HUMANITY 
 
 AND THE 
 
 MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 BY 
 MACK STAUFFER 
 
 BOSTON 
 THE ROXBURGH PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 INCORPORATED 
 
Copyright, 1914, 
 BY MACK STAUFFER 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 THE COLONIAL PRESS 
 C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. 8. A. 
 
DEDICATED TO 
 MY BROTHER-IN-LAW 
 
 TO WHOM I HAVE BEEN 
 GREATLY INDEBTED. 
 
 328257 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 WE are now in a phase of rapid and unprece- 
 dented development. The conditions under which 
 we live are changing with an ever increasing rapid- 
 ity, and, before the end of this century, sky- 
 scrapers will rise above the cloud-line and lose 
 themselves in the firmaments ; the Fast-Express 
 will be supplanted by the Pneumatic Tubing Sys- 
 tem, and passengers will be carried at the rate of 
 a mile per second. Great inventions will solve our 
 industrial problems. And mammoth syndicated 
 farms will have for their domain one or several 
 states. 
 
 The achievements of this century will dwarf the 
 achievements of the nineteenth century as those of 
 the nineteenth dwarf those of the eighteenth. One 
 can see signs of the change everywhere, and the 
 rush of it increases as time goes ever onward. 
 
 Everything we see is evidence of this progress 
 of a kinetic reorganization of society beneath the 
 traditional appearance of things. We are in march- 
 ing order, and have struck stride forever on the 
 broad road of human possibilities. 
 
 As we go onward humanity will experience no 
 shock, no epoch-making incident, only minor dis- 
 turbances in the dense populated streets, while 
 making its gradual and well formed transition. 
 
VI INTRODUCTION 
 
 Insensibly we are as yet in the aurora of this new 
 day. 
 
 The past is but the beginning of a beginning 
 a dream before the awakening. As we are but 
 still the simple creatures of the present dawn we 
 cannot now see what this new world or day will be 
 like. 
 
 Geniuses will come, who will see us in our little- 
 ness know us better in that distant to-morrow 
 than we know ourselves to-day and who will 
 comprehend this future that now defeats and baffles 
 our reason. 
 
 This world is but the promise of greater things. 
 A period will come, in the unending succession of 
 periods, when giant intellects intellects who are 
 as yet inconceivable in our thoughts, shall saddle 
 this earth as one saddles a horse, and shall shout 
 and wave their hats with glee, as they gallop out to 
 corral the stars. 
 
 As far as our knowledge goes, no sort of crea- 
 tures change themselves, and as our planet swings 
 through space it enters new heavenly areas that has 
 existed, maybe, before this world was an unborn 
 satellite and still in the womb of the Sun. It is 
 following in the wake of the trails that were swept 
 by other worlds ten thousands of centuries ago. 
 And as mind is the great power of the universe 
 and what has once been thought and done remains 
 for ever as an influence from those unknown 
 worlds of pre-historic times what was thought 
 then has been left in space to influence other 
 passing bodies. 
 
 Our world is now possibly entering into one of 
 these areas, or strata in space, and the impress of 
 
INTRODUCTION Vll 
 
 the thought of that period may be involuntarily in- 
 fluencing our whole method of thinking. 
 
 At any rate, this aetiology is as good as any for 
 the curious and perturbed frame of mind of the 
 whole world to-day. Whatever the explanation, 
 the effect exists, and it becomes necessary to meet 
 the condition, to analyze it, and to formulate rules 
 for its guidance and its just expression in law and 
 procedure, and to restrain it within the bounds of 
 reason and sense, else it may develop into a wild, 
 crazy stampede ending in the destruction for the 
 time being of modern society. 
 
 However the impress of this story prevails from 
 the heterogeneous development of our commercial 
 tendencies into the financial domination of one 
 man, or one big, powerful syndicate, which reaches 
 its culmination. Then, its struggle to maintain 
 and to hold. Of such is the character of this work, 
 and if it is bombastic, juvenilistic and crudistic, it 
 also tries to be an admonition, finely but inoffen- 
 sively conveyed. 
 
 The time of this story can be placed as far in 
 the future as the reader's imagination will permit, 
 but it can be applied to this day, as it has sanguine 
 kinship to the present trend of events, and is but 
 a glimpse of a certain period of progression, as 
 civilization advances into the remotest days of dis- 
 tant time. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
HUMANITY AND THE 
 MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 NEWMAN'S PESSIMISM 
 
 "IT'S coming coming, as sure as fate!" ex- 
 claimed Newman. His face was ebullient and 
 phrenic. He acted as if he were breaking out of 
 some wild delirium. And, in madness, as if giving 
 vent to his desperation, he tried to break the dis- 
 traction. His sudden paroxysm revealed to the 
 young Octopus, who now closed the switch that cut 
 off their communication with the clerical depart- 
 ments, and kicking a lever with his patent French 
 boot, that kept them in tact with the outside world, 
 that some mad, moody thoughts were creating 
 phantom devils in his aged secretary's brain. 
 
 " Nonsense, Newman, don't be a quitter," an- 
 swered the young man, rising from his plushed seat 
 and going over to his secretary who was still re- 
 clining in his chair; his eyes closed and head bent 
 until his massive chin touched his large chest. He 
 sat as if he had been felled by some blow and was 
 hors de combat, and was ready to give up his ideas 
 
2 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 and himself without a struggle. " Nonsense, 
 Newman don't be a quitter. Don't be a quitter," 
 he said cheeringly, with his ungloved hand on the 
 shoulder of the old veteran fighter. 
 
 " No use no use. They are millions. We are 
 but a few. How long do you think we could last? 
 No use no use, boy ! It's coming coming as 
 sure as fate ! " he answered gloomily. 
 
 " Mr. Newman, your pessimism and fatalistic 
 outlook is mythical. -Come out of this monomania. 
 The zenith " 
 
 " Yes, the zenith has been reached," he broke in 
 with a taint of sarcasm in his voice. " The forces 
 of nature fell before us like blades of grass before a 
 scythe. But, there's one force that defies us still 
 Man ! He's a thinking animal ! " 
 
 With a cynical sneer in his face the young man 
 answered : 
 
 " Men are but rounds in the ladder on which I 
 step and climb. If animals they be, they are, 
 nevertheless, very dumb for I drive them ! " 
 
 " It is coming " continued Newman in his 
 fatalistic way. 
 
 " What is coming ? Tell me. This ranting and 
 raving congeals my blood! Explain yourself. 
 Out with it, Newman. I never saw you act this 
 way." 
 
 " A strike ! strike, my boy. A strike that will 
 make all other labor troubles look like a sprinkle 
 compared to a deluge. It's coming. I feel it. I 
 hear it. I breathe it " he paused, his face more 
 gloomy " and, I know it ! " 
 
 " Nonsense, Newman ! A strike means a famine, 
 stagnation and death. Stop the activity of this 
 
3 
 
 mammoth corporation in any one channel, and it 
 would make civilization in this country as barbarous 
 as the jungles of Borneo, and the cry of the starving 
 would become one miraged, horrifying scream. I 
 don't agree with you. Attack the Consolidated 
 Farm and Development Co., in any one of its vast 
 departments and it strikes back like a boomerang 
 with equal vengeance. Our workmen and the pub- 
 lic at large ought to know " 
 
 " Know ! " expostulated Newman. " Do you 
 think that mass that mob called humanity 
 thinks? They are like cattle, locoed, and a stam- 
 pede is inevitable. I can see our present society 
 tossed about on the horns of mad bulls ! " 
 
 " Your picture is dismal enough. If you hadn't 
 partly reared me I might have cause to doubt your 
 sanity. This sudden outburst is without warrant." 
 
 " Warrant ! Then you haven't heard? " 
 
 " I have not heard that is, I have not heard 
 that which would make me look at the situation 
 with such pessimism." 
 
 " You haven't heard from the South ? the 
 North? the West? At this very moment the 
 reapers within twenty miles of this office will be, 
 or are now silent silent as the grave. Rain is 
 forecast. Not a single wheel will turn in all of 
 this industry." 
 
 " And you tell me this ? " the young man an- 
 swered, his face a little agitated. 
 
 " That's the message from the Enter-State de- 
 partments. I questioned every available source be- 
 fore I dared to tell you. Everywhere I inquired 
 I received the same answer. However, I could 
 have left it to the office force to tell you. Now 
 
4 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 I ask you to excuse my brusqueness as this is 
 not a time for any display of diplomatic strategy ; 
 and, for which I have no particular hunger. Un- 
 derstand, I might have broken the, news more 
 calmly; but, agitated as I am, I had no time to 
 grope for words that would show a more equanim- 
 ity of mind." 
 
 The young man, Cleve Clevendor, did not an- 
 swer. His mind was too perturbed. His dream 
 had come to naught. Ten years he and Newman 
 had pushed the C. F. & D. Co. to its now present 
 zenith without a hitch ; paying assistants large 
 salaries which were considered fabulous 
 compared to the wages paid to the laborers in the 
 cities. They had made many enemies; they had 
 forced the small individual farmer out of business ; 
 they had cheapened land and all agricultural prod- 
 ucts. Indeed, so cheap were these products no in- 
 dividual farmer cared to compete with them in the 
 market. 
 
 They were assailed by county papers, bucolic 
 preachers, and by the voice of men everywhere. 
 Indignation meetings were held. Legislators made 
 laws against them. They were referred to as the 
 " Land Monsters, Arch-Criminals," and the great- 
 est " Foe " of civilized man. In a few years they 
 had demonstrated to the world that they were not 
 monsters, but benefactors. Yes, they had forged 
 their gleaming rods and steel rails over conquested 
 lands and states just the same and had followed 
 them with huge granaries, power-houses, mills and 
 everything necessary to production, distribution 
 and consumption. 
 
 This great business began in the spring with 
 
NEWMAN S PESSIMISM 5 
 
 the dull tilling of the soil and ended with the mu- 
 sical hum of cycles and the metallic chant of cot- 
 ton-pickers; doing the work in farming industry 
 that it took millions of individuals, with the mule, 
 horse and steam plow to do (which implements are 
 now delegated as lost arts in the museums of an- 
 tiquity and causing the establishments where these 
 tools were manufactured to be closed, with broken 
 windows and rooms fit only for the habitation of 
 bats). Yes, they were not monsters but bene- 
 factors, and the world would yet learn, he thought. 
 
 " It's an outrage ! An outrage, Newman ! " ex- 
 claimed the young rrian, his face showing pain. 
 " You know we have barely made two per cent, on 
 our investment. It has been my hobby to be a bene- 
 factor to the masses. We have brought prices 
 down so low on agricultural products that it pro- 
 duced much wonder and astonishment. And 
 when I hold the destiny of millions in my palm 
 they defy me. They, the people, whom I feed. 
 Yea, it is true, they would smite the hand that 
 feeds them they, the millions, I employ and give 
 work." 
 
 " Yes, my dear boy/' replied Newman. " Look 
 at the many millions you have driven into the con- 
 gested cities to find employment, who before 
 were living peaceable in their hamlets and villages ; 
 husbanded their industry; loved their neighbors 
 and worshipped their God. Their daughters are 
 now in the cities, in houses and places that for 
 decency I will not call by their right name. Their 
 sons in the penitentiary and are criminals or, 
 they themselves tramps or dying of that new and 
 incurable disease, that the medical fraternity calls 
 
6 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 by some unpronounceable combination of Greek 
 and Latin; but , in plain unmitigated English, is 
 nothing but starvation." 
 
 " Newman, you talk like a ' Muck-raker,' " an- 
 swered the young man wearily. 
 
 " I suppose you have never thought of the fact 
 that with the price of one hour's work, these people 
 you mention, can buy back what it took three to 
 six hours to buy before." 
 
 " Yes. And who in the hell is to furnish that 
 one hour ! " returned Newman. " True, the C. F. 
 & D. Co. has benefited the wage workers in the 
 city; because the Consolidated Farm & Develop- 
 ment Co. has not thrown any of them out of em- 
 ployment; and the wage workers have been bene- 
 fited by this great reducton of the prices of neces- 
 sities, maintaining their pay for labor based on 
 former high prices. Now, since the C. F. & D. Co. 
 has been able to produce these necessities so 
 cheaply it has been a great benefactor to them. 
 But, it has played hell with the agriculturists' pros- 
 pects the world over. True, in the C. F. & D.'s 
 conquest, it has accomplished wonders. It brought 
 the value of land down to where you could buy 
 it almost for a song. It also brought forth the 
 curses of both the Landlord and Real-estate dealer. 
 It curtailed further operations of the Real-estate 
 dealer, and the accelerating activity of his thriving 
 business suddenly found its decapitation in the 
 sway of humming cycles; and the exploitation of 
 the tenant by the landlord, terminated in the land- 
 lord's further exploitation, but left the tenant 
 without a job or a place to lay his head, or a 
 
NEWMAN'S PESSIMISM 7 
 
 master to feed him, and the landlord without con- 
 tribution. 
 
 " In a word it was confiscation robbery ! The 
 bare way to state it. The C. F. & D. robbed the 
 real-estate dealer of the suckers he caught. It 
 robbed the agriculturist of a market for his prod- 
 ucts; robbed the laborers of their jobs; it robbed 
 the farmer of a means of making a living. It was 
 confiscation robbery ! " 
 
 " Mr. Newman, your head may be level, but your 
 talk on this is very puerile and unreasonable. Of 
 course, where there is so much power and strength 
 some are bound to be hurt. The incongruous are 
 first to go. By the natural law of development, so 
 unsuited, the C. F. & D. has only weeded out the 
 unfit. The Landlord, Speculator and Manufac- 
 turer, what are their losses compared to the great 
 good we have done for the masses? If their busi- 
 ness is the old and antique way, it is nothing more 
 than the law of the game, and it is no fault of ours 
 if they are put out of business. It only proves 
 their uselessness in this world and they should die ! 
 While the C. F. & D. may have driven the yaps 
 and yokels into the cities, it has, also, been an in- 
 strument in pushing the onward march of civiliza- 
 tion into the advancing ages of time, and it will 
 continue to go on, for that matter, until the day of 
 reckoning, when the clear sounding notes of the 
 bugle shall resound in the last reverberating echo, 
 the words, ' Well done/ ' 
 
 " Bombast ! " uttered Newman, with a faint 
 critical sneer. " I have no criticism to offer," he 
 continued, " on what you, or we, have accom- 
 plished. I will concede that a master mind saw it 
 
8 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 all and planned it; and, I will add, this master 
 mind did it for his own glory, as well." 
 
 The young- man's face flushed. Was it the truth 
 his secretary spoke, or was his criticism indecorous ? 
 While there had been a wonderful freedom of 
 speech between them it had never developed into 
 disapprobation. He had never spoken to him so 
 uncomplimentary. However, he knew of New- 
 man's revolutionary ideas, but this did not matter 
 so long as there was no immediate danger of them 
 being put into execution. 
 
 " John Ruskin said : ' Arts are never right unless 
 their motive is right,' " Newman advanced. 
 
 " Ruskin was an old fogy," answered Clevendor. 
 " He was an artist, a dreamer, and had his 
 thought in the sky all the time. Ruskin said some 
 good things so did Solomon. We are not mould- 
 ing conditions of to-day to the past. History does 
 not repeat itself any more than does man revert 
 back to a particle, enter again into the mould and 
 is reborn." 
 
 The audible sounds of footsteps and the intona- 
 tion of voices from the reflectorscopephone (a ma- 
 chine that caught the sights and sounds from the 
 streets below), told them that many people were 
 collecting around the office building. 
 
