Union of these States is perpetual----"

He paused for an instant, his voice suddenly failing from deep emotion
and then, as if stung by the silence with which this thrilling thought
was received, he uttered the only words not written in his manuscript,
and made the only gesture of his entire address. His great fist came
down with a resounding smash on the table and in tones heard by the last
man who hung on the edge of the throng, he said:

"No State has the right to secede!"

And still no cheer came from the strangely silent crowd--only a vague
shiver swept the hearts of the Southern people before him. If the North
loved the Union they were giving no tokens to the tall, lonely figure on
that platform.

At last the sentences, big with the fate of millions, were slowly and
tenderly spoken:

"I shall take care that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in
all the States. Doing this I deem to be a simple duty on my part, and I
shall perform it----"

At last he had touched the hidden powder magazine with an electric
spark, and a cheer swept the crowd. It died away at last--rose with new
power and rose a third time before it subsided, and the clear voice went
on:

"I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only as the declared
purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend and maintain
itself. In doing this there needs be no bloodshed or violence; and there
shall be none unless it be forced upon the National authority. The power
confided in me will be used to hold and occupy and possess the property
and places belonging to the Government."

Again the powder mine exploded, and a cheer rose. The grim walls of Fort
Sumter and Pickens, in far off Southern waters, flashed red before every
eye.

The applause suddenly died away into the old silence, and a man in the
crowd before the platform yelled:

"We're for Jefferson Davis!"

There was no answer and no disorder--only the shrill cry of the
Southerner through the silence, and the speaker continued his address.
Senator Douglas looked uneasily over the crowd toward the spot from
whence came the cry. His brow wrinkled with a frown.

John Vaughan leaned toward Betty and whispered half to himself:

"I wonder if those cheers were defiance after all?"

But the girl was too intent on the words of the speaker to answer. His
next sentence brought a smile and a nod of approval from Senator
Douglas.

"But beyond what may be necessary for those