uld probably have been successful had there not been a
dance that night to which Polly had been invited. Tom, not being a
dancer, was not eligible for the occasion, so he made his way to the
meeting.

That meeting marked an era in Tom's life. Little by little the speaker
gripped the attention of the audience until the interest became intense
and almost painful. He described what he had seen, he gave terrible
proofs of the ghastly butchery, and worse than butchery, that had taken
place. He made it clear to the audience what the war really meant. He
showed that not only was the power of England at stake, but the welfare
of humanity trembled in the balance. He related authenticated stories
of what the Germans said they would do when they came to England. As
Tom listened he heard the sound of the advancing Huns, saw towns and
villages laid waste, saw the women of England debauched and outraged,
saw the reign of devilry.

"By God!" he exclaimed aloud, "I can't stand this!"

His words reached the speaker, who made the most of them.

"Yes," he cried, "if the young men of England hang back, if they fail
to love their country, if they care nothing about the honour or
sacredness of womanhood, if they prefer their own ease, their own
paltry pleasures, before duty; if they would rather go to cinema shows,
or hang around public-house doors than play the game like Englishmen,
this, and more than this, will take place. The England that we own and
love will be lost for ever. Liberty will be gone, we shall be a nation
in chains, while our women will be the playthings of inhuman devils.
That is the problem which every man has to consider.

"What are you going to do? Let me put it another way. If we win this
war, if the glory of England is maintained, and if she remains as she
has always been--

"The home of the brave and free,
The land of liberty,

to whom shall we owe it? Who will have been our saviours? It will be
the lads who have sacrificed everything to do their duty."

A great cheer arose from the audience, and Tom, scarcely realising what
he was doing, shouted and cheered with the rest.

"But if we lose," continued the speaker, "if the Germans break our
lines and come to England, if we are beaten, to whom shall we owe it?
Who will be responsible? It will be the shirkers, the cowards! Look,
you young men!" he cried passionately. "Thousands and tens of
thousands of our brave fellows are at this time in