0e 0ethods of arrest--sudden pounding on the door late at night8 the s@uad of police pushing in8 the blows8 the search8 the obscene oaths at the frightened wo0en8 the third degree by young snipe of officials8 the acco0panying blows and then the for0al beatings8 when the prisoner is forced to count the stro-es until he faints8 the leprous beds and the sour stew8 guards jo-ingly shooting round and round a prisoner who believes he is being e=ecuted8 the waiting in solitude to -now what will happen8 till 0en go 0ad and hang the0selves--

Thus had things gone in Ger0any8 e=actly thus in *oviet <ussia8 in taly and #ungary and Poland8 *pain and !uba and 5apan and !hina. .ot very different had it been under the blessings of liberty and fraternity in the >rench <evolution. All dictators followed the sa0e routine of torture8 as if they had all read the sa0e 0anual of sadistic eti@uette. And now8 in the hu0orous8 friendly8 happy-go-luc-y land of 2ar- Twain8 Dore0us saw the ho0icidal 0aniacs having just as good a ti0e as they had had in central 1urope.

A0erica followed8 too8 the sa0e ingenious finances as 1urope. 9indrip had pro0ised to 0a-e everybody richer8 and had contrived to 0a-e everybody8 e=cept for a few hundred ban-ers and industrialists and soldiers8 0uch poorer. #e needed no higher 0athe0aticians to produce his financial state0ents: any ordinary press agent could do the0. To show a %// per cent econo0y in 0ilitary e=penditures8 while increasing the establish0ent C// per cent8 it had been necessary only to charge up all e=penditures for the 2inute 2en to non-0ilitary depart0ents8 so that their training in the art of bayonet-stic-ing was debited to the Depart0ent of 1ducation. To show an increase in average wages one did tric-s with Ecategories of laborE and Ere@uired 0ini0u0 wages8E and forgot to state how 0any wor-ers ever did beco0e entitled to the E0ini0u08E and how 0uch was charged as wages8 on the boo-s8 for food and shelter for the 0illions in the labor ca0ps.

t all 0ade daGGling reading. There had never been 0ore elegant and ro0antic fiction.

1ven loyal !orpos began to wonder why the ar0ed forces8 ar0y and 2.2."s together8 were being so increased. 9as a frightened 9indrip getting ready to defend hi0self against a rising of the whole nationM Did he plan to attac- all of .orth and *outh A0erica and 0a-e hi0self an e0perorM 3r bothM n any case8 the forces were so swollen that even with its despotic power of ta=ation8 the !orpo govern0ent never had enough. They began to force e=ports8 to practice the Edu0pingE of wheat8 corn8 ti0ber8 copper8 oil8 0achinery. They increased production8 forced it by fines and threats8 then stripped the far0er of all he had8 for e=port at depreciated prices. But at ho0e the prices were not depreciated but increased8 so that the 0ore we e=ported8 the less the industrial wor-er in A0erica had to eat. And really Gealous !ounty !o00issioners too- fro0 the far0er $after the patriotic 0anner of 0any 2id-9estern counties in %&%4) even his seed grain8 so that he could grow no 0ore8 and on the very acres where once he had raised superfluous wheat he now starved for bread. And while he was starving8 the !o00issioners continued to try to 0a-e hi0 pay for the !orpo bonds which he had been 0ade to buy on the instal0ent plan.

But still8 when he did finally starve to death8 none of these things worried hi0.

There were bread lines now in >ort Beulah8 once or twice a wee-.

The hardest pheno0enon of dictatorship for a Dore0us to understand8 even when he saw it daily in his own street8 was the steady di0inution of gayety a0ong the people.

A0erica8 li-e 1ngland and *cotland8 had never really been a gay nation. <ather it had been heavily and noisily jocular8 with a substratu0 of worry and insecurity8 in the i0age of its patron saint8 +incoln of the rollic-ing stories and the tragic heart. But at least there had been hearty greetings8 0an to 0anH there had been cla0orous jaGG for dancing8 and the lively8 slangy catcalls of young people8 and the nervous blatting of tre0endous traffic.

All that false cheerfulness lessened now8 day by day.

The !orpos found nothing 0ore convenient to 0il- than public pleasures. After the bread had 0olded8 the circuses were closed. There were ta=es or increased ta=es on 0otorcars8 0ovies8 theaters8 dances8 and ice-crea0 sodas. There was a ta= on playing a phonograph or radio in any restaurant. +ee *arason8 hi0self a bachelor8 conceived of super-ta=ing bachelors and spinsters8 and contrariwise of ta=ing all weddings at which 0ore than five persons were present.

1ven the 0ost rec-less youngsters went less and less to public entertain0ents8 because no one not ostentatiously in unifor0 cared to be noticed8 these days. t was i0possible to sit in a public place without wondering which spies were watching you. *o all the world stayed ho0e--and ju0ped an=iously at every passing footstep8 every telephone ring8 every tap of an ivy sprig on the window.

The score of people definitely pledged to the .ew Dnderground were the only persons to who0

Dore0us dared tal- about anything 0ore incri0inating than whether it was li-ely to rain8 though he had been the friendliest gossip in town. Always it had ta-en ten 0inutes longer than was hu0anly possible for hi0 to wal- to the nfor0er office8 because he stopped on every corner to as- after so0eone"s sic- wife8 politics8 potato crop8 opinions about Deis08 or luc- at fishing.

As he read of rebels against the rFgi0e who wor-ed in <o0e8 in Berlin8 he envied the0. They had thousands of govern0ent agents8 un-nown by sight and thus the 0ore dangerous8 to watch the0H but also they had thousands of co0rades fro0 who0 to see- encourage0ent8 e=citing personal tattle8 shop tal-8 and the assurance that they were not altogether idiotic to ris- their lives for a 0istress so ungrateful as <evolution. Those secret flats in great cities--perhaps so0e of the0 really were filled with the rosy glow they had in fiction. But the >ort Beulahs8 anywhere in the world8 were so isolated8 the conspirators so uninspiringly fa0iliar one to another8 that only by ine=plicable faith could one go on.

.ow that +orinda was gone8 there certainly was nothing very diverting in snea-ing round corners8 trying to loo- li-e so0ebody else8 0erely to 0eet Buc- and Dan 9ilgus and that good wo0an8 *issyJ

Buc- and he and the rest--they were such a0ateurs. They needed the guidance of veteran agitators li-e 2r. Ailey and 2r. Bailey and 2r. !ailey.

Their feeble pa0phlets8 their s0earily printed newspaper8 see0ed futile against the enor0ous blare of !orpo propaganda. t see0ed worse than futile8 it see0ed insane8 to ris- 0artyrdo0 in a world where >ascists persecuted !o00unists8 !o00unists persecuted *ocial-De0ocrats8 *ocial-De0ocrats persecuted everybody who would stand for itH where EAryansE who loo-ed li-e 5ews persecuted 5ews who loo-ed li-e Aryans and 5ews persecuted their debtorsH where every states0an and clergy0an praised Peace and brightly asserted that the only way to get Peace was to get ready for 9ar.

9hat conceivable reason could one have for see-ing after righteousness in a world which so hated righteousnessM 9hy do anything e=cept eat and read and 0a-e love and provide for sleep that should be secure against disturbance by ar0ed police0enM

#e never did find any particularly good reason. #e si0ply went on.

n 5une8 when the >ort Beulah cell of the .ew Dnderground had been carrying on for so0e three 0onths8 2r. >rancis Tasbrough8 the golden @uarry0an8 called on his neighbor8 Dore0us.

E#ow are you8 >ran-ME

E>ine8 <e0us. #ow"s the old carping criticME

E>ine8 >ran-. *till carping. >ine carping weather8 at that. #ave a cigarME

EThan-s. Got a 0atchM Than-s. *aw *issy yesterday. *he loo-s fine.E

E:es8 she"s fine. saw 2alcol0 driving by yesterday. #ow did he li-e it in the Provincial Dniversity8 at .ew :or-ME

E3h8 fine--fine. #e says the athletics are grand. They"re getting Pri0o !arnera over to coach in tennis ne=t year-- thin- it"s !arnera-- thin- it"s tennis--but anyway8 the athletics are fine there8 2alcol0 says. *ay8 uh8 <e0us8 there"s so0ething been 0eaning to as- you. 8 uh--The fact is-want you to be sure and not repeat this to anybody. -now you can be trusted with a secret8 even if you are a newspaper0an--or used to be8 0ean8 but--The fact is $and this is inside stuffH official)8 there"s going to be so0e govern0ental pro0otions all along the line--this is confidential8 and it co0es to 0e straight fro0 the Provincial !o00issioner8 !olonel #ai-. +uthorne is finished as *ecretary of 9ar--he"s a nice fellow8 but he hasn"t got as 0uch publicity for the !orpos out of his office as the !hief e=pected hi0 to. #ai- is to have his job8 and also ta-e over the position of #igh 2arshal of the 2inute 2en fro0 +ee *arason-- suppose *arason has too 0uch to do. 9ell then8 5ohn *ullivan <ee- is slated to be Provincial !o00issionerH that leaves the office of District !o00issioner for ?er0ont-.ew #a0pshire e0pty8 and "0 one of

the people being seriously considered. "ve done a lot of spea-ing for the !orpos8 and -now Dewey #ai- very well-- was able to advise hi0 about erecting public buildings. 3f course there"s none of the !ounty !o00issioners around here that 0easure up to a district co00issionership--not even Dr. *taub0eyer--certainly not *had +edue. .ow if you could see your way clear to throw in with 0e8 your influence would help--E

EGood heavens8 >ran-8 the worst thing you could have happen8 if you want the job8 is to have 0e favor youJ The !orpos don"t li-e 0e. 3h8 of course they -now "0 loyal8 not one of these dirty8 snea-ing anti-!orpos8 but never 0ade enough noise in the paper to please "e0.E

EThat"s just it8 <e0usJ "ve got a really stri-ing idea. 1ven if they don"t li-e you8 the !orpos respect you8 and they -now how long you"ve been i0portant in the *tate. 9e"d all be greatly pleased if you ca0e out and joined us. .ow just suppose you did so and let people -now that it was 0y influence that converted you to !orpois0. That 0ight give 0e @uite a leg-up. And between old friends li-e us8 <e0us8 can tell you that this job of District !o00issioner would be useful to 0e in the @uarry business8 aside fro0 the social advantages. And if got the position8 can pro0ise you that "d either get the nfor0er ta-en away fro0 *taub0eyer and that dirty little stin-er8 tchitt8 and given bac- to you to run absolutely as you pleased--providing8 of course8 you had the sense to -eep fro0 criticiGing the !hief and the *tate. 3r8 if you"d rather8 thin- could probably wangle a job for you as 0ilitary judge $they don"t necessarily have to be lawyers) or 0aybe President Peaseley"s job as District Director of 1ducation--you"d have a lot of fun out of thatJ--awfully a0using the way all the teachers -iss the Director"s footJ !o0e on8 old 0anJ Thinof all the fun we used to have in the old daysJ !o0e to your senses and face the inevitable and join us and fi= up so0e good publicity for 0e. #ow about it--huh8 huhME

Dore0us reflected that the worst trial of a revolutionary propagandist was not ris-ing his life8 but having to be civil to people li-e >uture-!o00issioner Tasbrough.

#e supposed that his voice was polite as he 0uttered8 EAfraid "0 too old to try it8 >ran-8E but apparently Tasbrough was offended. #e sprang up and tra0ped away gru0bling8 E3h8 very well thenJE

EAnd didn"t give hi0 a chance to say anything about being realistic or brea-ing eggs to 0a-e an o0elet8E regretted Dore0us.

The ne=t day 2alcol0 Tasbrough8 0eeting *issy on the street8 0ade his beefy 0ost of cutting her. At the ti0e the 5essups thought that was very a0using. They thought the occasion less a0using when 2alcol0 chased little David out of the Tasbrough apple orchard8 which he had been wont to use as the Great 9estern >orest where at any ti0e one was rather 0ore than li-ely to 0eet Lit !arson8 <obin #ood8 and !olonel +indbergh hunting together.

#aving only >ran-"s word for it8 Dore0us could do no 0ore than hint in ?er0ont ?igilance that !olonel Dewey #ai- was to be 0ade *ecretary of 9ar8 and give #ai-"s actual 0ilitary record8 which included the facts that as a first lieutenant in >rance in %&%48 he had been under fire for less than fifteen 0inutes8 and that his one real triu0ph had been co00anding state 0ilitia during a stri-e in 3regon8 when eleven stri-ers had been shot down8 five of the0 in the bac-.

Then Dore0us forgot Tasbrough co0pletely and happily.

'/

But worse than having to be civil to the fatuous 2r. Tasbrough was -eeping his 0outh shut when8 toward the end of 5une8 a newspaper0an at Battington8 ?er0ont8 was suddenly arrested as editor of ?er0ont ?igilance and author of all the pa0phlets by Dore0us and +orinda. #e went to concentration ca0p. Buc- and Dan 9ilgus and *issy prevented Dore0us fro0 confessing8 and fro0 even going to call on the victi08 and when8 with +orinda no longer there as confidante8 Dore0us tried to e=plain it all to 100a8 she said8 9asn"t it luc-y that the govern0ent had bla0ed so0ebody elseJ

100a had wor-ed out the theory that the ..D. activity was so0e sort of a naughty ga0e which

-ept her boy8 Dore0us8 busy after his retire0ent. #e was 0ildly nagging the !orpos. *he wasn"t sure that it was really nice to nag the legal authorities8 but still8 for a little fellow8 her Dore0us had always been surprisingly spun-y--just li-e $she often confided to *issy) a spun-y little *cotch terrier she had owned when she was a girl--2r. 2c.abbit its na0e had been8 a little *cotch terrier8 but 0yJ so spun-y he acted li-e he was a regular lionJ

*he was rather glad that +orinda was gone8 though she li-ed +orinda and worried about how well she 0ight do with a tea roo0 in a new town8 a town where she had never lived. But she just couldn"t help feeling $she confided not only to *issy but to 2ary and Buc-) that +orinda8 with all her wild craGy ideas about wo0en"s rights8 and wor-0en being just as good as their e0ployers8 had a bad influence on Dore0us"s tendency to show off and shoc- people. $*he 0ildly wondered why Buc- and *issy snorted so. *he hadn"t 0eant to say anything particularly funnyJ)

>or too 0any years she had been used to Dore0us"s irregular routine to have her sleep disturbed by his returning fro0 Buc-"s at the i0proper ti0e to which she referred as Eat all hours8E but she did wish he would be E0ore on ti0e for his 0eals8E and she gave up the @uestion of why8 these days8 he see0ed to li-e to associate with 3rdinary People li-e 5ohn Polli-op8 Dan 9ilgus8 Daniel Babcoc-8 and Pete ?utong--0yJ so0e people said Pete couldn"t even read and write8 and Dore0us so educated and allJ 9hy didn"t he see 0ore of lovely people li-e >ran- Tasbrough and Professor *taub0eyer and 2r. <. !. !rowley and this new friend of his8 the #on. 5ohn *ullivan <ee-M

9hy couldn"t he -eep out of politicsM *he"d always said they were no occupation for a gentle0anJ

+i-e David8 now ten years old $and li-e twenty or thirty 0illion other A0ericans8 fro0 one to a hundred8 but all of the sa0e 0ental age)8 100a thought the 0arching 2.2."s were a very fine show indeed8 so 0uch li-e 0ovies of the !ivil 9ar8 really @uite educationalH and while of course if Dore0us didn"t care for President 9indrip8 she was opposed to hi0 also8 yet didn"t 2r. 9indrip spea- beautifully about pure language8 church attendance8 low ta=ation8 and the A0erican flagM

The realists8 the 0a-ers of o0elets8 did cli0b8 as Tasbrough had predicted. !olonel Dewey #ai-8 !o00issioner of the .ortheastern Province8 beca0e *ecretary of 9ar and #igh 2arshal of 2.2."s8 while the for0er secretary8 !olonel +uthorne8 retired to Lansas and the real-estate business and was well spo-en of by all business 0en for being thus willing to give up the grandeur of 9ashington for duty toward practical affairs and his fa0ily8 who were throughout the press depicted as having fre@uently 0issed hi0. t was ru0ored in ..D. cells that #ai- 0ight go higher even than *ecretary of 9arH that 9indrip was worried by the forced growth of a certain effe0inacy in +ee *arason under the arc light of glory.

>rancis Tasbrough was elevated to District !o00issionership at #anover. But 2r. *ullivan <eedid not in series go on to be Provincial !o00issioner. t was said that he had too 0any friends a0ong just the old-line politicians whose jobs the !orpos were so enthusiastically ta-ing. .o8 the new Provincial !o00issioner8 viceroy and general8 was 2ilitary 5udge 1ffingha0 *wan8 the one 0an who0 2ary 5essup Greenhill hated 0ore than she did *had +edue.

*wan was a splendid co00issioner. 9ithin three days after ta-ing office8 he had 5ohn *ullivan <ee- and seven assistant district co00issioners arrested8 tried8 and i0prisoned8 all within twenty-four hours8 and an eighty-year-old wo0an8 0other of a .ew Dnderground agent but not otherwise accused of wic-edness8 penned in a concentration ca0p for the 0ore desperate traitors. t was in a disused @uarry which was always a foot deep in water. After he had sentenced her8 *wan was said to have bowed to her 0ost courteously.

The .ew Dnderground sent out warning8 fro0 head@uarters in 2ontreal8 for a general tightening up of precautions against being caught distributing propaganda. Agents were disappearing rather alar0ingly.

Buc- scoffed8 but Dore0us was nervous. #e noticed that the sa0e strange 0an8 ostensibly a

dru00er8 a large 0an with unpleasant eyes8 had twice got into conversation with hi0 in the #otel 9esse= lobby8 and too obviously hinted that he was anti-!orpo and would love to have Dore0us say so0ething nasty about the !hief and the 2.2."s.

Dore0us beca0e cautious about going out to Buc-"s. #e par-ed his car in half-a-doGen different wood-roads and crept afoot to the secret base0ent.

3n the evening of the twenty-eighth of 5une8 %&'48 he had a notion that he was being followed8 so closely did a car with red-tinted headlights8 an=iously watched in his rear-view 0irror8 sticbehind hi0 as he too- the LeeG0et highway down to Buc-"s. #e turned up a side road8 down another. The spy car followed. #e stopped8 in a driveway on the left-hand side of the road8 and angrily stepped out8 in ti0e to see the other car pass8 with a 0an who loo-ed li-e *had +edue driving. #e swung round then and8 without conceal0ent8 bolted for Buc-"s.

n the base0ent8 Buc- was contentedly tying up bundles of the ?igilance8 while >ather Perefi=e8 in his shirtsleeves8 vest open and blac- dic-ey swinging beneath his reversed collar8 sat at a plain pine table8 writing a warning to .ew 1ngland !atholics that though the !orpos had8 unli-e the .aGis in Ger0any8 been shrewd enough to flatter prelates8 they had lowered the wages of >rench-!anadian !atholic 0ill hands and i0prisoned their leaders just as severely as in the case of the avowedly wic-ed Protestants.

Perefi=e s0iled up at Dore0us8 stretched8 lighted a pipe8 and chuc-led8 EAs a great ecclesiast8 Dore0us8 is it your opinion that shall be co00itting a venial or a 0ortal sin by publishing this little 0asterpiece--the wor- of 0y favorite author--without the Bishop"s i0pri0aturME

E*tephenJ Buc-J thin- they"re on to usJ 2aybe we"ve got to fold up already and get the press and type out of hereJE #e told of being shadowed. #e telephoned to 5ulian8 at 2.2. head@uarters8 and $since there were too 0any >rench-!anadian inspectors about for hi0 to dare to use his brand of >rench) he telephoned in the fine new Ger0an he had been learning by translation:

EDen-s du ihr >reunds dere haben a dee die letGt Tag von vot ve 0ach hereME

And the college-bred 5ulian had so 0uch international culture as to be able to answer: E5a8 ch 0ein ihr vos sachen 0orning free. +oo- owidJE

#ow could they 0oveM 9hereM

Dan 9ilgus arrived8 in panic8 an hour after.

E*ayJ They"re watching usJE Dore0us8 Buc-8 and the priest gathered round the blac- vi-ing of a 0an. E5ust now when ca0e in thought heard so0ething in the bushes8 here in the yard8 near the house8 and before thought8 flashed 0y torch on hi08 and by golly if it wasn"t Aras Dilley8 and not in unifor0--and you -now how Aras loves his God--e=cuse 0e8 >ather--how he loves his unifor0. #e was disguisedJ *ureJ n overallsJ +oo-ed li-e a jac-ass that"s gone under a clotheslineJ 9ell8 he"d been rubbering at the house. !ourse these curtains are drawn8 but don"t -now what he saw and--E

The three large 0en loo-ed to Dore0us for orders.

E9e got to get all this stuff out of hereJ Iuic-J Ta-e it and hide it in Tru0an 9ebb"s attic. *tephen: get 5ohn Polli-op and 2ungo Litteric- and Pete ?utong on the phone--get "e0 here8 @uic---tell 5ohn to stop by and tell 5ulian to co0e as soon as he can. Dan: start dis0antling the press. Buc-: bundle up all the literature.E As he spo-e8 Dore0us was wrapping type in scraps of newspaper. And at three ne=t 0orning8 before light8 Polli-op was driving toward Tru0an 9ebb"s far0house the entire e@uip0ent of the .ew Dnderground printing establish0ent8 in Buc-"s old far0 truc-8 fro0 which blatted8 for the benefit of all ears that 0ight be concerned8 two frightened calves.

.e=t day 5ulian ventured to invite his superior officers8 *had +edue and 10il *taub0eyer8 to a po-er session at Buc-"s. They ca0e8 with alacrity. They found Buc-8 Dore0us8 2ungo Litteric-8 and Doc tchitt--the last an entirely innocent participant in certain deceptions.

They played in Buc-"s parlor. But during the evening Buc- announced that anyone wanting beer instead of whis-y would find it in a tub of ice in the base0ent8 and that anyone wishing to wash his hands would find two bathroo0s upstairs.

*had hastily went for beer. Doc tchitt even 0ore hastily went to wash his hands. Both of the0 were gone 0uch longer than one would have e=pected.

9hen the party bro-e up and Buc- and Dore0us were alone8 Buc- shrie-ed with bucolic 0irth: E could scarcely -eep a straight face when heard good old *had opening the cupboards and ta-ing a fine long loo--see for pa0phlets down in the base0ent. 9ell8 !ap"n 5essup8 that about ends their suspicion of this place as a den of traitors8 guessJ God8 but isn"t *had du0bJE

This was at perhaps ' A.2. on the 0orning of 5une thirtieth.

Dore0us stayed ho0e8 writing sedition8 all the afternoon and evening of the thirtieth8 hiding the sheets under pages of newspaper in the >ran-lin stove in his study8 so that he could touch the0 off with a 0atch in case of a raid--a tric- he had learned fro0 Larl Billinger"s anti-.aGi >atherland.

This new opus was devoted to 0urders ordered by !o00issioner 1ffingha0 *wan.

