He spoke of the greatness of
self-abnegation, of his belief in an immortal life of Humanity in which
we live and move and have our being. His voice rose and fell, and the
recording appliances hummed as he spoke, dim attendants watched him out
of the shadow....

His sense of that silent spectator beside him sustained his sincerity.
For a few glorious moments he was carried away; he felt no doubt of his
heroic quality, no doubt of his heroic words, he had it all straight and
plain. His eloquence limped no longer. And at last he made an end to
speaking. "Here and now," he cried, "I make my will. All that is mine in
the world I give to the people of the world. All that is mine in the
world I give to the people of the world. To all of you. I give it to you,
and myself I give to you. And as God wills to-night, I will live for you,
or I will die."

He ended. He found the light of his present exaltation reflected in the
face of the girl. Their eyes met; her eyes were swimming with tears of
enthusiasm.

"I knew," she whispered. "Oh! Father of the World--_Sire_! I knew you
would say these things...."

"I have said what I could," he answered lamely and grasped and clung to
her outstretched hands.

CHAPTER XXIV

WHILE THE AEROPLANES WERE COMING

The man in yellow was beside them. Neither had noted his coming. He was
saying that the south-west wards were marching. "I never expected it so
soon," he cried. "They have done wonders. You must send them a word to
help them on their way."

Graham stared at him absent-mindedly. Then with a start he returned to
his previous preoccupation about the flying stages.

"Yes," he said. "That is good, that is good." He weighed a message. "Tell
them;--well done South West."

He turned his eyes to Helen Wotton again. His face expressed his struggle
between conflicting ideas. "We must capture the flying stages," he
explained. "Unless we can do that they will land negroes. At all costs we
must prevent that."

He felt even as he spoke that this was not what had been in his mind
before the interruption. He saw a touch of surprise in her eyes. She
seemed about to speak and a shrill bell drowned her voice.

It occurred to Graham that she expected him to lead these marching
people, that that was the thing he had to do. He made the offer abruptly.
He addressed the man in yellow, but he spoke to her. He saw her face
respond. "Here I am doing nothing," he said.

"It is impossible," pr