lled off a great
stunt, great story. The mornings' will have the break on it, but we have
the only pictures and lots of eye-witness stuff."

He proceeded to give what even John admitted to himself was an accurate
account of the attempt to wreck the "Lark" and how Gibson had saved the
train and "shot it out" with "Red Mike."

Hanging up the receiver he looked around to find John standing waiting
for him. Lighting a fresh cigarette from the butt of the one he had
finished he motioned to John to sit down.

"Now, Gallant, you listen to me for a while," he said. "You can believe
what I'm going to say or not, but I'm going to tell you a few things.
And don't get the idea I'm just talking for the sake of hearing myself
blatt.

"Hasn't it ever occurred to you that Gibson didn't have to go through
with this business tonight at all? When he discovered that 'Red Mike'
was going to try to wreck the 'Lark' he could have had him arrested
right then and sent him up for a good long stretch.

"He didn't have to let things go as far as he did. He could have stopped
it right there. Why, he actually endangered the lives of everyone on
that train simply to make a big show of it. There wouldn't have been so
much glory in it for him to have arrested 'Red Mike' when he found out
what he was planning to do.

"Sure, he had nerve. He did what few of us would want to do, even if we
were forced to. 'Red Mike' got no more than he deserved, but I can't
help thinking of him as something of a victim of Gibson's lust for glory
and power just the same. A really great man doesn't have to make a
display of his courage like Gibson did. A really great man would have
been satisfied by the realization that he had prevented a disaster
without endangering the lives of others.

"That's why I say Gibson is a grandstander, Gallant. Understand, when I
say he's a grandstander I don't mean that he isn't sincere in his
crusade to clean up the city. He's simply a grandstander in the way he
does things and that makes it impossible for him to ever be a truly big
man.

"Grandstanders often make good, but not in the way some of us would
like. Oftener they fall down, tripped up by their insatiable desire for
public acclaim. Full reward should be given to those who do big things,
but they shouldn't do them for the reward. They should work for the
satisfaction their accomplishments bring to themselves, within
themselves."

"I saw you shooting at 'Red Mike' yourself