3n the first and second of 5uly8 when he sauntered uptown8 he was rather noticeably encountered by the sa0e weighty dru00er who had pic-ed hi0 up in the #otel 9esse= lobby before8 and who now insisted on their having a drin- together. Dore0us escaped8 and was conscious that he was being followed by an un-nown young 0an8 fla0boyant in an apricotcolored polo shirt and gray bags8 who0 he recogniGed as having worn 2.2. unifor0 at a parade in 5une. 3n 5uly third8 rather panic-y8 Dore0us drove to Tru0an 9ebb"s8 ta-ing an hour of GigGagging to do it8 and warned Tru0an not to per0it any 0ore printing till he should have a release.

9hen Dore0us went ho0e8 *issy lightly infor0ed hi0 that *had had insisted she go out to an 2.2. picnic with hi0 on the ne=t afternoon8 the >ourth8 and that8 infor0ation or no8 she had refused. *he was afraid of hi08 surrounded by his ready play0ates.

That night of the third8 Dore0us slept only in sic- spas0s. #e was reasonlessly convinced that he would be arrested before dawn. The night was overcast and electric and uneasy. The cric-ets sounded as though they were piping under co0pulsion8 in a rhyth0 of terror. #e lay throbbing to their sound. #e wanted to flee--but how and where8 and how could he leave his threatened fa0ilyM >or the first ti0e in years he wished that he were sleeping beside the unperturbable 100a8 beside her s0all earthy hilloc- of body. #e laughed at hi0self. 9hat could 100a do to protect hi0 against 2inute 2enM 5ust screa0J And what thenM But he8 who always slept with his door shut8 to protect his sacred aloneness8 popped out of bed to open the door8 that he 0ight have the co0fort of hearing her breathe8 and the fiercer 2ary stir in slu0ber8 and *issy"s occasional young whi0per.

#e was awa-ened before dawn by early firecrac-ers. #e heard the tra0ping of feet. #e lay taut. Then he awo-e again8 at seven-thirty8 and was slightly angry that nothing happened.

The 2.2."s brought out their burnished hel0ets and all the rideable horses in the neighborhood--so0e of the0 -nown as 0ost superior plow-horses--for the great celebration of the .ew >reedo0 on the 0orning of >ourth of 5uly. There was no post of the A0erican +egion in the jaunty parade. That organiGation had been co0pletely suppressed8 and a nu0ber of A0erican +egion leaders had been shot. 3thers had tactfully ta-en posts in the 2.2. itself.

The troops8 in hollow s@uare8 with the ordinary citiGenry hu0bly ja00ed in behind the0 and the 5essup fa0ily rather hoity-toity on the outs-irts8 were addressed by 1=-Governor sha0 #ubbard8 a fine ruddy old rooster who could say E!oc--a-doodle-doE with 0ore profundity than any fowl since Wsop. #e announced that the !hief had e=traordinary rese0blances to 9ashington8 5efferson8 and 9illia0 B. 2cLinley8 and to .apoleon on his better days.

The tru0pets blew8 the 2.2."s gallantly 0arched off nowhere in particular8 and Dore0us went ho0e8 feeling 0uch better after his laugh. >ollowing noon dinner8 since it was raining8 he proposed a ga0e of contract to 100a8 2ary8 and *issy--with 2rs. !andy as volunteer u0pire.

But the thunder of the hill country dis@uieted hi0. 9henever he was du00y8 he a0bled to a window. The rain ceasedH the sun ca0e out for a false8 hesitating 0o0ent8 and the wet grass loo-ed unreal. !louds with torn botto0s8 li-e the he0 of a ragged s-irt8 were driven down the valley8 cutting off the bul- of 2ount >aithfulH the sun went out as in a 0a00oth catastropheH and instantly the world was in unholy dar-ness8 which poured into the roo0.

E9hy8 it"s @uite dar-8 isn"t itJ *issy8 turn on the lights8E said 100a.

The rain attac-ed again8 in a crash8 and to Dore0us8 loo-ing out8 the whole -nowable world see0ed washed out. Through the deluge he saw a huge car flash8 the great wheels throwing up fountains. E9onder what 0a-e of car that isM 2ust be a si=teen-cylinder !adillac8 guess8E reflected Dore0us. The car swerved into his own gateway8 al0ost -noc-ing down a gatepost8 and stopped with a jar at his porch. >ro0 it leaped five 2inute 2en8 blac- waterproof capes over their unifor0s. Before he could @uite get through the reflection that he recogniGed none of the08 they were there in the roo0. The leader8 an ensign $and 0ost certainly Dore0us did not recogniGe hi0) 0arched up to Dore0us8 loo-ed at hi0 casually8 and struc- hi0 full in the face.

1=cept for the one light pin- of the bayonet when he had been arrested before8 e=cept for an occasional toothache or headache8 or a s0art when he had banged a fingernail8 Dore0us 5essup had not for thirty years -nown authentic pain. t was as incredible as it was horrifying8 this torture in his eyes and nose and crushed 0outh. #e stood bent8 gasping8 and the 1nsign again s0ashed his face8 and observed8 E:ou are under arrest.E

2ary had launched herself on the 1nsign8 was hitting at hi0 with a china ash tray. Two 2.2."s dragged her off8 threw her on the couch8 and one of the0 pinned her there. The other two guards were bul-ing over the paralyGed 100a8 the galvaniGed *issy.

Dore0us vo0ited suddenly and collapsed8 as though he were dead drun-.

#e was conscious that the five 2.2."s were yan-ing the boo-s fro0 the shelves and hurling the0 on the floor8 so that the covers split8 and with their pistol butts s0ashing vases and la0p shades and s0all occasional tables. 3ne of the0 tattooed a rough 2 2 on the white paneling above the fireplace with shots fro0 his auto0atic.

The 1nsign said only8 E!areful8 5i08E and -issed the hysterical *issy.

Dore0us struggled to get up. An 2.2. -ic-ed hi0 in the elbow. t felt li-e death itself8 and Dore0us writhed on the floor. #e heard the0 tra0ping upstairs. #e re0e0bered then that his 0anuscript about the 0urders by Provincial !o00issioner 1ffingha0 *wan was hidden in the >ran-lin stove in his study.

The sound of their s0ashing of furniture in the bedroo0s on the second floor was li-e that of a doGen wood-choppers gone 0ad.

n all his agony8 Dore0us struggled to get up--to set fire to the papers in the stove before they should be found. #e tried to loo- at his wo0en. #e could 0a-e out 2ary8 tied to the couch. $9hen had that ever happenedM) But his vision was too blurred8 his 0ind too bruised8 to see anything clearly. *taggering8 so0eti0es creeping on his hands and -nees8 he did actually get past the 0en in the bedroo0s and up the stairs to the third floor and his study.

#e was in ti0e to see the 1nsign throwing his best-beloved boo-s and his letter files8 accu0ulated these twenty years8 out of the study window8 to see hi0 search the papers in the >ran-lin stove8 loo- up with cheerful triu0ph and cac-le8 E.ice piece you"ve written here8 guess8 5essup. !o00issioner *wan will love to see itJE

E de0and--see--!o00issioner +edue--Dist" !o00issioner Tasbrough--friends of 0ine8E sta00ered Dore0us.

EDon"t -now a thing about the0. "0 running this show8E the 1nsign chuc-led8 and slapped Dore0us8 not very painfully8 0erely with a sha0efulness as great as Dore0us"s when he realiGed

that he had been so cowardly as to appeal to *had and >rancis. #e did not open his 0outh again8 did not whi0per nor even a0use the troopers by vainly appealing on behalf of the wo0en8 as he was hustled down two flights of stairs--they threw hi0 down the lower flight and he landed on his raw shoulder--and out to the big car.

The 2.2. driver8 who had been waiting behind the wheel8 already had the engine running. The car whined away8 threatening every instant to s-id. But the Dore0us who had been @ueasy about s-idding did not notice. 9hat could he do about it8 anywayM #e was helpless between two troopers in the bac- seat8 and his powerlessness to 0a-e the driver slow up see0ed part of all his powerlessness before the dictator"s power . . . he who had always so ta-en it for granted that in his dignity and social security he was just slightly superior to laws and judges and police0en8 to all the ris-s and pain of ordinary wor-ers.

#e was unloaded8 li-e a bal-y 0ule8 at the jail entrance of the courthouse. #e resolved that when he was led before *had he would so rebu-e the scoundrel that he would not forget it. But Dore0us was not ta-en into the courthouse. #e was -ic-ed toward a large8 blac--painted8 unlettered truc- by the entrance--literally -ic-ed8 while even in his bewildered anguish he speculated8 E wonder which is worseM--the physical pain of being -ic-ed8 or the 0ental hu0iliation of being turned into a slaveM #ellJ Don"t be sophisticalJ t"s the pain in the behind that hurts 0ostJE

#e was hi-ed up a stepladder into the bac- of the truc-.

>ro0 the unlighted interior a 0oan8 E2y God8 not you too8 Dor0ouseJE t was the voice of BucTitus8 and with hi0 as prisoners were Tru0an 9ebb and Dan 9ilgus. Dan was in handcuffs8 because he had fought so.

The four 0en were too sore to tal- 0uch as they felt the truc- lurch away and they were thrown against one another. 3nce Dore0us spo-e truthfully8 E don"t -now how to tell you how ghastly sorry a0 to have got you into thisJE and once he lied8 when Buc- groaned8 EDid those ----- ----hurt the girlsME

They 0ust have ridden for three hours. Dore0us was in such a co0a of suffering that even though his bac- winced as it bounced against the rough floor and his face was all one neuralgia8

he drowsed and wo-e to terror8 drowsed and wo-e8 drowsed and wo-e to his own helpless wailing.

The truc- stopped. The doors were opened on lights thic- a0ong white bric- buildings. #e haGily saw that they were on the one-ti0e Dart0outh ca0pus--head@uarters now of the !orpo District !o00issioner.

That co00issioner was his old ac@uaintance >rancis TasbroughJ #e would be releasedJ They would be freed8 all fourJ

The incredulity of his hu0iliation cleared away. #e ca0e out of his sic- fear li-e a shipwrec-ed 0an sighting an approaching boat.

But he did not see Tasbrough. The 2.2."s8 silent save for 0echanical cursing8 drove hi0 into a hallway8 into a cell which had once been part of a sedate classroo08 left hi0 with a final clout on the head. #e dropped on a wooden pallet with a straw pillow and was instantly asleep. #e was too daGed--he who usually loo-ed recordingly at places--to note then or afterward what his cell was li-e8 e=cept that it appeared to be filled with sulphuric fu0es fro0 a loco0otive engine.

9hen he ca0e to8 his face see0ed froGen stiff. #is coat was torn8 and foul with the s0ell of vo0it. #e felt degraded8 as though he had done so0ething sha0eful.

#is door was violently opened8 a dirt-clotted bowl of feeble coffee8 with a crust of bread faintly s0eared with oleo0argarine8 was thrust at hi08 and after he had given the0 up8 nauseated8 he was 0arched out into the corridor8 by two guards8 just as he wanted to go to the toilet. 1ven that he could forget in the paralysis of fear. 3ne guard seiGed hi0 by the tri0 s0all beard and yan-ed it8 laughing very 0uch. EAlways did want to see whether a billygoat whis-er would pull out or notJE snic-ered the guard. 9hile he was thus tor0ented8 Dore0us received a crac- behind his ear fro0 the other 0an8 and a scolding co00and8 E!o0e on8 goatJ 9ant us to 0il- youM :ou dirty little so-and-soJ 9hat you in forM :ou loo- li-e a little Li-e tailor8 you little -----E

E#i0ME the other scoffed. E.awJ #e"s so0e -ind of a half-eared hic- newspaper editor--they"ll sure shoot hi0--sedition--but hope they"ll beat hell out of hi0 first for being such a bu0

editor.E

E#i0M An editorM *ayJ +istenJ got a swell idea. #eyJ >ellasJE >our or five other 2.2."s8 half dressed8 loo-ed out fro0 a roo0 down the hall. EThis-here is a writing-fellowJ "0 going to 0a-e hi0 show us how he writesJ +oo-itJE

The guard dashed down the corridor to a door with the sign EGentsE hung out in front of it8 ca0e bac- with paper8 not clean8 threw it in front of Dore0us8 and ya00ered8 E!o0e on8 boss. *how us how you write your piecesJ !o0e on8 write us a piece--with your noseJE #e was iron-strong. #e pressed Dore0us"s nose down against the filthy paper and held it there8 while his 0ates giggled. They were interrupted by an officer8 co00anding8 though leniently8 E!o0e on8 boys8 cut out the 0on-eyshines and ta-e this ----- to the bull pen. Trial this 0orning.E

Dore0us was led to a dirty roo0 in which half-a-doGen prisoners were waiting. 3ne of the0 was Buc- Titus. 3ver one eye Buc- had a slatternly bandage which had so loosened as to show that his forehead was cut to the bone. Buc- 0anaged to win- jovially. Dore0us tried8 vainly8 to -eep fro0 sobbing.

#e waited an hour8 standing8 ar0s tight at his side8 at the de0ands of an ugly-faced guard8 snapping a dog whip with which he twice slashed Dore0us when his hands fell la=.

Buc- was led into the trial roo0 just before hi0. The door was closed. Dore0us heard Buc- cry out terribly8 as though he had been wounded to death. The cry faded into a cho-ed gasping. 9hen Buc- was led out of the inner roo08 his face was as dirty and as pale as his bandage8 over which blood was now creeping. The 0an at the door of the inner roo0 jer-ed his thu0b sharply at Dore0us8 and snarled8 E:ou"re ne=tJE

.ow he would face TasbroughJ

But in the s0all roo0 into which he had been ta-en--and he was confused8 because so0ehow he had e=pected a large courtroo0--there was only the 1nsign who had arrested hi0 yesterday8 sitting at a table8 running through papers8 while a stolid 2.2. stood on either side of hi08 rigid8 hand on pistol holster.

The 1nsign -ept hi0 waiting8 then snapped with disheartening suddenness8 E:our na0eJE

E:ou -now itJE

The two guards beside Dore0us each hit hi0.

E:our na0eME

EDore0us 5essup.E

E:ou"re a !o00unistJE

E.o "0 notJE

ETwenty-five lashes--and the oil.E

.ot believing8 not understanding8 Dore0us was rushed across the roo08 into a cellar beyond. A long wooden table there was dar- with dry blood8 stan- with dry blood. The guards seiGed Dore0us8 sharply jer-ed his head bac-8 pried open his jaws8 and poured in a @uart of castor oil. They tore off his gar0ents above the belt8 flung the0 on the stic-y floor. They threw hi0 face downward on the long table and began to lash hi0 with a one-piece steel fishing rod. 1ach stro-e cut into the flesh of his bac-8 and they beat hi0 slowly8 relishing it8 to -eep hi0 fro0 fainting too @uic-ly. But he was unconscious when8 to the guards" great diversion8 the castor oil too- effect. ndeed he did not -now it till he found hi0self li0p on a 0essy piece of gunnysac-ing on the floor of his cell.

They awa-ened hi0 twice during the night to de0and8 E:ou"re a !o00unist8 hehM :ou better ad0it itJ 9e"re going to beat the living tar out of you till you doJE

Though he was sic-er than he had ever been in his life8 yet he was also angrierH too angry to ad0it anything whatever8 even to save his wrec-ed life. #e si0ply snarled E.o.E But on the third beating he savagely wondered if E.oE was now a truthful answer. After each @uestioning he was pounded again with fists8 but not lashed with the steel rod8 because the head@uarters doctor had forbidden it.

#e was a sporty-loo-ing young doctor in plus-fours. #e yawned at the guards8 in the bloodree-ing cellar8 EBetter cut out the lashes or this ----- will pass out on you.E

Dore0us raised his head fro0 the table to gasp8 E:ou call yourself a doctor8 and you associate with these 0urderersME

E3h8 shut up8 you little -----J Dirty traitors li-e you deserve to be beaten to death--and 0aybe you will be8 but thin- the boys ought to save you for the trialJE The doctor showed his scientific 0ettle by twisting Dore0us"s ear till it felt as though it were torn off8 chuc-led8 EGo to it8 boys8E and a0bled away8 ostentatiously hu00ing.

>or three nights he was @uestioned and lashed--once8 late at night8 by guards who co0plained of the inhu0an callousness of their officers in 0a-ing the0 wor- so late. They a0used the0selves by using an old harness strap8 with a buc-le on it8 to beat hi0.

#e al0ost bro-e down when the e=a0ining 1nsign declared that Buc- Titus had confessed their illegal propaganda8 and narrated so 0any details of the wor- that Dore0us could al0ost have believed in the confession. #e did not listen. #e told hi0self8 E.oJ Buc- would die before he"d confess anything. t"s all Aras Dilley"s spying.E

The 1nsign cooed8 E.ow if you"ll just have the sense to copy your friend Titus and tell us who"s in the conspiracy besides hi0 and you and 9ilgus and 9ebb8 we"ll let you go. 9e -now8 all right-oh8 we -now the whole plotJ--but we just want to find out whether you"ve finally co0e to your senses and been converted8 0y little friend. .ow who else was thereM 5ust give us their na0es. 9e"ll let you go. 3r would you li-e the castor oil and the whip againME

Dore0us did not answer.

ETen lashes8E said the 1nsign.

#e was chased out for half an hour"s wal- on the ca0pus every afternoon--probably because he would have preferred lying on his hard cot8 trying to -eep still enough so that his heart would stop its deathly ha00ering. #alf a hundred prisoners 0arched there8 round and round senselessly. #e passed Buc- Titus. To salute hi0 would have 0eant a blow fro0 the guards. They greeted each other with @uic- eyelids8 and when he saw those untroubled spaniel eyes8 Dore0us -new that Buc- had not s@uealed.

And in the e=ercise yard he saw Dan 9ilgus8 but Dan was not wal-ing freeH he was led out fro0 the torture roo0s by guards8 and with his crushed nose8 his flattened ear8 he loo-ed as though he had been pounded by a priGefighter. #e see0ed partly paralyGed. Dore0us tried to get infor0ation about Dan fro0 a guard in his cell corridor. The guard--a handso0e8 clear-chee-ed young 0an8 noted in a valley of the 9hite 2ountains as a local beau8 and very -ind to his 0other--laughed8 E3h8 your friend 9ilgusM That chu0p thin-s he can lic- his weight in wildcats. hear he always tries to soa- the guards. They"ll ta-e that out of hi08 all rightJE

Dore0us thought8 that night--he could not be sure8 but he thought he heard Dan wailing8 half the night. .e=t 0orning he was told that Dan8 who had always been so disgusted when he had had to set up the news of a wea-ling"s suicide8 had hanged hi0self in his cell.

Then8 une=pectedly8 Dore0us was ta-en into a roo08 this ti0e reasonably large8 a for0er 1nglish classroo0 turned into a court8 for his trial.

But it was not District !o00issioner >rancis Tasbrough who was on the bench8 nor any 2ilitary 5udge8 but no less a Protector of the People than the great new Provincial !o00issioner8 1ffingha0 *wan.

*wan was loo-ing at Dore0us"s article about hi0 as Dore0us was led up to stand before the bench. #e spo-e--and this harsh8 tired-loo-ing 0an was no longer the airy <hodes *cholar who had sported with Dore0us once li-e a boy pulling the wings off flies.

E5essup8 do you plead guilty to seditious activitiesME

E9hy--E Dore0us loo-ed helplessly about for so0ething in the way of legal counsel.

E!o00issioner TasbroughJE called *wan.

*o at last Dore0us did see his boyhood play0ate.

Tasbrough did nothing so co00endable as to avoid Dore0us"s eyes. ndeed he loo-ed at Dore0us directly8 and 0ost affably8 as he spo-e his piece:

E:our 1=cellency8 it gives 0e great pain to have to e=pose this 0an8 5essup8 who0 have -nown all 0y life8 and tried to help8 but he always was a s0art-alec---he was a laughing-stoc- in >ort Beulah for the way he tried to show off as a great political leaderJ--and when the !hief was elected8 he was angry because he didn"t get any political office8 and he went about everywhere trying to disaffect people-- have heard hi0 do so 0yself.E

EThat"s enough. Than-s. !ounty !o00issioner +edue . . . !aptain +edue8 is it or is it not true that the 0an 5essup tried to persuade you to join a violent plot against 0y personME

But *had did not loo- at Dore0us as he 0u0bled8 E t"s true.E

*wan crac-led8 EGentle0en8 thin- that that8 plus the evidence contained in the prisoner"s own 0anuscript8 which hold here8 is sufficient testi0ony. Prisoner8 if it weren"t for your age and your da0n silly senile wea-ness8 "d sentence you to a hundred lashes8 as do all the other !o00unists li-e you that threaten the !orporate *tate. As it is8 sentence you to be held in concentration ca0p8 at the will of the !ourt8 but with a 0ini0u0 sentence of seventeen years.E Dore0us calculated rapidly. #e was si=ty-two now. #e would be seventy-nine then. #e never would see freedo0 again. EAnd8 in the power of issuing e0ergency decrees8 conferred upon 0e as Provincial !o00issioner8 also sentence you to death by shooting8 but suspend that sentence--though only until such ti0e as you 0ay be caught trying to escapeJ And hope you"ll have just lots and lots of ti0e in prison8 5essup8 to thin- about how clever you were in this entrancing article you wrote about 0eJ And to re0e0ber that any nasty cold 0orning they 0ay ta-e you out in the rain and shoot you.E #e ended with a 0ild suggestion to the guards: EAnd twenty lashesJE

Two 0inutes later they had forced castor oil down hi0H he lay trying to bite at the stained wood of the whipping-tableH and he could hear the whish of the steel fishing rod as a guard playfully tried it out in the air before bringing it down across the crisscross wounds of his raw bac-.

'%

As the open prison van approached the concentration ca0p at Trianon8 the last light of afternoon caressed the thic- birch and 0aples and poplars up the pyra0id of 2ount >aithful. But the grayness swiftly cli0bed the slope8 and all the valley was left in cold shadow. n his seat the sic- Dore0us drooped again in listlessness.

The pri0 Georgian buildings of the girls" school which had been turned into a concentration ca0p at Trianon8 nine 0iles north of >ort Beulah8 had been worse used than Dart0outh8 where whole buildings were reserved for the lu=uries of the !orpos and their fe0ale cousins8 all very snotty and parvenu. The Trianon school see0ed to have been gouged by a flood. 2arble doorsteps had been ta-en away. $3ne of the0 now graced the residence of the wife of the *uperintendent8 2rs. !owlic-8 a wo0an fat8 irate8 jeweled8 religious8 and given to announcing that all opponents of the !hief were !o00unists and ought to be shot offhand.) 9indows were s0ashed. E#urrah for the !hiefE had been chal-ed on bric- walls and other chal-ed words8 each of four letters8 had been rubbed out8 not very thoroughly. The lawns and hollyhoc- beds were a 0ess of weeds.

The buildings stood on three sides of a s@uareH the fourth side and the gaps between buildings were closed with unpainted pine fences topped with strands of barbed wire.

1very roo0 e=cept the office of !aptain !owlic-8 the *uperintendent $he was as near nothing at all as any 0an can be who has attained to such honors as being a captain in the Iuarter0aster !orps and the head of a prison) was s0eared with filth. #is office was 0erely dreary8 and scented with whis-y8 not8 li-e the other roo0s8 with a00onia.

