s
manner was not cool. His mind was not poised.

There was a vibrant ring to his metallic voice which betrayed the
profoundest emotion. His daring came from some mysterious source within.
It was a daring that was the contradiction of reason and experience. It
was uncanny.

Lee asked his questions in measured tones.

"You were disappointed, I take it, particularly in the conduct of the
blacks?"

"Yes."

"Exactly. If negro Slavery in the South were to-day the beastly thing
which you and Garrison have so long proclaimed, you could not have been
disappointed. Had your illusion of abuse and cruelty been true the
negroes _would_ have risen to a man, put their masters to death, and
burned their homes. Yet, not a black man has lifted his hand. There must
be something wrong in your facts--"

Brown lifted his head solemnly.

"There can be nothing wrong in my faith, Colonel Lee. It comes from
God."

"I didn't say your faith, my friend. I said your facts--" He paused and
picked up the pike.

"These unused pikes bear witness to your error. This is an ugly weapon,
Mr. Brown!"

"It was meant to kill."

"We found it in the hands of a negro."

"I wish to conceal nothing, sir--" The old man paused, lifted his
stooped shoulders and drew a deep breath. "I armed fifty blacks with
them and I had many more which I hoped to use."

Lee touched the point of the two-edged blade,

"This piece of iron, then, placed in the hands of a negro was meant for
the breasts of Southern white men, women and children?"

"I came to proclaim your slaves free and give them the weapons to make
good my orders."

"Who gave you the authority to issue orders of life and death?" Lee
asked with slow, steady emphasis.

Brown's eyes flashed.

"I gave it to myself, sir. By the authority of my conscience and what I
believe to be right."

"Suppose all took the same orders? Every man who differs with his
neighbor, gets his gun, proclaims himself the mouthpiece of God and
kills those who disagree with him. Civilization is built on an agreement
not to do this thing. We have placed in the hands of the officer of the
law the task of executing justice. The moment we dare as individuals to
take this into our own hands, the world becomes a den of wild beasts--"

"The world's already a den of wild beasts," Brown interrupted sharply.
"They have snarled and snapped long enough. It's time to clinch and
fight it out."

There could be no doubt of the savage