opose," the Bishop said, "that we postpone our decision until
those papers be received. Remember that up to the present moment the
Council have not pledged themselves to take action until they have
perused that document."

"And supposing," Fenn objected, "that to-morrow morning at eight
o'clock, twenty-three of us are marched off to the Tower! Our whole
cause may be paralysed, all that we have worked for all these months
will be in vain, and this accursed and bloody war may be dragged on
until our politicians see fit to make a peace of words."

"I know Mr. Stenson well," the Bishop declared, "and I am perfectly
convinced that he is too sane-minded a man to dream of taking such a
step as you suggest. He, at any rate, if others in his Cabinet are not
so prescient, knows what Labour means."

"I agree with the Bishop, for many reasons," Furley pronounced.

"And I," Cross echoed.

The sense of the meeting was obvious. Fenn's unpleasant looking teeth
flashed for a moment, and his mouth came together with a little snap.

"This is entirely an informal gathering," he said. "I shall summon the
Council to come together tomorrow at midday."

"I think that we may sleep in our beds to-night without fear of
molestation," the Bishop remarked, "although if it had been the wish of
the meeting, I would have broached the matter to Mr. Stenson."

"You are an honorary member of the Council," Fenn declared rudely. "We
don't wish interference. This is a national and international Labour
movement."

"I am a member of the Labour Party of Christ," the Bishop said quietly.

"And an honoured member of this Executive Council," Cross intervened.
"You're a bit too glib with your tongue to-night, Fenn."

"I think of those whom I represent," was the curt reply. "They are
toilers, and they want the toilers to show their power. They don't want
help from the Church. I'll go even so far," he added, "as to say that
they don't want help from literature. It's their own job. They've begun
it, and they want to finish it."

"To-morrow's meeting," Furley observed, "will show how far you are right
in your views. I consider my position, and the Bishop's, as members of
the Labour Party, on a par with your own. I will go further and say
that the very soul of our Council is embodied in the teachings and the
writings of Paul Fiske, or, as we now know him to be, Julian Orden."

Fenn rose to his feet. He was trembling with passion.

"This informal meeting