!owlic- was not too ill-natured. #e wished that the ca0p guards8 all 2.2."s8 would not treat the prisoners viciously8 e=cept when they tried to escape. But he was a 0ild 0anH 0uch too 0ild to hurt the feelings of the 2.2."s and perhaps set up inhibitions in their psyches by interfering with their 0ethods of discipline. The poor fellows probably 0eant well when they lashed noisy in0ates for insisting they had co00itted no cri0e. And the good !owlic- saved Dore0us"s life for a whileH let hi0 lie for a 0onth in the stuffy hospital and have actual beef in his daily beef stew. The prison doctor8 a decayed old drun-ard who had had his 0edical training in the late "eighties and who had been so0ewhat close to trouble in civil life for having perfor0ed too 0any abortions8 was also good-natured enough8 when sober8 and at last he per0itted Dore0us to have Dr. 2arcus 3l0sted in fro0 >ort Beulah8 and for the first ti0e in four wee-s Dore0us

had news8 any news whatsoever8 of the world beyond prison.

9here in nor0al life it would have been agony to wait for one hour to -now what 0ight be happening to his friends8 his fa0ily8 now for one 0onth he had not -nown whether they were alive or dead.

Dr. 3l0sted--as guilty as Dore0us hi0self of what the !orpos called treason--dared spea- to hi0 only a 0o0ent8 because the prison doctor stayed in the hospital ward all the while8 drooling over whip-scarred patients and daubing iodine 0ore or less near their wounds. 3l0sted sat on the edge of his cot8 with its foul blan-ets8 unwashed for 0onths8 and 0uttered rapidly:

EIuic-J +istenJ Don"t tal-J 2rs. 5essup and your two girls are all right--they"re scared8 but no signs of their being arrested. #ear +orinda Pi-e is all right. :our grandson8 David8 loo-s fine-though "0 afraid he"ll grow up a !orpo8 li-e all the youngsters. Buc- Titus is alive--at another concentration ca0p--the one near 9oodstoc-. 3ur ..D. cell at >ort Beulah is doing what it can-no publishing8 but we forward infor0ation--get a lot fro0 5ulian >alc---great jo-e: he"s been pro0oted8 2.2. *@uad-+eader nowJ 2ary and *issy and >ather Perefi=e -eep distributing pa0phlets fro0 BostonH they help the Iuinn boy $0y driver) and 0e to forward refugees to !anada. . . . :es8 we carry on. . . . About li-e an o=ygen tent for a patient that"s dying of pneu0oniaJ . . . t hurts to see you loo-ing li-e a ghost8 Dore0us. But you"ll pull through. :ou"ve got pretty good nerves for a little cussJ That aged-in-the--eg prison doctor is loo-ing this way. ByeJE

#e was not per0itted to see Dr. 3l0sted again8 but it was probably 3l0sted"s influence that got hi08 when he was dis0issed fro0 the hospital8 still sha-y but well enough to stu0ble about8 a vastly desirable job as sweeper of cells and corridors8 cleaner of lavatories and scrubber of toilets8 instead of wor-ing in the woods gang8 up 2ount >aithful8 where old 0en who san- under the weight of logs were said to be ha00ered to death by guards under the sadistic 1nsign *toyt8 when !aptain !owlic- wasn"t loo-ing. t was better8 too8 than the undesirable idleness of being disciplined in the Edog houseE where you lay na-ed8 in dar-ness8 and where Ebad casesE were

refor0ed by being -ept awa-e for forty-eight or even ninety-si= hours. Dore0us was a conscientious toilet-cleaner. #e didn"t li-e the wor- very 0uch8 but he had pride in being able to scrub as s-illfully as any professional pearl-diver in a Gree- lunch roo08 and satisfaction in lessening a little the wretchedness of his i0prisoned co0rades by giving the0 clean floors.

>or8 he told hi0self8 they were his co0rades. #e saw that he8 who had thought of hi0self as a capitalist because he could hire and fire8 and because theoretically he Eowned his business8E had been as helpless as the 0ost itinerant janitor8 once it see0ed worth while to the Big Business which !orpois0 represented to get rid of hi0. :et he still told hi0self stoutly that he did not believe in a dictatorship of the proletariat any 0ore than he believed in a dictatorship of the ban-ers and utility-ownersH he still insisted that any doctor or preacher8 though econo0ically he 0ight be as insecure as the hu0blest of his floc-8 who did not feel that he was a little better than they8 and privileged to enjoy wor-ing a little harder8 was a rotten doctor or a preacher without grace. #e felt that he hi0self had been a better and 0ore honorable reporter than Doc tchitt8 and a thundering sight better student of politics than 0ost of his shop-eeper and far0er and factory-wor-er readers.

:et bourgeois pride was so gone out of hi0 that he was flattered8 a little thrilled8 when he was universally called EDore0usE and not E2r. 5essupE by far0er and wor-0an and truc--driver and plain hoboH when they thought enough of his courage under beating and his good-te0per under being crowded with others in a narrow cell to regard hi0 as al0ost as good as their own virile selves.

Larl Pascal 0oc-ed hi0. E told you so8 Dore0usJ :ou"ll be a !o00unist yetJE

E:es8 0aybe will8 Larl--after you !o00unists -ic- out all your false prophets and bellyachers and power drun-ards8 and all your press-agents for the 2oscow subway.E

E9ell8 all right8 why don"t you join 2a= 1ast0anM hear he"s escaped to 2e=ico and has a whole big pure TrotG-yite !o00unist party of seventeen 0e0bers thereJE

E*eventeenM Too 0any. 9hat want is 0ass action by just one 0e0ber8 alone on a hilltop. "0 a great opti0ist8 Larl. still hope A0erica 0ay so0e day rise to the standards of Lit !arsonJE

As sweeper and scrubber8 Dore0us had unusual chances for gossip with other prisoners. #e chuc-led when he thought of how 0any of his fellow cri0inals were ac@uaintances: Larl Pascal8 #enry ?eeder8 his own cousin8 +ouis <otenstern8 who loo-ed now li-e a corpse8 unforgettingly wounded in his old pride of having beco0e a Ereal A0erican8E !lif +ittle8 the jeweler8 who was dying of consu0ption8 Ben Tripper8 who had been the jolliest wor-0an in 2edary !ole"s grist0ill8 Professor ?ictor +oveland8 of the defunct saiah !ollege8 and <ay0ond Pridewell8 that old Tory who was still so conte0ptuous of flattery8 so clean a0id dirt8 so haw--eyed8 that the guards were unco0fortable when they beat hi0. . . . Pascal8 the !o00unist8 Pridewell8 the s@uirearchy <epublican8 and #enry ?eeder8 who had never cared a hang about politics8 and who had recovered fro0 the first shoc-s of i0prison0ent8 these three had beco0e inti0ates8 because they had 0ore arrogance of utter courage than anyone else in the prison.

>or ho0e Dore0us shared with five other 0en a cell twelve feet by ten and eight feet high8 which a finishing-school girl had once considered outrageously confined for one lone young wo0an. #ere they slept8 in two tiers of three bun-s eachH here they ate8 washed8 played cards8 read8 and enjoyed the leisurely conte0plation which8 as !aptain !owlic- preached to the0 every *unday 0orning8 was to refor0 their blac- souls and turn the0 into loyal !orpos.

.one of the08 certainly not Dore0us8 co0plained 0uch. They got used to sleeping in a jelly of tobacco s0o-e and hu0an stench8 to eating stews that always left the0 nervously hungry8 to having no 0ore dignity or freedo0 than 0on-eys in a cage8 as a 0an gets used to the indignity of having to endure cancer. 3nly it left in the0 a 0urderous hatred of their oppressors so that they8 0en of peace all of the08 would gladly have hanged every !orpo8 0ild or vicious. Dore0us understood 5ohn Brown 0uch better.

#is cell 0ates were Larl Pascal8 #enry ?eeder8 and three 0en who0 he had not -nown: a Boston architect8 a far0 hand8 and a dope fiend who had once -ept @uestionable restaurants. They had good tal---especially fro0 the dope fiend8 who placidly defended cri0e in a world where the only real cri0e had been poverty.

The worst torture to Dore0us8 aside fro0 the agony of actual floggings8 was the waiting.

The 9aiting. t beca0e a distinct8 tangible thing8 as individual and real as Bread or 9ater. #ow long would he be inM #ow long would he be inM .ight and day8 asleep and wa-ing8 he worried it8 and by his bun- saw waiting the figure of 9aiting8 a gray8 foul ghost.

t was li-e waiting in a filthy station for a late train8 not for hours but for 0onths.

9ould *wan a0use hi0self by having Dore0us ta-en out and shotM #e could not care 0uch8 nowH he could not picture it8 any 0ore than he could picture -issing +orinda8 wal-ing through the woods with Buc-8 playing with David and >oolish8 or anything less sensual than the ever derisive visions of roast beef with gravy8 of a hot bath8 last and richest of lu=uries where their only way of washing8 e=cept for a fortnightly shower8 was with a dirty shirt dipped in the one basin of cold water for si= 0en.

Besides 9aiting8 one other ghost hung about the0--the notion of 1scaping. t was of that $far 0ore than of the beastliness and idiocy of the !orpos) that they whispered in the cell at night. 9hen to escape. #ow to escape. To snea- off through the bushes when they were out with the woods gangM By so0e 0agic to cut through the bars on their cell window and drop out and blessedly not be seen by the patrolsM To 0anage to hang on underneath one of the prison truc-s and be driven awayM $A childish fantasyJ) They longed for escape as hysterically and as often as a politician longs for votes. But they had to discuss it cautiously8 for there were stool pigeons all

over the prison.

This was hard for Dore0us to believe. #e could not understand a 0an"s betraying his co0panions8 and he did not believe it till8 two 0onths after Dore0us had gone to concentration ca0p8 !lifford +ittle betrayed to the guards #enry ?eeder"s plan to escape in a hay wagon. #enry was properly dealt with. +ittle was released. And Dore0us8 it 0ay be8 suffered over it nearly as 0uch as either of the08 sturdily though he tried to argue that +ittle had tuberculosis and that the often beatings had bled out his soul.

1ach prisoner was per0itted one visitor a fortnight and8 in se@uence8 Dore0us saw 100a8 2ary8 *issy8 David. But always an 2.2. was standing two feet away8 listening8 and Dore0us had fro0 the0 nothing 0ore than a fluttering8 E9e"re all fine--we hear Buc- is all right--we hear +orinda is doing fine in her new tea roo0--Philip writes he is all right.E And once ca0e Philip hi0self8 his po0pous son8 0ore po0pous than ever now as a !orpo judge8 and very hurt about his father"s insane radicalis0--considerably 0ore hurt when Dore0us tartly observed that he would 0uch rather have had the dog >oolish for visitor.

And there were letters--all censored--worse than useless to a 0an who had been so glad to hear the living voices of his friends.

n the long run8 these frustrate visits8 these e0pty letters8 0ade his waiting the 0ore dis0al8 because they suggested that perhaps he was wrong in his nightly visionsH perhaps the world outside was not so loving and eager and adventurous as he re0e0bered it8 but only dreary as his cell.

#e had little -nown Larl Pascal8 yet now the argu0entative 2ar=ian was his nearest friend8 his one a0using consolation. Larl could and did prove that the trouble with lea-y valves8 sour cow pastures8 the teaching of calculus8 and all novels was their failure to be guided by the writings of +enin.

n his new friendship8 Dore0us was old-0aidishly agitated lest Larl be ta-en out and shot8 the recognition usually given to !o00unists. #e discovered that he need not worry. Larl had been in jail before. #e was the trained agitator for who0 Dore0us had longed in .ew Dnderground days. #e had ferreted out so 0any scandals about the financial and se=ual shenanigans of every one of the guards that they were afraid that even while he was being shot8 he 0ight tattle to the firing-s@uad. They were 0uch 0ore an=ious for his good opinion than for that of !aptain !owlic-8 and they ti0idly brought hi0 little presents of chewing tobacco and !anadian newspapers8 as though they were schoolchildren honeying up to teacher.

9hen Aras Dilley was transferred fro0 night patrols in >ort Beulah to the position of guard at Trianon--a reward for having given to *had +edue certain infor0ation about <. !. !rowley which cost that ban-er hundreds of dollars--Aras8 that slin-er8 that able snooper8 ju0ped at the sight of Larl and began to loo- pious and -ind. #e had -nown Larl beforeJ

Despite the presence of *toyt8 1nsign of guards8 an e=-cashier who had once enjoyed shooting dogs and who now8 in the blessed escape of !orpois08 enjoyed lashing hu0an beings8 the ca0p at Trianon was not so cruel as the district prison at #anover. But fro0 the dirty window of his cell Dore0us saw horrors enough.

3ne 0id-0orning8 a radiant *epte0ber 0orning with the air already savoring the peace of autu0n8 he saw the firing-s@uad 0arching out his cousin8 #enry ?eeder8 who had recently tried to escape. #enry had been a granite 0onolith of a 0an. #e had wal-ed li-e a soldier. #e had8 in

his cell8 been proud of shaving every 0orning8 as once he had done8 with a tin basin of water heated on the stove8 in the -itchen of his old white house up on 2ount Terror. .ow he stooped8 and toward death he wal-ed with dragging feet. #is face of a <o0an senator was s0eared fro0 the cow dung into which they had flung hi0 for his last slu0ber.

As they tra0ped out through the @uadrangle gate8 1nsign *toyt8 co00anding the s@uad8 halted #enry8 laughed at hi08 and cal0ly -ic-ed hi0 in the groin.

They lifted hi0 up. Three 0inutes later Dore0us heard a ripple of shots. Three 0inutes after that the s@uad ca0e bac- bearing on an old door a twisted clay figure with vacant open eyes. Then Dore0us cried aloud. As the bearers slanted the stretcher8 the figure rolled to the ground.

But one thing worse he was to see through the accursed window. The guards drove in8 as new prisoners8 5ulian >alc-8 in torn unifor08 and 5ulian"s grandfather8 so fragile8 so silvery8 so bewildered and terrified in his 0uddied clericals.

#e saw the0 -ic-ed across the @uadrangle into a building once devoted to instruction in dancing and the 0ore delicate airs for the pianoH devoted now to the torture roo0 and the solitary cells.

.ot for two wee-s8 two wee-s of waiting that was li-e ceaseless ache8 did he have a chance8 at e=ercise hour8 to spea- for a 0o0ent to 5ulian8 who 0uttered8 EThey caught 0e writing so0e inside dope about 2.2. graft. t was to have gone to *issy. Than- God8 nothing on it to show who it was forJE 5ulian had passed on. But Dore0us had had ti0e to see that his eyes were hopeless8 and that his neat8 s0allish8 clerical face was blue-blac- with bruises.

The ad0inistration $or so Dore0us guessed) decided that 5ulian8 the first spy a0ong the 2.2."s who had been caught in the >ort Beulah region8 was too good a subject of sport to be wastefully shot at once. #e should be -ept for an e=a0ple. 3ften Dore0us saw the guards -ic- hi0 across the @uadrangle to the whipping roo0 and i0agined that he could hear 5ulian"s shrie-s afterward. #e wasn"t even -ept in a punish0ent cell8 but in an open barred den on an ordinary corridor8 so that passing in0ates could peep in and see hi08 welts across his na-ed bac-8 huddled on the floor8 whi0pering li-e a beaten dog.

And Dore0us had sight of 5ulian"s grandfather snea-ing across the @uadrangle8 stealing a soggy hun- of bread fro0 a garbage can8 and fiercely chewing at it.

All through *epte0ber Dore0us worried lest *issy8 with 5ulian now gone fro0 >ort Beulah8 be raped by *had +edue. . . . *had would leer the while8 and gloat over his ascent fro0 hired 0an to irresistible 0aster.

Despite his anguish over the >alc-s and #enry ?eeder and every uncouthest co0rade in prison8 Dore0us was al0ost recovered fro0 his beatings by late *epte0ber. #e began delightedly to believe that he would live for another ten yearsH was slightly asha0ed of his delight8 in the presence of so 0uch agony8 but he felt li-e a young 0an and--And straightway 1nsign *toyt was there $two or three o"cloc- at night it 0ust have been)8 yan-ing Dore0us out of his bun-8 pulling hi0 to his feet8 -noc-ing hi0 down again with so violent a crac- in his 0outh that Dore0us instantly san- again into all his tre0bling fear8 all his inhu0an groveling.

#e was dragged into !aptain !owlic-"s office.

The !aptain was courtly:

E2r. 5essup8 we have infor0ation that you were connected with *@uad-+eader 5ulian >alc-"s treachery. #e has8 uh8 well8 to be fran-8 he"s bro-en down and confessed. .ow you yourself are in no danger8 no danger whatever8 of further punish0ent8 if you will just help us. But we really 0ust 0a-e a warning of young 2r. >alc-8 and so if you will tell us all you -now about the boy"s shoc-ing infidelity to the colors8 we shall hold it in your favor. #ow would you li-e to have a nice bedroo0 to sleep in8 all by yourselfME

A @uarter hour later Dore0us was still swearing that he -new nothing whatever of any

Esubversive activitiesE on the part of 5ulian.

!aptain !owlic- said8 rather testily8 E9ell8 since you refuse to respond to our generosity8 0ust leave you to 1nsign *toyt8 "0 afraid. . . . Be gentle with hi08 1nsign.E

E:essr8E said the 1nsign.

The !aptain wearily trotted out of the roo0 and *toyt did indeed spea- with gentleness8 which was a surprise to Dore0us8 because in the roo0 were two of the guards to who0 *toyt li-ed to show off:

E5essup8 you"re a 0an of intelligence. .o use your trying to protect this boy8 >alc-8 because we"ve got enough on hi0 to e=ecute hi0 anyway. *o it won"t be hurting hi0 any if you give us a few 0ore details about his treason. And you"ll be doing yourself a good turn.E

Dore0us said nothing.

EGoing to tal-ME

Dore0us shoo- his head.

EAll right8 then. . . . TillettJE

E:essr.E

EBring in the guy that s@uealed on 5essupJE

Dore0us e=pected the guard to fetch 5ulian8 but it was 5ulian"s grandfather who wavered into the roo0. n the ca0p @uadrangle Dore0us had often seen hi0 trying to preserve the dignity of his froc- coat by rubbing at the spots with a wet rag8 but in the cells there were no hoo-s for clothes8 and the priestly gar0ent--2r. >alc- was a poor 0an and it had not been very e=pensive at best--was grotes@uely wrin-led now. #e was blin-ing with sleepiness8 and his silver hair was a hurrah"s nest.

*toyt $he was thirty or so) said cheerfully to the two elders8 E9ell8 now8 you boys better stop being naughty and try to get so0e sense into your 0ildewed old brains8 and then we can all have so0e decent sleep. 9hy don"t you two try to be honest8 now that you"ve each confessed that the other was a traitorME

E9hatME 0arveled Dore0us.

E*ureJ 3ld >alc- here says you carried his grandson"s pieces to the ?er0ont ?igilance. !o0e on8 now8 if you"ll tell us who published that rag--E

E have confessed nothing. have nothing to confess8E said 2r. >alc-.

*toyt screa0ed8 E9ill you shut upM :ou old hypocriteJE *toyt -noc-ed hi0 to the floor8 and as 2r. >alc- weaved diGGily on hands and -nees8 -ic-ed hi0 in the side with a heavy boot. The other two guards were holding bac- the sputtering Dore0us. *toyt jeered at 2r. >alc-8 E9ell8 you old bastard8 you"re on your -nees8 so let"s hear you prayJE

E shallJE

n agony 2r. >alc- raised his head8 dust-s0eared fro0 the floor8 straightened his shoulders8 held up tre0bling hands8 and with such sweetness in his voice as Dore0us had once heard in it when 0en were hu0an8 he cried8 E>ather8 Thou hast forgiven so longJ >orgive the0 not but curse the08 for they -now what they doJE #e tu0bled forward8 and Dore0us -new that he would never hear that voice again.

n +a ?oi= littFraire of Paris8 the celebrated and genial professor of belles-lettres8 Guillau0e *e0it8 wrote with his accusto0ed sy0pathy:

do not pretend to any -nowledge of politics8 and probably what saw on 0y fourth journey to the *tates Dnited this su00er of %&'4 was 0ostly on the surface and cannot be considered a profound analysis of the effects of !orpois08 but assure you that have never before seen that nation so great8 our young and gigantic cousin in the 9est8 in such bounding health and good spirits. leave it to 0y econo0ic confr\res to e=plain such dull pheno0ena as wage-scales8 and tell only what saw8 which is that the innu0erable parades and vast athletic conferences of the 2inute 2en and the lads and lassies of the !orpo :outh 2ove0ent e=hibited such rosy8 contented faces8 such undeviating enthusias0 for their hero8 the !hief8 2. 9indrip8 that involuntarily e=clai0ed8 E#ere is a whole nation dipped in the <iver of :outh.E

1verywhere in the country was such feverish rebuilding of public edifices and apart0ent houses for the poor as has never hitherto been -nown. n 9ashington8 0y old colleague8 2. le *ecretary 2acgoblin8 was so good as to cry8 in that virile yet cultivated 0anner of his which is so well -nown8 E3ur ene0ies 0aintain that our labor ca0ps are virtual slavery. !o0e8 0y old oneJ :ou shall see for yourself.E #e conducted 0e by one of the 0arvelously speedy A0erican auto0obiles to such a ca0p8 near 9ashington8 and having the wor-ers asse0bled8 he put to the0 fran-ly: EAre you low in the heartME As one 0an they chorused8 E.o8E with a spirit li-e our own brave soldiers on the ra0parts of ?erdun.

During the full hour we spent there8 was per0itted to roa0 at will8 as-ing such @uestions as cared to8 through the offices of the interpreter -indly furnished by #is 1=cellency8 2. le Dr. 2acgoblin8 and every wor-er who0 thus approached assured 0e that never has he been so well fed8 so tenderly treated8 and so assisted to find an al0ost poetic interest in his chosen woras in this labor ca0p--this scientific cooperation for the well-being of all.

9ith a certain te0erity ventured to de0and of 2. 2acgoblin what truth was there in the reports so sha0efully circulated $especially8 alas8 in our beloved >rance) that in the concentration ca0ps the opponents of !orpois0 are ill fed and harshly treated. 2. 2acgoblin e=plained to 0e that there are no such things as Econcentration ca0ps8E if that ter0 is to carry any penological significance. They are8 actually8 schools8 in which adults who have unfortunately been 0isled by the glib prophets of that 0il--and-water religion8 E+iberalis08E are reconditioned to co0prehend the new day of authoritative econo0ic control. n such ca0ps8 he assured 0e8 there are actually no guards8 but only patient teachers8 and 0en who were once utterly unco0prehending of !orpois08 and therefore opposed to it8 are now daily going forth as the 0ost enthusiastic disciples of the !hief.

