"Watch him rise to this, though." And aloud:
"Why don't you fellows drop the League of Nations, which none of you
knows a damn about anyhow, and get to the thing that's coming in
this country?"
"I'll bite," said Mr. Clarey, who sold life insurance in the daytime
and sometimes utilized his evenings in a similar manner. "What's
coming to this country?"
"Revolution."
The crowd laughed.
"All right," said Mr. Hendricks. "Laugh while you can. I saw the
Chief of Police to-day, and he's got a line of conversation that
makes a man feel like taking his savings out of the bank and burying
them in the back yard."
Willy Cameron took his pipe out of his mouth, but remained dumb.
Mr. Hendricks nudged Doctor Smalley, who rose manfully to the
occasion. "What does he say?"
"Says the Russians have got a lot of paid agents here. Not all
Russians either. Some of our Americans are in it. It's to begin
with a general strike."
"In this town?"
"All over the country. But this is a good field for them. The
crust's pretty thin here, and where that's the case there is likely
to be earthquakes and eruptions. The Chief says they're bringing
in a bunch of gunmen, wobblies and Bolshevists from every industrial
town on the map.
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