 " A visit this morning from the grievance com- 
 mittee." 
 
 " I can't see the cause of it," answered the man. 
 " I presumed the C. F. & D. was running smoothly 
 enough, and our only excitement in breaking the 
 monotony of clerical routine was battling with the 
 courts and legislators; but, on these scores we 
 have whipped them to a finished frazzle as 
 
NEWMAN'S PESSIMISM 9 
 
 once said a man, when he was punching his New 
 Nationalism into the phlegmatic brains of the Op- 
 posing Bosses. Are you sure it is the Strikers' 
 grievance committee ? " 
 
 " Sure ! It's the order of the day ! " answered 
 Newman. 
 
 " It was just the other day we increased our em- 
 ployees' wages without any demand being made by 
 them. They are the highest salaried working men 
 for their particular work. We have given the in- 
 dividual farmer employment who could not make 
 a living in competition with us farming the old 
 way. In the past we have been handicapped be- 
 cause we had more places for unskilled labor than 
 men to fill them. Think of it, Newman ! " 
 
 " True at first," answered Newman ; " but not 
 the case now. At the start of this vast empire of 
 land, it took many thousands of unskilled mechanics, 
 but this time has now passed. The C. F. & D. has 
 cornered the land; harnessed the forces of nature. 
 Where it did not rain your huge canals, running 
 north and south like they say they do on planet 
 Mars, made green vegetation grow where no man 
 dared to sink his plow. With your gleaming rails 
 and polished girders you have woven the nation 
 into one network of cold iron. While measures of 
 mowing cycles and clanging notes of steeled ma- 
 chinery make one metallic chant from the Icy 
 North to the Sunny South. The West, with its 
 Rockies, yet defy your conquest and is unwilling 
 to become your captive. The East is yet to be con- 
 quered and shivers at your approach. But," said 
 Newman, pausing after his oratorical flight, " since 
 this foundation has been laid, there is no employ- 
 
10 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 ment for this army of unskilled, only in sundry 
 cases. The artisans and skilled mechanics are 
 striking because we have let the thousands go. I 
 understand they have a woman leader, from the 
 city, and beautiful some have told me as 
 ' Helen of Troy/ She's a Joan d'Arc of the move- 
 ment. Her operations, so far clandestinely, are 
 confined to her class ; but, now she stands with an 
 army of proletarians, who are educated to their 
 needs. 
 
 " While they are in a sense, cattle ! they are 
 mad bulls to cause a debacle in society on which 
 you or I will not ride unless it is on the tips of these 
 goring animals' bloody horns." 
 
 " Your picture is vivid, Mr. Newman," said 
 the young man, unmoved. " I feel no danger. If 
 they cause us to shut down to stop the wheels 
 of our industry we will make a stench in the 
 cities ! " 
 
 " You will starve the nation ! " cried Newman, 
 with a look of horror. 
 
 " No I'll destroy it," he voiced without pity in 
 his face. " I'm determined to do my best for it. 
 We have done the greatest good to the greatest 
 number. If we are harangued by some she-ad- 
 venturess, I'll see the nation in the throes of starva- 
 tion, before I'll give in. We can't destroy the 
 land, but I'll see to it that it will be bad for the 
 people's existence for a few years, anyway. We 
 can cause a disturbance which no class wants. I 
 defy them ! " he continued, as his fighting blood 
 surged to his face. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE STRIKERS' COMMITTEE 
 
 AFTER the usual proceedings for visitors to gain 
 access to young Octopus's office, the grievance com- 
 mlittee, which consisted of three men, was ushered 
 in. They were a bit nervous but appeared deter- 
 mined. 
 
 Suddroff, the spokesman, and apparent leader of 
 the committee, was the well recognized leader of 
 the Pitdweller forces the country over. He had 
 given the Clouddwellers many nervous chills before. 
 
 The huge and ugly scar, on his right temple, ex- 
 tending almost from his ear until it hid itself under 
 the disheveled hair that fell unkempt on his massive 
 brow, which he used to good advantage when pro- 
 claiming his fidelity to the Pitdweller cause, was his 
 greatest asset. 
 
 In a bold manner he started the proceedings 
 without an introduction, seeming to shun such pre- 
 liminaries. With a contemptuous sneer on his lips 
 he stated their demands, which were : " Shorter 
 hours, so as to restore those out of employment." 
 
 During the foregoing, Cleve sat at his desk un- 
 interested, and heard the Striker's demands with 
 very little sympathy. 
 
 Newman answered : "If we should grant what 
 
12 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 you ask, it would be equivalent to us going into our 
 pockets and handing you the money. It will mean 
 that we must charge proportionally for our prod- 
 ucts; or, in other words, make the people in the 
 cities pay for what you want. This means we 
 must tax the people for the products they must 
 have in order that you may get your demands. 
 Now, we can make the day shorter, but if so, 
 you must pay back for what you buy on the 
 same increase. Of course, if the present prices 
 were to remain the same for the necessities of life, 
 and we were to grant this concession, you, and all 
 the rest of the people, would receive great benefit. 
 But, just at present the Consolidated Farm & De- 
 velopment Company is not proposing to run at a 
 loss." 
 
 " This industry has barely paid a dividend on our 
 investment," he went on. " It is only folly for us to 
 entertain the idea of such an innovation." 
 
 " Then you refuse ! " cried Suddroff, with large 
 beads of perspiration on his forehead, which was 
 unusual for this cool September day. 
 
 " We do. Decidedly," answered Newman. " We 
 have tried, and " 
 
 "What do you say about this, sonny?" asked 
 Suddroff, speaking bluffingly to Cleve, his small, 
 black eyes gleaming cruelly. 
 
 " Mr. Newman speaks for the Company," said 
 Cleve, meeting Suddroff' s advance coolly. 
 
 "He does, eh?" 
 
 " Mr. Newman speaks for the C. F. & D. I have 
 nothing to discuss with you. You are not even an 
 employee of this concern, therefore, I do not con- 
 sider you." 
 
COMMITTEE 13 
 
 "But, I speak for them! " he returned fiercely. 
 
 " If so, we do not recognize you or them. We 
 have nothing to grant that we have not given," 
 said Cleve convincingly, turning abruptly to his 
 desk. 
 
 Suddroff, turning to Newman : " I see we can't 
 gain anything by talking to that young up-start. 
 You, perhaps, can best settle this matter?" 
 
 " I meant to say, when you interposed, that we 
 have tried, and in many instances have accom- 
 plished the purpose we have had in view. For an 
 illustration, my dear sir, where would your present 
 price of commodities be if the old method of farm- 
 ing was the only force in the agricultural life to- 
 day?" 
 
 " Go on," said Suddroff wearily. 
 
 " I say there would be starving in the cities " 
 
 " That's the case now," put in Suddroff. 
 
 " And you, of this committee, would be tramping 
 many weary miles behind plows, for the small " 
 
 " For the return of those good old days, every 
 lover of liberty cries," shouted Suddroff fiercely. 
 
 " And now you obtain for only a few hours' 
 work, and easy work at that, your necessities for 
 many weary days to come." 
 
 " Yes. That's what this committee is here to do. 
 It wants to give all the poor devils a chance to get 
 work to live. What you say would be right, if 
 every poor fellow had a job. There are millions 
 starving ! " 
 
 " The whole idea is very inconsistent. Utopian- 
 ism. I will not consider your demands. I have a 
 sense of duty to the laboring classes of the cities, 
 whose condition, at present, is the concern of the 
 
14 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 world, and not the class whom you are supposed to 
 represent." 
 
 " They have received your sense of duty," voiced 
 Suddroff in sarcasm. 
 
 " This proposition," said Newman, with a wave 
 of his hand, " there's nothing to it. If you and 
 these gentlemen with you, have the power to order 
 a strike we can meet it. The C. F. & D. controls 
 the world necessities, and all that you have to sell 
 is labor. There are millions of you knocking at 
 our doors ready to sell their labor for much less 
 than we are now paying. We have so far discour- 
 aged them, because we want to be fair to those 
 who have helped us make this the largest organiza- 
 tion in all the world." 
 
 Suddroff gave a deep sigh. His companions 
 squirmed, but maintained their reticence. Cleve 
 looked amusingly at Newman, and suspiciously at 
 Suddroff. 
 
 " If you carry on this strike," continued New- 
 man, " we do not lose. Suppose we should, we can 
 gain it back; because the loss of so much of the 
 world's production means that a premium must be 
 placed on what is left. Therefore, the higher the 
 price for our commodities and the greater the de- 
 mand for our machinery to run. You will not re- 
 ceive any sympathy from the cities. They will con- 
 demn you for making them pay higher prices. 
 Hence more starving. We might arrange a profit- 
 sharing plan ? " 
 
 Suddroff smiled cynically. " For that we have 
 been asking." 
 
 " The larger end of it ? " asserted Newman 
 coldly. " I merely suggested this unique scheme, 
 
THE STRIKERS' COMMITTEE 15 
 
 'hoping that the re-incorporation of the C. F. & D. 
 along these lines might solve, to some extent, our 
 industrial problem." 
 
 Suddroff listened while Newman went on to ex- 
 plain. 
 
 "Under this arrangement the Company's stock 
 could be increased, issued and known as the first 
 preferred, which would at present bear 8 per cent, 
 accumulative dividend. We will agree that when 
 this Company earns more, enough to pay the divi- 
 dend on the first preferred stock, and has taken 
 care of depreciation and other like charges, the 
 surplus is to be reinvested in the business and an 
 industrial nontransferable stock will be issued to 
 represent it. This stock to have a par value, upon 
 which we can agree later, and the shares to be dis- 
 tributed among the Company's principal employees, 
 pro rata with their salaries, as a reward for zeal 
 and faithfulness to the Company." 
 
 " Impossible ! " Suddroff uttered. " This propo- 
 sition binds us to work. We don't like the profit- 
 sharing plan. It is only a new scheme to ward off 
 what is bound to come. We cannot accept this 
 plan in any of its phrases. I have stated our wants 
 and " 
 
 " We care for no further discussion," interposed 
 Cleve. " You preach the doctrine of Mobocracy. 
 In your brutal way you try to bluff us into accept- 
 ing this unreasonable proposition. This is my ulti- 
 matum! Leave or be thrown out." 
 
 The other* two members of the committee started 
 to go, but Suddroff, his face flushed with anger, 
 apparently did not want to take his leave in such an 
 
16 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 undignified manner ; or, at least, until after he had 
 paid his respects to the young Octopus. 
 
 " Young- man, I'll not go until I have to some 
 extent revenged the cause I represent. This insult 
 can't be forgiven until I have had the physical satis- 
 faction." 
 
 With these words he made a move to carry into 
 execution the threat. As he advanced, Cleve 
 pushed a small button, and instantly from the very 
 walls sprang big, powerful guards, who grasped 
 Suddroff and his comrades. They were ejected 
 from the building without further ceremony, and 
 before they had time to realize what force had 
 ejected them. 
 
 Newman's piercing grey eyes met his. " You 
 did right, my boy/' he said. " Suddroff wishes a 
 revolution. He wants to become a Robespierre, 
 and he would make this country one bloody marsh. 
 He has the deluded idea of being a benefactor to 
 the Pit. He is the propulsion of this movement. 
 For some cause this woman and the old man with 
 her were not with the committee. I have heard 
 of the woman, as it has been stated to me, that you 
 were not responsible for the conditions, that the 
 C. F. & D. was an improvement over the past 
 method of farming, just as the Fast Express was 
 over the Ox-cart and Stage Coach, as our Tubing 
 System is over the Fast Express. The old German 
 (the old man) shares the same view. This woman, 
 it is claimed, was a music pupil of this old secluded 
 teacher. This young woman came under the influ- 
 ence of his advanced ideas, to the extent that she 
 gave up family and the social standing with it. 
 Desiring not to place her family in bad repute, she 
 
THE STRIKERS' COMMITTEE 17 
 
 became incognito, and is called Humanity. (The 
 name she is known in the Pit.) She received a 
 portion of the family estate to never disclose her 
 identity." 
 
 " Very romantic ! " 
 
 " Yes. A very beautiful woman, too. No doubt 
 very intellectual. But, the old saying ? " 
 
 " Whom they'll choose or take up with, is as un- 
 certain as this weather." 
 
 " But women have changed the maps. Rode 
 chargers in bloody battles. Showed their ability to 
 fight and lead equally as well as the men," con- 
 tinued Newman. 
 
 " Do you think this woman can gain much fol- 
 lowing from the Pit? She being incognito and 
 perhaps the mistress of this old German, I would 
 think, to some extent would detract from her pres- 
 tige ? " asked Cleve as he varied a little from the 
 main gist of the conversation. 
 
 " Quite suggestive. Such is not this case. In 
 fact, my boy, it is not permitted. They (she and 
 the old German) fight the idea of free love and 
 anything that pretends toward it. She's a kind of 
 Hypatia. A Goddess of the ' Joan d'Arc ' type. 
 Her speeches have great weight with the Pit- 
 dwellers. If sound or not, she to-day, more than 
 any one else, can make a bloody revolution. 
 Suddroff and all labor leaders have the utmost 
 respect for her a respect akin to reverence. The 
 German, I am told, idealizes her, and whether it is 
 a spiritual or intellectual love, is only with them. 
 The question of love is debatable. Some contend 
 there is no such thing as mental love, they argue 
 that it is purely physical." 
 
18 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Metaphysical Judge ! " answered Cleve dryly. 
 " Do you think there is any reason in this thing 
 called platonic love ? " 
 
 " You are beyond me. My mental vision can go 
 no further than the realm of Cosmogony. I am too 
 analytical for my thoughts to soar, they pinion in 
 the air for a moment, and then come to the earth 
 again like a winged bird. My imagination will not 
 sail the Empyrean and Phantom seas. Being 
 weighted with matter, they sink into material waves 
 of thought. However, this, my boy, is so much 
 bombast," he said smilingly. 
 
 " Those were beautiful thoughts," answered 
 Cleve, beaming on his secretary. 
 
 " As a youth I was given to such gusto, very 
 much in the same sense as a woman likes poetry," 
 Newman continued. " But orators remind me of 
 peacocks all fuss, feathers and inflated ego. I 
 once knew one of those grand eloquent performers. 
 He understood reason and mathematics as well as 
 the average man does Herbert Spencer. To his 
 oratorical flights the yaps and yokels would yell 
 themselves hoarse. Of course, in his sphere he was 
 without any exception a Past Master, but, never- 
 theless, a bombastic furioso." 
 
 " Judge, you are an Iconoclast ! You break the 
 ideals of the past," Cleve said with delight. 
 
