urse, but
in Chicago we'll suffer anything sooner than make Crowds. Nobody took
much notice, and so I let 'em alone. My fault! I was warned there would
be trouble, but there hasn't been a Crowd or murder in Illinois for
nineteen years.'

'Twenty-two,' said his Chief of Police.

'Likely. Anyway, we'd forgot such things. So, from talking in the houses
and on the streets, our Serviles go to calling a meeting at the Old
Market yonder.' He nodded across the square where the wrecked buildings
heaved up grey in the dawn-glimmer behind the square-cased statue of The
Negro in Flames. 'There's nothing to prevent any one calling meetings
except that it's against human nature to stand in a Crowd, besides being
bad for the health. I ought to have known by the way our men and women
attended that first meeting that trouble was brewing. There were as many
as a thousand in the market-place, touching each other. Touching! Then
the Serviles turned in all tongue-switches and talked, and we--'

'What did they talk about?' said Takahira.

'First, how badly things were managed in the city. That pleased us
Four--we were on the platform--because we hoped to catch one or two
good men for City work. You know how rare executive capacity is. Even if
we didn't it's--it's refreshing to find any one interested enough in our
job to damn our eyes. You don't know what it means to work, year in,
year out, without a spark of difference with a living soul.'

'Oh, don't we!' said De Forest. 'There are times on the Board when we'd
give our positions if any one would kick us out and take hold of things
themselves.'

'But they won't,' said the Mayor ruefully. 'I assure you, sir, we Four
have done things in Chicago, in the hope of rousing people, that would
have discredited Nero. But what do they say? "Very good, Andy. Have it
your own way. Anything's better than a Crowd. I'll go back to my land."
You _can't_ do anything with folk who can go where they please, and
don't want anything on God's earth except their own way. There isn't a
kick or a kicker left on the Planet.'

'Then I suppose that little shed yonder fell down by itself?' said De
Forest. We could see the bare and still smoking ruins, and hear the
slag-pools crackle as they hardened and set.

'Oh, that's only amusement. 'Tell you later. As I was saying, our
Serviles held the meeting, and pretty soon we had to ground-circuit the
platform to save 'em from being killed. And that didn't make our p