Alas that >rance and Great Britain should still be thrashing about in the slough of Parlia0entarianis0 and so-called De0ocracy8 daily sin-ing deeper into debt and paralysis of industry8 because of the cowardice and traditionalis0 of our +iberal leaders8 feeble and out0oded 0en who are afraid to plu0p for either >ascis0 or !o00unis0H who dare not--or who are too power hungry--to cast off out0oded techni@ues8 li-e the Ger0ans8 A0ericans8 talians8 Tur-s8 and other really courageous peoples8 and place the sane and scientific control of the all-powerful Totalitarian *tate in the hands of 2en of <esolutionJ

n 3ctober8 5ohn Polli-op8 arrested on suspicion of having just possibly helped a refugee to escape8 arrived in the Trianon ca0p8 and the first words between hi0 and his friend Larl Pascal were no in@uiries about health8 but a derisive interchange8 as though they were continuing a conversation bro-en only half an hour before:

E9ell8 you old Bolshevi-8 told you soJ f you !o00unists had joined with 0e and .or0an Tho0as to bac- >ran- <oosevelt8 we wouldn"t be here nowJE

E<atsJ 9hy8 it"s Tho0as and <oosevelt that started >ascis0J as- youJ .ow shut up8 5ohn8 and listen: 9hat was the .ew Deal but pure >ascis0M 9hadthey do to the wor-erM +oo- hereJ .o8 wait now8 listen--E

Dore0us felt at ho0e again8 and co0forted--though he did also feel that >oolish probably had 0ore constructive econo0ic wisdo0 than 5ohn Polli-op8 Larl Pascal8 #erbert #oover8 BuGG 9indrip8 +ee *arason8 and hi0self put togetherH or if not8 >oolish had the sense to conceal his lac- of wisdo0 by pretending that he could not spea- 1nglish.

*had +edue8 bac- in his hotel suite8 reflected that he was getting a dirty deal. #e had been responsible for sending 0ore traitors to concentration ca0ps than any other county co00issioner in the province8 yet he had not been pro0oted.

t was lateH he was just bac- fro0 a dinner given by >rancis Tasbrough in honor of Provincial !o00issioner *wan and a board consisting of 5udge Philip 5essup8 Director of 1ducation 3wen 5. Peaseley8 and Brigadier Lippersly8 who were investigating the ability of ?er0ont to pay 0ore ta=es.

*had felt discontented. All those da0ned snobs trying to show offJ Tal-ing at dinner about this bu0 show in .ew :or---this first !orpo revue8 !allin" *talin8 written by +ee *arason and #ector 2acgoblin. #ow those nuts had put on the agony about E!orpo art8E and Edra0a freed fro0 5ewish suggestivenessE and Ethe pure line of Anglo-*a=on sculptureE and even8 by God8 about E!orporate physicsEJ *i0ply trying to show offJ And they had paid no attention to *had when he had told his funny story about the stuc--up preacher in >ort Beulah8 one >alc-8 who had been so jealous because the 2.2."s drilled on *unday 0orning instead of going to his gospel shop that he had tried to get his grandson to 0a-e up lies about the 2.2."s8 and who0 *had had a0usingly arrested right in his own churchJ .ot paid one bit of attention to hi08 even though he had carefully read all through the !hief"s Oero #our so he could @uote it8 and though he had been careful to be refined in his table 0anners and to stic- out his little finger when he dranfro0 a glass.

#e was lonely.

The fellows he had once best -nown8 in pool roo0 and barber shop8 see0ed frightened of hi08 now8 and the dirty snobs li-e Tasbrough still ignored hi0.

#e was lonely for *issy 5essup.

*ince her dad had been sent to Trianon8 *had didn"t see0 able to get her to co0e around to his roo0s8 even though he was the !ounty !o00issioner and she was nothing now but the busted daughter of a cri0inal.

And he was craGy about her. 9hy8 he"d be al0ost willing to 0arry her8 if he couldn"t get her any other wayJ But when he had hinted as 0uch--or al0ost as 0uch--she had just laughed at hi08 the dirty little snobJ

#e had thought8 when he was a hired 0an8 that there was a lot 0ore fun in being rich and fa0ous. #e didn"t feel one bit different than he had thenJ >unnyJ

'6

Dr. +ionel Ada0s8 B.A. of :ale8 Ph.D. of !hicago8 .egro8 had been a journalist8 A0erican consul in Africa and8 at the ti0e of BerGelius 9indrip"s election8 professor of anthropology in #oward Dniversity. As with all his colleagues8 his professorship was ta-en over by a 0ost worthy and needy white 0an8 whose training in anthropology had been as photographer on one e=pedition to :ucatan. n the dissension between the Boo-er 9ashington school of .egroes who counseled patience in the new subjection of the .egroes to slavery8 and the radicals who de0anded that they join the !o00unists and struggle for the econo0ic freedo0 of all8 white or blac-8 Professor Ada0s too- the 0ild8 >abian for0er position.

#e went over the country preaching to his people that they 0ust be Erealistic8E and 0a-e what future they couldH not in so0e Dtopian fantasy but on the inescapable basis of the ban against the0.

.ear Burlington8 ?er0ont8 there is a s0all colony of .egroes8 truc- far0ers8 gardeners8 housewor-ers8 0ostly descended fro0 slaves who8 before the !ivil 9ar8 escaped to !anada by the EDnderground <ailwayE conducted by such Gealots as Tru0an 9ebb"s grandfather8 but who sufficiently loved the land of their forcible adoption to return to A0erica after the war. >ro0 the colony had gone to the great cities young colored people who $before the !orpo e0ancipation) had been nurses8 doctors8 0erchants8 officials.

This colony Professor Ada0s addressed8 bidding the young colored rebels to see- i0prove0ent within their own souls rather than in 0ere social superiority.

As he was in person un-nown to this Burlington colony8 !aptain 3scar +edue8 nic-na0ed E*had8E was su00oned to censor the lecture. #e sat hul-ed down in a chair at the bac- of the hall. Aside fro0 addresses by 2.2. officers8 and 0oral inspiration by his teachers in gra00ar school8 it was the first lecture he had ever heard in his life8 and he didn"t thin- 0uch of it. #e was irritated that this stuc--up nigger didn"t spiel li-e the characters of 3ctavus <oy !ohen8 one of *had"s favorite authors8 but had the nerve to try to sling 1nglish just as good as *had hi0self. t was 0ore irritating that the loud-0outhed pup should loo- so 0uch li-e a bronGe statue8 and finally8 it was si0ply 0ore than a guy could stand that the big bu0 should be wearing a Tu=edoJ

*o when Ada0s8 as he called hi0self8 clai0ed that there were good poets and teachers and even doctors and engineers a0ong the niggers8 which was plainly an effort to incite fol-s to rebellion against the govern0ent8 *had signaled his s@uad and arrested Ada0s in the 0idst of his lecture8 addressing hi08 E:ou God-da0n dirty8 ignorant8 stin-ing niggerJ "0 going to shut your big 0outh for you8 for -eepsJE

Dr. Ada0s was ta-en to the Trianon concentration ca0p. 1nsign *toyt thought it would be a good jo-e on those fresh beggars $al0ost !o00unists8 you 0ight say) 5essup and Pascal to lodge the nigger right in the sa0e cell with the0. But they actually see0ed to li-e Ada0sH tal-ed to hi0 as though he were white and educatedJ *o *toyt placed hi0 in a solitary cell8 where he

could thin- over his cri0e in having bitten the hand that had fed hi0.

The greatest single shoc- that ever ca0e to the Trianon ca0p was in .ove0ber8 %&'48 when there appeared a0ong the08 as the newest prisoner8 *had +edue.

t was he who was responsible for nearly half of the0 being there.

The prisoners whispered that he had been arrested on charges by >rancis TasbroughH officially8 for having grafted on shop-eepersH unofficially8 for having failed to share enough of the graft with Tasbrough. But such cloudy causes were less discussed than the @uestion of how they would 0urder *had now they had hi0 safe.

All 2inute 2en who were under discipline8 e=cept only such <eds as 5ulian >alc-8 were privileged prisoners in the concentration ca0psH they were safeguarded against the co00on8 i.e.8 cri0inal8 i.e.8 political in0atesH and 0ost of the08 once refor0ed8 were returned to the 2.2. ran-s8 with a greatly i0proved -nowledge of how to flog 0alcontents. *had was housed by hi0self in a single cell li-e a not-too-bad hall-bedroo08 and every evening he was per0itted to spend two hours in the officers" 0ess roo0. The scu0 could not get at hi08 because his e=ercise hour was at a ti0e different fro0 theirs.

Dore0us begged the plotters against *had to restrain the0selves.

EGood +ord8 Dore0us8 do you 0ean that after the sure-enough battles we"ve gone through you"re still a bourgeois pacifist--that you still believe in the sanctity of a lu0p of hog 0eat li-e +edueME de0anded Larl Pascal.

E9ell8 yes8 do--a little. -now that *had ca0e fro0 a fa0ily of twelve underfed brats up on 2ount Terror. .ot 0uch chance. But 0ore i0portant than that8 don"t believe in individual assassination as an effective 0eans of fighting despotis0. The blood of the tyrants is the seed of the 0assacre and--E

EAre you ta-ing a cue fro0 0e and @uoting sound doctrine when it"s the ti0e for a little li@uidationME said Larl. EThis one tyrant"s going to lose a lot of bloodJE

The Pascal who0 Dore0us had considered as8 at his 0ost violent8 only a gas bag8 loo-ed at hi0 with a stare in which all friendliness was froGen. Larl de0anded of his cell 0ates8 a different set now than at Dore0us"s arrival8 E*hall we get rid of this typhus ger08 +edueME

5ohn Polli-op8 Tru0an 9ebb8 the surgeon8 the carpenter8 each of the0 nodded8 slowly8 without feeling.

At e=ercise hour8 the discipline of the 0en 0arching out to the @uadrangle was bro-en when one prisoner stu0bled8 with a cry8 -noc-ed over another 0an8 and loudly apologiGed--just at the barred entrance of *had +edue"s cell. The accident 0ade a -not collect before the cell. Dore0us8 on the edge of it8 saw *had loo-ing out8 his wide face blan- with fear.

*o0eone8 so0ehow8 had lighted and thrown into *had"s cell a large wad of waste8 soa-ed with gasoline. t caught the thin wallboard which divided *had"s cell fro0 the ne=t. The whole roo0

loo-ed presently li-e the fire bo= of a furnace. *had was screa0ing8 as he beat at his sleeves8 his shoulders. Dore0us re0e0bered the screa0 of a horse clawed by wolves in the >ar .orth.

9hen they got *had out8 he was dead. #e had no face at all.

!aptain !owlic- was deposed as superintendent of the ca0p8 and vanished to the insignificance whence he had co0e. #e was succeeded by *had"s friend8 the belligerent *na-e TiGra8 now a battalion-leader. #is first e=ecutive act was to have all the two hundred in0ates drawn up in the @uadrangle and to announce8 E "0 not going to tell you guys anything about how "0 going to feed you or sleep you till "ve finished putting the fear of God into every one of you 0urderersJE

There were offers of co0plete pardon for anyone who would betray the 0an who had thrown the burning waste into *had"s cell. t was followed by enthusiastic private offers fro0 the prisoners that anyone who did thus tattle would not live to get out. *o8 as Dore0us had guessed8 they all suffered 0ore than *had"s death had been worth--and to hi08 thin-ing of *issy8 thin-ing of *had"s testi0ony at #anover8 it had been worth a great dealH it had been very precious and lovely.

A court of special in@uiry was convened8 with Provincial !o00issioner 1ffingha0 *wan hi0self presiding $he was very busy with all bad wor-sH he used aeroplanes to be about the0). Ten prisoners8 one out of every twenty in the ca0p8 were chosen by lot and shot su00arily. A0ong the0 was Professor ?ictor +oveland8 who8 for all his rags and scars8 was neatly acade0ic to the last8 with his eyeglasses and his slic- tow-colored hair parted in the 0iddle as he loo-ed at the firing-s@uad.

*uspects li-e 5ulian >alc- were beaten 0ore often8 -ept longer in those cells in which one could not stand8 sit8 nor lie.

Then8 for two wee-s in Dece0ber8 all visitors and all letters were forbidden8 and newly arrived prisoners were shut off by the0selvesH and the cell 0ates8 li-e boys in a dor0itory8 would sit up till 0idnight in whispered discussion as to whether this was 0ore vengeance by *na-e TiGra8 or whether so0ething was happening in the 9orld 3utside that was too disturbing for the prisoners to -now.

''

9hen the >alc-s and 5ohn Polli-op had been arrested and had joined her father in prison8 when such 0ore ti0id rebels as 2ungo Litteric- and #arry Linder0ann had been scared away fro0 .ew Dnderground activities8 2ary Greenhill had to ta-e over the control of the >ort Beulah cell8 with only *issy8 >ather Perefi=e8 Dr. 3l0sted and his driver8 and half-a-doGen other agents left8 and control it she did8 with angry devotion and not too 0uch sense. All she could do was to help in the escape of refugees and to forward such 0inor anti-!orpo news ite0s as she could discover8 with 5ulian gone.

The de0on that had grown within her ever since her husband had been e=ecuted now beca0e a great tu0or8 and 2ary was furious at inaction. Iuite gravely she tal-ed about assassinations-and long before the day of 2ary Greenhill8 daughter of Dore0us8 gold-ar0ored tyrants in towers had tre0bled at the 0enace of young widows in villages a0ong the dar- hills.

*he wanted8 first8 to -ill *had +edue who $she did not -now8 but guessed) had probably done the actual shooting of her husband. But in this s0all place it 0ight hurt her fa0ily even 0ore than they had been hurt. *he hu0orlessly suggested8 before *had was arrested and 0urdered8 that it would be a pretty piece of espionage for *issy to go and live with hi0. The once flippant *issy8 so thin and @uiet ever since her 5ulian had been ta-en away8 was certain that 2ary had gone 0ad8 and at night was terrified. . . . *he re0e0bered how 2ary8 in the days when she had been a crystal-hard8 crystal-bright sportswo0an8 had with her riding-crop beaten a far0er who had

tortured a dog.

2ary was fed-up with the cautiousness of Dr. 3l0sted and >ather Perefi=e8 0en who rather li-ed a vague state called >reedo0 but did not over0uch care for being lynched. *he stor0ed at the0. !all the0selves 0enM 9hy didn"t they go out and do so0ethingM

At ho0e8 she was irritated by her 0other8 who la0ented hardly 0ore about Dore0us"s jailing than she did about the beloved little tables that had been s0ashed during his arrest.

t was e@ually the blasts about the greatness of the new Provincial !o00issioner8 1ffingha0 *wan8 in the !orpo press and 0e0oranda in the secret ..D. reports about his @uic- death verdicts against prisoners that 0ade her decide to -ill this dignitary. 1ven 0ore than *had $who had not yet been sent to Trianon)8 she bla0ed hi0 for >owler"s fate. *he thought it out @uite cal0ly. That was the sort of thin-ing that the !orpos were encouraging a0ong decent ho0ebody wo0en by their progra0 for revitaliGing national A0erican pride.

1=cept with babies acco0panying 0others8 two visitors together were forbidden in the concentration ca0ps. *o8 when 2ary saw Dore0us and8 in another ca0p8 Buc- Titus8 in early 3ctober8 she could only 0ur0ur8 in al0ost the sa0e words to each of the08 E+istenJ 9hen leave you "ll hold up David--but8 heavens8 what a hus-y lu0p he"s beco0eJ--at the gate8 so you can see hi0. f anything should ever happen to 0e8 if should get sic- or so0ething8 when you get out you"ll ta-e care of David--won"t you8 won"t youME

*he was trying to be 0atter-of-fact8 that they 0ight not worry. *he was not succeeding very well.

*o she drew out8 fro0 the s0all fund which her father had established for her after >owler"s

death8 enough 0oney for a couple of 0onths8 e=ecuted a power of attorney by which either her 0other or her sister could draw the rest8 casually -issed David and 100a and *issy good-bye8 and--chatty and gay as she too- the train--went off to Albany8 capital of the .ortheastern Province. The story was that she needed a change and was going to stay near Albany with >owler"s 0arried sister.

*he did actually stay with her sister-in-law--long enough to get her bearings. Two days after her arrival8 she went to the new Albany training-field of the !orpo 9o0en"s >lying !orps and enlisted for lessons in aviation and bo0bing.

9hen the inevitable war should co0e8 when the govern0ent should decide whether it was !anada8 2e=ico8 <ussia8 !uba8 5apan8 or perhaps *taten sland that was E0enacing her borders8E and proceed to defend itself outwards8 then the best wo0en flyers of the !orps were to have !o00issions in an official ar0y au=iliary. The old-fashioned ErightsE granted to wo0en by the +iberals 0ight $for their own sa-es) be ta-en fro0 the08 but never had they had 0ore right to die in battle.

9hile she was learning8 she wrote to her fa0ily reassuringly--0ostly postcards to David8 bidding hi0 0ind whatever his grand0other said.

*he lived in a lively boarding-house8 filled with 2.2. officers who -new all about and tal-ed a little about the fre@uent inspection trips of !o00issioner *wan8 by aeroplane. *he was co0pli0ented by @uite a nu0ber of insulting proposals there.

*he had driven a car ever since she had been fifteen: in Boston traffic8 across the Iuebec plains8 on roc-y hill roads in a bliGGardH she had 0ade repairs at 0idnightH and she had an accurate eye8 nerves trained outdoors8 and the resolute steadiness of a 0ad0an evading notice while he plots death. After ten hours of instruction8 by an 2.2. aviator who thought the air was as good a place as any to 0a-e love in and who could never understand why 2ary laughed at hi08 she 0ade her first solo flight8 with an ad0irable landing. The instructor said $a0ong other things less apropos) that she had no fearH that the one thing she needed for 0astery was a little fear.

2eanti0e she was an obedient student in classes in bo0bing8 a branch of culture daily 0ore propagated by the !orpos.

*he was particularly interested in the 2ills hand grenade. :ou pulled out the safety pin8 holding the lever against the grenade with your fingers8 and tossed. >ive seconds after the lever was thus loosened8 the grenade e=ploded and -illed a lot of people. t had never been used fro0 planes8 but it 0ight be worth trying8 thought 2ary. 2.2. officers told her that *wan8 when a 0ob of steel-wor-ers had been -ic-ed out of a plant and started rioting8 had ta-en co00and of the peace officers8 and hi0self $they chuc-led with ad0iration of his readiness) hurled such a grenade. t had -illed two wo0en and a baby.

2ary too- her si=th solo flight on a .ove0ber 0orning gray and @uiet under snow clouds. *he had never been very tal-ative with the ground crew but this 0orning she said it e=cited her to thin- she could leave the ground Eli-e a reg"lar angelE and shoot up and hang around that un-nown wilderness of clouds. *he patted a strut of her 0achine8 a high-wing +eonard 0onoplane with open coc-pit8 a new and very fast 0ilitary 0achine8 0eant for both pursuit and @uic- jobs of bo0bing . . . @uic- jobs of slaughtering a few hundred troops in close for0ation.

At the field8 as she had been infor0ed he would8 District !o00issioner 1ffingha0 *wan was boarding his big official cabin plane for a flight presu0ably into .ew 1ngland. #e was tallH a distinguished8 0ilitary-loo-ing8 polo-suggesting dignitary in 0asterfully si0ple blue serge with just a light flying-hel0et. A doGen yes-0en buGGed about hi0--secretaries8 bodyguards8 a chauffeur8 a couple of county co00issioners8 educational directors8 labor directors--their hats in their hands8 their s0iles on their faces8 their souls wriggling with gratitude to hi0 for per0itting the0 to e=ist. #e snapped at the0 a good deal and bustled. As he 0ounted the steps to the cabin $2ary thought of E!asey 5onesE and s0iled)8 a 0essenger on a tre0endous 0otorcycle blared up with the last telegra0s. There see0ed to be half a hundred of the yellow envelopes8 2ary 0arveled. #e tossed the0 to the secretary who was hu0bly creeping after hi0. The door of the viceregal coach closed on the !o00issioner8 the secretary8 and two bodyguards lu0py with guns.

t was said that in his plane *wan had a des- that had belonged to #itler8 and before hi0 to 2arat.

To 2ary8 who had just lifted herself up into the coc-pit8 a 0echanic cried8 ad0iringly pointing after *wan"s plane as it lurched forward8 EGee8 what a grand guy that is--Boss *wan. hear where he"s flying down to 9ashington to chin with the !hief this 0orning--gee8 thin- of it8 with the !hiefJE

E9ouldn"t it be awful if so0ebody too- a shot at 2r. *wan and the !hiefM 2ight change all history8E 2ary shouted down.

E.o chance of thatJ *ee those guards of hisM *ay8 they could stand off a whole regi0ent--they could lic- 9alt Trowbridge and all the other !o00unists put togetherJE

E guess that"s so. .othing but God shooting down fro0 heaven could reach 2r. *wan.E

E#a8 haJ That"s goodJ But couple days ago heard where a fellow was saying he figured out God had gone to sleep.E

E2aybe it"s ti0e for #i0 to wa-e upJE said 2ary8 and raised her hand.

#er plane had a top of two hundred and eighty-five 0iles an hour--*wan"s golden chariot had but two hundred and thirty. *he was presently flying above and a little behind hi0. #is cabin plane8 which had see0ed huge as the Iueen 2ary when she had loo-ed up at its wing-spread on the ground8 now see0ed s0all as a white dove8 wavering above the patchy linoleu0 that was the ground.

*he drew fro0 the poc-ets of her flying-jac-et the three 2ills hand grenades she had 0anaged to steal fro0 the school yesterday afternoon. *he had not been able to get away with any heavier bo0b. As she loo-ed at the08 for the first ti0e she shudderedH she beca0e a thing of war0er blood than a 0ere attach0ent to the plane8 0echanical as the engine.

EBetter get it over before go ladyli-e8E she sighed8 and dived at the cabin plane.

.o doubt her co0ing was unwelco0e. .either Death nor 2ary Greenhill had 0ade a for0al engage0ent with 1ffingha0 *wan that 0orningH neither had telephoned8 nor bargained with irritable secretaries8 nor been neatly typed down on the great lord"s schedule for his last day of life. n his doGen offices8 in his 0arble ho0e8 in council hall and royal reviewing-stand8 his 0ost

precious e=cellence was guarded with steel. #e could not be approached by vulgarians li-e 2ary Greenhill--save in the air8 where e0peror and vulgarian ali-e are upheld only by toy wings and by the grace of God.

Three ti0es 2ary 0aneuvered above his plane and dropped a grenade. 1ach ti0e it 0issed. The cabin plane was descending8 to land8 and the guards were shooting up at her.

E3h wellJE she said8 and dived bluntly at a bright 0etal wing.

n her last ten seconds she thought how 0uch the wing loo-ed li-e the Ginc washboard which8 as a girl8 she had seen used by 2rs. !andy"s predecessor--now what was her na0eM--2a0ie or so0ething. And she wished she had spent 0ore ti0e with David the last few 0onths. And she noticed that the cabin plane see0ed rather rushing up at her than she down at it.

The crash was appalling. t ca0e just as she was patting her parachute and rising to leap out--too late. All she saw was an insane whirligig of s0ashed wings and huge engines that see0ed to have been hurled up into her face.

'B

*pea-ing of 5ulian before he was arrested8 probably the .ew Dnderground head@uarters in 2ontreal found no unusual value in his reports on 2.2. grafting and cruelty and plans for apprehending ..D. agitators. *till8 he had been able to warn four or five suspects to escape to !anada. #e had had to assist in several floggings. #e tre0bled so that the others laughed at hi0H and he 0ade his blows suspiciously light.