 " An image breaker ? Sure. I have blasted at 
 the Rock of Ages, at the Tables of Stone and at the 
 Ten Commandments with much vengeance. The 
 ghosts and phantoms of the dead and superstitious 
 past do not cast or recast their weird appearance, 
 nor do their apparitions come to me in the dark 
 
THE STRIKERS' COMMITTEE 19 
 
 hours of the night, or caper around like gyrating 
 devils in the sacred realm of my brain. No, boy, I 
 am ghost proof. The ghost microbes give me a 
 wide berth. They can't exist in the embossed ma- 
 terialism of my enshrouded thoughts. I criticize 
 the public men of the past with the same attitude 
 as I do those of to-day, boldly and without fear/' 
 
 " But, Judge, we have drifted from the main gist 
 of thought. I wanted your opinion of this thing 
 this thing of spiritual or platonic love. Do you 
 believe there's anything in it? " 
 
 " A confirmed bachelor is biassed. As a rule 
 bachelors do not know what it takes to constitute 
 love. I have never had this lover's feeling, and I 
 would not be honest in saying there's nothing to it. 
 Love may be intellectual or not, but it is an at- 
 tracting force at the same time. This earth, for 
 instance, as it is, a floating speck of dust in the 
 vastless void, is attracted by the law of gravitation. 
 Under this classification one could say that the 
 Moon is in love with the Earth, and that the Earth 
 is flirting with the Sun. If this is love, then love 
 is a vibrating force, always attracting that which 
 is in the same pitch, or in sympathy. Every per- 
 son impels or creates this force somewhat on the 
 principle of Wireless Telegraphy. It is not a 
 credulous thing to believe that thoughts are trans- 
 mitted from one brain to another. Thought is 
 force, possessing energy, and is called love among 
 the human family when it attracts. The force that 
 attracts men and women and all lower or higher 
 animals is the same force that the Earth used in 
 capturing the Moon. It's the same force that holds 
 
20 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 this Earth and Stars in their position and so on 
 in the vastless void is nothing but energy ! " 
 
 Cleve looked at his aged secretary : " You're be- 
 yond me," he thought. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 A SUBSIDIARY COMPANY 
 
 CLEVE had great respect for Newman. He 
 called him Judge because he had been Circuit 
 Judge three consecutive terms, and was known as 
 one of the ablest lawyers in the country. He had 
 entered his father's employ as chief attorney, and 
 as legal agent he won great renown during the 
 strikes (the last of which is not yet settled) and 
 especially did he gain fame in his able defense of 
 Clevendor's business when the Courts were about 
 to crush and destroy it. 
 
 The Corporation had been termed a " gigantic 
 monopoly," with the right alone to restrain trade 
 according to its own volition. Newman's defense 
 before the Supreme Court of Clevendor, Norton 
 & Co.'s interest was so clear and forcible there was 
 only one course left for the Court to follow and 
 it handed down a decision that startled the coun- 
 try. 
 
 " No jurisdiction," the Court had decreed. " Its 
 power of authority was limited. The big business 
 of the country had grown to such an extent that 
 it was stronger than the Constitution; therefore, 
 new laws must be enacted, the Constitution must 
 be changed to meet the growing needs of the in- 
 terests." 
 
22 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 Cleve was a great favorite with Newman. 
 After his return from college, at the age of twenty- 
 one, he refused to attend the following term as he 
 did not care to go further into the collegiate 
 course. He had not been a good collegian, as he 
 cared more for collegiate sports than he did for an 
 academic training. 
 
 Clevendor, being disgusted with his son's course 
 at college, had listened with some degree of en- 
 thusiasm to a plan he had conceived to organize a 
 new company, or a Subsidiary, as it is known in 
 financial circles. He had agreed to advance the 
 necessary funds to finance this extension of their 
 old business and also consented to Newman's idea 
 to form a partnership with Cleve in this new un- 
 dertaking. 
 
 Newman knew the law, could give legal advice 
 and could buy a bucolic Legislature when neces- 
 sary. As this new enterprise was to establish a 
 precedent they would have to control the Congress, 
 so Newman spent most of his time at Washington 
 while Cleve planned and put into execution the 
 results of his inventive mind. 
 
 Mr. Clevendor, being in his declining years, was 
 given to moods and deep hypochondria, character- 
 ized by an exaggerated anxiety, caused, perhaps, 
 by his ebbing vitality. He would suddenly think 
 himself very poor and that the Pitdwellers were 
 murdering the Clouddwellers. During these spells 
 he would not spend, but clung like a leach to his 
 wealth and would tell every one that he had sud- 
 denly lost all he possessed. By this subterfuge he 
 fooled no one but himself, and whether honest or 
 dishonest, it served as an able artifice for him to es- 
 
A SUBSIDIARY COMPANY 23 
 
 cape the tortures of his conscience. While under 
 the influence of this cloudy shift no business was 
 ever transacted with him. 
 
 On the eve of the planned departure Clevendor 
 had one of his spells. Cleve was anxious to be off. 
 He could hear the West calling him while his 
 warm blood coursed through his veins through the 
 excitement and the increased rapidity of his heart- 
 beats. Newman was arranging his office for his 
 successor, when Cleve burst through the door in 
 an excited manner. " It's all off ! " he cried. 
 
 Newman turned a surprised face in his direction. 
 "What's the matter?" 
 
 " Father's got one of those spells and refuses to 
 advance the money." 
 
 " Go on as if nothing had happened ; and, too, 
 it will suit me better to leave to-morrow or next 
 day. We'll hang around here until your father 
 gets better, which you know he will," he said 
 cheeringly. " You just go over the proposition 
 again in the morning as if nothing had occurred," 
 he continued by the way of parting. 
 
 Next morning Cleve found his father in better 
 humor, but traces of the mood still showed in his 
 speech, which wore away as Cleve began to tell 
 enthusiastically of the feasibility of the business. 
 He laid bare the project in minute detail, growing 
 in fervor as his father listened. When he had 
 finished, his father expressed himself, " I'm afraid 
 the plan is impossible and I base my objection on 
 the ground that the present mode of farming 
 places the price of production so low that it would 
 hardly pay to go in so extensively." Cleve could 
 tell by the light in the elder man's eye that he was 
 
24 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 proud of him and of the big idea he had conceived. 
 For the moment he was captivated and signed the 
 necessary papers for him to get the money to pur- 
 chase land. 
 
 He and Newman made all haste to the Tubing 
 System's depot and before the hands 'of their 
 watches pointed to three o'clock they were in the 
 West ready to begin their business, that was and 
 is the biggest thing of its kind known to man. 
 
 In the first year of this Company's operations, 
 extending West and South from the office, had 
 been belted fifty miles of farms in a web of iron. 
 The following year it had crossed a state line and 
 was tightening the steel girders on the bosom of 
 another state. 
 
 By Fall of the second year it had reached the 
 Mexican border and decided to turn its course 
 North from the main office to conquer the North- 
 western states. These states were soon belted, 
 then East, through the central portion, dodging 
 the mountainous country, taking a southerly route 
 to the Atlantic. Thus the great Consolidated 
 Farm & Development was formed. 
 
 The Company was chartered to do an interstate 
 farming business and after it began to branch out 
 it went into other fields, Cotton Gins, Flour Mills, 
 Manufacturing, etc. It had to secure a multiple 
 charter in order to do an interstate business, in all 
 of its branches. 
 
 With a paid in capital and surplus it had no 
 stock for sale. It was a personal institution, being 
 governed by a few stockholders. It was only the 
 determination of a young man who had started out 
 to solve a problem and meant to succeed. 
 
A SUBSIDIARY COMPANY 25 
 
 At first land values were high. Land owners 
 placed the value so high that it was nothing less 
 than extortion. The Company's agents bought re- 
 gardless of the price and without objection. This 
 action made many friends. The person who 
 owned a few square rods realized more than he 
 could gain by an increased valuation, or by cul- 
 tivating single-handed. 
 
 The purpose of being on the square, avoided 
 legerdemain and such methods to gain an end. If 
 a land owner refused to sell, Cleve went around 
 him, but only after offering him nothing less than 
 philanthropy. This person always regretted his 
 own stubbornness as land values and farm prod- 
 ucts went down as the C. F. & D. continued to do 
 business. 
 
 The News Bells of the country proclaimed the 
 " glory of the enterprise " and eulogized the great 
 philanthropist behind it. 
 
 The Labor Bells did not concur in this opinion 
 and heralded it " as a plan to destroy the last 
 vestige of the life of individualism; that the hope 
 of the Nation was being consumed by the curse 
 of commercialism; that the blood of the Com- 
 monwealth was commuted for dirty gold, and that 
 the conservation of the free American life depends 
 upon the soul and energy left in the people." 
 
 The people did not care. They lived only by 
 economic determinism. The C. F. & D. had low- 
 ered the high cost of living. It was a good thing. 
 Cleve suddenly became a great man. 
 
 This was the sentiment. But meantime the 
 cities grew in population, and the cry of the un- 
 employed became louder and more often. Ques- 
 tion arose whether it was a benefit. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE STRIKE 
 
 THE strike was ordered, and for the first time 
 in the history of the Company it closed down. All 
 its machinery was silent. No call was issued to 
 take the place of the striking Riders and Track- 
 men. While the other departments were loyal the 
 Riders and Trackmen tied up the whole system as 
 they brought in the supplies of raw material to be 
 manufactured into the finished product, and to be 
 used according to what its nature might justify. 
 
 While the strikers were only a handful com- 
 pared to the main army of employees, they, never- 
 theless, controlled the most important branch of 
 the industry. 
 
 Governor Jones placed the city under martial 
 law. The city had a Labor Mayor, and in case of 
 serious uprising he might be biassed to the extent 
 that he would not handle a violent and rebellious 
 mob. 
 
 The Governor, acting with authority, had sent 
 troops without advising the Mayor. Acting only 
 at the instigation of Cleve, who had informed him 
 of the state of affairs. 
 
 " I don't like to leave you, Marion," Cleve said 
 the morning of the day following the visit of the 
 Suddroff committee. " I'm afraid a long Labor 
 
THE STRIKE 27 
 
 war is on," he continued, looking- at the marble 
 floor and the lines of deep veining in abstraction. 
 
 " It's best for us to break up the ' house party/ 
 Mother and I will take the guests back to the city," 
 she answered, looking anxiously into his face from 
 the depths of her brown eyes. 
 
 " No. Don't say it. This hotel my home 
 was built especially to entertain. You have just 
 come and I can't think of your going away so soon. 
 The troops will be here and I think there will be 
 a cowardly withdrawal of the strikers without in- 
 jury to a single person." 
 
 They went to a window and looked over the 
 city. " See ! The Troopers. They are arriving ! " 
 he cried, as he pointed in the direction of the 
 Tubing System Depot. A narrow but long line of 
 men in uniform and glistening bayonets began 
 marching. Then came the lumbering sounds of 
 heavy vehicles, and ponderous Auto-artilleries with 
 polished guns and decks cleared for action went 
 through the streets. " How about it now ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "I never I never was afraid. I thought we 
 would be in the way." 
 
 "Will you stay?" 
 
 " Yes. I only wanted to go when some one told 
 me that the Mayor of the city would let the strikers 
 throw bombs, and let them do many horrible things. 
 I just wanted to leave this dreadful place." 
 
 " We will do the bomb throwing," he assured. 
 " We can wipe out the whole brood of this class 
 of citizens. No, dearie, this trouble of the C. F. 
 & D. Co. shall not mar your visit. However, a 
 little bloodshed might add some color in picturing 
 
28 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 the Western strike to your friends when you go 
 home." 
 
 " I believe you would jest in the face of death. 
 I don't think that anything could happen in this 
 rustic place that could startle me. I'm more in- 
 terested in you," she said smiling. 
 
 " I am glad to hear it. Can't you spare me for 
 awhile ? " he asked. " I must be going to the office. 
 Mr. Newman will think the strikers have gotten 
 me." 
 
 Cleve found Newman vividly excited. He was 
 walking the floor in a hurried manner and was in 
 one of those characteristics moods. 
 
 " The Eastern curse is upon us ! " he cried. 
 " It's blightening malediction has fallen like a hor- 
 rible nightmare ! This dreadful imprecation of evil 
 laughs at us from behind its hideous grinning 
 mask of Eastern malaproposness in malevolent de- 
 fiance! This sinister malversation blasphemes the 
 word of our God and destroys the last heritage of 
 man's individualism. Enthralled under its sooth- 
 ing ban, the Pitdwellers, doped by its poisonous 
 toxin, would crucify justice and carry civilization 
 back to barbarism ! " 
 
 " Stop ! " cried Cleve. 
 
 " Stop ! Boy, did you say stop ? " turning an 
 ashen face to the young man. 
 
 Cleve was ashamed. " Excuse me, Mr. New- 
 man, I'm all unnerved." 
 
 " Why, lad, of course I shall. But the old man 
 read further into the future and could see this awful 
 tragedy with its bloody ending." 
 
 " For my sake, don't tell any of the guests, 
 Marion or her mother. At any cost don't tell any 
 
THE STRIKE 29 
 
 one at the hotel. We must not show any alarm 
 over this affair while in their presence." 
 
 " As you wish, but I had a call from Mr. Norton 
 in regard to this very thing. On learning of this 
 trouble he went to see your father and they had 
 areed to advance all necessary money until the 
 crisis was over; and asked if I thought it best to 
 arrange for the departure of Mrs. Norton, Marion 
 and the guests. I told him there was no immediate 
 danger, and if developments were to the contrary 
 I would advise accordingly." 
 
 " Good," Cleve responded. 
 
 " My boy, it was your happiness I was consider- 
 ing. However, speaking candidly, I think it would 
 be for the best, the guests should leave. This 
 morning I find we are losers of a few millions." 
 
 " The war of destruction has begun ? " asked 
 Cleve turning pale. " Don't the fools know it will 
 place the nation " 
 
 " They are but cattle," put in Newman. " A 
 stampede is inevitable. The masses do not reason. 
 I once thought they did and early in life I started 
 to work for them. I soon learned they could not 
 be trusted. They were cowards, and easily swayed 
 at will by demagogues. I was honest in my devo- 
 tion to principles I thought constituted reforma- 
 tion. I had a sentimental attachment for the 
 people and their cause. Being gifted and eloquent 
 I incited the envy of the leaders. They accused 
 me of not being class conscious. A lawyer, and 
 coming from a different class (my parents were 
 wealthy), I was snubbed on all occasions. Petty 
 charges calculated to damage my good name were 
 
30 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 preferred against me. Driven, at last, to despera- 
 tion by the class I wished to defend, my ideals 
 shattered, the mob howling like wild animals at 
 my heels for my blood, I struck back and I am 
 continuing to strike back/' he said as if living 
 those old days over in his mind again. 
 
 "This strike came when we least expected -it. 
 I would have had Marion and her friends postpone 
 their visit. They came this morning and as the 
 troops are here they will not witness scenes cal- 
 culated to mar their pleasure." 
 
 " Just go on with this affair, boy. I'll keep the 
 Company's head above water. The property that 
 has been destroyed is only where protection could 
 not be afforded, and I think by now we have every- 
 thing under control. I have prepared an ad- 
 dress " 
 
 At this moment the voice of the Evening Bell, 
 from its funnels, informed that Mr. Newman 
 (Atty. for the C. F. & D. Co.), would make a brief 
 address. From the four huge bells, Newman's 
 words went North, South, East and West, and in 
 the mouth of every one of them Newman's likeness 
 was presented. 
 
 " To whom it may concern," he said. " The 
 strike was instituted by forces outside the realm of 
 the Company, and by people who do not understand 
 the workings of any one of the departments. The 
 demands were insolent. The Company could not 
 receive them. It meant, simply in one word, con- 
 fiscation. There was but one alternative, the 
 Company would rather face a strike, have its in- 
 dependence and receive what moral support it 
 
THE STRIKE 31 
 
 could, than submit calmly to coercion by dark 
 lantern apostles of social impossibility. The C. F. 
 & D. Co. wanted to be fair in the matter. It had 
 no desire to cause bloodshed, and all that it asks 
 is the moral support of all law abiding people. It 
 will not try to run with outside labor. Hoping the 
 strikers will soon see the error of their way and 
 return to the places that are waiting for them, 
 praying that the breach between those who harbor 
 a grievance may be amicably adjusted." He con- 
 cluded by saying, " the Company wants to go still 
 further in cheapening the necessities of life." 
 
