and stepped forward, pushing aside one of the committee.

Then Bannon turned. He faced about in his chair and began to talk straight
at the committee, ignoring the delegate. Grady began to talk at the same
time, but though his voice was the louder, no one seemed to hear him. The
men were looking at Bannon. Grady hesitated, started again, and then,
bound by his own rage and his sense of defeat, let his words die away, and
stood casting about for an opening.

"--This man Grady threatened a good while ago that I would have a strike
on my hands. He finally came to me and offered to protect me if I would
pay him five thousand dollars."

"That's a lie!" shouted the delegate. "He come to me--"

Bannon had hardly paused. He drew a typewritten copy of Grady's letter
from his pocket, and read it aloud, then handed it over to Murphy. "That's
the way he came at me. I want you to read it."

The man took it awkwardly, glanced at it, and passed it on.

"Tonight he's ordered a strike. He calls himself your representative, but
he has acted on his own responsibility. Now, I am going to talk plain to
you. I came here to build this elevator, and I'm going to do it. I propose
to treat you men fair and square. If you think you ain't treated right,
you send an honest man to this office, and I'll talk with him. But I'm
through with Grady. I won't have him here at all. If you send him around
again, I'll throw him off the job."

The men were a little startled. They looked at one another, and the man on
Murphy's left whispered something. Bannon sat still, watching them.

Then Grady came to himself. He wheeled around to face the committee, and
threw out one arm in a wide gesture.

"I demand to know what this means! I demand to know if there is a law in
this land! Is an honest man, the representative of the hand of labor, to
be attacked by hired ruffians? Is he to be slandered by the tyrant who
drives you at the point of the pistol? And you not men enough to defend
your rights--the rights held by every American--the rights granted by the
Constitution! But it ain't for myself I would talk. It ain't my own
injuries that I suffer for. Your liberty hangs in the balance. This man
has dared to interfere in the integrity of your lodge. Have you no
words--"

Bannon arose, caught Grady's arm, and whirled him around.

"Grady," he said, "shut up." The delegate tried to jerk away, but he could
not shake off that grip. He looked toward the committeem