#e was set on being pro0oted to 2.2. district head@uarters in #anover8 and for it he studied typing and shorthand in his free ti0e. #e had a beautiful plan of going to that old fa0ily friend8 !o00issioner >rancis Tasbrough8 declaring that he wanted by his own noble @ualities to 0a-e up to the divine govern0ent for his father"s disloyalty8 and of getting hi0self 0ade Tasbrough"s secretary. f he could just peep at Tasbrough"s private filesJ Then there would be so0ething juicy for 2ontrealJ

*issy and he discussed it e=ultantly in their leafy rendeGvous. >or a whole half hour she was able to forget her father and Buc- in prison8 and what see0ed to her so0ething li-e 0adness in 2ary"s increasing restlessness.

5ust at the end of *epte0ber she saw 5ulian suddenly arrested.

*he was watching a review of 2.2."s on the Green. *he 0ight theoretically detest the blue 2.2. unifor0 as being all that 9alt Trowbridge $fre@uently) called it8 EThe old-ti0e e0ble0 of herois0 and the battle for freedo08 sacrilegiously turned by 9indrip and his gang into a sy0bol of everything that is cruel8 tyrannical8 and false8E but it did not da0pen her pride in 5ulian to see hi0 tri0 and shiny8 and officially set apart as a s@uad-leader co00anding his 0inor ar0y of ten.

9hile the co0pany stood at rest8 !ounty !o00issioner *had +edue dashed up in a large car8 sprang up8 strode to 5ulian8 bellowed8 EThis guy--this 0an is a traitorJE tore the 2.2. steeringwheel fro0 5ulian"s collar8 struc- hi0 in the face8 and turned hi0 over to his private gun0en8 while 5ulian"s 0ates groaned8 guffawed8 hissed8 and yelped.

*he was not allowed to see 5ulian at Trianon. *he could learn nothing save that he had not yet been e=ecuted.

9hen 2ary was -illed8 and buried as a 0ilitary heroine8 Philip ca0e bu0bling up fro0 his 2assachusetts judicial circuit. #e shoo- his head a great deal and pursed his lips.

E swear8E he said to 100a and *issy--though actually he did nothing so wholeso0e and natural as to swear--E swear "0 al0ost te0pted to thin-8 so0eti0es8 that both >ather and 2ary have8 or shall say had8 a touch of 0adness in the0. There 0ust be8 terrible though it is to say it8 but we 0ust face facts in these troublous days8 but honestly thin-8 so0eti0es8 there 0ust be a strain of 0adness so0ewhere in our fa0ily. Than- God have escaped itJ--if have no other virtues8 at least a0 certainly saneJ even if that 0ay have caused the Pater to thin- was nothing but 0ediocreJ And of course you are entirely free fro0 it8 2ater. t"s you that 0ust watch yourself8 !ecilia.E $*issy ju0ped slightlyH not at anything so grateful as being called craGy by Philip8 but at being called E!ecilia.E After all8 she ad0itted8 that probably was her na0e.) E hate to say it8 !ecilia8 but "ve often thought you had a dangerous tendency to be thoughtless and selfish. .ow 2ater: as you -now8 "0 a very busy 0an8 and si0ply can"t ta-e a lot of ti0e arguing and discussing8 but it see0s best to 0e8 and thin- can al0ost say that it see0s wise to 2erilla8 also8 that8 now that 2ary has passed on8 you should just close up this big house8 or 0uch better8 try to rent it8 as long as the poor Pater is--uh--as long as he"s away. don"t pretend to have as big a place as this8 but it"s ever so 0uch 0ore 0odern8 with gas furnace and up-todate plu0bing and all8 and have one of the first television sets in <ose +ane. hope it won"t hurt your feelings8 and as you -now8 whatever people 0ay say about 0e8 certainly "0 one of the first to believe in -eeping up the old traditions8 just as poor dear old 1ff *wan was8 but at the sa0e ti0e8 it see0s to 0e that the old ho0e here is a little on the dreary and old-fashioned side--of course never could persuade the Pater to bring it up to date8 but--Anyway8 want Davy and you to co0e live with us in 9orcester8 i00ediately. As for you8 *issy8 you will of course understand that you are entirely welco0e8 but perhaps you would prefer to do so0ething livelier8 such as joining the 9o0en"s !orpo Au=iliary--E

#e was8 *issy raged8 so da0ned -ind to everybodyJ *he couldn"t even stir herself to insult hi0 0uch. *he earnestly desired to8 when she found that he had brought David an 2.2. unifor08 and when David put it on and paraded about shouting8 li-e 0ost of the boys he played with8 E#ail 9indripJE

*he telephoned to +orinda Pi-e at Beecher >alls and was able to tell Philip that she was going to help +orinda in the tea roo0. 100a and David went off to 9orcester--at the last 0o0ent8 at the station8 100a decided to be pretty teary about it8 though David begged her to re0e0ber that they had Dncle Philip"s word for it that 9orcester was just the sa0e as Boston8 +ondon8

#ollywood8 and a 9ild 9est <anch put together. *issy stayed to get the house rented. 2rs. !andy8 who was going to open her ba-ery now and who never did infor0 the i0practical *issy whether or no she was being paid for these last wee-s8 0ade for *issy all the foreign dishes that only *issy and Dore0us cared for8 and they not uncheerfully dined together8 in the -itchen.

*o it was *had"s ti0e to swoop.

#e ca0e blusteringly calling on her8 in .ove0ber. .ever had she hated hi0 @uite so 0uch8 yet never so 0uch feared hi08 because of what he 0ight do to her father and 5ulian and Buc- and the others in concentration ca0ps.

#e grunted8 E9ell8 your boy-friend 5ule8 that thought he was so cute8 the poor heel8 we got all the dope on his double-crossing us8 all rightJ #e"ll never bother you againJE

E#e"s not so bad. +et"s forget hi0. . . . *hall play you so0ething on the pianoME

E*ure. *hoot. always did li-e high-class 0usic8E said the refined !o00issioner8 lolling on a couch8 putting his heels up on a da0as- chair8 in the roo0 where once he had cleaned the fireplace. f it was his serious purpose to discourage *issy in regard to that anti-!orpo institution8 the Dictatorship of the Proletariat8 he was succeeding even better than 5udge Philip 5essup. *ir 9illia0 Gilbert would have said of *had that he was so very8 very prolet-ari-an.

*he had played for but five 0inutes when he forgot that he was now refined8 and bawled8 E3h8 cut out the highbrow stuff and co0e on and sit downJE

*he stayed on the piano stool. 5ust what would she do if *had beca0e violentM There was no 5ulian to appear 0elodra0atically at the nic-ofti0e and rescue her. Then she re0e0bered 2rs. !andy8 in the -itchen8 and was content.

E9hat the hec- you snic-erin" atME said *had.

E3h--oh was just thin-ing about that story you told 0e about how 2r. >alc- bleated when you arrested hi0JE

E:eh8 that was co0ical. 3ld <everend certainly blatted li-e a goatJE

$!ould she -ill hi0M 9ould it be wise to -ill hi0M #ad 2ary 0eant to -ill *wanM 9ould They be harder on 5ulian and her father if she -illed *hadM ncidentally8 did it hurt 0uch to get hangedM)

#e was yawning8 E9ell8 *is8 ole -id8 how about you and 0e ta-ing a little trip to .ew :or- in a couple wee-sM *ee so0e high life. "ll get you the best soot in the best hotel in town8 and we"ll ta-e in so0e shows-- hear this !allin" *talin is a hot nu0ber--real !orpo art--and "ll buy you so0e honest-to-God cha0pagne wineJ And then if we find we li-e each other enough8 "0 willing for us8 if you are8 to get hitchedJE

EBut8 *hadJ 9e could never live on your salary. 0ean-- 0ean of course the !orpos ought to pay you better--0ean8 even better than they do.E

E+isten8 babyJ ain"t going to have to get along on any 0iserable county co00issioner"s salary the rest of 0y lifeJ Believe 0e8 "0 going to be a 0illionaire before very longJE

Then he told her: told her precisely the sort of discreditable secret for which she had so long fished in vain. Perhaps it was because he was sober. *had8 when drun-8 reversed all the rules and beca0e 0ore peasant-li-e and cautious with each drin-.

#e had a plan. That plan was as brutal and as infeasible as any plan of *had +edue for 0a-ing large 0oney would be. ts essence was that he should avoid 0anual labor and should 0a-e as 0any persons 0iserable as possible. t was li-e his plan8 when he was still a hired 0an8 to beco0e wealthy by breeding dogs--first stealing the dogs and8 preferably8 the -ennels.

As !ounty !o00issioner he had not 0erely8 as was the !orpo custo08 been bribed by the shop-eepers and professional 0en for protection against the 2.2."s. #e had actually gone into

partnership with the08 pro0ising the0 larger 2.2. orders8 and8 he boasted8 he had secret contracts with these 0erchants all written down and signed and tuc-ed away in his office safe.

*issy got rid of hi0 that evening by being difficult8 while letting hi0 assu0e that the con@uest of her would not ta-e 0ore than three or four 0ore days. *he cried furiously after he had gone--in the co0forting presence of 2rs. !andy8 who first put away a butcher -nife with which8 *issy suspected8 she had been standing ready all evening.

.e=t 0orning *issy drove to #anover and sha0elessly tattled to >rancis Tasbrough about the interesting docu0ents *had had in his safe. *he did not ever see *had +edue again.

*he was very sic- about his being -illed. *he was very sic- about all -illing. *he found no herois0 but only barbaric bestiality in having to -ill so that one 0ight so far live as to be halfway honest and -ind and secure. But she -new that she would be willing to do it again.

The 5essup house was 0agnilo@uently rented by that noble <o0an8 that political belch8 1=Governor sha0 #ubbard8 who8 being tired of again trying to 0a-e a living by peddling real estate and cri0inal law8 was pleased to accept the appoint0ent as successor to *had +edue.

*issy hastened to Beecher >alls and to +orinda Pi-e.

>ather Perefi=e too- charge of the ..D. cell8 0erely saying8 as he had said daily since BuGG 9indrip had been inaugurated8 that he was fed-up with the whole business and was i00ediately going bac- to !anada. n fact8 on his des- he had a !anadian ti0e-table.

t was now two years old.

*issy was in too snappish a state to stand being 0othered8 being fattened and sobbed over and brightly sent to bed. 2rs. !andy had done only too 0uch of that. And Philip had given her all the parental advice she could endure for a while. t was a relief when +orinda received her as an adult8 as one too sensible to insult by pity--received her8 in fact8 with as 0uch respect as if she were an ene0y and not a friend.

After dinner8 in +orinda"s new tea roo08 in an aged house which was now e0pty of guests for the winter e=cept for the constant infestation of whi0pering refugees8 +orinda8 -nitting8 0ade her first 0ention of the dead 2ary.

E suppose your sister did intend to -ill *wan8 ehME

E don"t -now. The !orpos didn"t see0 to thin- so. They gave her a big 0ilitary funeral.E

E9ell8 of course8 they don"t 0uch care to have assassinations tal-ed about and 0aybe sort of beco0e a general habit. agree with your father. thin- that8 in 0any cases8 assassinations are really rather unfortunate--a 0ista-e in tactics. .o. .ot good. 3h8 by the way8 *issy8 thin- "0 going to get your father out of concentration ca0p.E

E9hatME

+orinda had none of the 0atri0onial 0oans of 100aH she was as business-li-e as ordering eggs.

E:es. tried everything. went to see Tasbrough8 and that educational fellow8 Peaseley. .othing doing. They want to -eep Dore0us in. But that rat8 Aras Dilley8 is at Trianon as guard now. "0 bribing hi0 to help your father escape. 9e"ll have the 0an here for !hrist0as8 only -ind of late8 and snea- hi0 into !anada.E

E3hJE said *issy.

A few days afterward8 reading a coded .ew Dnderground telegra0 which apparently dealt with the delivery of furniture8 +orinda shrie-ed8 E*issyJ All you--now-what has busted looseJ n 9ashingtonJ +ee *arason has deposed BuGG 9indrip and grabbed the dictatorshipJE

E3hJE said *issy.

'(

n his two years of dictatorship8 BerGelius 9indrip daily beca0e 0ore a 0iser of power. #e continued to tell hi0self that his 0ain a0bition was to 0a-e all citiGens healthy8 in purse and 0ind8 and that if he was brutal it was only toward fools and reactionaries who wanted the old clu0sy syste0s. But after eighteen 0onths of Presidency he was angry that 2e=ico and !anada and *outh A0erica $obviously his own property8 by 0anifest destiny) should curtly answer his curt diplo0atic notes and show no helpfulness about beco0ing part of his inevitable e0pire.

And daily he wanted louder8 0ore convincing :eses fro0 everybody about hi0. #ow could he carry on his heartbrea-ing labor if nobody ever encouraged hi0M he de0anded. Anyone8 fro0 *arason to inter-office 0essenger8 who did not play valet to his ego he suspected of plotting against hi0. #e constantly increased his bodyguard8 and as constantly distrusted all his guards and discharged the08 and once too- a shot at a couple of the08 so that in all the world he had

no co0panion save his old aide +ee *arason8 and perhaps #ector 2acgoblin8 to who0 he could tal- easily.

#e felt lonely in the hours when he wanted to shuc- off the duties of despotis0 along with his shoes and his fine new coat. #e no longer went out rac-eting. #is cabinet begged hi0 not to clown in barroo0s and lodge entertain0entsH it was not dignified8 and it was dangerous to be too near to strangers.

*o he played po-er with his bodyguard8 late at night8 and at such ti0es dran- too 0uch8 and he cursed the0 and glared with bulging eyes whenever he lost8 which8 for all the good-will of his guards about letting hi0 win8 had to be often8 because he pinched their salaries badly and loc-ed up the spoons. #e had beco0e as unbouncing and unbuGGing a BuGG as 0ight be8 and he did not -now it.

All the while he loved the People just as 0uch as he feared and detested Persons8 and he planned to do so0ething historic. !ertainlyJ #e would give each fa0ily that five thousand dollars a year just as soon now as he could arrange it.

And +ee *arason8 forever 0a-ing his careful lists8 as patient at his des- as he was pleasurehungry on the couch at 0idnight parties8 was beguiling officials to consider hi0 their real lord and the 0aster of !orpois0. #e -ept his pro0ises to the08 while 9indrip always forgot. #is office door beca0e the door of a0bition. n 9ashington8 the reporters privily spo-e of this assistant secretary and that general as E*arason 0en.E #is cli@ue was not a govern0ent within a govern0entH it was the govern0ent itself8 0inus the 0egaphones. #e had the *ecretary of !orporations $a for0er vice-president of the A0erican >ederation of +abor) co0ing to hi0 secretly every evening8 to report on labor politics and in especial on such proletarian leaders as were dissatisfied with 9indrip as !hief--i.e.8 with their own share in the swag. #e had fro0 the *ecretary of the Treasury $though this functionary8 one 9ebster *-ittle8 was not a lieutenant of *arason but 0erely friendly) confidential reports on the affairs of those large e0ployers who8 since under !orpois0 it was usually possible for a 0illionaire to persuade the judges in the

labor-arbitration courts to loo- at things reasonably8 rejoiced that with stri-es outlawed and e0ployers regarded as state officials8 they would now be in secure power forever.

*arason -new the @uiet ways in which these reinforced industrial barons used arrests by the 2.2."s to get rid of Etrouble-0a-ers8E particularly of 5ewish radicals--a 5ewish radical being a 5ew with nobody wor-ing for hi0. $*o0e of the barons were the0selves 5ewsH it is not to be e=pected that race-loyalty should be carried so insanely far as to wea-en the poc-etboo-.)

The allegiance of all such .egroes as had the sense to be content with safety and good pay instead of ridiculous yearnings for personal integrity *arason got by being photographed sha-ing hands with the celebrated .egro >unda0entalist clergy0an8 the <everend Dr. Ale=ander .ibbs8 and through the highly publiciGed *arason PriGes for the .egroes with the largest fa0ilies8 the fastest ti0e in floor-scrubbing8 and the longest periods of wor- without ta-ing a vacation.

E.o danger of our good friends8 the .egroes8 turning <ed when they"re encouraged li-e that8E *arason announced to the newspapers.

t was a satisfaction to *arason that in Ger0any8 all 0ilitary bands were now playing his national song8 EBuGG and BuGGE along with the #orst 9essel hy0n8 for8 though he had not e=actly written the 0usic as well as the words8 the 0usic was now being attributed to hi0 abroad.

As a ban- cler- 0ight8 @uite rationally8 worry e@ually over the whereabouts of a hundred 0illion dollars" worth of the ban-"s bonds8 and of ten cents of his own lunch 0oney8 so BuGG 9indrip worried e@ually over the welfare--that is8 the obedience to hi0self--of a hundred and thirty-odd 0illion A0erican citiGens and the s0all 0atter of the 0oods of +ee *arason8 whose approval of hi0 was the one real fa0e. $#is wife 9indrip did not see oftener than once a wee-8 and anyway8 what that rustic wench thought was uni0portant.)

The diabolic #ector 2acgoblin frightened hi0H *ecretary of 9ar +uthorne and ?ice-President Perley Beecroft he li-ed well enough8 but they bored hi0H they s0ac-ed too 0uch of his own s0all-town boyhood8 to escape which he was willing to ta-e the responsibilities of a nation. t was the incalculable +ee *arason on who0 he depended8 and the +ee with who0 he had gone fishing and booGing and once8 even8 0urdering8 who had see0ed his own self 0ade 0ore sure and articulate8 had thoughts now which he could not penetrate. +ee"s s0ile was a veil8 not a revelation.

t was to discipline +ee8 with the hope of bringing hi0 bac-8 that when BuGG replaced the a0iable but clu0sy !olonel +uthorne as *ecretary of 9ar by !olonel Dewey #ai-8 !o00issioner of the .ortheastern Province $BuGG"s characteristic co00ent was that +uthorne was not Epulling his weightE)8 he also gave to #ai- the position of #igh 2arshal of the 2.2."s8 which +ee had held along with a doGen other offices. >ro0 +ee he e=pected an e=plosion8 then repentance and a new friendship. But +ee only said8 E?ery well8 if you wish8E and said it coldly.

5ust how could he get +ee to be a good boy and co0e play with hi0 againM wistfully wondered the 0an who now and then planned to be e0peror of the world.

#e gave +ee a thousand-dollar television set. 1ven 0ore coldly did +ee than- hi08 and never spo-e afterward of how well he 0ight be receiving the still sha-y television broadcasts on his beautiful new set.

As Dewey #ai- too- hold8 doubling efficiency in both the regular ar0y and the 2inute 2en $he was a de0on for all-night practice 0arches in heavy order8 and the files could not co0plain8 because he set the e=a0ple)8 BuGG began to wonder whether #ai- 0ight not be his new confidant. . . . #e really would hate to throw +ee into prison8 but still8 +ee was so thoughtless about hurting his feelings8 when he"d gone and done so 0uch for hi0 and allJ

BuGG was confused. #e was the 0ore confused when Perley Beecroft ca0e in and briefly said that he was sic- of all this bloodshed and was going ho0e to the far08 and as for his lofty ?icePresidential office8 BuGG -new what he could do with it.

9ere these vast national dissensions no different fro0 s@uabbles in his father"s drugstoreM fretted BuGG. #e couldn"t very well have Beecroft shot: it 0ight cause criticis0. But it was

indecent8 it was sacrilegious to annoy an e0peror8 and in his irritation he had an e=-*enator and twelve wor-0en who were in concentration ca0ps ta-en out and shot on the charge that they had told irreverent stories about hi0.

*ecretary of *tate *arason was saying good-night to President 9indrip in the hotel suite where 9indrip really lived.

.o newspaper had dared 0ention it8 but BuGG was both bothered by the stateliness of the 9hite #ouse and frightened by the nu0ber of <eds and cran-s and anti-!orpos who8 with the 0ost co00endable patience and ingenuity8 tried to snea- into that historic 0ansion and 0urder hi0. BuGG 0erely left his wife there8 for show8 and8 e=cept at great receptions8 never entered any part of the 9hite #ouse save the office anne=.

#e li-ed this hotel suiteH he was a sensible 0an8 who preferred straight bourbon8 codfish ca-es8 and deep leather chairs to Burgundy8 trout bleu8 and +ouis IuinGe. n this twelve-roo0 apart0ent8 occupying the entire tenth floor of a s0all unnotorious hotel8 he had for hi0self only a plain bedroo08 a huge living roo0 which loo-ed li-e a co0bination of office and hotel lobby8 a large li@uor closet8 another closet with thirty-seven suits of clothes8 and a bathroo0 with jars and jars of the pine-flavored bath salts which were his only cos0etic lu=ury. BuGG 0ight co0e ho0e in a suit daGGling as a horse blan-et8 one considered in Alfalfa !enter a triu0ph of +ondon tailoring8 but8 once safe8 he li-ed to put on his red 0orocco slippers that were down at the heel and display his red suspenders and baby-blue sleeve garters. To feel correct in those decorations8 he preferred the hotel at0osphere that8 for so 0any years before he had ever seen the 9hite #ouse8 had been as fa0iliar to hi0 as his ancestral corn cribs and 2ain *treets.

The other ten roo0s of the suite8 entirely shutting his own off fro0 the corridors and elevators8 were filled night and day with guards. To get through to BuGG in this inti0ate place of his own was very 0uch li-e visiting a police station for the purpose of seeing a ho0icidal prisoner.

E#ai- see0s to 0e to be doing a fine job in the 9ar Depart0ent8 +ee8E said the President. E3f course you -now if you ever want the job of #igh 2arshal bac---E

E "0 @uite satisfied8E said the great *ecretary of *tate.

E9hat do you thin- of having !olonel +uthorne bac- to help #ai- outM #e"s pretty good on fool details.E

*arason loo-ed as nearly e0barrassed as the self-satisfied +ee *arason ever could loo-.

E9hy8 uh-- supposed you -new it. +uthorne was li@uidated in the purge ten days ago.E

EGood GodJ +uthorne -illedM 9hy didn"t -now itME

E t was thought better to -eep it @uiet. #e was a pretty popular 0an. But dangerous. Always tal-ing about Abraha0 +incolnJE

E*o just never -now anything about what"s going onJ 9hy8 even the newspaper clippings are predigested8 by God8 before see "e0JE

E t"s thought better not to bother you with 0inor details8 boss. :ou -now thatJ 3f course8 if you feel haven"t organiGed your staff correctly--E

EAw now8 don"t fly off the handle8 +eeJ just 0eant--3f course -now how hard you"ve tried to protect 0e so could give all 0y brains to the higher proble0s of *tate. But +uthorne-- -ind of li-ed hi0. #e always had @uite a funny line when we played po-er.E BuGG 9indrip felt lonely8 as once a certain *had +edue had felt8 in a hotel suite that differed fro0 BuGG"s only in being s0aller. To forget it he bawled8 very brightly8 E+ee8 do you ever wonder what"ll happen in the futureME

E9hy8 thin- you and 0ay have 0entioned it.E

EBut golly8 just thin- of what 0ight happen in the future8 +eeJ Thin- of itJ 9hy8 we 0ay be able to pull off a .orth A0erican -ingdo0JE BuGG half 0eant it seriously--or perhaps @uarter 0eant it. E#ow"d you li-e to be Du-e of Georgia--or Grand Du-e8 or whatever they call a Grand 1=alted <uler of the 1l-s in this peerage businessM And then how about an 10pire of .orth and *outh A0erica after thatM 0ight 0a-e you a -ing under 0e8 then--say so0ething li-e Ling of 2e=ico. #owjuh li-e thatME

EBe very a0using8E said +ee 0echanically--as +ee always did say the sa0e thing 0echanically whenever BuGG repeated this sa0e nonsense.