 " That will do them good," said Newman turn- 
 ing to Cleve, while vociferous applause came from 
 the populous streets. 
 
 Following Newman's address, Suddroff appeared 
 in the mouths of the funnels of the Daily Bell. 
 
 " Mr. Newman is the unreasonable, unsympa- 
 thetic and uncivil personage of all the intellectual 
 prostitutes who serve at the feet of our social Cor- 
 morants," he said. " His conscience is akin to mar- 
 ble. Instead of being an attorney of the C. F. & D. 
 Co., he is the main power behind the throne. The 
 acting King, Clevendor Second is but a figure- 
 head, the offspring of Clevendor the First, and 
 every bit as bloodthirsty as his cruel father. The 
 Company is but a subsidiary of Clevendor, Norton 
 & Co., the arch enemy of man, God and good- 
 government. The strike will fail, ist, because of 
 not obtaining the support of the official union and 
 the other departments. 2d, because there's an army 
 of unemployed, ten times greater than there are 
 places to fill. 
 
 " There is only one solution for this gigantic 
 
32 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 monopoly, that is in the single tax theory of Gov- 
 ernment control." 
 
 No applause, except in a few alleys and by-streets 
 where small crowds had collected to listen to the 
 agitators. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE HOUSE PARTY 
 
 " PAINTING your picture rather vividly ? " said 
 Cleve, as they listened to Suddroff's address. 
 
 " Lad, they have painted it worse before, and if 
 I am not deaf, you also came in for a share of this 
 fellow's abuse. These people can never see any- 
 thing but their own selfish desires. They want 
 their Utopian dream now. What education has not 
 done they want to create by law. They want a 
 Heaven on earth by statutory enactment." 
 
 " Very improbable ! " replied Cleve. 
 
 " Right you are_, boy," Newman assented. " Re- 
 forms do not come in a day; it takes knowledge 
 and sentiment and years of waiting to get them. 
 You can no more legislate morality than you can 
 the religion of Jesus Christ. Education is the 
 power of thought. We you and I are doing 
 more to create the Pitdwellers' thoughts than a 
 dozen Suddroffs. The fellow that villifies the 
 Clouddwellers does it to attract a mob to his stand- 
 ard and publicity. I hope this deluded fellow gets 
 the notoriety." 
 
 " I see he admits failure," ventured Cleve. 
 
 " Yes," Newman responded. " The people of 
 this country are not like those of the East. He 
 found conditions unripe for his fiendish carnage." 
 
34 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " I must be going. You are coming over to 
 spend the evening ? " 
 
 " Sure. If a bachelor is welcome ? " he answered. 
 
 " You know he is." 
 
 As Cleve left the garage in one of his racing fly- 
 ing machines, he noticed the soldiers encamped 
 around his building. 
 
 He gave the countersign by means of a flash- 
 light, so the Troops would not take him for an 
 enemy and destroy him with a shot from one of 
 their aerial guns. 
 
 Cleve was an expert airman, holding records for 
 both altitude and endurance tests, and would be a 
 strong contestant for first honors in the next In- 
 ternational Meet. 
 
 On reaching the hotel the management informed 
 him of the women's excitement, and before he 
 went to their apartments he saw signs of the chaotic 
 condition. 
 
 He entered the costly furnished alcove that led 
 to a more elegant apartment all was still he 
 went in and waited for evidence of the girls or 
 Mrs. Norton. He heard feminine voices in the 
 superb and lavish drawing-room. 
 
 This parlor was provided with old unique 
 wooden articles, elegant furniture and rugs from 
 Persia and Damascus. It would have graced a 
 King's palace as he had spent a Sovereign's income 
 to equip this room and hotel in general with the 
 best the market afforded. 
 
 He stepped across the second alcove to peer into 
 the drawing-room, and then feeling guilty of in- 
 truding upon his guests unawares he made known 
 his advance by clearing his throat and crying out 
 
THE HOUSE PARTY 35 
 
 lustily, " I'm coming," simultaneously parting the 
 portieres in time to see scurrying kimonos and 
 dainty slippers, and occasionally various bits of 
 hosiery as the girls half laughing, half crying 
 made their exit to protection from his naughty eyes. 
 
 " Caught ! " he cried as Marion emerged from 
 behind a massive divan where she had crouched 
 for temporary refuge. 
 
 " Yes, villain ! " she answered w r ith mingled tears 
 and smiles. " Idiot ! Why did you not let us 
 know? We had begun to pack. We will not stay 
 here where they let a nasty man talk about us. 
 Since you have acted so, I know we are going. 
 Mama is talking to Papa and we Dog! how 
 dare you come here ? " 
 
 " You knew we are only half dressed," she said, 
 
 " Marion, I would do anything for you." 
 
 " You knew we be only half dressed," she said, 
 acting as though mad with him. 
 
 " I'm glad I didn't. Yes. A thousand times 
 glad. You look prettier at this moment than I have 
 ever seen. Why, Marion, I never dreamed you 
 were half so lovely," he answered, drawing nearer. 
 " I believe I love you more and more every time I 
 see you," he went on. 
 
 ''You believe; you are not certain then?" she 
 questioned. 
 
 " I know, if you are particular about verbs." 
 
 " That's better. Believe and know are entirely 
 different. To believe expresses to an extent, un- 
 certainty ; while to know, expresses you are posi- 
 tive that a thing is true." 
 
 Then came voices from behind half closed doors, 
 
36 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 curtains, etc. " She's trying to fool you, Cleve. 
 She jumped behind that 
 
 Marion, blushingly : " Cruelly enough you have 
 forsaken me in this moment of need. Perform 
 your womanly duties and venture forth and expel 
 this bold intruder who has invaded our sanctuary. 
 Come ! Show your womanhood ! " she cried. 
 
 Cleve was an athlete, six feet high, and weighed 
 one hundred and ninety pounds. In wrestling and 
 boxing match he would have been a powerful an- 
 tagonist. He watched the circle of girls with an 
 amused expression. Suddenly he became seized 
 with fear and trembled from head to foot, al- 
 though he was a Gulliver and the girls looked like 
 Lilliputians beside him. 
 
 " On your knees ! " the girls cried. " Pray, man, 
 and beg mercy of superiors ! " 
 
 With his hands clasped reverently under his chin 
 he went down on his knees as he was told, and his 
 eyes looking imploringly at his feminine captors 
 as they gyrated around him Indian fashion. 
 
 Going through their burlesque and pantomimic 
 performances they went around him the second 
 time and retired to a corner of the room as if in 
 secret council. Returning they removed the gag 
 from his mouth, and Miss Nell Jackson, a pretty 
 brunette with a dramatic voice, began to speak: 
 " Sir, by the power invested in me and in behalf of 
 the sisters your life can be saved only upon one 
 condition. You must discard your coat and vest 
 and don the kimono." 
 
 " I promise ' 
 
 " To wear the Kimono ! " she emphasized. 
 
THE HOUSE PARTY 37 
 
 " Yes. To wear the Kimono Pa-jamas 
 Night Nightgowns or " 
 
 " That will do/' returned she, with a majestic 
 sweep of the hand. " Another thing you will have 
 to do before you can gain your freedom a very 
 trying ordeal you must permit yourself to be 
 kissed by every sister of this order." 
 
 " I'd rather sacrifice my sacred right to man- 
 hood. I refuse," he answered. 
 
 " Sisters ! Gag him ! He refuses to obey one of 
 the most important mandates of the order! I say 
 gag him ! His supercilious pride is unbearable." 
 
 Turning to the girls : " I hope you don't feel 
 hurt by what this mere man refuses to do? He 
 talks so ungentlemanly I would suggest we wash 
 out his mouth with a little soap and water." 
 
 "A great idea, Nell. We should have thought 
 of this before," said little Miss Delainey. 
 
 " Something more than soap and water," spoke 
 Marion. " An antiseptic ! Carbolic acid is good. 
 It's a great disinfectant ! " 
 
 " The unkindest cut of all," thought Cleve. 
 
 " Ice cream and fruit cake would be punishment 
 enough," put in Jhonie Windsthurs, the older of 
 the two Windsthurs sisters. 
 
 This met with cries of " Horrible ! " and " How 
 could you be so cruel, Jhonie ? " 
 
 Cleve groaned and pulled helplessly at the cords 
 that held him a captive. 
 
 "To add torture to his misery I would say a 
 little plum pudding, too," said Gertie Windsthurs. 
 
 This brought forth more pain in Cleve's face, 
 and viciously he tried to break the stays that bound 
 him. 
 
38 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 They seemed to be divided on his sentence, so 
 a vote was taken which stood two to three for plum 
 pudding, Marion casting the vote that sealed his 
 fate to the awful stuff. 
 
 " Now, mere man, you have heard the decree. 
 Which of the many punishments do you prefer? 
 You don't refuse to wear the Kimono, but you do 
 to kiss the young ladies. Now you must take one 
 or more of these soap and water, carbolic acid, 
 ice cream, fruit cake, and worst of all, plum pud- 
 ding. We will be lenient. You can make your 
 selection." 
 
 " I will wear the Kimono. I will take a little 
 ice cream and some fruit cake, and I will also try 
 to munch the plum pudding," he answered meekly. 
 
 The girls looked puzzled. The Kimono, or one 
 large enough, was the all important question. 
 Finally Marion obtained one of her mother's. This 
 one proved to be of equal dimensions, and when 
 adjusted to him it was too short. It only came to 
 his knees. 
 
 Thus robed and led to an old stately chair where 
 he must go through the osculation. As Marion 
 was instrumental in the victim's capture, she should 
 have the first chance at the lips of the poor un- 
 sophisticated Cleve. When about to carry this into 
 execution she heard Miss Delainey whisper, " I bet 
 this is no new thing for Marion." To this she said : 
 " Dimple, I never would have thought this of you. 
 I have never in all my life before unless it was 
 my Papa." 
 
 " We believe you, Marion. We believe you, 
 dear," came the girls in chorus. 
 
 " I can prove it by Cleve, too," she added. 
 
THE HOUSE PARTY 39 
 
 " Why, dearie we know. But go on/' 
 
 She was about to spring the trigger of decapita- 
 tion when Mrs. Norton appeared and stopped the 
 guillotine performance. 
 
 " Girls, I'm ashamed. As your chaperon I place 
 the ban on such unladylike actions. I'll not permit 
 this," she said. 
 
 " Saved ! " cried Cleve, running to Mrs. Norton 
 and kneeling before her. 
 
 " You have escaped us, Villain ! We will get 
 you yet," came the chorus. 
 
 Mrs. Norton told how she had been a silent 
 spectator from behind the portieres in the second 
 recess room, where she had come in time to hear 
 Cleve say, " I'm coming." Many times she said she 
 could hardly suppress her laughter, and when it 
 seemed the joke was carried too far she decided to 
 intercede. 
 
 "Well, ladies," explained Cleve, "the reason I 
 didn't let you know I was coming was because of 
 what I heard at the office. I came here as quickly 
 as I could." 
 
 " We accept your apology," answered the girls. 
 
 " But, really, I rushed here expecting to find you 
 excited." 
 
 " We were before you came," put in Miss Jack- 
 son. " We were declaring our intentions of leav- 
 ing. After hearing what that mean man said about 
 you and Newman in the Daily Bell to-day, we 
 started to pack." 
 
 " You have changed your mind now ? You 
 aren't really going ? " he pleaded, looking first at 
 Mrs. Norton and then at the girls. " The trouble 
 is practically settled. The troops afford all pro- 
 
40 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 tection we need. This strike has failed, and you 
 should not pay any attention to political fakirs." 
 
 " Cleve," began Mrs. Norton (she called him 
 Cleve because he had been one of the family. His 
 father and Mr. Norton had been associated in busi- 
 ness, and as Cleve's mother had died when he was 
 very small he had been pampered and petted and 
 partially reared in the Norton family) , " we will 
 stay a few days longer. I have been talking to Mr. 
 Norton and he told me what Newman had said." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say this," he answered. 
 
 In a few days the clouds of war that hung so 
 low on the industrial horizon of the C. F. & D. Co. 
 lifted and disappeared. The Autumn grew into 
 Fall an the inimical relations were once more ad- 
 justed. 
 
 A general amnesty was granted to the strikers, 
 conditioned only that they return to work, and to 
 this agreement every man complied. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 
 
 ONE evening later as the day grew into the night, 
 Cleve was alone on the top of his office building. 
 The roof garden of this structure served as a 
 landing for Aerial crafts. He was tired, and had 
 excused himself, leaving Newman to entertain, on 
 the ground that he had some very important mat- 
 ter that needed attention. His real objection was 
 that the guests would go to a play which he did not 
 care to see; and afterwards the midnight dinner 
 against which his stomach rebelled. They would 
 drink the night into drunken revelry, and to the 
 extent that sleep would be possible only after weary 
 hours of tossing. 
 
 He had accompanied them as far as the office 
 building with the understanding they would return 
 for him. He watched them leave the landing in 
 one of his twenty passenger ships and disappear 
 in the fast gathering gloom. Newman substanti- 
 ated his excuses, and Cleve was now alone save 
 the night force that labored away at the tremen- 
 dous volume of substance on which action must be 
 had for the entire system. 
 
 In the distance he could see the outlines of the 
 huge double tubes of the American Pneumatic 
 Tubing System. The large tubes in the dusky 
 
42 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 grey, looked like monstrous creatures of prey and 
 had crawled from seclusion to devour what Aerial 
 wanderers that happened to cross their slimy path. 
 Within the cannonlike walls were human cartridges, 
 and when loaded, were propelled by air pressure 
 at a velocity that made the fast Express of yester- 
 day appear as slow as did the stage coach of the 
 1 6th century. Many nights he had looked and 
 longed to enter the tubes and go East on a mission 
 of love. 
 
 It had then been several weeks since he had seen 
 Marion and he would then feel some remorse of 
 conscience. What would she think? He had not 
 even talked to her over the wire. It was usually 
 after some slight disagreement that these fitful de- 
 sires came to him. He wanted her to understand ; 
 he would let her suffer a while longer. Should she 
 turn to Greyhouse (her father's tool) to make him 
 jealous? Once she had half way insinuated this 
 when they had quarreled she was going to marry 
 the Mayor. She maintained this position to his 
 dissatisfaction, and he told her that it must be one 
 or the other. Either Greyhouse must cease or he 
 would break all negotiation for the heart and hand 
 of the Princess of the Skies. 
 
 At one time she refused to appear in the Photo- 
 phone when he wanted her. Then he would think 
 of going to the city. He had loved and played 
 with her from childhood. He remembered their 
 first days the day her soft dark auburn curls 
 fell so naturally in her young fair face. The crim- 
 son would mount her velvet cheeks as he, in mad 
 love, would press them against his own. He would 
 tell her of his affection and could feel the hot blood 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 43 
 
 in her rosy lips as they met his in terms of un- 
 adulterated innocence. Life was worth the living; 
 it was ecstatic! How joyful to sit in the realm of 
 throbbing hearts beating to the music of love! 
 
 Yes! Marion was beautiful. Her large brown 
 eyes so soft with the raiment of love proved it. 
 Her marvelous olive complexion was real. The 
 crimson in her face was life itself; she could not 
 help being the pure noble hearted girl. She was 
 the woman to make his wife. 
 
