m Hell, Yakimov."

Peter waited until some order was restored, but he knew now that this
type of man was more to be feared than Flynn or any other professional
agitator of the I. W. W. When they had first come face to face, this
Russian had feigned ignorance of English, but now his clearly enunciated
phrases, though unpolished, indicated a perfect command of the language,
and of his subject. That he should choose this time to come out into the
open showed that he was more sure of himself and of his audience than
Peter liked. And Peter had no humor to match phrases with him. Whatever
his own beliefs since he had come to America, one fact stood clear: That
he was employed to get this work done and that Yakimov, Flynn and others
were trying to prevent it. It was to be no contest of philosophies but
of personalities and Peter met the issue without hesitation.

"You are a communist then and not a socialist," said Peter, "one who
believes in everybody sharing alike whether he works for it or not--or
an anarchist who believes in the destruction of everything. You're an
agent of the Union of Russian Workers, aren't you?"

"And what if I am----?"

"Oh, nothing, except that you have no place in a nation like the United
States, which was founded and dedicated to an ideal, higher than any you
can ever know----"

"An ideal--with money as its God----"

"And what's your God, Yakimov?"

"Liberty----"

"License! You want to inflame--pillage--destroy--And what then?"

"You shall see----"

"What I saw in Russia--no wages for any one, no harvests, factories
idle, blood--starvation--if that's what you like, why did you leave
there, Yakimov?"

The man stood tense for a second and then spoke with a clearness heard
in every corner of the room.

"I came for another reason than yours. I came to spread the gospel of
labor triumphant. _You_ came because----" Here the Russian leaned
forward, shaking his fist, his eyes suddenly inflamed and hissing his
words in a fury. "_You_ came because you believed in serfs and human
slavery--because your own land spewed you out from a sick stomach,
because you were one of the rotting sores in its inside--that had made
Russia the dying nation that she was; because it was time that your
country and my country cleansed herself from such as you. That's why
you came. And we'll let these men judge which of us they want to lead
them here."

The nature of the attack was so unexpected that Peter was take