EBut you got to stic- by 0e and not forget all "ve done for you8 +ee8 don"t forget that.E

E never forget anythingJ . . . By the way8 we ought to li@uidate8 or at least i0prison8 Perley Beecroft8 too. #e"s still technically ?ice-President of the Dnited *tates8 and if the lousy traitor 0anaged so0e s-ullduggery so as to get you -illed or deposed8 he 0ight be regarded by so0e narrow-0inded literalists as PresidentJE

E.o8 no8 noJ #e"s 0y friend8 no 0atter what he says about 0e . . . the dirty dogJE wailed BuGG.

EAll right. :ou"re the boss. G"night8E said +ee8 and returned fro0 this plu0ber"s drea0 of paradise to his own gold-and-blac- and apricot-sil- bower in Georgetown8 which he shared with several handso0e young 2.2. officers. They were savage soldiers8 yet apt at 0usic and at poetry. 9ith the08 he was not in the least passionless8 as he see0ed now to BuGG 9indrip. #e was either angry with his young friends8 and then he whipped the08 or he was in a paro=ys0 of

apology to the08 and caressed their wounds. .ewspaper0en who had once see0ed to be his friends said that he had traded the green eyeshade for a wreath of violets.

At cabinet 0eeting8 late in %&'48 *ecretary of *tate *arason revealed to the heads of the govern0ent disturbing news. ?ice-President Beecroft--and had he not told the0 the 0an should have been shotM--had fled to !anada8 renounced !orpois08 and joined 9alt Trowbridge in plotting. There were bubbles fro0 an al0ost boiling rebellion in the 2iddle 9est and .orthwest8 especially in 2innesota and the Da-otas8 where agitators8 so0e of the0 for0erly of political influence8 were de0anding that their states secede fro0 the !orpo Dnion and for0 a cooperative $indeed al0ost *ocialistic) co00onwealth of their own.

E<atsJ 5ust a lot of irresponsible wind bagsJE jeered President 9indrip. E9hyJ thought you were supposed to be the ca0era-eyed gin- that -ept up on everything that goes on8 +eeJ :ou forget that 0yself8 personally8 0ade a special radio address to that particular section of the country last wee-J And got a wonderful reaction. The 2iddle 9esterners are absolutely loyal to 0e. They appreciate what "ve been trying to doJE

.ot answering hi0 at all8 *arason de0anded that8 in order to bring and hold all ele0ents in the country together by that useful Patriotis0 which always appears upon threat of an outside attac-8 the govern0ent i00ediately arrange to be insulted and 0enaced in a well-planned series of deplorable EincidentsE on the 2e=ican border8 and declare war on 2e=ico as soon as A0erica showed that it was getting hot and patriotic enough.

*ecretary of the Treasury *-ittle and Attorney General Por-wood shoo- their heads8 but *ecretary of 9ar #ai- and *ecretary of 1ducation 2acgoblin agreed with *arason high-0indedly. 3nce8 pointed out the learned 2acgoblin8 govern0ents had 0erely let the0selves slide into a war8 than-ing Providence for having provided a conflict as a febrifuge against internal discontent8 but of course8 in this age of deliberate8 planned propaganda8 a really 0odern govern0ent li-e theirs 0ust figure out what brand of war they had to sell and plan the selling-ca0paign consciously. .ow8 as for hi08 he would be willing to leave the whole set-up to the advertising

genius of Brother *arason.

E.o8 no8 noJE cried 9indrip. E9e"re not ready for a warJ 3f course8 we"ll ta-e 2e=ico so0e day. t"s our destiny to control it and !hristianiGe it. But "0 scared that your darn sche0e 0ight worjust opposite to what you say. :ou put ar0s into the hands of too 0any irresponsible fol-s8 and they 0ight use "e0 and turn against you and start a revolution and throw the whole dern gang of us outJ .o8 noJ "ve often wondered if the whole 2inute 2en business8 with their ar0s and training8 0ay not be a 0ista-e. That was your idea8 +ee8 not 0ineJE

*arason spo-e evenly: E2y dear BuGG8 one day you than- 0e for originating that "great crusade of citiGen soldiers defending their ho0es"--as you love to call it on the radio--and the ne=t day you al0ost ruin your clothes8 you"re so scared of the0. 2a-e up your 0ind one way or the otherJE

*arason wal-ed out of the roo08 not bowing.

9indrip co0plained8 E "0 not going to stand for +ee"s tal-ing to 0e li-e thatJ 9hy8 the dirty double-crosser8 0ade hi0J 3ne of these days8 he"ll find a new secretary of state around this jointJ s"pose he thin-s jobs li-e that grow on every treeJ 2aybe he"d li-e to be a ban- president or so0ething-- 0ean8 0aybe he"d li-e to be 10peror of 1nglandJE

President 9indrip8 in his hotel bedroo08 was awa-ened late at night by the voice of a guard in the outer roo0: E:uh8 sure8 let hi0 pass--he"s the *ecretary of *tate.E .ervously the President clic-ed on his bedside la0p. . . . #e had needed it lately8 to read hi0self to sleep.

n that li0ited glow he saw +ee *arason8 Dewey #ai-8 and Dr. #ector 2acgoblin 0arch to the side of his bed. +ee"s thin sharp face was li-e flour. #is deep-buried eyes were those of a

sleepwal-er. #is s-inny right hand held a bowie -nife which8 as his hand deliberately rose8 was lost in the di0ness. 9indrip swiftly thought: *ure would be hard to -now where to buy a dagger8 in 9ashingtonH and 9indrip thought: All this is the doggonedest foolishness--just li-e a 0ovie or one of these old history boo-s when you were a -idH and 9indrip thought8 all in that sa0e flash: Good God8 "0 going to be -illedJ

#e cried out8 E+eeJ :ou couldn"t do that to 0eJE

+ee grunted8 li-e one who has detected a bad s0ell.

Then the BerGelius 9indrip who could8 incredibly8 beco0e President really awo-e: E+eeJ Do you re0e0ber the ti0e when your old 0other was so sic-8 and gave you 0y last cent and loaned you 0y flivver so you could go see her8 and hitch-hi-ed to 0y ne=t 0eetingM +eeJE

E#ell. suppose so. General.E

E:esME answered Dewey #ai-8 not very pleasantly.

E thin- we"ll stic- hi0 on a destroyer or so0ething and let hi0 snea- off to >rance or 1ngland. . . . The lousy coward see0s afraid to die. . . . 3f course8 we"ll -ill hi0 if he ever does dare to co0e bac- to the *tates. Ta-e hi0 out and phone the *ecretary of the .avy for a boat and get hi0 on it8 will youME

E?ery well8 sir8E said #ai-8 even less pleasantly.

t had been easy. The troops8 who obeyed #ai-8 as *ecretary of 9ar8 had occupied all of 9ashington.

Ten days later BuGG 9indrip was landed in #avre and went sighingly to Paris. t was his first view of 1urope e=cept for one twenty-one-day !oo-"s Tour. #e was profoundly ho0esic- for

!hesterfield cigarettes8 flapjac-s8 2oon 2ullins8 and the sound of so0e real hu0an being saying E:uh8 what"s bitin" youME instead of this perpetual sappy EouiME

n Paris he re0ained8 though he beca0e the sort of 0inor hero of tragedy8 li-e the e=-Ling of Greece8 Lerens-y8 the <ussian Grand Du-es8 5i00y 9al-er8 and a few e=-presidents fro0 *outh A0erica and !uba8 who is delighted to accept invitations to drawing roo0s where the cha0pagne is good enough and one 0ay have a chance of finding people8 now and then8 who will listen to one"s story and say Esir.E

At that8 though8 BuGG chuc-led8 he had -inda put it over on those croo-s8 for during his two sweet years of despotis0 he had sent four 0illion dollars abroad8 to secret8 safe accounts. And so BuGG 9indrip passed into wabbly paragraphs in recollections by e=-diplo0atic gentle0en with 0onocles. n what re0ained of 1=-President 9indrip"s life8 everything was e=. #e was even so far forgotten that only four or five A0erican students tried to shoot hi0.

The 0ore dulcetly they had once advised and flattered BuGG8 the 0ore ardently did 0ost of his for0er followers8 2acgoblin and *enator Por-wood and Dr. Al0eric Trout and the rest8 turn in loud allegiance to the new President8 the #on. +ee *arason.

#e issued a procla0ation that he had discovered that 9indrip had been e0beGGling the people"s 0oney and plotting with 2e=ico to avoid war with that guilty countryH and that he8 *arason8 in @uite alar0ing grief and reluctance8 since he 0ore than anyone else had been deceived by his supposed friend8 9indrip8 had yielded to the urging of the !abinet and ta-en over the Presidency8 instead of ?ice-President Beecroft8 the e=iled traitor.

President *arason i00ediately began appointing the fancier of his young officer friends to the 0ost responsible offices in *tate and ar0y. t a0used hi08 see0ingly8 to shoc- people by 0a-ing a pin--chee-ed8 0oist-eyed boy of twenty-five !o00issioner of the >ederal District8 which included 9ashington and 2aryland. 9as he not supre0e8 was he not se0i-divine8 li-e a <o0an

e0perorM !ould he not defy all the 0uddy 0ob that he $once a *ocialist) had8 for its weashiftlessness8 co0e to despiseM

E9ould that the A0erican people had just one nec-JE he plagiariGed8 a0ong his laughing boys.

n the decorous 9hite #ouse of !oolidge and #arrison and <utherford Birchard #ayes he had orgies $an old na0e for EpartiesE) with weaving li0bs and garlands and wine in pretty fair i0itations of <o0an bea-ers.

t was hard for i0prisoned 0en li-e Dore0us 5essup to believe it8 but there were so0e tens of thousands of !orpos8 in the 2.2."s8 in civil service8 in the ar0y8 and just in private ways8 to who0 *arason"s flippant rFgi0e was tragic.

They were the dealists of !orpois08 and there were plenty of the08 along with the bullies and swindlersH they were the 0en and wo0en who8 in %&'( and %&'K8 had turned to 9indrip A !o.8 not as perfect8 but as the 0ost probable saviors of the country fro08 on one hand8 do0ination by 2oscow and8 on the other hand8 the slac- indolence8 the lac- of decent pride of half the A0erican youth8 whose world $these idealists asserted) was co0posed of shiftless distaste for wor- and refusal to learn anything thoroughly8 of blatting dance 0usic on the radio8 0aniac auto0obiles8 slobbering se=uality8 the hu0or and art of co0ic strips--of a slave psychology which was 0a-ing A0erica a land for sterner 0en to loot.

General 100anuel !oon was one of the !orpo dealists.

*uch 0en did not condone the 0urders under the !orpo rFgi0e. But they insisted8 EThis is a revolution8 and after all8 when in all history has there been a revolution with so little bloodshedME

They were aroused by the pageantry of !orpois0: enor0ous de0onstrations8 with the red-andblac- flags a flaunting 0agnificence li-e stor0 clouds. They were proud of new !orpo roads8 hospitals8 television stations8 aeroplane linesH they were touched by processions of the !orpo :outh8 whose faces were e=alted with pride in the 0yths of !orpo herois0 and clean *partan strength and the se0i-divinity of the all-protecting >ather8 President 9indrip. They believed8 they 0ade the0selves believe8 that in 9indrip had co0e alive again the virtues of Andy 5ac-son and >arragut and 5eb *tuart8 in place of the 0ob cheapness of the professional athletes who had been the only heroes of %&'(.

They planned8 these idealists8 to correct8 as @uic-ly as 0ight be8 the errors of brutality and croo-edness a0ong officials. They saw arising a !orpo art8 a !orpo learning8 profound and real8 divested of the traditional snobbishness of the old-ti0e universities8 valiant with youth8 and only the 0ore beautiful in that it was Euseful.E They were convinced that !orpois0 was !o00unis0 cleansed of foreign do0ination and the violence and indignity of 0ob dictatorshipH 2onarchis0 with the chosen hero of the people for 0onarchH >ascis0 without grasping and selfish leadersH freedo0 with order and disciplineH Traditional A0erica without its waste and provincial coc-iness.

+i-e all religious Gealots8 they had blessed capacity for blindness8 and they were presently convinced that $since the only newspapers they ever read certainly said nothing about it) there were no 0ore of blood-s0eared cruelties in court and concentration ca0pH no restrictions of speech or thought. They believed that they never criticiGed the !orpo rFgi0e not because they were censored8 but because Ethat sort of thing was8 li-e obscenity8 such awfully bad for0.E

And these idealists were as shoc-ed and bewildered by *arason"s coup d"Ftat against 9indrip as was 2r. BerGelius 9indrip hi0self.

The gri0 *ecretary of 9ar8 #ai-8 scolded at President *arason for his influence on the nation8

particularly on the troops. +ee laughed at hi08 but once he was sufficiently flattered by #ai-"s tribute to his artistic powers to write a poe0 for hi0. t was a poe0 which was later to be sung by 0illionsH it was8 in fact8 the 0ost popular of the soldiers" ballads which were to spring auto0atically fro0 anony0ous soldier bards during the war between the Dnited *tates and 2e=ico. 3nly8 being as pious a believer in 2odern Advertising as *arason hi0self8 the efficient #ai- wanted to encourage the spontaneous generation of these patriotic fol- ballads by providing the auto0atic springing and the anony0ous bard. #e had as 0uch foresight8 as 0uch Eprophetic engineering8E as a 0otorcar 0anufacturer.

*arason was as eager for war with 2e=ico $or 1thiopia or *ia0 or Greenland or any other country that would provide his pet young painters with a chance to portray *arason being heroic a0id curious vegetation) as #ai-H not only to give 0alcontents so0ething outside the country to be cross about8 but also to give hi0self a chance to be pictures@ue. #e answered #ai-"s re@uest by writing a rollic-ing 0ilitary chorus at a ti0e while the country was still theoretically entirely friendly with 2e=ico. t went to the tune of E2ade0oiselle fro0 Ar0enti\resE--or EAr0enteers.E f the *panish in it was a little sha-y8 still8 0illions were later to understand that E#abla ooME stood for E]#abla ustedME signifying EParleG-vousME t ran thus8 as it ca0e fro0 *arason"s purple but s0o-ing typewriter:

*e^orita fro0 Guadalupe8 Iui ustedM *e^orita go roll your hoop8 3r co0e to bedJ *e^orita fro0 Guadalupe f Padre sees us we"re in the soup8 #in-y8 din-y8 habla ooM

*e^orita fro0 2onterey8 *avvy :an-M

*e^orita what"s that you sayM :ou"re *wede8 Ay tan-J But *e^orita fro0 2onterey8 :ou won"t hablar when we hit the hay8 #in-y8 din-y8 habla ooM

*e^orita fro0 2aGatlYn8 3nce we"ve 0et8 :ou"ll s0ile all over your -ha-i pan8 :ou wont forgetJ >or days you"ll holler8 E3h8 what a 0anJE And you"ll never 0arry a 2e=ican. #in-y8 din-y8 habla ooM

f at ti0es President *arason see0ed flippant8 he was not at all so during his part in the scientific preparation for war which consisted in rehearsing 2.2. choruses in trolling out this ditty with well-trained spontaneity.

#is friend #ector 2acgoblin8 now *ecretary of *tate8 told *arason that this 0anly chorus was one of his greatest creations. 2acgoblin8 though personally he did not join in *arason"s so0ewhat unusual 0idnight diversions8 was a0used by the08 and he often told *arason that he was the only original creative genius a0ong this whole bunch of stuffed shirts8 including #ai-.

E:ou want to watch that cuss #ai-8 +ee8E said 2acgoblin. E#e"s a0bitious8 he"s a gorilla8 and he"s a pious Puritan8 and that"s a triple co0bination "0 scared of. The troops li-e hi0.E

E<atsJ #e has no attraction for the0. #e"s just an accurate 0ilitary boo--eeper8E said *arason.

That night he had a party at which8 for a novelty8 rather shoc-ing to his inti0ates8 he actually had girls present8 perfor0ing certain curious dances. The ne=t 0orning #ai- rebu-ed hi08 and-*arason had a hangover--was stor0ed at. That night8 just a 0onth after *arason had usurped the Presidency8 #ai- struc-.

There was no 0elodra0atic dagger-and-uplifted-ar0 business about it8 this ti0e--though #aidid traditionally co0e late8 for all >ascists8 li-e all drun-ards8 see0 to function 0ost vigorously at night. #ai- 0arched into the 9hite #ouse with his pic-ed stor0 troops8 found President *arason in violet sil- paja0as a0ong his friends8 shot *arason and 0ost of his co0panions dead8 and proclai0ed hi0self President.

#ector 2acgoblin fled by aeroplane to !uba8 then on. 9hen last seen8 he was living high up in the 0ountains of #aiti8 wearing only a singlet8 dirty white-drill trousers8 grass sandals8 and a long tan beardH very healthy and happy8 occupying a one-roo0 hut with a lovely native girl8 practicing 0odern 0edicine and studying ancient voodoo.

9hen Dewey #ai- beca0e President8 then A0erica really did begin to suffer a little8 and to long for the good old de0ocratic8 liberal days of 9indrip.

9indrip and *arason had not 0inded 0irth and dancing in the street so long as they could be suitably ta=ed. #ai- disli-ed such things on principle. 1=cept8 perhaps8 that he was an atheist in theology8 he was a strict orthodo= !hristian. #e was the first to tell the populace that they were not going to get any five thousand dollars a year but8 instead8 Ereap the profits of Discipline and of the *cientific Totalitarian *tate not in 0ere paper figures but in vast dividends of Pride8 Patriotis08 and Power.E #e -ic-ed out of the ar0y all officers who could not endure 0arching and going thirstyH and out of the civil branch all co00issioners--including one >rancis Tasbrough--who had garnered riches too easily and too obviously.

#e treated the entire nation li-e a well-run plantation8 on which the slaves were better fed than for0erly8 less often cheated by their overseers8 and -ept so busy that they had ti0e only for wor- and for sleep8 and thus fell rarely into the debilitating vices of laughter8 song $e=cept war songs against 2e=ico)8 co0plaint8 or thin-ing. Dnder #ai- there were less floggings in 2.2. posts and in concentration ca0ps8 for by his direction officers were not to waste ti0e in the sport of beating persons8 0en8 wo0en8 or children8 who asserted that they didn"t care to be slaves on even the best plantation8 but just to shoot the0 out of hand.

#ai- 0ade such use of the clergy--Protestant8 !atholic8 5ewish8 and +iberal-Agnostic--as 9indrip and *arason never had. 9hile there were plenty of 0inisters who8 li-e 2r. >alc- and >ather *tephen Perefi=e8 li-e !ardinal >aulhaber and Pastor .ie0oeller in Ger0any8 considered it so0e part of !hristian duty to resent the enslave0ent and torture of their appointed floc-s8 there were also plenty of reverend celebrities8 particularly large-city pastors whose ser0ons were reported in the newspapers every 2onday 0orning8 to who0 !orpois0 had given a chance to be noisily and lucratively patriotic. These were the chaplains-at-heart8 who8 if there was no war in which they could hu0bly help to purify and co0fort the poor brave boys who were fighting8 were glad to help provide such a war.

These 0ore practical shepherds8 since li-e doctors and lawyers they were able to steal secrets out of the heart8 beca0e valued spies during the difficult 0onths after >ebruary8 %&'&8 when #ai- was wor-ing up war with 2e=ico. $!anadaM 5apanM <ussiaM They would co0e later.) >or even with an ar0y of slaves8 it was necessary to persuade the0 that they were free0en and fighters for the principle of freedo08 or otherwise the scoundrels 0ight cross over and join the ene0yJ

*o reigned the good -ing #ai-8 and if there was anyone in all the land who was discontented8 you never heard hi0 spea---not twice.

And in the 9hite #ouse8 where under *arason sha0eless youths had danced8 under the new reign of righteousness and the blac-jac-8 2rs. #ai-8 a lady with eyeglasses and a s0ile of resolute cordiality8 gave to the 9.!.T.D.8 the :.9.!.A.8 and the +adies" +eague against <ed <adicalis08 and their inherently incidental husbands8 a 0agnified and hand-colored 9ashington version of just such parties as she had once given in the #ai- bungalow in 1glantine8 3regon.

'K

The ban on infor0ation at the Trianon ca0p had been raisedH 2rs. !andy had co0e calling on Dore0us--co0plete with cocoanut layer ca-e--and he had heard of 2ary"s death8 the departure of 100a and *issy8 the end of 9indrip and *arason. And none of it see0ed in the least real--not half so real and8 e=cept for the fact that he would never see 2ary again8 not half so i0portant as the increasing nu0ber of lice and rats in their cell.

During the ban8 they had celebrated !hrist0as by laughing8 not very cheerfully8 at the !hrist0as tree Larl Pascal had contrived out of a spruce bough and tinfoil fro0 cigarette pac-ages. They had hu00ed E*tille .achtE softly in the dar-ness8 and Dore0us had thought of all their co0rades in political prisons in A0erica8 1urope8 5apan8 ndia.

But Larl8 apparently8 thought of co0rades only if they were saved8 baptiGed !o00unists. And8 forced together as they were in a cell8 the growing bitterness and orthodo= piety of Larl beca0e one of Dore0us"s 0ost hateful woesH a tragedy to be bla0ed upon the !orpos8 or upon the principle of dictatorship in general8 as savagely as the deaths of 2ary and Dan 9ilgus and #enry ?eeder. Dnder persecution8 Larl lost no ounce of his courage and his ingenuity in ba0booGling the 2.2. guards8 but day by day he did steadily lose all his hu0or8 his patience8 his tolerance8 his easy co0panionship8 and everything else that 0ade life endurable to 0en pac-ed in a cell. The !o00unis0 that had always been his Ling !harles"s #ead8 so0eti0es a0using8 beca0e a religious bigotry as hateful to Dore0us as the old bigotries of the n@uisition or the >unda0entalist ProtestantsH that attitude of slaughtering to save 0en"s souls fro0 which the 5essup fa0ily had escaped during these last three generations.

t was i0possible to get away fro0 Larl"s increasing Geal. #e chattered on at night for an hour after all the other five had growled8 E3h8 shut upJ want to sleepJ :ou"ll be 0a-ing a !orpo out of 0eJE

*o0eti0es8 in his proselytiGing8 he con@uered. 9hen his cell 0ates had long enough cursed the ca0p guards8 Larl would rebu-e the0: E:ou"re a lot too si0ple when you e=plain everything by saying that the !orpos8 especially the 2.2."s8 are all fiends. Plenty of "e0 are. But even the worst of "e08 even the professional gun0en in the 2.2. ran-s8 don"t get as 0uch satisfaction out of punishing us heretics as the honest8 du0b !orpos who"ve been 0isled by their leaders" 0outhing about >reedo08 3rder8 *ecurity8 Discipline8 *trengthJ All those swell words that even before 9indrip ca0e in the speculators started using to protect their profitsJ 1specially how they used the word "+iberty"J +iberty to steal the didies off the babiesJ tell you8 an honest 0an gets sic- when he hears the word "+iberty" today8 after what the <epublicans did to itJ And tell you that a lot of the 2.2. guards right here at Trianon are just as unfortunate as we are--lot of "e0 are just poor devils that couldn"t get decent wor-8 bac- in the Golden Age of >ran<oosevelt--boo--eepers that had to dig ditches8 auto agents that couldn"t sell cars and went sour8 e=-looeys in the Great 9ar that ca0e bac- to find their jobs pinched off "e0 and that followed 9indrip8 @uite honestly8 because they thought8 the saps8 that when he said *ecurity he 0eant *ecurityJ They"ll learnJE

And having ad0irably discoursed for another hour on the perils of self-righteousness a0ong the !orpos8 !o0rade Pascal would change the subject and discourse upon the glory of selfrighteousness a0ong the !o00unists--particularly upon those sanctified e=a0ples of !o00unis0 who lived in bliss in the #oly !ity of 2oscow8 where8 Dore0us judged8 the streets were paved with undepreciable roubles.

