ill abolish war?'

'I haven't your gift of plausible argument,' said Watson, 'and I
suppose that theoretically you are sound in everything you say. Yet,
instinctively, I know that I am doing the right thing.'

'A woman's reasoning, Doug.' Selwyn relit his cigar, which had gone
out. 'For a few days after the outbreak of war I will admit that I
doubted, myself, and wondered if, after all, there was a universal
heart-beat. Then came the news of the silent march of those thousands
of women down Fifth Avenue, marching to the beat of muffled drums as a
protest against war--not against Germany--higher than that. It was a
symbol that the cry of Rachel for her children still rings through the
centuries. It was the heart of America's women calling to the mothers
of France, Germany, and Britain against this butchery of their sons.'

Selwyn sank into a chair, and a look of weariness succeeded the
momentary flush of excitement.

'That ended my last doubt,' he went on quietly. 'I knew then that if I
could summon the necessary language to express the vision I saw, my
message would sound clear above the guns. I completed three
articles--"A Fool There Was," "When Hell Laughed," and "Gods of
Jingoism." I gave them to my London agent, but you would have thought
they held germs of disease. He brought them back to me, and said that
no one would dare to publish them in England. In other words, the
English couldn't stand the truth. I sent them on to New York. This is
my agent's reply.'

He took a letter from a file on the table and handed it to his guest.
'Read it,' he said.

With an inscrutable smile the Cambridge-American looked at the paper
and read:

'NEW YORK, _10th October 1914_.

DEAR MR. SELWYN,--You will be pleased to know that I have succeeded in
placing your articles "When Hell Laughed," "A Fool There Was," and
"Gods of Jingoism" with a prominent newspaper syndicate. The price
paid was $800 each, and I herewith remit my cheque for $2160, having
deducted the usual commission. I have every reason to believe that any
further articles you send will meet with a ready market, especially if
they follow along the same lines of exposing the utter futility of war.
As a matter of fact, this syndicate is prepared to pay even a higher
price if these articles, which will be published all over the United
States, meet with the approval they confidently expect.

'Assuring you of my desire to be of service to you, I remai