eek. How Von Barwig
welcomed the thought of that Saturday night, and it was only Wednesday!

When Von Barwig came in, the men were in his room practising their
parts of the symphony. His arrival put an end to further work. They
wanted to talk about their "grand new engagement," as Pinac called it.

Von Barwig produced some cigars that Van Praag had forced on him, and
the men sat talking of their prospects, and smoking until the room
looked like an inferno.

While they were debating as to where they should dine that night, there
was a knock at the door, and, Von Barwig hastened to open it. A
somewhat portly, rather well-dressed, middle-aged individual entered.
He was followed by another person, a tall, lantern-jawed man of the
artisan type, who looked around defiantly as he came into the room.

"Does Anton Von Barwig live here?" demanded the first comer.

Von Barwig did not know the gentleman who made the inquiry.

"Why, it is Schwarz! how do you do, Mr. Schwarz?" said Pinac, coming
forward and shaking hands with him, and he then introduced him to Von
Barwig as Mr. Wolf Schwarz, the Secretary of the Amalgamated Musical
Association.

Mr. Schwarz then introduced his companion as Mr. Ryan, the
representative of the Brickmakers' Union. "Shake hands with Professor
Von Barwig, Mr. Ryan," said Schwarz. Mr. Ryan did so with such
enthusiasm that Von Barwig was glad to withdraw his hand.

Mr. Schwarz was an Americanised German, far more American than the most
dyed-in-the-wool, natural-born citizen of the United States. Had any
one called him a German, he would have repudiated the suggestion as an
insult. He knew the American Constitution backward, and he determined
that others should know it, too. His demand for his rights as an
American citizen was the predominating characteristic of his nature,
for he was a born demagogue of the most pronounced type. It did not
take Mr. Schwarz long to make clear the object of his visit.

"You don't come to our rooms very much, Von Barwig," he said.

Von Barwig pleaded stress of business as an excuse.

"If you had," went on Mr. Schwarz, taking up the thread of his remarks
without noticing Von Barwig's apology, "you'd know that Van Praag and
those fellows up at Harmony Hall are on the black-list."

"Black-list?" said Von Barwig apprehensively.

"Mr. Ryan here represents a delegation from the Brickmakers' Union,"
stated Mr. Schwarz, coughing and clearing his throat, thus in