said the cripple.
"None at all," he replied.
He stood for several minutes lost in deep thought. I felt that thedestiny of the world hung tremblingly in the balance. At last hespoke, in a low voice.
"Who represents your organization?" he asked.
"The Executive Committee," replied the president.
"Who are they?" he inquired.
"Myself,--the vice-president"--pointing to the cripple--"and yondergentleman"--designating the cowled and masked figure of Maximilian,who stood near me.
"Could I have a private conference with you?" he asked.
"Yes," replied the president, somewhat eagerly; "come this way."
All four moved to a side door, which seemed to lead into anothersubterranean chamber;--the cripple carried a torch.
"Wait here for me," said Maximilian, as he passed me.
I sat down. The cowled figures remained seated around the walls. Nota sound broke the profound silence. I could see that all eyes werefixed upon the door by which the Executive Committee had left us, andmy own were riveted there also.
We all felt the gravity of the occasion. Five minutes--tenminutes--fifteen minutes--twenty minutes passed. The door opened. Wethought the conference was over. No; it was only the cripple; hisface was uncovered and flushed with excitement. He walked quickly tothe secretary's table; took up pen, ink and paper, and returned tothe other cellar, closing the door after him. There was a movementamong the cowled figures--whispers--excitement; they augured thatthings were going well--the agreement was to be reduced to writing!Five minutes more passed--then ten--then fifteen. The door opened,and they came out:--the gigantic Caesar ahead. All the faces wereuncovered, and I thought there was a look of suppressed triumph uponthe countenances of the Executive Committee. The commander of theDemons looked sedate and thoughtful, like a man who had taken a verygrave and serious step.
The president resumed the chair. He spoke to the secretary.
"You will cover the eyes of General Quincy," he said. "Take two menwith you; accompany him to his carriage, then go with him to hisresidence, and bring back our hostage.--General," he said, "goodnight," and then added meaningly, "_Au revoir!_"
"_Au revoir_," said the general, as the handkerchief was adjustedover his face.
The commander of the Demons and his escort withdrew. The presidentsat consulting his watch, and when he was sure that they were beyondhearing, he sprang to his feet, his eyes glowing and his whole framedilated with excitement.
"Brothers," he cried out, "we have got the world in our hands atlast. The day is near we have so long toiled and waited for! TheDemons are with us!"
The wildest demonstrations of joy followed--cheer after cheer brokeforth; the men embraced each other.
"The world's slavery is at an end," cried one.
"Death to the tyrants!" shouted another.
"Down with the Oligarchy!" roared a third.
"Come," said Maximilian, taking me by the arm, "it is time to go."
He replaced the bandage over my eyes and led me out. For some timeafter I left the room, and while in the next cellar, I could hear thehoarse shouts of the triumphant conspirators. Victory was nowassured. My heart sank within me. The monstrous chorus was chantingthe requiem of a world.
In the carriage Maximilian was trembling with excitement. One thoughtseemed to be uppermost in his mind. "He will be free! He will befree!" he continually cried. When at last he grew more calm, heembraced me, and called me the preserver of himself; and all hisfamily; and all his friends; and all his work,--the savior of hisfather! Then he became incoherent again. He cursed the baseness ofmankind. "It was noble," he said, "to crush a rotten world forrevenge, or for justice' sake; but to sell out a trust, for fiftymillions of the first plunder, was execrable--it was damnable. It wasa shame to have to use such instruments. But the whole world wascorrupt to the very core; there was not enough consistency in it tomake it hang together. Yet there was one consolation--the end wascoming! Glory be to God! The end was coming!"
And he clapped his hands and shouted, like a madman.
