nd Lebanon. Up to the time of the meeting, however, the
expected strike had not occurred. This was mainly due to the fact that
Felix Marchand, the evil genius of Manitou, had not been seen in the
town or in the district for over a week. It was not generally known that
he was absent because a man by the name of Dennis, whose wife he had
wronged, was dogging him with no good intent. Marchand had treated the
woman's warning with contempt, but at sight of her injured husband he
had himself withdrawn from the scene of his dark enterprises. His malign
influence was therefore not at work at the moment.

The tactics of the Lebanon Town Council had been careful and wise. So
that the meeting should not be composed only of the roughest elements,
they privately urged all responsible citizens to attend, and if possible
capture the meeting for law and order and legitimate agitation. That
was why Osterhaut, the town-crier, went about with a large dinner-bell
announcing the hour of the meeting and admonishing all "good folks" to
attend. No one had ever seen Osterhaut quite so cheerful--and he had
a bonny cheerfulness on occasion--as on this grisly October day when
Nature was very sour and the spirit of the winds was in a "scratchy"
mood. But Osterhaut was not more cheerful than Jowett who, in a very
undignified way, described the state of his feelings, on receiving a
certain confidence from Halliday, the lawyer, and Gabriel Druse, by
turning a cart-wheel in the Mayor's office; which certainly was an
unusual thing in a man of fifty years of age.

It was a people's meeting. No local official was on the platform. Under
the influence of alien elements who, though their co-operation was
directed against the common enemy, were intensely irritating, the
meeting became disorderly. One or two wise men, however, were able to
secure order long enough to have the resolution passed for forming a
Local Interests Committee whose duty it would be to see that the people
were not sacrificed to a "soulless plutocracy." While the names of
those who were to form the Committee were being selected, in a storm of
disorder arising from the Manitou section of the crowd, the sky overhead
grew suddenly brighter and the sun came out, bringing an instant change.
It was as though a hand, which had hypnotized them into anger, restored
them to good-humour once again.

At this moment, to the astonishment of all, there appeared at the back
of the platform between Jowe