 Her beauty had captivated him, and he was will- 
 ing to be her slave as long as it did not endanger 
 his chances in winning her. Her personality 
 seemed increased and more than once he felt him- 
 self fast receding from his position. If he could 
 make his stand dignified she must always respect 
 and honor him. 
 
 She had been no little power in the shaping of 
 big business. A factor she had been in bringing 
 about the oligarchy of wealth, behind which was 
 Clevendor, Norton & Company. But under pres- 
 ent conditions this organization should have been 
 as strong as the " rock of Gibraltar," but any 
 throne and organized wealth is unstable and vacil- 
 lating when the voice of the people becomes the 
 law. The flurries and eddies of unsettled trade 
 winds caused little concern. In the industrial 
 vortex he saw danger. Thrones tottering, statutory 
 enactments pass away and the forces of protection 
 brought into play. 
 
 Marion had been an asset in this respect; her 
 friendship with the law makers, and was highly 
 respected by all the denizens of the legal fraternity, 
 
44 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 especially with Marcus H. Greyhouse, a Presidential 
 possibility. 
 
 In the streets below he saw worming- humanity. 
 He wondered if life brought happiness there. Per- 
 haps in this little sphere these people were as happy 
 as he. But am I happy? He pondered deeply and 
 reverently without conclusion. Was it worth the 
 fight with transcending society to maintain his 
 business? His soul cried for something- more than 
 the busy throes of commerce. And again, if he 
 should gain his commercial desire and lose Marion 
 in the end ! Was not every moment away from 
 her idly spent? Was he not miserable when she 
 was out of his sight? Why not quit, before it was 
 too late? Quit before his head should decorate 
 some bloody Pitdweller's pike as did the heads of 
 Loyalists during the " French reign of terror." 
 
 He shuddered in the cool Autumn evening. A 
 sudden aversion for the people coming over him. 
 He saw in the Pit below his perpetual enemies and 
 with whom he was eternally at war. With whom 
 he could never be at peace, unless he would sur- 
 render his property to be run and managed by the 
 Mob! If he did what would become of it all? 
 Where would Marion go, and what would become 
 of her? Newman, he thought, might possibly con- 
 tinue to manage the C. F. & D. Co. under the Gov- 
 ernment control ! For the rest of the Clouddwellers 
 he could see no source of existence. To give up the 
 fight meant he and all his friends would sink into 
 the Pit, and be like so many animals, fighting- for 
 means of sustenance. 
 
 No, he would fight first. He would not sell out 
 to the Government, because in the twinkling of an 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 45 
 
 eye it might declare the money he had received in 
 exchange void. It had the power to change 
 legal tender at any time. Suddenly he was aroused 
 from this abstraction by the crippled appearance of 
 an Aerial craft. It was coming toward him and 
 as it swayed and careened through the air it looked 
 as if it might go crashing to the earth at any mo- 
 ment. 
 
 He was horrified; and he watched the distressed 
 ship in breathless excitement as it wavered between 
 existence and destruction. He thought of entering 
 his own craft and going to its aid, but upon second 
 thought this seemed like suicide itself ; to make the 
 effort might mean death to all of them, whereas the 
 thing had a possible chance of landing safely. He 
 pressed the button and switched on the lights. The 
 situation made him tremble as he realized the dan- 
 gerous predicament of the ship's occupants. Cleve, 
 as much as he was concerned, could do nothing but 
 hold his breath and await the hideous climax. 
 
 As the ship made its heroic but losing battle 
 against the law of gravitation, an act of Providence 
 prevented a shocking catastrophe. A sudden gust 
 of wind lifted the craft, when it was about to fall 
 short, and made it clear the landing by a few feet, 
 where the disabled machine crashed with terrific 
 force into the railings that bordered the pier. 
 
 Cleve rushed to the rescue, just as the occupants 
 extricated themselves from the wreckage of broken 
 steel and twisted wire. " No, we are not hurt," 
 replied a young woman to his query ; " but I am 
 afraid the pilot has not fared so well. Poor fellow, 
 he did his best, and if it had not been for his pres- 
 
46 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 ence of mind, we might have been . . . it's awful. 
 I can't bear to think of it." 
 
 With an anxious look and a trembling voice she 
 called; no response; she peered into the wreck 
 mass and beheld from underneath there trickled a 
 little stream. She removed her glove and exposed 
 her finger to the stain-like substance. " It is no 
 more than I feared, Mr. Binger," she voiced in 
 sympathy. " It's the pilot's blood." 
 
 " Pilot's blood ! " came the startled expression of 
 her companion. 
 
 " It is," with a look of pain in her face. 
 
 " Can I assist you? " Cleve asked as he came to 
 a realization of what had happened. He gave or- 
 ders to his office men to clear the pier. 
 
 The young lady gave a look of deep gratitude, 
 as she removed her veil and passed it to her silent 
 comrade. He saw her countenance ; it was beauti- 
 ful. The face seemed to radiate love and intelli- 
 gence; it was wonderful. The contour portrayed 
 an amicable disposition, void of selfishness ; but at 
 the moment, the charming personality was de- 
 pressed. " I beg pardon," she said as she led her 
 old associate away and addressing Cleve, " if we 
 have trespassed upon private property? We only 
 did so to save our lives, and you see one of our 
 number has not fared so well." 
 
 " Not at all," he assured. 
 
 " We are thankful for the lights," she continued. 
 " They were switched on at an opportune time. 
 We have received so much assistance at your ex- 
 pense such as having this garage damaged and 
 bespattered with blood, that it would be indecorous 
 for us to accept further aid." 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 47 
 
 " You are more than welcome, and I beg of you 
 to relieve yourself of this mistaken apprehension. 
 While you have invaded my private domain the 
 firmament and all garages of the skies are free to 
 Clouddwellers." 
 
 " True," she returned. " We do not wish to de- 
 ceive you. We are not inhabitants of the sky. We 
 are subjects of the Pit!" 
 
 " Indeed ! " he exclaimed superciliously. " Your 
 name is ? " 
 
 " Humanity," she put in meekly. 
 
 He started. "The name of your companion?" 
 he asked, looking at the old man who was gazing 
 over the city as if thinking of their trouble. 
 
 " There is nothing in common between the people 
 of the two worlds," she replied. " I can't see why 
 you who occupy the more preferable one should 
 concern yourself with those who are supposed to 
 be beneath you in every social requirement." 
 
 " A good argument," he returned. 
 
 " This old man is a gentleman in every sense of 
 the word," she went on. " He is a man by all the 
 attributes but one he has no money. According 
 to Clouddwellers he is not a man. The two worlds 
 measure manhood by different standards the 
 moral with us and the monetary with you and 
 all the agencies in use can't change this condition." 
 
 Cleve remained silent and waited. 
 
 " You believe the moral standard produces the 
 fool," she continued. "We know your standard 
 of greed makes the criminal. Can fools and crim- 
 inals harmonize ? " 
 
 " Not exactly," he answered sarcastically. 
 
 " We of the Pit view you Clouddwellers as cor- 
 
48 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 morants, while you of the Clouds look upon we 
 Pitdwellers as so many animals." 
 
 " I thank you for this information," he answered 
 in keen irony. 
 
 " However, we are greatly indebted to you, but 
 to accept further hospitality would place us in a 
 more compromising 1 position. We must meet you 
 as an enemy and we deem it expedient to refuse." 
 
 Curious enough Cleve was anxious to learn more 
 of this young woman who so defiantly and candidly 
 spoke her thoughts. Truly, he was face to face 
 with they who would remove his title to his prop- 
 erty and drive him to work like the many wage 
 slaves. They would take his vast holdings without 
 one word of regret or one sou of compensation. 
 They met him on the same plane as they would a 
 robber. They considered all men who lived by the 
 fruits of their brain as such. He was a social cor- 
 morant, yet the very institution that made him one 
 had saved their lives. They vehemently condemned 
 it. Saved from death by one of his structures was 
 no consideration. The old man sphynical; the 
 young woman was eager to talk. With Newman's 
 description and coupled with what his own eyes 
 had seen, he knew he was face to face with the 
 German professor and the woman called Humanity. 
 
 " It is many feet to the Pit below," he said. 
 " Your mode of travel is no more. My elevators 
 will not move unless I give the word. In the halls 
 and stairways are stationed an army of detectives. 
 The only exit is to jump, but this is destruction in 
 itself. I am your enemy ; you must admit that you 
 are my captives. I control all avenues of escape. 
 It is best to becalm yourself and it is best to be 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 49 
 
 seated. I will give you humane treatment. This 
 J could not say would be my lot if I should meet 
 with this kind of accident in the Pit. Yes, it is 
 best to becalm yourself," he continued, as he led 
 her to a magnificent divan surrounded with fra- 
 grant scented flowers. " This is my retreat," he 
 explained, " and if I be a social cormorant I also 
 love the assthetical. Down below you will find art 
 of rare value from the hands of deft masters. I 
 have these paintings because it seems to be a fad. 
 They are a diversion from a fit of the ' blues.' I 
 wish I had a Grand Piano " (he saw light in her 
 eyes. He knew he was on the right line) , " which I 
 would have a girl friend play. Do you play ? " he 
 asked abruptly. 
 
 " Yes, some," she answered with a far away 
 dreamy look in her eyes. The old German arose 
 and walked to the end of the landing. He leaned 
 over the railing and peered into the abyss below. 
 " Yes, some," she repeated as if recalling the past. 
 " But I don't now. I haven't the time or I mean 
 my heart is too heavy. To play reminds me of 
 home. I gave it up. I gave up my father and 
 mother my dearest friends and my brother 
 for " 
 
 " For what ? " he interrupted. 
 
 " For the poor souls of the Pit," she answered 
 sorrowfully. " I gave my talents (if I had any) 
 to them. I believe it is my duty." 
 
 " Why not stop ? " he queried, noticing the pain 
 in her face. 
 
 With a deep sympathetic reproach in her blue 
 eyes : " You don't understand." 
 
 " I confess I can't understand why a girl of 
 
50 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 your nature, culture and refinement should throw 
 herself away." 
 
 " To obdurate persons it is a mystery. To those 
 of us who follow in His steps, it is simple and 
 natural." 
 
 " Pardon me," he returned, " but I do not know 
 to whom you refer. You don't mean that old Ger- 
 man?" 
 
 " How did you know he was of that descent ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " You said in His steps ! " he replied. 
 
 " I mean Christ's ; my Master, His steps," she 
 answered ; " but what of my question ? " 
 
 " You are from the East, and the old man was 
 your music teacher before you went away with 
 him," he replied bluntly. 
 
 " How do you know this ? " she demanded, her 
 face flushed. " Tell me. How do you know this ? " 
 
 " I told the truth," he maintained, doggedly. 
 "Didn't I?" 
 
 " Yes, partly. You don't know my real name ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " I haven't that pleasure. That's what I asked 
 early in the conversation." 
 
 " I am supposed to be lost or dead. I am known 
 only as Humanity." 
 
 " I rather like the name ; but tell me why you 
 took this dreadful step ? " 
 
 " For the Brotherhood of Man ; for Justice, 
 Truth and Right; and for ... God," she said, 
 with her voice full of pathos. 
 
 " Very noble and very commendable," he agreed. 
 " You are one in a million, little girl ; yes, one in 
 a million." He reflected a moment and looked in 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 51 
 
 the direction of her companion. " You will tell me 
 the truth if I should ask for it? Did that old 
 man lead you off? Did he influence you by this 
 exotic nonsense? this evanescent and iridescent 
 dream ! " 
 
 She was silent; then after a time she spoke: 
 " My dear Sir, what does it matter to you if he 
 did?" 
 
 "Matter!" he repeated. "Why I 
 would " 
 
 " You would do nothing. If you should do any 
 injury to that old man, you would have me your 
 everlasting enemy." 
 
 " I thought we were that now ? " 
 
 " Have it as you like," she answered, with sud- 
 den coolness in her manner that startled him. " I 
 hope, Mr. Clouddweller," she continued, "you are 
 amply repaid by detaining us. We came here by 
 accident, and are your guests against our will. I 
 hope you receive much enjoyment by this incar- 
 ceration." 
 
 "Oh, don't worry," he said. "It is not often 
 I meet such a good looking woman. I can assure 
 you this is so." 
 
 "Then it gives you pleasure, Mr. Clouddweller, 
 to detain us ? " she asked. " We are not of your 
 class. You seemed to be concerned (pretended or 
 not) about me as if I had committed some great 
 wrong. Yes, I have left my father and mother; 
 I left them because I could not live in their intel- 
 lectual atmospheric home. However, they were 
 kind; my brother treated me with great respect; 
 but, they were ascetical and unwavering as this re- 
 inforced concrete building. I was considered a 
 
52 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 hoyden," she went on, " and more than once threw 
 my people into nervous tremors. They were sup- 
 posed to be Christians to be followers of that 
 lowly and humble person, that taught the Father- 
 hood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. But, 
 the inmates of the Pit could all be butchered to- 
 morrow, and they would think it would be a public 
 blessing. My people are people like you. They are 
 Clouddwellers, Social Cormorants and are very 
 vain and selfish and are true descendants of the 
 reptile class from which the bird kingdom is sup- 
 posed to have ascended." 
 
 " Thank you," he said, with an amused expres- 
 sion. 
 
 " A while ago," she continued, " you, thought I 
 desired to go back to that class. Of course there 
 are times when I am very sorry and think of my 
 people and wonder if they were right after all. 
 And, at times I suffer with deep melancholy and 
 with a vivid imagination I can exaggerate my 
 symptoms. A moment ago, I suffered a momen- 
 tary depression. The loss of my ship, the pilot's 
 death, and suddenly finding myself back in my old 
 life's atmosphere did unnerve me. Perhaps I was 
 scared," she went on, " and didn't permit my friend 
 to speak. Poor fellow ; it is I who ran away with 
 him, and not as the story runs, as I left home some 
 time before. He has been a great help to me; in 
 fact, he has taught me all I know in music and in 
 sociology. He is in incognito. He came from a 
 very distinguished German family. Hfo people 
 were German Clouddwellers and his father was a 
 life Oberburgermeister (rather long name, but it 
 means Mayor in German) of one of the celebrated 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 53 
 
 cities. I believe it was Dusseldorf. Anyway, you 
 can't tell that he is of German descent, as he speaks 
 English as well, if not better than we. I appre- 
 ciate what courtesy you have given us/' she said, 
 in a pleasant little laugh, and in finishing repartee : 
 " We would be ingrates if we did not." 
 
 " Thanks." 
 
 " But the proposition is unprecedented and very 
 humiliating if not for the manner in which it is 
 given," she said. " In so much as you pity me, I 
 pity you. It is all a matter of good taste. It gives 
 you pleasure to pyramid your money. In that I 
 can only see a narrow life, incased by -high cold 
 walls of the yellow stuff, on which you Social 
 Cormorants gloat and feed." 
 
 " This stuff makes the line of demarcation be- 
 tween the two classes ; and makes it possible for 
 you to live and dwell in marble palaced homes in 
 the skies. 
 
 " No, we are different ; created different and our 
 environments are different. You love the gay mun- 
 dane life that makes you cruel and selfish. For 
 this life I do not care. I love the Pitdwellers. 
 Some day they will dig deep for truths, and the 
 time will come when they will dig *beneath your 
 aerial homes and they will come tumbling down, 
 and with them bring this inhuman and unnatural 
 civilization," she said, still looking at him, her face 
 wonderfully anxious and earnest. Continuing in 
 the same way, she said, " I do not blame you, in 
 as much as you do not care for humanity, and, of 
 course, we do not expect you to reverse your posi- 
 tion and become good all at once. The majority 
 of the voting population are ignorant, and your 
 
54 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 business is yours only by their consent, and as long- 
 as you can keep them so you are not afraid. I am 
 trying by legitimate means to educate them to 
 their rights to truth and social justice. 
 