The #oly !ity of 2oscowJ Larl loo-ed upon it with e=actly such uncritical and slightly hysterical adoration as other sectarians had in their day devoted to 5erusale08 2ecca8 <o0e8 !anterbury8 and Benares. >ine8 all right8 thought Dore0us. +et "e0 worship their sacred fonts--it was as good a ga0e as any for the 0entally retarded. 3nly8 why then should they object to his considering as sacred >ort Beulah8 or .ew :or-8 or 3-laho0a !ityM

Larl once fell into a froth because Dore0us wondered if the iron deposits in <ussia were all they 0ight be. 9hy certainlyJ <ussia8 being #oly <ussia8 0ust8 as a useful part of its holiness8 have sufficient iron8 and Larl needed no 0ineralogists" reports but only the blissful eye of faith to -now it.

#e did not 0ind Larl"s worshiping #oly <ussia. But Larl did8 using the word EnaXve8E which is the favorite word and just possibly the only word -nown to !o00unist journalists8 derisively 0ind

when Dore0us had a 0ild notion of worshiping #oly A0erica. Larl spo-e often of photographs in the 2oscow .ews of nearly na-ed girls on <ussian bathing-beaches as proving the triu0ph and joy of the wor-ers under Bolshevis08 but he regarded precisely the sa0e sort of photographs of nearly na-ed girls on +ong sland bathing-beaches as proving the degeneration of the wor-ers under !apitalis0.

As a newspaper 0an8 Dore0us re0e0bered that the only reporters who 0isrepresented and concealed facts 0ore unscrupulously than the !apitalists were the !o00unists.

#e was afraid that the world struggle today was not of !o00unis0 against >ascis08 but of tolerance against the bigotry that was preached e@ually by !o00unis0 and >ascis0. But he saw too that in A0erica the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst >ascists were they who disowned the word E>ascis0E and preached enslave0ent to !apitalis0 under the style of !onstitutional and Traditional .ative A0erican +iberty. >or they were thieves not only of wages but of honor. To their purpose they could @uote not only *cripture but 5efferson.

That Larl Pascal should be turning into a Gealot8 li-e 0ost of his chiefs in the !o00unist party8 was grievous to Dore0us because he had once si0ple-heartedly hoped that in the 0ass strength of !o00unis0 there 0ight be an escape fro0 cynical dictatorship. But he saw now that he 0ust re0ain alone8 a E+iberal8E scorned by all the noisier prophets for refusing to be a willing cat for the busy 0on-eys of either side. But at worst8 the +iberals8 the Tolerant8 0ight in the long run preserve so0e of the arts of civiliGation8 no 0atter which brand of tyranny should finally do0inate the world.

E2ore and 0ore8 as thin- about history8E he pondered8 E a0 convinced that everything that is worth while in the world has been acco0plished by the free8 in@uiring8 critical spirit8 and that the preservation of this spirit is 0ore i0portant than any social syste0 whatsoever. But the 0en of ritual and the 0en of barbaris0 are capable of shutting up the 0en of science and of silencing the0 forever.E

:es8 this was the worst thing the ene0ies of honor8 the pirate industrialists and then their suitable successors8 the !orpos with their blac-jac-s8 had done: it had turned the brave8 the generous8 the passionate and half-literate Larl Pascals into dangerous fanatics. And how well they had done itJ Dore0us was unco0fortable with LarlH he felt that his ne=t turn in jail 0ight be under the wardenship of none other than Larl hi0self8 as he re0e0bered how the Bolshevi-s8 once in power8 had 0ost s0ugly i0prisoned and persecuted those great wo0en8 *piridinova and Bresh-ovs-aya and s0ailovitch8 who8 by their conspiracies against the !Gar8 their willingness to endure *iberian torture on behalf of Efreedo0 for the 0asses8E had 0ost brought on the revolution by which the Bolshevi-s were able to ta-e control--and not only again forbid freedo0 to the 0asses8 but this ti0e infor0 the0 that8 anyway8 freedo0 was just a da0n silly bourgeois superstition.

*o Dore0us8 sleeping two-and-a-half feet above his old co0panion8 felt hi0self in a cell within a cell. #enry ?eeder and !larence +ittle and ?ictor +oveland and 2r. >alc- were gone now8 and to 5ulian8 penned in solitary8 he could not spea- once a 0onth.

#e yearned for escape with a desire that was near to insanityH awa-e and asleep it was his obsessionH and he thought his heart had stopped when *@uad-+eader Aras Dilley 0uttered to hi08 as Dore0us was scrubbing a lavatory floor8 E*ayJ +isten8 2r. 5essupJ 2is" Pi-e is fi=in" it up and "0 going to help you escape jus" soon as things is rightJE

t was a @uestion of the guards on sentry-go outside the @uadrangle. As sweeper8 Dore0us was reasonably free to leave his cell8 and Aras had loosened the boards and barbed wire at the end of one of the alleys leading fro0 the @uadrangle between buildings. But outside8 he was li-ely to be shot by a guard on sight.

>or a wee- Aras watched. #e -new that one of the night guards had a habit of getting drun-8 which was forgiven hi0 because of his e=cellence in flogging trouble0a-ers but which was

regarded by the 0ore judicious as rather regrettable. And for that wee- Aras fed the guard"s habit on +orinda"s e=pense 0oney8 and was indeed so devoted to his duties that he was hi0self twice carried to bed. *na-e TiGra grew interested--but *na-e also8 after the first couple of drin-s8 li-ed to be de0ocratic with his 0en and to sing EThe 3ld *pinning-9heel.E

Aras confided to Dore0us: E2is" Pi-e--she don"t dast send you a note8 less so0ebody get hold of it8 but she says to 0e to tell you not to tell anybody you"re going to ta-e a snea-8 or it"ll get out.E

*o on the evening when Aras jer-ed a head at hi0 fro0 the corridor8 then rasped8 surly-see0ing8 E#ere you8 5essup--you left one of the cans all dirtyJE Dore0us loo-ed 0ildly at the cell that had been his ho0e and study and tabernacle for si= 0onths8 glanced at Larl Pascal reading in his bun---slowly waving a shoeless foot in a soc- with the end of it gone8 at Tru0an 9ebb darning the seat of his pants8 noted the gray s0o-e in fil0y tilting layers about the s0all electric bulb in the ceiling8 and silently stepped out into the corridor.

The late-5anuary night was foggy.

Aras handed hi0 a worn 2.2. overcoat8 whispered8 EThird alley on rightH 0oving-van on corner opposite the church8E and was gone.

3n hands and -nees Dore0us bris-ly crawled under the loosened barbed wire at the end of the s0all alley and carelessly stepped out8 along the road. The only guard in sight was at a distance8 and he was wavering in his gait. A bloc- away8 a furniture van was jac-ed up while the driver and his helper painfully prepared to change one of the tre0endous tires. n the light of a corner arc8 Dore0us saw that the driver was that sa0e hard-faced long-distance cruiser who had carried bundles of tracts for the .ew Dnderground.

The driver grunted8 EGet in--hustleJE Dore0us crouched between a bureau and a wing chair inside.

nstantly he felt the tilted body of the van dropping8 as the driver pulled out the jac-8 and fro0 the seat he heard8 EAll rightJ 9e"re off. !rawl up behind 0e here and listen8 2r. 5essup. . . . !an you hear 0eM . . . The 2.2."s don"t ta-e so 0uch trouble to prevent you gents and respectable

fellows fro0 escaping. They figure that 0ost of you are too scary to try out anything8 once you"re away fro0 your offices and front porches and sedans. But guess you 0ay be different8 so0e ways8 2r. 5essup. Besides8 they figure that if you do escape8 they can pic- you up easy afterwards8 because you ain"t onto hiding out8 li-e a regular fellow that"s been out of worso0eti0es and 0aybe gone on the bu0. But don"t worry. 9e"ll get you through. tell you8 there"s nobody got friends li-e a revolutionist. . . . And ene0iesJE

Then first did it co0e to Dore0us that8 by sentence of the late la0ented 1ffingha0 *wan8 he was subject to the death penalty for escaping. But E3h8 what the hellJE he grunted8 li-e Larl Pascal8 and he stretched in the lu=ury of 0obility8 in that galloping furniture truc-.

#e was freeJ #e saw the lights of villages going byJ

3nce8 he was hidden beneath hay in a barnH again8 in a spruce grove high on a hillH and once he slept overnight on top of a coffin in the establish0ent of an underta-er. #e wal-ed secret pathsH he rode in the bac- of an itinerant 0edicine-peddler"s car and8 concealed in fur cap and highcollared fur coat8 in the sidecar of an Dnderground wor-er serving as an 2.2. s@uad-leader. >ro0 this he dis0ounted8 at the driver"s co00and8 in front of an obviously untenanted far0house on a sna-y bac--road between 2onadnoc- 2ountain and the Averill la-es--a very slattern of an old unpainted far0house8 with sin-ing roof and snow up to the frowsy windows.

t see0ed a 0ista-e.

Dore0us -noc-ed8 as the 0otorcycle snarled away8 and the door opened on +orinda Pi-e and *issy8 crying together8 E3h8 0y dearJE

#e could only 0utter8 E9ellJE

9hen they had 0ade hi0 strip off his fur coat in the far0house living roo08 a roo0 with peeling wall paper8 and altogether bare e=cept for a cot8 two chairs8 a table8 the two 0oaning wo0en saw a s0all 0an8 his face dirty8 pasty8 and sun-en as by tuberculosis8 his once fussily tri00ed beard and 0ustache ragged as wisps of hay8 his overlong hair a rustic jag at the bac-8 his clothes ripped and filthy--an old8 sic-8 discouraged tra0p. #e dropped on a straight chair and stared at the0. 2aybe they were genuine--0aybe they really were there--0aybe he was8 as it see0ed8 in heaven8 loo-ing at the two principal angels8 but he had been so often fooled so cruelly in his visions these dreary 0onthsJ #e sobbed8 and they co0forted hi0 with softly stro-ing hands and not too confoundedly 0uch babble.

E "ve got a hot bath for youJ And "ll scrub your bac-J And then so0e hot chic-en soup and ice crea0JE

As though one should say: The +ord God awaits you on #is throne and all who0 you bless shall be blessed8 and all your ene0ies brought to their -neesJ

Those sainted wo0en had actually had a long tin tub fetched to the -itchen of the old house8 filled it with water heated in -ettle and dishpan on the stove8 and provided brushes8 soap8 a vast sponge8 and such a long caressing bath towel as Dore0us had forgotten e=isted. And so0ehow8 fro0 >ort Beulah8 *issy had brought plenty of his own shoes and shirts and three suits that now see0ed to hi0 fit for royalty.

#e who had not had a hot bath for si= 0onths8 and for three had worn the sa0e underclothes8 and for two $in cla00y winter) no soc-s whateverJ

f the presence of +orinda and *issy was to-en of heaven8 to slide inch by slow ecstatic inch into the tub was its proof8 and he lay soa-ing in glory.

9hen he was half dressed8 the two ca0e in8 and there was about as 0uch thought of 0odesty8 or need for it8 as though he were the two-year-old babe he so0ewhat rese0bled. They were laughing at hi08 but laughter beca0e sharp whi0pers of horror when they saw the gridironed 0eat of his bac-. But nothing 0ore de0anding than E3h8 0y dearJE did +orinda say8 even then.

Though *issy had once been glad that +orinda spared her any 0othering8 Dore0us rejoiced in it. *na-e TiGra and the Trianon concentration ca0p had been singularly devoid of any 0othering. +orinda salved his bac- and powdered it. *he cut his hair8 not too uns-illfully. *he coo-ed for hi0 all the heavy8 earthy dishes of which he had drea0ed8 hungry in a cell: ha0burg stea- with onions8 corn pudding8 buc-wheat ca-es with sausages8 apple du0plings with hard and soft sauce8 and crea0 of 0ushroo0 soupJ

t had not been safe to ta-e hi0 to the co0forts of her tea roo0 at Beecher >allsH already 2.2."s had been there8 snooping after hi0. But *issy and she had8 for such refugees as they 0ight be forwarding for the .ew Dnderground8 provided this dingy far0house with half-a-doGen cots8 and rich stores of canned goods and beautiful bottles $Dore0us considered the0) of honey and 0ar0alade and bar-le-duc. The actual final crossing of the border into !anada was easier than it had been when Buc- Titus had tried to s0uggle the 5essup fa0ily over. t had beco0e a syste08 as in the piratical days of bootleggingH with new forest paths8 bribery of frontier guards8 and forged passports. #e was safe. :et just to 0a-e safety safer8 +orinda and *issy8 rubbing their chins as they loo-ed Dore0us over8 still discussing hi0 as braGenly as though he were a baby who could not understand the08 decided to turn hi0 into a young 0an.

EDye his hair and 0ustache blac- and shave the beard8 thin-. wish we had ti0e to give hi0 a nice >lorida tan with an Alpine la0p8 too8E considered +orinda.

E:es8 thin- he"ll loo- sweet that way8E said *issy.

E will not have 0y beard offJE he protested. E#ow do -now what -ind of a chin "ll have when it"s na-edME

E9hy8 the 0an still thin-s he"s a newspaper proprietor and one of >ort Beulah"s social favoritesJE 0arveled *issy as they ruthlessly set to wor-.

E3nly real reason for these da0n wars and revolutions anyway is that the wo0enfol-s get a chance--ouchJ be carefulJ--to be dear little A0ateur 2others to every 0ale they can get in their clutches. #air dyeJE said Dore0us bitterly.

But he was sha0elessly proud of his youthful face when it was denuded8 and he discovered that he had a @uite tolerably stubborn chin8 and *issy was sent bac- to Beecher >alls to -eep the tea roo0 alive8 and for three days +orinda and he gobbled stea-s and ale8 and played pinochle8 and lay tal-ing infinitely of all they had thought about each other in the si= desert 0onths that 0ight have been si=ty years. #e was to re0e0ber the sloping far0house bedroo0 and a shred of rag carpet and a couple of ric-ety chairs and +orinda snuggled under the old red co0forter on the cot8 not as winter poverty but as youth and adventurous love.

Then8 in a forest clearing8 with snow along the spruce boughs8 a few feet across into !anada8 he was peering into the eyes of his two wo0en8 curtly saying good-bye8 and trudging off into the new prison of e=ile fro0 the A0erica to which8 already8 he was loo-ing bac- with the long pain of nostalgia.

'C

#is beard had grown again--he and his beard had been friends for 0any years8 and he had

0issed it of late. #is hair and 0ustache had again assu0ed a respectable gray in place of the purple dye that under electric lights had loo-ed so bogus. #e was no longer i0passioned at the sight of a la0b chop or a ca-e of soap. But he had not yet got over the pleasure and slight a0aGe0ent at being able to tal- as freely as he would8 as e0phatically as 0ight please hi08 and in public.

#e sat with his two closest friends in 2ontreal8 two fellow e=ecutives in the Depart0ent of Propaganda and Publications of the .ew Dnderground $9alt Trowbridge8 General !hair0an)8 and these two friends were the #on. Perley Beecroft8 who presu0ably was the President of the Dnited *tates8 and 5oe 1lphrey8 an orna0ental young 0an who8 as E2r. !ailey8E had been a priGe agent of the !o00unist Party in A0erica till he had been -ic-ed out of that al0ost i0perceptible body for having 0ade a Eunited frontE with *ocialists8 De0ocrats8 and even choirsingers when organiGing an anti-!orpo revolt in Te=as.

3ver their ale8 in this cafF8 Beecroft and 1lphrey were at it as usual: 1lphrey insisting that the only EsolutionE of A0erican distress was dictatorship by the livelier representatives of the toiling 0asses8 strict and if need be violent8 but $this was his new heresy) not governed by 2oscow. Beecroft was gaseously asserting that Eall we neededE was a return to precisely the political parties8 the dru00ing up of votes8 and the oratorical legislating by !ongress8 of the contented days of 9illia0 B. 2cLinley.

But as for Dore0us8 he leaned bac- not vastly caring what nonsense the others 0ight tal- so long as it was per0itted the0 to tal- at all without finding that the waiters were 2.2. spiesH and content to -now that8 whatever happened8 Trowbridge and the other authentic leaders would never go bac- to satisfaction in govern0ent of the profits8 by the profits8 for the profits. #e thought co0fortably of the fact that just yesterday $he had this fro0 the chair0an"s secretary)8 9alt Trowbridge had dis0issed 9ilson 5. *hale8 the ducal oil 0an8 who had co0e8 apparently with sincerity8 to offer his fortune and his e=ecutive e=perience to Trowbridge and the cause.

E.ope. *orry8 9ill. But we can"t use you. 9hatever happens--even if #ai- 0arches over and slaughters all of us along with all our !anadian hosts--you and your -ind of clever pirates are finished. 9hatever happens8 whatever details of a new syste0 of govern0ent 0ay be decided on8 whether we call it a "!ooperative !o00onwealth" or "*tate *ocialis0" or "!o00unis0" or "<evived Traditional De0ocracy8" there"s got to be a new feeling--that govern0ent is not a ga0e for a few s0art8 resolute athletes li-e you8 9ill8 but a universal partnership8 in which the *tate 0ust own all resources so large that they affect all 0e0bers of the *tate8 and in which the one

worst cri0e won"t be 0urder or -idnaping but ta-ing advantage of the *tate--in which the seller of fraudulent 0edicine8 or the liar in !ongress8 will be punished a whole lot worse than the fellow who ta-es an a= to the 0an who"s grabbed off his girl. . . . 1hM 9hat"s going to happen to 0agnates li-e you8 9illM God -nowsJ 9hat happened to the dinosaursME

*o was Dore0us in his service well content.

:et socially he was al0ost as lonely as in his cell at TrianonH al0ost as savagely he longed for the not e=orbitant pleasure of being with +orinda8 Buc-8 100a8 *issy8 *teve Perefi=e.

.one of the0 save 100a could join hi0 in !anada8 and she would not. #er letters suggested fear of the un-9orcesterian wildernesses of 2ontreal. *he wrote that Philip and she hoped they 0ight be able to get Dore0us forgiven by the !orposJ *o he was left to associate only with his fellow refugees fro0 !orpois08 and he -new a life that had been fa0iliar8 far too fa0iliar8 to political e=iles ever since the first revolt in 1gypt sent the rebels snea-ing off into Assyria.

t was no particularly indecent egotis0 in Dore0us that 0ade hi0 suppose8 when he arrived in !anada8 that everyone would thrill to his tale of i0prison0ent8 torture8 and escape. But he found that ten thousand spirited tellers of woe had co0e there before hi08 and that the !anadians8 however attentive and generous hosts they 0ight be8 were actively sic- of pu0ping up new sy0pathy. They felt that their @uota of 0artyrs was co0pletely filled8 and as to the e=iles who ca0e in penniless8 and that was a 0ajority of the08 the !anadians beca0e distinctly weary of depriving their own fa0ilies on behalf of un-nown refugees8 and they couldn"t even -eep up forever a gratification in the presence of celebrated A0erican authors8 politicians8 scientists8 when they beca0e co00on as 0os@uitoes.

t was doubtful if a lecture on Deplorable !onditions in A0erica by #erbert #oover and General Pershing together would have attracted forty people. 1=-governors and judges were glad to get jobs washing dishes8 and e=-0anaging-editors were hoeing turnips. And reports said that 2e=ico

and +ondon and >rance were growing ali-e apologetically bored.

*o Dore0us8 0eagerly living on his twenty-dollar-a-wee- salary fro0 the ..D.8 0et no one save his own fellow e=iles8 in just such salons of unfortunate political escapists as the 9hite <ussians8 the <ed *paniards8 the Blue Bulgarians8 and all the other polychro0atic insurrectionists fre@uented in Paris. They crowded together8 twenty of the0 in a parlor twelve by twelve8 very li-e the concentration-ca0p cells in area8 inhabitants8 and eventual s0ell8 fro0 4 P.2. till 0idnight8 and 0ade up for lac- of dinner with coffee and doughnuts and e=iguous sandwiches8 and tal-ed without cessation about the !orpos. They told as Eactual factsE stories about President #ai- which had for0erly been applied to #itler8 *talin8 and 2ussolini--the one about the 0an who was alar0ed to find he had saved #ai- fro0 drowning and begged hi0 not to tell.

n the cafFs they seiGed the newspapers fro0 ho0e. 2en who had had an eye gouged out on behalf of freedo08 with the rheu0y re0aining one peered to see who had won the 2issouri Avenue Bridge !lub PriGe.

They were brave and ro0antic8 tragic and distinguished8 and Dore0us beca0e a little sic- of the0 all and of the final brutality of fact that no nor0al 0an can very long endure another"s tragedy8 and that friendly weeping will so0e day turn to irritated -ic-ing.

#e was stirred when8 in a hastily built A0erican interdeno0inational chapel8 he heard a starveling who had once been a po0pous bishop read fro0 the pine pulpit:

EBy the rivers of Babylon8 there we sat down8 yea8 we wept8 when we re0e0bered Oion. 9e hanged our harps upon the willows in the 0idst thereof. . . . #ow shall we sing the +ord"s song in a strange landM f forget thee 3 5erusale08 let 0y right hand forget her cunning. f do not re0e0ber thee8 let 0y tongue cleave to the roof of 0y 0outhH if prefer not 5erusale0 above 0y chief joy.E

#ere in !anada the A0ericans had their 9eeping 9all and daily cried with false8 gallant hope8 E.e=t year in 5erusale0JE

*o0eti0es Dore0us was ve=ed by the ceaseless de0anding wails of refugees who had lost

everything8 sons and wives and property and self-respect8 ve=ed that they believed they alone had seen such horrorsH and so0eti0es he spent all his spare hours raising a dollar and a little weary friendliness for these sic- soulsH and so0eti0es he saw as frag0ents of Paradise every aspect of A0erica--such oddly assorted gli0pses as 2eade at Gettysburg and the 0assed blue petunias in 100a"s lost garden8 the fresh shine of rails as seen fro0 a train on an April 0orning and <oc-efeller !enter. But whatever his 0ood8 he refused to sit down with his harp by any foreign waters whatever and enjoy the i0portance of being a celebrated beggar.

#e"d get bac- to A0erica and chance another prison. 2eanti0e he neatly sent pac-ages of literary dyna0ite out fro0 the ..D. offices all day long8 and efficiently directed a hundred envelope-addressers who once had been professors and pastrycoo-s.

