He had expected to find himself full
of bullets.

"Whew! They blew up the gasoline-shed!" he soliloquized. "But some of
them miscalculated, for if I don't lose my guess there was a bunch of
I.W.W. closer to that gasoline than I was.... Some adventure!... I got
another punch at Glidden. I felt it in my bones that I'd get a crack at
him. Oh, for another!... And that Bradford! He did make me think. How he
slugged Glidden! Good! Good! There's your old American spirit coming
out."

Kurt sat down to rest and to listen. He found he needed a rest. The only
sound he heard was the rumbling of a train, gradually drawing away. A
heavy smoke rose from the freight-yard, but there were no longer any
blazes or patches of red fire. Perhaps the explosion had smothered all
the flames.

It had been a rather strenuous evening, he reflected. A good deal of
satisfaction lay in the fact that he had severely punished some of the
I.W.W. members, if he had not done away with any of them.

When he thought of Glidden, however, he did not feel any satisfaction.
His fury was gone, but in its place was a strong judgment that such men
should be made examples. He certainly did not want to run across Glidden
again, because if he did he would have blood on his hands.

Kurt's chance meeting with the man Bradford seemed far the most
interesting, if not thrilling, incident of the evening. It opened up a
new point of view. How many of the men of that motley and ill-governed
I.W.W. had grievances like Bradford's? Perhaps there were many. Kurt
tried to remember instances when, in the Northwest wheat country,
laborers and farmers had been cheated or deceived by men of large
interests. It made him grave to discover that he could recall many such
instances. His own father had long nursed a grievance against Anderson.
Neuman, his father's friend, had a hard name. And there were many who
had profited by the misfortune of others. That, after all, was a
condition of life. He took it for granted, then, that all members of the
I.W.W. were not vicious or dishonest. He was glad to have this proof.
The I.W.W. had been organized by labor agitators, and they were the ones
to blame, and their punishment should be severest. Kurt began to see
where the war, cruel as it would be, was going to be of immeasurable
benefit to the country.

It amazed Kurt, presently, to note that dawn was at hand. He waited
awhile longer, wanting to be sure not to meet any lingering members o