man were gifted with prescience Dr. Dohl would have stared out
of countenance the tall young man who sat on a bench in the outer office
of the state's overlord and nursed a broad-brimmed hat upon his knees.

XIII

THE CODE AND THE GAGE OF BATTLE

"I appreciate zeal in public affairs," mused Colonel Dodd, gazing at
the door which Dr. Dohl had closed behind him. "But once there was a
retriever dog who chased his master with a stick of dynamite that had a
sputtering fuse."

He set his broad hands upon the arms of his chair, derricked himself
up, and went over to the mirror. He peered at himself and seemed to
rearrange his countenance, much as a woman would smooth the ruffled
plumage of her hat.

"We're not murderers," he informed the composed visage which the mirror
held forth to him. "But we haven't got to the point where we're letting
lunatics who break up city government meetings, or crank doctors, tell
us how to spend a million or two of the money we've worked hard to
accumulate. There's getting to be too much of this telling business men
in this country how to run their business. If we're peddling typhoid
fever in spite of what our analyses tell us, then we'll go ahead, of
course, and clean up." Colonel Dodd was willing to acknowledge that much
to himself, surveying his countenance in the mirror. "But we'll continue
to run our own business," he added.

Then he sat down again in his chair and pushed a button. "Briggs," he
directed, "send in those three men from Danburg."

He whirled his swivel-chair and sat there at his desk, his rectangular
front squared to meet them.

The three men who came in were of the rural businessmen type, and
their faces were not amiable. Two of them halted in the middle of the
sumptuous apartment and the third stepped a couple of paces ahead of
them. He carried a huge roll of engineers' plans under his arm.

"My name is Davis, as I suppose you know, Colonel Dodd," he reported.

"Have seats, gentlemen."

"We are tired of sitting," stated the spokesmen, with sour significance.

"I understand, Mr. David. But mornings are very busy times for me. I was
attending to appointments made beforehand. You made no appointment, and
I was not expecting you."

There was silence, and the three men glowered on him. It was evident
that settled animosity emboldened these country merchants even in the
presence of Colonel Symonds Dodd.

"I was not expecting you, I say."

The colonel's dem