 " You don't understand and can't see anything 
 beyond the glimmer of your metallic world. You 
 see the battleground on which all must fight and 
 you have carried out that idea to damaging- effect. 
 What you take from others shall be taken from 
 you. To-day you have the wealth of the world be- 
 hind you. All things proclaim your virtues and 
 defend your property, which you retain only 
 through superstition, credulity, and a childlike be- 
 lief in the old order of blood and tyranny." 
 
 "And what of it?" he asked. "I have been a 
 silent listener, hoping by doing so you might en- 
 lighten me. All I gather is preposterous. The Pit 
 which you seemed so concerned in is many times 
 better off than it was fifty years ago." 
 
 " That's an incorrect statement," she answered, 
 her face flushing-. " However, I have no desire 
 to change you. Your views are of no consequence. 
 I know your type ; I know your point of view. It 
 is hereditary, and your duty to humanity is your 
 policy of aggrandizement. Self-hypnotized you 
 have goaded yourself into believing you are doing 
 the right thing. I can sympathize with you. Your 
 horror of the Pit is the why. Your respiratory 
 organs would suffer in that damp heavy atmosphere 
 of the place. I made the change easily and that is 
 the one of many reasons I caused my parent's un- 
 easiness when they were rearing- me as a young 
 girl should be." 
 
 " Come," he asked, changing the subject, " come 
 
THE ACCIDENTAL MEETING 55 
 
 with me and I shall introduce you to our society. 
 The Boat is landing, and Mr. Newman," he con- 
 tinued, making her acquainted with the situation, 
 " has been entertaining some friends." 
 
 " No," she answered drawing away, " I realized 
 this enormous gulf between us and think it would 
 be indecorous. It would embarrass you, and re- 
 member your social caste. Admitting that it would 
 add no new honors to your glory, I can only re- 
 gard it as an imposition. Therefore, I reject the 
 invitation, .but I am astonished at your nobility of 
 heart," she added, giving him a queer look with a 
 mischievous smile lurking in the corners of her 
 mouth. 
 
 " This idea is grotesque," she went on. " Con- 
 sider this German friend and myself hobnobbing 
 with our arch-enemies, the Clouddwellers. Why, 
 it would be offering insult to injury to the people 
 who believe in and follow us." 
 
 " It's an insult to be treated as one of my guests ! 
 Do you know who I am ? " He paused for her 
 answer. 
 
 " I do not care ! " she answered unconsciously, 
 turning her attention to the ethereal expanse which 
 was alive with myriads of sailing crafts. 
 
 " I'm Cleve Clevendor. And there are people 
 who would pay a king's income or who would sell 
 their own selves to receive what I have offered 
 you." 
 
 "This I don't deny any more than I do the 
 theory of gravitation. Men and women will find 
 their level, even if some hydra-headed vampires 
 should have to sprout wings to rise out of the Pit 
 to find their consanguinity in the Clouds. Yes, 
 
56 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 they will sell themselves to get out of the Pit. But, 
 there are a million of them more that will give the 
 last drop of blood in their veins to pull you from 
 your eyries." 
 
 The dynamic force of her words during their 
 conversation convinced him that the denouement 
 of something was but inevitable. She turned and 
 regarded him in silence, as if to read his very soul. 
 His eyes avoided her gaze. 
 
 " Your invitation is but an insidious design of 
 which no one but a " 
 
 " Your accusation is " he challenged. 
 
 i( You compel our incarceration ! " 
 
 " It pleases me and besides I like to talk to you." 
 
 " It is not reciprocal," she answered. 
 
 " Reciprocity does not matter. Anything is fair 
 in the game of war, and you first declared it. If 
 you are my enemy by the forces of fate you are my 
 captive. The more you antagonize the more you 
 tighten the bonds of captivity." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 MARION JEALOUS OF HUMANITY 
 
 THE guests left the ship at the landing, loud and 
 obstreperous. Their cachinnations making un- 
 pleasant cacophonies on the evening air and tell- 
 ing only too well their drunken condition. 
 
 " Newman has loaded them. They are noisy," 
 said Cleve apologetically. 
 
 " And this is the crowd you wanted me to 
 meet ? " she asked with a look of disgust, and at 
 the same time rising and placing the heavy aerial 
 veil which hid her face behind its deep folds. 
 
 The old German was still lingering around the 
 pier and Newman seized him just as he was making 
 an effort to run away. With the aid of the pilot 
 he was pushing or dragging the frightened old 
 man to the polished marble parapet that skirted the 
 roof-garden and the sides of the pier, to throw him 
 into the depths below, when Humanity started to 
 his assistance. 
 
 " They will not injure him," he tried to explain 
 as he arose from the bench and followed her. 
 
 She did not answer or argue the question, but 
 hurried to the aid of her fellow comrade in his 
 precarious condition, and which indeed seemed un- 
 certain as his captors had won the struggle and he 
 lay balanced across the railing with his head ex- 
 
58 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 tending towards the earth. Newman had paused 
 in response to entreaties from the ladies when Cleve 
 and Humanity appeared; his drunken brain par- 
 tially realizing the magnitude of the crime he was 
 about to commit, when the pilot, in obedience to 
 Cleve's command took possession of the situation 
 and pulled the old man back to safety. 
 
 Cleve's reprimand had somewhat sobered New- 
 man, and as the two strange people seemed to be 
 the guests of the youn^ man, they immediately be- 
 came the center of attraction. To have a man, and 
 especially a woman, visit him at the garden in their 
 absence was enshrouded with much mystery. 
 
 " I am pained beyond expression to know that 
 one of my guests should suffer this," said Cleve 
 gravely. " This old gentleman is a friend of this 
 voting lady with whom I sympathize and for whom 
 I have the utmost respect. Their craft was 
 wrecked here an hour or so ago and their pilot 
 lost his life. Knowing this I feel that you will be 
 more kind towards the unfortunate, if you do not 
 suspend judgment altogether." 
 
 Marion's heart was relieved ; she felt inwardly 
 ashamed that she allowed herself to mistrust him. 
 
 " In speaking for the guests and myself," re- 
 turned Newman, " I will say we are very sorry, 
 and offer our regrets as well as our heartfelt sym- 
 pathy. We feel deeply your just criticism which 
 we respect more than we resent. Had we knowl- 
 edge of this situation, and the relation these people 
 bore to you, we would have treated them with the 
 proper courtesy ; but, when you were not supposed 
 to receive any visitors, and finding fragments and 
 broken parts of an airship, and blood stains on the 
 
MARION JEALOUS OF HUMANITY 59 
 
 landing and thinking I recognize in the form of 
 that old man a person who is said to be the most 
 criminal of Pitdwellers, who advocates the destruc- 
 tion of modern society by a carnage of blood and 
 murder I thought you, Cleve, my boy, had suf- 
 fered, and the revolution had started. However, 
 in this supposition, I am glad to say I have been 
 mistaken, and apologize for this colossal blunder 
 and mistaken identity. Please introduce your new 
 friends." 
 
 Cleve was rebuffed and hesitated to speak. 
 
 " Yes, Cleve, we would consider it a great pleas- 
 ure to know them," said Marion. 
 
 Mrs. Norton looked at her as if demanding 
 silence. The other girls remained still; but they 
 as well as the rest of the guests showed too well 
 the effect of the stimulant they had been drinking, 
 and this new situation or turn of affairs had to 
 some extent restored their equilibrium. 
 
 Cleve remained calm and looked into the white 
 face of Humanity. She had removed her veil, but 
 refused to speak. The old German also maintained 
 his silence. 
 
 " If this man is not Herr Binger, who is he ? " 
 spoke Newman. 
 
 " If he be Herr Binger, it matters little to me. 
 Furthermore, I have no proof to confirm that he 
 is," responded Cleve. 
 
 " Anarchist ! Boy, do you realize " 
 
 "What does it matter? We are all Anarchists 
 yes, Anarchists ! " 
 
 Humanity looked at him in great surprise. A 
 silent gloom fell over the crowd. The ebullient 
 spirit of laughter and song died away and the situa- 
 
60 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 tion resolved itself into what seemed to be a serious 
 climax. 
 
 " Theoretically, we are," Newman answered. 
 
 " Gentlemen, if you will ask the individual over 
 whom this discussion seems to be the all-absorbing 
 topic, I am sure it will save valuable time and 
 much waste of words," suggested Marion. 
 
 " But first call the Police," interposed Newman. 
 
 Following Newman's words Humanity, with her 
 face convulsed and trembling like a leaf, suppress- 
 ing some mental agony burning and seething for 
 freedom, stepped between the old man and the 
 crowd. Bellicose in every curve, in every move- 
 ment of her body, in every breath that came and 
 went in quick succession through her dilating nos- 
 trils, her breast rising and falling, her mouth tense 
 and set, her eyes flashing and sending a queer force 
 that awed and terrified, and portraying a person 
 full of fight, uncognizant of danger and very exotic 
 to the word. 
 
 " Coward ! Call the Police ! " she cried, address- 
 ing Newman. u You would use a trip-hammer to 
 crush an insect ! In your surmise you are quite 
 right ; this old gentleman is Herr Binger, and I 
 I am Humanity. Now, do your worst you know 
 the truth. Hold your nose and appear as if you 
 smell something very foul for to you the air we 
 Pitdwellers exhale is nothing less than pollution. 
 We are all you accuse us of being, and so far as 
 you feel the humiliation of our association, we feel 
 our own abasement by being here. Call the Police 
 if you will ; create a plot. Say Clevendor's life 
 was attempted. Take us to jail electrocute us. 
 Then you, apostate, will get your revenge. Little 
 
MARION JEALOUS OF HUMANITY 61 
 
 does your master know that your well fed body 
 encases a black heart. Little does he know your 
 associates before you became the apostle of this 
 barbarous system its high priest, eat its offals 
 and preach its virtues ! " 
 
 " Subterfuge ! " he answered. " This is only an 
 artifice. Your accusation is not only utterly ridicu- 
 lous, but monstrously absurd ; these people are my 
 friends and your infamous charge will do me no 
 injury." 
 
 " You are right I see your environment and 
 prototype." 
 
 " Qeve, take us away," asked Mrs. Norton. " I 
 can't see the use in this conversation and I cer- 
 tainly do not want the girls to hear the uncouth 
 language of this person." 
 
 " This is no place for ladies," he answered. Turn- 
 ing to them, he bade them go ; their chaotic voices 
 showed they were now giving vent to their feeling 
 as they repaired to the garden. 
 
 " Be reasonable, boy ; call the Police," New- 
 man urged. 
 
 " Mr. Newman, I am astonished," he returned. 
 " You of revolutionary ideas would condemn those 
 who fight for them. You of all others I thought 
 would be the first to vindicate them. No ; I will 
 not call the Police. It will only augment the situa- 
 tion. While I have no patience with such views 
 or ideas I will give them fair consideration." 
 
 There was a touch of Autumn air in this early 
 September night. The Moon had climbed high in 
 the Heavens, radiating its whitish melancholy glow. 
 There was a gloomy characterized condition of the 
 
62 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 very atmosphere and firmaments dej ected, ca- 
 lamitous and somber. 
 
 Newman looked at Cleve. " I guess I was drunk, 
 my boy ? " 
 
 " I will take this excuse on your self admitted 
 intoxicated condition ; " turning 1 to the girl, he said, 
 " My private ship ' Mellifluent ' is at your disposal." 
 
 " We thank you, sir " 
 
 " We have been very heartless." 
 
 She smiled, and with a merry twinkle in her eyes, 
 said, " I didn't know that such a word was in the 
 vocabulary of any Clouddwellers ? " 
 
 Cleve silently watched them board his craft 
 and sail away. Then to Newman, who was lean- 
 ing on the marble railing, said, " Let's go to the 
 garden ; this air makes me morbid." 
 
 " Tis coming coming sure as fate ! " repeated 
 Newman grimly. 
 
 " Don't predict such ; we can crush them." 
 
 " You had the opportunity a moment ago, but 
 refused ! " 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 CLEVE'S JEALOUSY AROUSED 
 
 TWENTY-FOUR hours had passed since the acci- 
 dental meeting of Humanity, and during the time 
 Marion had displayed feelings toward Cleve that 
 seemed a little strange. 
 
 " You say you don't care for this woman ? " she 
 asked, looked searchingly with her dark brown 
 eyes into his. 
 
 " Do you think a woman like her could come 
 between us? No, my love is of the heart and not 
 of the head. The personal charms of this woman 
 belong to the world and not to the woman who 
 enjoys seclusion and refinement." 
 
 " Mama said, ' she never saw such a frightful 
 creature so mannish and said such awful 
 things/ I don't care for such low-bred people/' 
 
 " She must be common, otherwise she would not 
 have descended to the Pit. But her people may be 
 very aristocratic ? " he suggested, thinking of what 
 she had told him. "We should try to avoid the 
 such of last night. The vituperations of the 
 Clouds, by this vicious female agitator, is neither 
 good for your ears nor wholesome for your mind." 
 
 " Cleve," she said speaking softly, " those people 
 are very distasteful to me. I have a feeling (it 
 may be a presentiment) . I fear her ! " 
 
64 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Nonsense. The Army and Navy will defend 
 our lives and perpetuate our ownership of pros- 
 perity." 
 
 ' Then, you'll not have to fight ? " 
 
 " Me ? Oh, no ! " he answered, laughingly. 
 
 " I was just thinking " 
 
 " Thinking in case of war you might be minus 
 a husband ? " 
 
 A sudden wave of crimson crossed her face. 
 " You should not be so silly about it." 
 
 "Then you'll marry me?" he asked eagerly. 
 
 She demurred. He watched and waited, his very 
 being tremulous. " Marion, when ? " he repeated, 
 leaning towards her as they sat in his hotel roof- 
 garden, his strong arms encircling her waist, and 
 madly crushing her white quivering aesthetical 
 form. 
 
 " You are more beautiful than I have ever seen 
 you. How dainty, so fresh, so white and so sweet. 
 My very soul is a fire to consume you ! " he cried, 
 crushing her on his chest and planting on her 
 amorous lips a hot burning kiss. " My darling ! I 
 could press you press you until you would merge 
 into my very being." 
 
 "A thousand joys! You send a million thrills 
 through me ! Press me tighter tighter until my 
 bones ache ! You can't hurt me ! This is love ! " 
 she cried. 
 
 " Yes, this is love ! " 
 
 "If you should hold any other woman like you 
 are holding me I would do something " 
 
 " And you in another man's arms ? " 
 
 17 Ignoramus. You don't know a woman's na- 
 ture." 
 
CLEVE'S JEALOUSY AROUSED 65 
 
 His face suddenly grew dark. " How about 
 Greyhouse ? " 
 
 A shudder passed over her. " The touch of his 
 hand chills me. I believe his veins are filled with 
 ice water. Why do you always tease me about 
 him?" 
 
 " Because he's my rival ; there's ' many a slip 
 betwixt the cup and the lip.' ' 
 
 " You depreciate yourself," she added. 
 
 " He is handsome ; and I understand he is to 
 be the next President." 
 
 " You think so ? " she asked, quickly freeing- her- 
 self from his arms. 
 