#e had as-ed his superior8 Perley Beecroft8 for assign0ent in 0ore active and 0ore dangerous wor-8 as secret agent in A0erica--out 9est8 where he was not -nown. But head@uarters had suffered a good deal fro0 a0ateur agents who babbled to strangers8 or who could not be trusted to -eep their 0ouths shut while they were being flogged to death. Things had changed since %&6&. The ..D. believed that the highest honor a 0an could earn was not to have a 0illion dollars but to be per0itted to ris- his life for truth8 without pay or praise.

Dore0us -new that his chiefs did not consider hi0 young enough or strong enough8 but also that they were studying hi0. Twice he had the honor of interviews with Trowbridge about nothing in particular--surely it 0ust have been an honor8 though it was hard to re0e0ber it8 because Trowbridge was the si0plest and friendliest 0an in the whole portentous spy 0achine. !heerfully Dore0us hoped for a chance to help 0a-e the poor8 overwor-ed8 worried !orpo officials even 0ore 0iserable than they nor0ally were8 now that war with 2e=ico and revolts against !orpois0 were jingling side by side.

n 5uly8 %&'&8 when Dore0us had been in 2ontreal a little over five 0onths8 and a year after his sentence to concentration ca0p8 the A0erican newspapers which arrived at ..D. head@uarters were full of resent0ent against 2e=ico.

Bands of 2e=icans had raided across into the Dnited *tates--always8 curiously enough8 when our troops were off in the desert8 practice-0arching or perhaps gathering sea shells. They burned a town in Te=as--fortunately all the wo0en and children were away on a *unday-school picnic8 that afternoon. A 2e=ican Patriot $aforeti0e he had also wor-ed as an 1thiopian Patriot8 a !hinese Patriot8 and a #aitian Patriot) ca0e across8 to the tent of an 2.2. brigadier8 and confessed that while it hurt hi0 to tattle on his own beloved country8 conscience co0pelled hi0 to reveal that his 2e=ican superiors were planning to fly over and bo0b +aredo8 *an Antonio8 Bisbee8 and probably Taco0a8 and Bangor8 2aine.

This e=cited the !orpo newspapers very 0uch indeed and in .ew :or- and !hicago they published photographs of the conscientious traitor half an hour after he had appeared at the Brigadier"s tent . . . where8 at that 0o0ent8 forty-si= reporters happened to be sitting about on neighboring cactuses.

A0erica rose to defend her hearthstones8 including all the hearthstones on Par- Avenue8 .ew :or-8 against false and treacherous 2e=ico8 with its appalling ar0y of KC8/// 0en8 with thirtynine 0ilitary aeroplanes. 9o0en in !edar <apids hid under the bedH elderly gentle0en in !attaraugus !ounty8 .ew :or-8 concealed their 0oney in el0-tree bolesH and the wife of a chic-en-raiser seven 0iles ..1. of 1stelline8 *outh Da-ota8 a wo0an widely -nown as a good coo- and a trained observer8 distinctly saw a file of ninety-two 2e=ican soldiers pass her cabin8 starting at ':%C A.2. on 5uly 6C8 %&'&.

To answer this threat8 A0erica8 the one country that had never lost a war and never started an unjust one8 rose as one 0an8 as the !hicago Daily 1vening !orporate put it. t was planned to invade 2e=ico as soon as it should be cool enough8 or even earlier8 if the refrigeration and airconditioning could be arranged. n one 0onth8 five 0illion 0en were drafted for the invasion8 and started training.

Thus--perhaps too flippantly--did 5oe !ailey and Dore0us discuss the declaration of war against 2e=ico. f they found the whole crusade absurd8 it 0ay be stated in their defense that they regarded all wars always as absurdH in the baldness of the lying by both sides about the causesH in the spectacle of grown-up 0en engaged in the infantile diversions of dressing-up in fancy clothes and 0arching to pri0itive 0usic. The only thing not absurd about wars8 said Dore0us and !ailey8 was that along with their s-ittishness they did -ill a good 0any 0illions of people. Ten thousand starving babies see0ed too high a price for a *a0 Browne belt for even the sweetest8 touchingest young lieutenant.

:et both Dore0us and !ailey swiftly recanted their assertion that all wars were absurd and abo0inableH both of the0 0ade e=ception of the people"s wars against tyranny8 as suddenly A0erica"s agreeable anticipation of stealing 2e=ico was chec-ed by a popular rebellion against the whole !orpo rFgi0e.

The revolting section was8 roughly8 bounded by *ault *te. 2arie8 Detroit8 !incinnati8 9ichita8 *an >rancisco8 and *eattle8 though in that territory large patches re0ained loyal to President #ai-8 and outside of it8 other large patches joined the rebels. t was the part of A0erica which had always been 0ost EradicalE--that indefinite word8 which probably 0eans E0ost critical of piracy.E t was the land of the Populists8 the .on-Partisan +eague8 the >ar0er-+abor Party8 and the +a >ollettes--a fa0ily so vast as to for0 a considerable party in itself.

9hatever 0ight happen8 e=ulted Dore0us8 the revolt proved that belief in A0erica and hope for A0erica were not dead.

These rebels had 0ost of the08 before his election8 believed in BuGG 9indrip"s fifteen pointsH believed that when he said he wanted to return the power pilfered by the ban-ers and the industrialists to the people8 he 0ore or less 0eant that he wanted to return the power of the ban-ers and industrialists to the people. As 0onth by 0onth they saw that they had been cheated with 0ar-ed cards again8 they were indignantH but they were busy with cornfield and saw0ill and dairy and 0otor factory8 and it too- the i0pertinent idiocy of de0anding that they

0arch down into the desert and help steal a friendly country to jab the0 into awa-ening and into discovering that8 while they had been asleep8 they had been -idnaped by a s0all gang of cri0inals ar0ed with high ideals8 well-buttered words and a lot of 0achine guns.

*o profound was the revolt that the !atholic Archbishop of !alifornia and the radical 1=Governor of 2innesota found the0selves in the sa0e faction.

At first it was a rather co0ic outbrea---co0ic as the ill-trained8 un-unifor0ed8 confusedly thin-ing revolutionists of 2assachusetts in %CCK. President General #ai- publicly jeered at the0 as a Eridiculous rag-tag rebellion of hoboes too laGy to wor-.E And at first they were unable to do anything 0ore than scold li-e a floc- of crows8 throw bric-s at detach0ents of 2.2."s and police0en8 wrec- troop trains8 and destroy the property of such honest private citiGens as owned !orpo newspapers.

t was in August that the shoc- ca0e8 when General 100anuel !oon8 !hief of *taff of the regulars8 flew fro0 9ashington to *t. Paul8 too- co00and of >ort *nelling8 and declared for 9alt Trowbridge as Te0porary President of the Dnited *tates8 to hold office until there should be a new8 universal8 and uncontrolled presidential election.

Trowbridge proclai0ed acceptance--with the proviso that he should not be a candidate for per0anent President.

By no 0eans all of the regulars joined !oon"s revolutionary troops. $There are two sturdy 0yths a0ong the +iberals: that the !atholic !hurch is less Puritanical and always 0ore esthetic than the ProtestantH and that professional soldiers hate war 0ore than do congress0en and old 0aids.) But there were enough regulars who were fed up with the e=actions of greedy8 0outhdripping !orpo co00issioners and who threw in with General !oon so that i00ediately after his ar0y of regulars and hastily trained 2innesota far0ers had won the battle of 2an-ato8 the forces at +eavenworth too- control of Lansas !ity8 and planned to 0arch on *t. +ouis and

30ahaH while in .ew :or-8 Governor"s sland and >ort 9adsworth loo-ed on8 neutral8 as un0ilitary-loo-ing and 0ostly 5ewish guerrillas seiGed the subways8 power stations8 and railway ter0inals.

But there the revolt halted8 because in the A0erica8 which had so war0ly praised itself for its Ewidespread popular free education8E there had been so very little education8 widespread8 popular8 free8 or anything else8 that 0ost people did not -now what they wanted--indeed -new about so few things to want at all.

There had been plenty of schoolroo0sH there had been lac-ing only literate teachers and eager pupils and school boards who regarded teaching as a profession worthy of as 0uch honor and pay as insurance-selling or e0bal0ing or waiting on table. 2ost A0ericans had learned in school that God had supplanted the 5ews as chosen people by the A0ericans8 and this ti0e done the job 0uch better8 so that we were the richest8 -indest8 and cleverest nation livingH that depressions were but passing headaches and that labor unions 0ust not concern the0selves with anything e=cept higher wages and shorter hours and8 above all8 0ust not set up an ugly class struggle by co0bining politicallyH that8 though foreigners tried to 0a-e a bogus 0ystery of the08 politics were really so si0ple that any village attorney or any cler- in the office of a 0etropolitan sheriff was @uite ade@uately trained for the0H and that if 5ohn D. <oc-efeller or #enry >ord had set his 0ind to it8 he could have beco0e the 0ost distinguished states0an8 co0poser8 physicist8 or poet in the land.

1ven two-and-half years of despotis0 had not yet taught 0ost electors hu0ility8 nor taught the0 0uch of anything e=cept that it was unpleasant to be arrested too often.

*o8 after the first gay eruption of rioting8 the revolt slowed up. .either the !orpos nor 0any of their opponents -new enough to for0ulate a clear8 sure theory of self-govern0ent8 or irresistibly resolve to engage in the sore labor of fitting the0selves for freedo0. . . . 1ven yet8 after 9indrip8 0ost of the easy-going descendants of the wisecrac-ing Benja0in >ran-lin had not learned that Patric- #enry"s EGive 0e liberty or give 0e deathE 0eant anything 0ore than a high-school yell or a cigarette slogan.

The followers of Trowbridge and General !oon--EThe A0erican !ooperative !o00onwealthE they began to call the0selves--did not lose any of the territory they had seiGedH they held it8 driving out all !orpo agents8 and now and then added a county or two. But 0ostly their rule8 and

e@ually the !orpos" rule8 was as unstable as politics in reland.

*o the tas- of 9alt Trowbridge8 which in August had see0ed finished8 before 3ctober see0ed 0erely to have begun. Dore0us 5essup was called into Trowbridge"s office8 to hear fro0 the chair0an:

E guess the ti0e"s co0e when we need Dnderground agents in the *tates with sense as well as guts. <eport to General Barnes for service proselytiGing in 2innesota. Good luc-8 Brother 5essupJ Try to persuade the orators that are still holding out for Discipline and clubs that they ain"t so 0uch stalwart as funnyJE

And all that Dore0us thought was8 ELind of a nice fellow8 Trowbridge. Glad to be wor-ing with hi08E as he set off on his new tas- of being a spy and professional hero without even any funny passwords to 0a-e the ga0e ro0antic.

'4

#is pac-ing was done. t had been very si0ple8 since his -it consisted only of toilet things8 one change of clothes8 and the first volu0e of *pengler"s Decline of the 9est. #e was waiting in his hotel lobby for ti0e to ta-e the train to 9innipeg. #e was interested by the entrance of a lady 0ore decorative than the fe0ales custo0arily seen in this 0odest inn: a hand-tooled presentation copy of a lady8 in crushed levant and satin doublureH a lady with 0ascara"d eyelashes8 a per0anent wave8 and a cobweb froc-. *he a0bled through the lobby and leaned against a fa-e-0arble pillar8 wielding a long cigarette-holder and staring at Dore0us. *he see0ed a0used by hi08 for no clear reason.

!ould she be so0e sort of !orpo spyM

*he lounged toward hi08 and he realiGed that she was +orinda Pi-e.

9hile he was still gasping8 she chuc-led8 E3h8 no8 darling8 "0 not so realistic in 0y art as to carry out this rVle too farJ t just happens to be the easiest disguise to win over the !orpo frontier guards--if you"ll agree it really is a disguiseJE

#e -issed her with a fury which shoc-ed the respectable hostelry.

*he -new8 fro0 ..D. agents8 that he was going out into a very fair ris- of being flogged to death. *he had co0e solely to say farewell and bring hi0 what 0ight be his last budget of news.

Buc- was in concentration ca0p--he was 0ore feared and 0ore guarded than Dore0us had been8 and +inda had not been able to buy hi0 out. 5ulian8 Larl8 and 5ohn Polli-op were still alive8 still i0prisoned. >ather Perefi=e was running the ..D. cell in >ort Beulah8 but slightly confused because he wanted to approve of war with 2e=ico8 a nation which he detested for its treat0ent of !atholic priests. +orinda and he had8 apparently8 fought bloodily all one evening about !atholic rule in +atin A0erica. As is always typical of +iberals8 +orinda 0anaged to spea- of >ather Perefi=e at once with virtuous loathing and the greatest affection. 100a and David were reported as well content in 9orcester8 though there were 0ur0urs that Philip"s wife did not too than-fully receive her 0other-in-law"s advice on coo-ing. *issy was beco0ing a deft agitator who still8 re0e0bering that she was a born architect8 drew plans for houses that 5ulian and she would so0e day adorn. *he contrived blissfully to co0bine assaults on all !apitalis0 with an entirely capitalistic conception of the year-long honey0oons 5ulian and she were going to have.

+ess surprising than any of this were the tidings that >rancis Tasbrough8 very beautiful in

repentance8 had been let out of the !orpo prison to which he had been sent for too 0uch grafting and was again a district co00issioner8 well thought of8 and that his house-eeper was now 2rs. !andy8 whose daily reports on his 0ost secret arrange0ents were the 0ost neatly written and sternly gra00atical docu0ents that ca0e into ?er0ont ..D. head@uarters.

Then +orinda was loo-ing up at hi0 as he stood in the vestibule of his 9estbound train and crying8 E:ou loo- so well againJ Are you happyM 3h8 be happyJE

1ven now he did not see this defe0iniGed radical wo0an crying. . . . *he turned away fro0 hi0 and raced down the station platfor0 too @uic-ly. *he had lost all her confident pose of flip elegance. +eaning out fro0 the vestibule he saw her stop at the gate8 diffidently raise her hand as if to wave at the long anony0ity of the train windows8 then sha-ily 0arch away through the gates. And he realiGed that she hadn"t even his addressH that no one who loved hi0 would have any stable address for hi0 now any 0ore.

2r. 9illia0 Barton Dobbs8 a traveling 0an for harvesting 0achinery8 an erect little 0an with a s0all gray beard and a ?er0ont accent8 got out of bed in his hotel in a section in 2innesota which had so 0any Bavarian-A0erican and :an-ee-descended far0ers8 and so few EradicalE *candinavians8 that it was still loyal to President #ai-.

#e went down to brea-fast8 cheerfully rubbing his hands. #e consu0ed grapefruit and porridge--but without sugar: there was an e0bargo on sugar. #e loo-ed down and inspected hi0selfH he sighed8 E "0 getting too 0uch of a pod8 with all this outdoor wor- and being so hungryH "ve got to cut down on the grubEH and then he consu0ed fried eggs8 bacon8 toast8 coffee 0ade of acorns8 and 0ar0alade 0ade of carrots--!oon"s troops had shut off coffee beans and oranges.

#e read8 0eanti0e8 the 2inneapolis Daily !orporate. t announced a Great ?ictory in 2e=ico--in the sa0e place8 he noted8 in which there had already been three Great ?ictories in the past two

wee-s. Also8 a Esha0eful rebellionE had been put down in Andalusia8 Alaba0aH it was reported that General GZring was co0ing over to be the guest of President #ai-H and the pretender Trowbridge was said Eby a reliable sourceE to have been assassinated8 -idnaped8 and co0pelled to resign.

E.o news this 0orning8E regretted 2r. 9illia0 Barton Dobbs.

As he ca0e out of the hotel8 a s@uad of 2inute 2en were 0arching by. They were far0 boys8 newly recruited for service in 2e=icoH they loo-ed as scared and soft and big-footed as a rout of rabbits. They tried to pipe up the newest-oldest war song8 in the 0anner of the !ivil 9ar ditty E9hen 5ohnny !o0es 2arching #o0e AgainE:

9hen 5ohnny co0es ho0e fro0 Greaser +and8 #urray8 hurraw8 #is ears will be full of desert sand8 #urray8 hurraw8 But he"ll spea-a de *piggoty pretty sweet And he"ll bring us a gun and a se^orit"8 And we"ll all get stewed when 5ohnny co0es 0arching ho0eJ

Their voices wavered. They peeped at the crowd along the wal-8 or loo-ed sul-ily down at their dragging feet8 and the crowd8 which once would have been yelping E#ail #ai-JE was snic-ering E:ou beggars "ll never get to Greaser +andJE and even8 fro0 the safety of a second-story window8 E#urray8 hurraw for TrowbridgeJE

EPoor devilsJE thought 2r. 9illia0 Barton Dobbs8 as he watched the frightened toy soldiers . . . not too toy-li-e to -eep the0 fro0 dying.

:et it is a fact that he could see in the crowd nu0erous persons who0 his argu0ents8 and those of the si=ty-odd ..D. secret agents under hi08 had converted fro0 fear of the 2.2."s to jeering.

n his open >ord convertible--he never started it but he thought of how he had Eput it over on *issyE by getting a >ord all his own--Dore0us drove out of the village into stubble-lined prairie. The 0eadow lar-s" li@uid ecstasy welco0ed hi0 fro0 barbed-wire fences. f he 0issed the strong hills behind >ort Beulah8 he was yet e=alted by the i00ensity of the s-y8 the openness of prairie that pro0ised he could go on forever8 the gayety of s0all sloughs seen through their fringes of willows and cottonwoods8 and once8 aspiring overhead8 an early flight of 0allards.

#e whistled boisterously as he bounced on along the section-line road.

#e reached a gaunt yellow far0house--it was to have had a porch8 but there was only an unpainted nothingness low down on the front wall to show where the porch would be. To a far0er who was oiling a tractor in the pig-littered far0yard he chirped8 E.a0e"s 9illia0 Barton Dobbs--representing the Des 2oines !o0bine and Dp-to-Date 0ple0ent !o0pany.E

The far0er galloped up to sha-e hands8 breathing8 EBy golly this is a great honor8 2r. 5--E

EDobbsJE

EThat"s right. "*cuse 0e.E

n an upper bedroo0 of the far0house8 seven 0en were waiting8 perched on chair and table and edges of the bed8 or just s@uatted on the floor. *o0e of the0 were apparently far0ersH so0e una0bitious shop-eepers. As Dore0us bustled in8 they rose and bowed.

EGood-0orning gentle0en. A little news8E he said. E!oon has driven the !orpos out of :an-ton and *iou= >alls. .ow wonder if you"re ready with your reportsME

To the agent whose difficulty in converting far0-owners had been their dread of paying decent wages to far0 hands8 Dore0us presented for use the argu0ent $as for0aliGed yet passionate as the observations of a life-insurance agent upon death by 0otor accident) that poverty for one was poverty for all. . . . t wasn"t such a very new argu0ent8 nor so very logical8 but it had been a useful carrot for 0any hu0an 0ules.

>or the agent a0ong the >innish-A0erican settlers8 who were insisting that Trowbridge was a Bolshevi- and just as bad as the <ussians8 Dore0us had a 0i0eographed @uotation fro0 the Gvestia of 2oscow da0ning Trowbridge as a Esocial >ascist @uac-.E >or the Bavarian far0ers down the other way8 who were still vaguely pro-.aGi8 Dore0us had a Ger0an F0igrF paper published in Prague8 proving $though without statistics or any considerable @uotation fro0 official docu0ents) that8 by agree0ent with #itler8 President #ai- was8 if he re0ained in power8 going to ship bac- to the Ger0an Ar0y all Ger0an-A0ericans with so 0uch as one grandparent born in the >atherland.

EDo we close with a cheerful hy0n and the benediction8 2r. DobbsME de0anded the youngest and 0ost flippant--and @uite the 0ost successful--agent.

E wouldn"t 0indJ 2aybe it wouldn"t be so unsuitable as you thin-. But considering the loose 0orals and econo0ics of 0ost of you co0rades8 perhaps it would be better if closed with a new story about #ai- and 2ae 9est that heard8 day before yesterday. . . . Bless you allJ GoodbyeJE

As he drove to his ne=t 0eeting8 Dore0us fretted8 E don"t believe that Prague story about #aiand #itler is true. thin- "ll @uit using it. 3h8 -now-- -now8 2r. DobbsH as you say8 if you did tell the truth to a .aGi8 it would still be a lie. But just the sa0e thin- "ll @uit using it. . . . +orinda and 0e8 that thought we could get free of Puritanis0J . . . Those cu0ulus clouds are better than a galleon. f they"d just 0ove 2ount Terror and >ort Beulah and +orinda and Buc- here8 this would be Paradise. . . . 3h8 +ord8 don"t want to8 but suppose "ll have to order the attac- on the 2.2. post at 3sa-is nowH they"re ready for it. . . . wonder if that shotgun charge yesterday was intended for 0eM . . . Didn"t really li-e +orinda"s hair fi=ed up in that .ew :or- style at allJE

#e slept that night in a cottage on the shore of a sandy-botto0ed la-e ringed with bright birches. #is host and his host"s wife8 worshipers of Trowbridge8 had insisted on giving hi0 their own roo08 with the patchwor- @uilt and the hand-painted pitcher and bowl.

#e drea0ed--as he still did drea08 once or twice a wee---that he was bac- in his cell at Trianon. #e -new again the stin-8 the cra0ped and warty bun-8 the never rela=ed fear that he 0ight be dragged out and flogged.

#e heard 0agic tru0pets. A soldier opened the door and invited out all the prisoners. There8 in the @uadrangle8 General 100anuel !oon $who8 to Dore0us"s drea0ing fancy8 loo-ed e=actly li-e *her0an) addressed the0:

EGentle0en8 the !o00onwealth ar0y has con@ueredJ #ai- has been capturedJ :ou are freeJE

*o they 0arched out8 the prisoners8 the bent and scarred and crippled8 the vacant-eyed and slobbering8 who had co0e into this place as erect and daring 0en: Dore0us8 Dan 9ilgus8 Buc-8 5ulian8 2r. >alc-8 #enry ?eeder8 Larl Pascal8 5ohn Polli-op8 Tru0an 9ebb. They crept out of the @uadrangle gates8 through a double line of soldiers standing rigidly at Present Ar0s yet weeping as they watched the bro-en prisoners crawling past.

And beyond the soldiers8 Dore0us saw the wo0en and children. They were waiting for hi0--the -ind ar0s of +orinda and 100a and *issy and 2ary8 with David behind the08 clinging to his father"s hand8 and >ather Perefi=e. And >oolish was there8 his tail a proud plu0e8 and fro0 the drea0-blurred crowd ca0e 2rs. !andy8 holding out to hi0 a cocoanut ca-e.

Then all of the0 were fleeing8 frightened by *had +edue--

#is host was slapping Dore0us"s shoulder8 0uttering8 E5ust had a phone call. !orpo posse out after you.E

*o Dore0us rode out8 saluted by the 0eadow lar-s8 and onward all day8 to a hidden cabin in the .orthern 9oods where @uiet 0en awaited news of freedo0.

And still Dore0us goes on in the red sunrise8 for a Dore0us 5essup can never die.

T#1 1.D

This site is full of ><11 eboo-s - Project Gutenberg Australia