eflected, made
tolerable only by this friendliness which he, almost unconsciously,
inspired. Dogs, children, and his subordinates--the three most
intuitively critical classes of beings--were all his friends. The
pathway to and from the daily routine, which he was coming to regard as
moral martyrdom, was a pathway illumined with sunlight and strewn with
flowers!

As the Lieutenant-Governor passed through his ante-room, with a wink at
the boy, a nod to the stenographer, and a word of greeting to his
private secretary, and entered his office, he was surprised to find the
communicating door open, and to hear the sound of a vaguely familiar
voice in the Governor's room beyond. In an effort to place the speaker,
he hesitated briefly before advancing to a point which would bring him
within range of the Governor's eye. Almost immediately, the memory of
the convention rushed over him, and he recognized the voice as that of
Michael McGrath.

"And it won't be a strike like other strikes," he was saying, "not so
long as I'm running it, that is. It's going to mean business from the
word go! There's been too much shilly-shallying in the strikes I've
known anything about, too much talk, and too much wasting of Union
funds. You know what I mean. It isn't enough to tie up a mill, and then
hang around on street-corners for two months, waiting for the other side
to give in. The only place to hit a man like Rathbawne is in his pocket,
and by that I don't mean simply cutting off his income, but chopping
into his capital as well. He's got to understand"--

The Lieutenant-Governor walked over to his desk, laid his hat and stick
on a chair, and, before removing his overcoat, began turning over the
pile of letters which awaited his attention. As he did so, Governor
Abbott's voice broke in suavely upon the other's.

"I deprecate any resort to violence," he said. "You must proceed with
discretion if you expect the state to maintain an attitude of
neutrality. Otherwise, the police or the militia"--

"Oh, to hell with the police and the militia!" broke in McGrath
impatiently. "What's the use"--

"There is the Lieutenant-Governor now," interrupted the other. "Perhaps
he has some news for us. Mr. Barclay, will you kindly step in here for a
moment?"

McGrath was standing on the opposite side of the Governor's table as
Barclay entered the room. He acknowledged the latter's curt nod with an
ironical bow, slipped his hands into the pockets of hi