 " You are eager, Marion. I see " 
 
 " You see nothing. I was only tired of the posi- 
 tion. You thought I " 
 
 " Your abrupt movement. I surmised you were 
 interested, otherwise " 
 
 " President ! Phew ! Why, he hasn't brains 
 enough ; and besides, he is too closely allied with 
 your father and my father." 
 
 " He is well supplied with grey matter ; how- 
 ever, I understand he is to marry a woman agitator 
 which will make him more strong with the people." 
 
 She began to stare into space, and the fire in her 
 eyes told only too well how the smoldering coals of 
 jealousy had been fanned into a furious flame by 
 the suggestion. Recovering to some extent, and 
 realizing she must not betray herself, she said in 
 an unconcerned way, " I do not believe it." 
 
 " He is politically ambitious. He does want an 
 heiress. A union with a leading woman of the Pit 
 would materially garner votes and he is shrewd 
 and awake." 
 
66 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 She avoided his gaze. 
 
 " He is directly aspiring," he continued, " and as 
 he has plenty of money himself, he will marry 
 some woman that has the votes and can help him 
 attain the goal of his ambition." 
 
 " Mr. Greyhouse is too much of a gentleman to 
 do this. Who told you ? " 
 
 "How about the woman of last night?" 
 
 " Preposterous ! " 
 
 " Very reasonable ; she is beautiful. The ' Joan 
 of Pit/ Whatever she does and wherever she goes, 
 the Pitdwellers follow and proclaim the glory 
 thereof." 
 
 " That hideous creature ! That horrid thing ! 
 Mr. Greyhouse's wife ? No ! Never ! " she cried. 
 
 " A good woman should never marry him ; be- 
 cause he will put everything aside that stands be- 
 tween his ambition. An heiress would be like 
 placing a millstone about his neck it would 
 anchor his political aspiration and sink his cher- 
 ished ambition to the bottom of the sea of oblivion." 
 
 No answer came from her she stared, her face 
 cold and hard. He went on, " However, these as- 
 sumptions are indefinite. Greyhouse as a Presi- 
 dential possibility is only problematical. He may 
 never wish to marry a Pitdweller," he paused ; she 
 still made no response. " Marion, are you ill? 
 Why don't you speak to me ? " he demanded. 
 
 " You are trying to quarrel ; I am growing 
 weary of you always linking our names." 
 
 " Our engagement our wedding when 
 shall " 
 
 " Wait awhile." 
 
 " You don't care " 
 
CLEVE'S JEALOUSY AROUSED 67 
 
 " I do." 
 
 "Why wait?" 
 
 "Because " 
 
 " Want to see if " 
 
 "Not that " 
 
 "Then you are obdurate a flirt you don't 
 love. You are a real social tigress, ready to spring 
 upon a second victim as soon as death or some 
 other mysterious force has robbed you of the first 
 one." 
 
 She uttered a cruel artificial laugh, and said, 
 " Your character sketch is pleasing to me. You 
 have described the personality I have tried to be, 
 and your keen perception has avoided in time the 
 precipice over which many blindly fall." 
 
 " Your ' words cut like a two edge sword.' " 
 
 " I returned the compliment. Jealousy is what 
 is the matter with you. I am not ' head over heels ' 
 in love with every man I see. I have never ques- 
 tioned your love. Did you ever think of that ? You 
 should be more trusting, more affectionate and less 
 suspicious." 
 
 " You may be right," he returned, " I hope you 
 are. I'll never display my temper again." 
 
 " You are my only broad-shouldered, brown- 
 eyed prince I have in all the world." 
 
 " These words make me happy ; perhaps we had 
 better join the guests? " 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A CRUCIAL MOMENT 
 
 NEWMAN arched his eyebrows and queried, " So 
 you are going to get married ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but keep it for awhile," said Cleve. 
 " You can spring it to-night." 
 
 "Marion?" 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 Newman studied the floor for a minute, shook 
 his head and asked, " Soon, my boy ? " 
 
 " It can't be too soon," he answered jubilantly. 
 
 " It is useless to ask if you love her ? She is a 
 lovely young woman and a Princess who will grace 
 your castle; but are you sure of each other?" 
 
 " Our minds are the same as one ; however, I 
 understand your lack of faith." 
 
 " No ' wedding bells ' for me." 
 
 " Or connubial voyages ? " 
 
 " No. My right arm would go before I bind 
 myself to a contract for life. I have seen too much 
 of it. In my courts every docket has been full of 
 divorce cases. Men and women who had soon 
 tired of their contract and seeking this way to free- 
 dom." 
 
 " You have only seen one side of it and accounts 
 for your skepticism." 
 
 " Younger I might have ventured to put my foot 
 
A CRUCIAL MOMENT 69 
 
 on the ' soft, soft pedal ; ' but at that time I didn't 
 have the ' wherewith ' to equip an expedition to ex- 
 plore this unknown sea." 
 
 "Monetary consideration?" 
 
 " Then yes ; but to-day it is different. It is a 
 question of being ' penny wise ' rather than ' pound 
 foolish.' And in the language of the immortalized 
 Patrick Henry, ' I care not the course others may 
 take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me 
 death.' * 
 
 "Marriage has a tendency to crush freedom?" 
 
 " You are anchored to the home by the wife's 
 apron string and squawking stork productions left 
 on vour doorstep unsolicited." 
 
 " ' Destroy the home you destroy the govern- 
 ment ' is the old adage," said Cleve. 
 
 " That statement only affirms and does not de- 
 fine," he answered. " Governments are not of the 
 Architect's product they are not moulded or 
 shaped you can't plan and create a government 
 or a nation as you would produce a house. Gov- 
 ernments grow, enlarge and expand automatically 
 and not arbitrarily as the wild soi-disant reformer 
 would have you believe. There is some exorable 
 law, however, bending to the whole social struc- 
 ture; and placable as the needs of society become 
 more or less extensive. This is the whole intel- 
 lectual thought of millions of thinking brains 
 merged into a self-acting machine, spontaneously 
 creating the spirit, the life and the individualism of 
 the nation itself. To say ' destroy the home and 
 you will destroy the Nation ' is as misty as * Indian 
 Summer ' or * Blackberry Winter.' The home is 
 singular and limited to commonplaceness ; while 
 
70 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 the distinct individualism the government is 
 the entire combination of homes unlimited. The 
 home, whatsoever it may be, owes its life and lib- 
 erty to the nation. In the home we always have 
 some petty revolution going on; and, my boy, it 
 is the every-day thoughts of your friends and 
 enemies that makes the great big Nation grow and 
 expand. The home has nothing to do with it." 
 
 " I just thought of the statement and wondered 
 if there was any truth in it." 
 
 " As you are about to create one ? " asked New- 
 man. 
 
 " No jesting, please." 
 
 " Is it that serious ? " 
 
 " I should think so. I am about to be tied hand 
 and foot and anchored for life. I believe that's the 
 way you put it." 
 
 "If you love the woman that is different." 
 
 " Should we find that we did not? " 
 
 " The divorce court ; it is the only way." 
 
 " I don't want such notoriety." 
 
 " Then let this puerile dream of one skirt and 
 several rompers go to the source from which it 
 came." 
 
 Newman continued, " I will venture your in- 
 tended wife was years in making up her mind to 
 marry you when doubtless she loved you better 
 than she did any mortal man." 
 
 " It was prompted by the blood in her veins of 
 her ancient mothers, who lived in the days of poly- 
 andry, when women were at the head of the family, 
 and had as many husbands as they desired. The 
 genealogy of the race was from the mother, for in 
 those days no child knew its father. This was, so 
 
A CRUCIAL MOMENT 71 
 
 far as I have knowledge, the only time in the his- 
 tory of the world that women have had complete 
 freedom; and for a return of those days, without 
 polyandria, is the dream of every woman suffra- 
 gette." 
 
 " It was not until the introduction of monoga- 
 mous marriage that the death knell of woman's 
 freedom was sounded, and she has become the slave 
 and plaything of man until this day. Marry, my 
 boy, if you so desire ; your wife will be your toy 
 after a time she will cease to interest you she 
 will become as tired of you as you are of her 
 you both will be disappointed and will proclaim it 
 a hollow mockery of ' sounding brass and tinkling 
 symbols/ The honeymoon fades the sex charm 
 wanes she is less beautiful because of con- 
 tact love recovers its sight her faults grow, 
 and when stripped of her plumage and accessories, 
 you behold, as if by presto, a different creature, 
 and you, like one bewildered, will repeat that old 
 adage, ' all that glitters is not gold/ Of course you 
 love her now you love her with all the ardor of 
 a virile young man you see her in your dreams 
 her face is ever before you it makes you wild 
 with happiness it thrills every nerve in your 
 body you yearn for it you want to fondle, 
 caress and press your cheek against hers you 
 prefer death rather than lose the object of your 
 dream. You marry you discover you have been 
 chasing a phantom a fancied vision your ethe- 
 real sweetheart of yesterday becomes your temporal 
 wife of to-day you are melancholy unhappy 
 you find thorns instead of roses she becomes less 
 
72 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 attractive she is your wife she is property and 
 declared yours by the bonds of contract. 
 
 " She is not the sweet, innocent mysterious crea- 
 ture of your wild and youthful fancy." 
 
 Cleve was bewildered. It was evident he did 
 not believe Newman capable of painting such a 
 vivid picture of the sacred relation; and further- 
 more, he did not doubt that his secretary was sin- 
 cere in what he said. 
 
 " You teach both by precept and by example ? " 
 Cleve queried. 
 
 " Do you love Marion devotedly ? " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 :< Then if you wish to be happy forever, remain 
 as sweethearts." 
 
 " Impossible ! " 
 
 " I thought so," jeered Newman, with a look of 
 grim contempt. " My doctrine is for an older race 
 and a future time." 
 
 The younger man rose as if to go. 
 
 " Stay, boy," said Newman with fatherly feeling 
 in his voice, " don't take what I say too much to 
 heart. I love you and I am a bit jealous. In this 
 marriage I can see our happy days our own joys 
 of being together gone forever. Try as hard as 
 you may it will never seem the same our 
 dreams our prospects the big business the 
 empire of Clevendors' will go, for this young wife 
 will be inimical to anything that takes your time. 
 Wait awhile. Put it off." 
 
 " Too late," said Cleve, his face extremely pale. 
 
 " Have you told your father ? " 
 
 " No. But I am sure he expects it." 
 
 " What I have long expected is about to happen," 
 
A CRUCIAL MOMENT 73 
 
 muttered the old secretary. " I am pained to see 
 the young genius throw his life away." 
 
 " Mr. Newman, I came to get you to make the 
 announcement. It is to be in the nature of a sur- 
 prise for the guests," said Cleve excitedly. 
 
 " Come," he continued impatiently. " I have 
 consulted Marion and her mother, they think it 
 would be just the thing. Marion is wondering how 
 long the sensation will last. It will be the greatest 
 event of the season and it will set the society of the 
 Clouds to talking. Come, I have tarried too long. 
 They will be waiting." 
 
 " I would rather see you " he stopped short. 
 " No. I will not say it. It is impossible. I will 
 not make the announcement ! " 
 
 "Mr. Newman, do you know what you are say- 
 ing?" 
 
 " Perfectly. I speak after due consideration." 
 
 " Then " he paused " why do you speak as 
 you do ? " 
 
 " You want the truth? " 
 
 "Yes tell me." 
 
 " Because the woman you intend to marry does 
 not love you ! " 
 
 " What ! You tell me this ! " he exclaimed. " I 
 can assure you had this news come from lips other 
 than yours I would have made an attempt to strike. 
 Mr. Newman, your word has been your bond, but 
 I must have other proof before I can accept your 
 statement. In as much as you do not favor my 
 marriage I think you would do most anything to 
 prevent it." 
 
 " Most assuredly. You will please excuse me. 
 When love is blind what more can be expected? I 
 
74 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 wave aside all objections, my boy, because I feel 
 the subject is too delicate to be discussed, as we can 
 only argue from a partisan standpoint." 
 
 " Have you proof or suspicions of Marion's in- 
 fidelity? The cause or intention of it? I demand 
 you to tell me tell me as you would as if I was 
 a son of yours." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you speak that way. It is 
 sensible, and I will ask if you ever entertained the 
 idea that she loved another man ? " 
 
 " No. I have not. I can't understand how she 
 could/' 
 
 " Did you know she had met, by appointment, 
 Mr. Greyhouse, since she has been visiting- you? 
 Did you know that on the night you met Humanity 
 she was with him at the Aerial Cafe, and they had 
 their meals in private and consumed the whole time 
 while we were dispensing- with one of those long 
 drawn out midnight dinners ? " 
 
 " No impropriety. Mrs. Norton was along and 
 Greyhouse, being a man of prominence, it was but 
 natural they should seek this seclusion," he an- 
 swered somewhat irritably. 
 
 " In a sense this action was excusable. The 
 whole apartment, boy, was just as private. His 
 identity was not in jeopardy that was not their 
 motive. She simply will not do. She's as crafty 
 and sly as her father ' a chip off of the same old 
 block.' " 
 
 "No. I I can't believe it. Marion is as true 
 as steel." 
 
 " Then go by your secret passage to the roof- 
 garden, and you will find your intended wife, per- 
 haps, in the arms of her lover ! " cried Newman. 
 
A CRUCIAL MOMENT 75 
 
 Cleve rushed madly at him as though he in- 
 tended to crush every bone in his body. 
 
 " Strike ! Strike, boy, if you wish. I tell you 
 the truth. Read," he said, handing- him a crumpled 
 piece of paper. 
 
 He could not strike or read, but mad and blind 
 with rage he rushed to his elevator and forced it 
 violently to the garden. Newman remained in the 
 room sad and sorrowful. 
 
 Among the flowers, ferns, benches, fountains, 
 trees and small shrubbery his mind became more 
 balanced he paused in his mad haste fool ! 
 that he was, he thought. What if Marion loved 
 Greyhouse ! The idea of her deceiving pained him ; 
 and had a dagger been sunken deep into the most 
 vital part of his body it would not have caused him 
 to suffer more agony. 
 
 Take Newman's advice and postpone it test 
 her more for this was a lifetime piece of business. 
 Again he reasoned : how could she have the temer- 
 ity to meet Greyhouse, when she must know he 
 would be seeking her ! Newman must be suspicious 
 of all women. His years in the courts with the 
 panorama of crime made him regard humanity 
 from a criminal angle. 
 
 On a bench partly hid beneath wild running 
 vines, his face in his hands and gazing between his 
 fingers at the smooth marble floor in deep thought, 
 suddenly he heard voices as if some one was 
 approaching. He looked up the fern-bordered 
 path and saw a couple coming in his direction, talk- 
 ing as if hopelessly divided. It was Marion and 
 Greyhouse, and he decided to conceal himself be- 
 
76 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 hind the thick foliage near the bench. The tone of 
 each indicated they were quarreling. 
 
 " Let us be seated," said Greyhouse, " before I 
 leave and you go to him." 
 
 " It is not proper. I have come at much risk and 
 have, so far, stayed too long." 
 
 "Til not detain you," he said stiffly. "I want 
 to know if you are " 
 
 " I am, Mr. Greyhouse. I can't marry you. 
 Don't be persistent my mind is fixed. I intend 
 to marry Cleve." 
 
 A thousand joys went through every fiber of 
 Cleve's being every corpuscle and every blood- 
 vessel was tossed by a tempest of emotion. He 
 yearned for her. Greyhouse bit his lip; a dark, 
 heavy scowl crossed his face. 
 