When he grew quieter I asked him what day the blow was to be struck.Not for some time, he said. In the morning the vice-president wouldtake an air-ship to Europe, with a cipher letter from General Quincyto the commandant of the Demons in England--to be delivered in caseit was thought safe to do so. The cripple was subtle and cunningbeyond all men. He was to arrange for the purchase of the officerscommanding the Demons all over Europe; and he was to hold a councilof the leaders of the Brotherhood, and arrange for a simultaneousoutbreak on both sides of the Atlantic, so that one continent shouldnot come to the help of the other. If, however, this could not beeffected, he was to return home, and the Brotherhood wouldprecipitate the revolution all over America at the same hour, andtake the chances of holding their own against the banker-governmentof Europe.
That night I lay awake a long time, cogitating; and the subject of mythoughts was--Estella.
It had been my intention to return to Africa before the greatoutbreak took place. I could not remain and witness the ruin ofmankind. But neither could I leave Estella behind me. Maximilianmight be killed. I knew his bold and desperate nature; he seemed tome to have been driven almost, if not quite, to insanity, by thewrongs of his father. Revenge had become a mania with him. If heperished in the battle what would become of Estella, in a world tornto pieces? She had neither father, nor mother, nor home. But sheloved me and I must protect her!
On the other hand, she was powerless and dependent on the kindness ofstrangers. Her speech in that moment of terror might have expressedmore than she felt. Should I presume upon it? Should I take advantageof her distress to impose my love upon her? But, if the Brotherhoodfailed, might not the Prince recover her, and bear her back to hishateful palace and his loathsome embraces? Dangers environed her inevery direction. I loved her; and if she would not accompany me to myhome as my wife, she must go as my sister. She could not stay whereshe was. I must again save her.
I fell asleep and dreamed that Estella and I were flying into spaceon the back of a dragon, that looked very much like Prince Cabano.
CHAPTER XX.
THE WORKINGMEN'S MEETING
I have told you, my dear Heinrich, that I have latterly attended, andeven spoken at, a number of meetings of the workingmen of this city.I have just returned from one of the largest I have seen. It was heldin a great underground chamber, or series of cellars, connected witheach other, under an ancient warehouse. Before I retire to my couch Iwill give you some description of the meeting, not only because itwill enable you to form some idea of the state of feeling among themechanics and workmen, but because this one, unfortunately, had atragical ending.
There were guards stationed at the door to give warning of the comingof the police. There were several thousand persons present. It wasSaturday night. When we arrived the hall was black with people--agloomy, silent assemblage. There were no women present; no brightcolors--all dark and sad-hued. The men were nearly all workingmen,many of them marked by the grime of their toil. Maximilian whisperedto me that the attendance was larger than usual, and he thought itindicated that, by a kind of instinct, the men knew the great day ofdeliverance was near at hand.
The president of a labor organization had taken the chair before wecame in. As I walked up the hall I was greeted with cheers, andinvited to the platform. Maximilian accompanied me.
A man in a blouse was speaking. He was discussing the doctrines ofKarl Marx and the German socialists of the last century. He wasattentively listened to, but his remarks aroused no enthusiasm; theyall seemed familiar with the subjects of his discourse.
He was followed by another workman, who spoke upon the advantages ofco-operation between the employers and the employed. His remarks weremoderate and sensible. He was, however, answered by another workman,who read statistics to show that, after a hundred years of trial, theco-operative system had not extended beyond a narrow
circle. "Therewere too many greedy employers and too many helpless workmen.Competition narrowed the margin of profit and hardened the heart ofthe master, while it increased the number of the wretchedly poor, whomust work at any price that would maintain life." [Applause.] "Thecure must be more radical than that." [Great applause.]
He was followed by a school teacher, who thought that the true remedyfor the evils of society was universal education. "If all men wereeducated they could better defend their rights. Education meantintelligence, and intelligence meant prosperity. It was the ignoranthordes from Europe who were crowding out the American workingmen andreducing them to pauperism." [Applause. I
Here a rough-looking man, who, I inferred, was an English miner, saidhe begged leave to differ from the gentleman who had last spoken. (Inoticed that these workingmen, unless very angry,