Middletown transcript., 1921-09-24
CHAPTER xli-continued.


:. sA<a-19-'
fright. Throw your gun on the
floor" Drummond picked up the lwea-
pom and put, it in his pocket; then he
rang the bell: y had hoped" he MUIR
INJURED, 'for larger gathering, but
one cannot have everything
Save to Peterson, who understood.
if only dimly, what had happened. the
thing had come as such complete
surprise that even the sudden entrance
of twenty masked men, who ranged
themselves in single rank behind their
chairs, failed to stir the meeting. 1t
merely seemed in keeping with what
had gone before.
Il shall not detain you long, gentle
men" began Hugh, suavely. "Your gen.
eral appearance and the warmth OF the
weather have combined to produce in
me desire for sleep. But before !
hand you over to the care of the
sportsmen who stand so patiently be-
hind you, there are one or two remarks
l wish to make. Let me say at once
that on the subject of Capital and La
Dor ! am supremely ignorant You
will therefore be spared any disserta-
tion on the subject. But from an ex-
haustive studNf the ledger which now
lies upon the table, and a fairly inti-
mate knowledge of it's authors move
ments, and my friends have been put
to the inconvenience Of treading on
you.
There are many things, we know,
which are wrong in this jolly old coun-
try Of ours; but given time and the
right methods I am sufficiently op
put right. That, however, would not
suit your book. You dislike the right
method. because it leaves all of you
much where you were before. Every
single one of you-with the sole pos
sible exception Of you, Mr.. Torrance,
and you're mad-is playing with revo-
luton for his own ends: to make mon
cy out of ito gain power. :.
"Let us start with Peterson-yOur
leader. How much did you say he de-
manded, Mr.. Potts, as the price of rev.
olution?"
With a strangled cry Peterson
sprang up as the American millionaire,
removing his mask, stepped forward.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand
pounds, you swine, was what you asked
me-" The millionaire stood confront
ing his tormentor, who dropped back
in his chair with groan. "And when
l refused, you tortured me. Look at
my thumb"
With cry of horror the others sit
ting at the table looked at the mangled
flesh, and then at the man who had
done it. This, even to their mind, was
going too far.
"Then there was the same sum-"
continued Drummond, "to come from
Hooking, the American cotton man
half German by birth; Steinemann,
the German coal man; Won Gratz the
German steel man. Is that not so,
Peterson?' 1t was an arrow at a
venture, but it hit the mark, and Pc
tersOn nodded.
$50 one million pounds vas the
stake this benefactor of humanity
was playing for" sneered Drummond.
lone million pounds, as the mere
price of nations life-blood. i.
But at any rate he had the merit of
playing big, whereas the rest of you
scum, and the other beauties so ably
catalogued in that book, messed about
at his beck and call for packets of
bulls eyes. Perhaps you labored un-
der the delusion that you were fool
ing him, but the whole lot of you are
so id crooked that you probably
thought Of nothing but your own filthy
skins.
"Listen to me-" Hugh Drummond's
voice took on a deep, commanding
ring, and against their will the four
men looked at the broad, powerful
soldier, whose sincerity shone clear
in his face. "Not by revolutions and
direct action will you make this island
of ours right-though 1 am fully
aware that that is the last thing you
would wish to see happen. But with
Your brains, and for your own un-
scrupulous ends, you gull the work
ingman into believing it. And he, be-
cause you can talk with your tongues
in your cheeks, is led aw4y. He be-
lieves you will give him Utopia
whereas, in reality, you are leading
him to HI. And you know it. Evo-
luton is our only chance-nOt revo-
luton; but you, and others like
you, stand to gain more by the
latter :"
His hand dropped to his side, md
he grinned.
"Quite break for me-" he re-
marked. I'm getting hoarse I'm
now going to hand you four over to
the boys. There's an admirable, but
somewhat muddy pond outside, and
I'm sure you'd like to look for nevis.
If any Of you want to summon me for
assault and battery, my name is
Drummond-Captain Drummond of
Half Moon street. But I warn you
that that book will be handed into
Scotland Yard tonight Out with 'em,
boys, and give 'em HI.
"And now. Carl Peterson" he re.
marked, as the door closed behind the
last of the struggling prophets of a
new world, 'it is time that you and |
settled our little account. isn't it?"
The master-criminal rose and ,tood
facing him. Apparently he had ON.
pletely recovered himself; the hand
with which he lit his cigar was as
steady as rock.
Il congratulate you, Captain Drum.
mond,' he remarked suavely. I con-
fess l htve no idea how you managed