of deep regret stirred
voicelessly in many hearts. But every man there was a simple wage earner
whose horizon was bounded by that which his wage opened up. For the rest
he was left guessing, but more often fearing. So, with his muscles of
iron, his human desires, and his reluctance to apply such untrained
reasoning as he possessed, he was ripe subject for fluent, unscrupulous,
political agitators, and ready to sweep along with any tide that set in.

The leaders on the platform understood this well enough. It was their
business to understand it. The others, the leaders' immediate
supporters, were men of fiery youth, or those whose work it was to wreck
at all costs, and snatch to themselves, in addition to pay for their
fell work, such loot as the wreckage afforded them.

The hum of talk snuffed right out as the leader rose to address the
meeting. It was Leo Murko, the same man, a hard-faced, foreign-looking
Hebrew whom a month before Bull's great arms flung through the broken
window into the snowdrift beyond. His position now, however, was far
different from that which it had been when his endeavours had been
concentrated upon enrolling a Communist following. All that had been
achieved or sufficiently so. Now he was the dictator whose orders could
be backed by an irresistible force. His whole manner had changed. The
velvet glove of persuasion had been discarded, and he hurled his
commands with deep-throated authority, and the smile of encouragement
and persuasion was completely abandoned.

His preliminary was brief. A phrase or two of flattery and
acknowledgment to those on the platform supporting him dismissed that.
Then he passed on to the objects in view. In five minutes he had
dismissed also the ultimate destiny of the mills, and the manner in
which the Workers were to benefit by its administration. Then he flung
himself into a fiery denunciation of all capitalists, and particularly
those who had dared to employ his audience on good wages for something
like fifteen years. That completed he passed on to the plans for taking
over the mills forthwith.

During the earlier part of his address the audience listened with grave
attention. Here and there little outbursts of applause punctuated his
sentences. But when he came to the task which had been set for that
night a deathly silence prevailed everywhere. The intensity was added to
rather than broken by the harsh clearing of throats that came from
almost every part of