 " You have toyed with me," he said, speaking 
 ugly. " I am not to be disposed of so easily. I 
 have some money I have some ambition ; and 
 while I have accomplished much, I still expect to 
 rise to that summit which is the greatest honor 
 within the gift of the people." 
 
 " You are brilliant ; and I at one time loved 
 you. I have met a stronger force, to it I have been 
 responsive it has awakened me." 
 
 " A sly and clever way you put it." 
 
 " You doubt my sincerity ? " 
 
 " Not exactly," he answered. " A thing grows 
 on that on which it feeds. It is wealth, power and 
 control you desire." 
 
 " Mr. Greyhouse, I am through, and I have noth- 
 ing more to say to you. I risked my honor by see- 
 ing you at the Cafe, and for which mother has cen- 
 sured me. To-night, should Cleve demand an ex- 
 
A CRUCIAL MOMENT 77 
 
 planation, it would be difficult to satisfy. If you 
 love me, as you say, leave me, and please don't 
 compromise my good name." 
 
 " Your intended knows we are to meet here to- 
 night/' he answered bitterly. " Mr. Newman has 
 the note you wrote saying you would keep the ap- 
 pointment. I sent it to him no later than an hour 
 ago. It was my purpose to make you appear in a 
 compromised position at the Cafe ; and, if your 
 fiance has not heard of that meeting and this one, 
 it is not my fault, as I have kept Mr. Newman 
 fully advised. Now I shall go ; good-bye," he said, 
 forcing an ironical laugh. " Shall I go ? " 
 
 " No ! You shall go with me to Cleve and ex- 
 plain," she said, grasping the lapel of his coat. 
 
 " No. I guess not. I am not ready to be a target 
 for any of those improved guns. I have now ac- 
 complished my purpose. I will let you suffer the 
 same as you have punished me." And he walked 
 down the path to the landing, where his ship was 
 waiting. 
 
 Cleve heard Marion utter a low moan, and saw 
 her swoon to the floor. He parted the tangled vines 
 and rushed to her assistance with the firm belief 
 that she loved him, and Newman's opinion was 
 erroneous after all. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 CLEVE'S FIDELITY 
 
 CLEVE was now satisfied he had seen and 
 heard for himself he vowed if the whole world 
 be false, Marion was true and never again would 
 he allow his confidence to be shaken. 
 
 He gathered her in his arms from where she had 
 swooned and seized a 'phone on the back of the 
 bench and summoned the Medical Corps from the 
 Clevendor's Hospital. Complying with instructions 
 from the Physicians, Marion was removed to her 
 room. 
 
 Cleve and Newman were very busy trying to 
 pacify the consternation of the guests during the 
 examination and diagnosis. The Head Physician, 
 with all the persuasive power of his generous na- 
 ture, assured them that Marion's condition was not 
 serious and no occasion for alarm. The diagnosis 
 was, as he had first predicted, and that she had 
 suddenly expended too much nerve force, and as 
 the body manufactured the necessary amount of 
 human electrical substance, she would be her nor- 
 mal self. 
 
 After stimulants had been administered, Marion 
 opened her eyes ; but was still delirious. She 
 seemed to recognize Cleve, and said in a half co- 
 herent way : " You don't believe me untrue ? I am 
 not ! I swear it ! " She closed her eyes and ap- 
 
CLEVE'S FIDELITY 79 
 
 peared to gasp for breath : " I see many people ! " 
 she cried, holding- his hand. " The bands are play- 
 ing the crowds are shouting I am about to 
 present the cup to you in honor of some great 
 achievement; but " she stopped, a great nerv- 
 ousness enveloped her body : " I see a bold crea- 
 ture she has broken through the patrol she has 
 taken you by the hand she is talking to you 
 you smile at her you forget me," she stopped 
 speaking and fell back in the bed exhausted. 
 
 When she revived it was the same hysterical 
 scene : " I see a Court Room I see that same 
 woman she leads a red-headed man they seem 
 to be excited they leave the room I see my 
 father and Mr. Greyhouse fall I remember see- 
 ing this woman once before don't marry her, 
 Cleve I am true I love you you should not 
 doubt my sincerity." She sank again into uncon- 
 sciousness. 
 
 "Have you been quarreling?" asked Mrs. Nor- 
 ton, her face troubled and worried. The girls 
 crowded around and demanded an explanation. 
 " No. Ladies, my conscience is clear. Do you 
 think I would cause her all of this? No. It was 
 not me ; it was Greyhouse ! " he answered vehe- 
 mently. 
 
 " Greyhouse ! " they voiced. 
 
 " Yes here to-night. I heard them fussing. 
 She wanted him to explain something. He refused, 
 and I picked her up in this awful condition." 
 
 ;< The dog! " said Mrs. Norton. 
 
 " She is innocent," defended Cleve. 
 
 " I shall not forget this act of kindness," re- 
 turned Mrs. Norton. 
 
80 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Or the rest of us, either," voiced the guests. 
 
 " This explains," put in the Doctor, who had re- 
 mained with the nurse, " the expenditure of her 
 nervous supply." 
 
 " But the scenes she describes ? " asked Mrs. 
 Norton. 
 
 " Hysteria is what some Doctors would call it," 
 he answered; " but I am of the opinion she has just 
 had a glimpse of the future. You see, when the 
 objective faculties are not working or have re- 
 sponded to sleep, the subconscious mind is awake. 
 While in this condition she could only receive those 
 mental impressions. The objective mind must be 
 dormant and the subconscious faculties must be 
 conscious before she could produce those scenes so 
 clearly and so vividly. She will awake in a few 
 minutes and doubtless will not be able to tell what 
 she has seen." 
 
 He continued : " I have often heard of such re- 
 markable cases, but it has never been my lot to 
 attend one. This young lady has wonderful 
 psychic powers; a power that is said to be more 
 prominent in women than in men ; however, this 
 is purely speculative, and as it happens beyond the 
 border of concrete things we have more fiction than 
 truth. This case is Occult in nature; it is beyond 
 the power of medicine, and I can only deduct my 
 knowledge from hastily drawn conclusions and not 
 from any earnest thought of the subject." 
 
 " Is her case serious ? " asked Mrs. Norton, still 
 very anxious. 
 
 " There is no immediate danger," he responded, 
 to the great delight of all, except possibly New- 
 man, who, if affected, had not let it be known by 
 
CLEVE'S FIDELITY 81 
 
 any outward expression. He had taken a stand 
 unfamiliar to the guests, and it would be for his 
 own good to maintain silence. Cleve looked at him, 
 but he purposely avoided the encounter, and as 
 Marion showed signs of regaining consciousness 
 he left the room. The Doctor ordered all retire, 
 save Cleve and Mrs. Norton. 
 
 As the nurse was removing the iced towel from 
 her face, she opened her eyes in a startled and be- 
 wildered way. 
 
 Mrs. Norton, anxious to relieve her mind, said: 
 " My child, you have not been dreaming. You 
 have fainted, and it is all over." 
 
 " Oh, mother ! it sounds good to hear your 
 voice," said Marion ; " I was beginning to think 
 something had happened to me finding myself in 
 bed with Doctor and nurse around." Cleve was in 
 the background, but now came forward to offer his 
 regret for this affair. She recognized him and 
 turned and buried her face in the pillow, sobbing. 
 " My boy," assured the Doctor, a's he, Mrs. Nor- 
 ton and nurse were withdrawing from the room, 
 " you can do her more good than all the medicine 
 in the world." 
 
 " It grieves me to hear you suffer this way," he 
 said. 
 
 " You believe me to be a horrid I can't blame 
 you. It's best to leave me. You can never forgive 
 this seeming breach of trust ! " 
 
 " Marion, please don't please don't you hurt 
 me. I forgive all I forgive, for there's nothing 
 to forgive. I still know you are the prettiest, the 
 best and the dearest little girl in all the wide, wide 
 world." 
 
82 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 She lay still the beautiful form was motionless 
 
 the sobs ceased and not a sound came from the 
 prostrate figure before him. Presently she moved 
 
 turned her face to him her eyes yet dimmed 
 with tears her cheeks burning- with fever a 
 faint smile hovered about the corners of her mouth, 
 and asked with a tremulous voice : " You don't be- 
 lieve me untrue ? " 
 
 " To doubt you would be to doubt life itself." 
 " You don't believe me untrue ? " she continued. 
 " You are innocent you have proved yourself 
 
 you have been sorely tried you have been 
 weighed in the balance you have taken the initia- 
 tive in this matter and have done well. I am thank- 
 ful I am satisfied and if there is anything un- 
 said, that will help lift this loathsome cloud that 
 has been harassing and hanging over your plastic 
 mind, consider that I have said them; and with all 
 the fervor of a Celtic wooer, and with the earnest 
 desire to remove the hideous monster that is re- 
 sponsible for this nervous prostration." 
 
 " I have had nervous prostration ? " she asked. 
 
 "A light attack and all because of Greyhouse." 
 
 " I'll not see him again ! I hate him ! " she cried. 
 
 " Will you promise me one thing ? " 
 
 " Yes. Everything," she answered. 
 
 " Please try and go to sleep." 
 
 " I promise," and without a response she closed 
 her eyes and he tucked the cover round about her 
 and left the room. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE STRANGE VISITOR 
 
 CLEVE entered his office the next morning- 
 troubled and perplexed his mind in a turmoil 
 his thoughts racing pro and con his nerves 
 jumped and jerked any sudden sound or noise 
 almost precipitated him into distraction. He gave 
 his orders in such an irritable way that his assist- 
 ants soon discovered something unusual had 
 crossed his path. 
 
 He mapped an abbreviated program for the day, 
 but he was so uncertain of himself that he had 
 Newman go over it with him in detail. The humble 
 laborer knew when he was in his office knew he 
 was ready for results and knew when he pushed 
 the lever that sent millions of men to work and 
 billions of tons of iron to moving. 
 
 Indeed, he enjoyed the deference the esteem 
 of his men, and old Cyclops (the mighty Titan of 
 the skies) who caused the roaring behind the clouds 
 and made the lightning flash and the thunder cease 
 at will, which awed the ancient Greeks, would 
 have turned green with envy. 
 
 Now he had conquered he was not satisfied 
 like unto Alexander he looked about for other 
 worlds to conquer. He stopped with an abruptness 
 in the midst of his work. He had captured the 
 
84 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 natural world, he thought, and Marion had prom- 
 ised to be his wife. What more could he ask? 
 
 He pondered over her dream and her vision 
 this woman called Humanity, who was to play an 
 important part in their future life? The thought 
 maddened him. The idea of this woman Chris- 
 tian believer of dreams of the dark past fol- 
 lower of the mad man called Christ (a very un- 
 reasonable and most improbable cerature). A be- 
 gotten son of God, who was supposed to come 
 again and reform the world in one common 
 brotherhood: to take his property his inventions 
 his improvements the product of his own 
 brain and make it the general possession of the 
 common herd. He sneered, " preposterous." He 
 recognized no God he saw no justice no wis- 
 dom nothing but devastation and ruin. 
 
 " Who could worship an unjust God?" he asked 
 himself, as his thoughtful contempt found expres- 
 sion in words. " Who could have any respect for 
 those Temples and Churches that taught the doc- 
 trine of the ' dead and superstitious past ? ' ' Whose 
 High Priest hovers like owls on the limbs of tradi- 
 tion/ and as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 
 ' Hooting the same old hoots of centuries/ '' 
 
 While he attributed little merit to dreams or 
 visions, this delirium of Marion's seemed to haunt 
 him. He could not understand he would go to 
 Newman. His secretary could decipher most any 
 illusion, or at least, could shed some light on the 
 cause or production of supernatural condition. 
 
 The hour was near ten and during the morning 1 
 he had not heard from Marion. He wondered if 
 it would be a digression to call for her, but de- 
 
THE STRANGE VISITOR 85 
 
 cided it would be best to talk to Mrs. Norton, 
 which he did, and was informed that while Marion 
 was resting reasonably well it was deemed wise not 
 to get up. 
 
 The outer bell rang, and the hall boy, without 
 ceremony, ushered into his astonished presence 
 none other than this strange and mysterious Hu- 
 manity. 
 
 Cleve extended his hand, saying, " I am glad to 
 see you again. I thought from the experience of 
 the night of your accident you would not venture 
 here again." 
 
 A deep red mounted her cheeks a buoyant 
 smile, joyous with life, laughter and song would 
 have obtained an audience in all kinds of opposition. 
 
 " I am pleased beyond question surprised to an 
 extent and half mad I had not called before. 
 Had I known this/' she added, extending her dainty 
 gloved hand, tossing her pretty head, she bantered, 
 " I almost forget we are enemies, you know ? " 
 
 " I like them/' he said ; " they make me realize I 
 am living." 
 
 " I create life, then ? Some accuse me of des- 
 troying it." 
 
 " An unjust accusation " 
 
 " Your henchmen complimented me." 
 
 " I'll discharge them," he assured. 
 
 " No. Let them earn their money ; their accusa- 
 tions, true or not, keep me in the ' Limelight/ I 
 would prefer them saying something mean about 
 me, rather than nothing at all." 
 
 "You were late in your appointment, the night 
 of the accident ? " he questioned, changing the sub- 
 ject. 
 
86 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Yes," she agreed. Now there was a tinge of 
 sarcasm in her words. " Other causes, too, of 
 which you are familiar, were very important in our 
 detention. Our acquaintance dates from them, and 
 that evening I discovered, as I have thought, the 
 industry of the world to-day is dominated by the 
 spirit of the undeveloped savage. Beneath the 
 thin veil of education I saw the groping barbarian, 
 his bloody club, and the man animal of some an- 
 cient yesterday. 
 
 :< You," she went on sardonically, " were that 
 man; you were that groping barbarian, because 
 you pretended to do right, but failed in your pur- 
 pose. Your bloody club is your industry which 
 you used on your fellow man. You are a man ani- 
 mal because you detained my friend and myself 
 until we missed our appointment, which I can ex- 
 cuse, as it was but a revealed spirit of the dark and 
 bloody age." 
 
 " My dear madam, be seated. These kind com- 
 pliments have fatigued you. I must confess your 
 depiction of me is beyond the present day char- 
 acter delineators. I am really astonished at your 
 remarkable knowledge." 
 
 With a faint smile about her lips she took the 
 proffered chair with such ease and grace that her 
 freedom: put him at no little discomfiture. She 
 went on amused, " Young fellow, I am afraid you 
 are working too hard of late." 
 
 Her question astonished him. She was another 
 creature, not the one he met on his roof -garden, 
 he thought. 
 
 " You were thinking of marrying," she continued. 
 " Foolishness. Forget it. That bit of breath and 
 
THE STRANGE VISITOR 87 
 
 clay, a wife? Impossible! You want an heir; but 
 the House of Clevendor will not stand." 
 
 "Woman, who are you?" he asked. "Prophet- 
 ess Sorceress Bearer of Witchcraft or what ? " 
 
 " I am neither. I am only one of the millions 
 of vibrating egos with an altruistic and vivacious 
 nature. I can see you barbarians of the skies fight 
 with savage desperation to retain your ancient 
 heritage. (The mills of the Gods grind slowly and 
 surely to your inevitable demolition.) Your em- 
 ployed defenders imported from the dark corners 
 of the globe cannot save your institutions thanks 
 to wisdom and justice. You inflated ignoramuses 
 cannot keep civilization within the narrow confines 
 of jungled walls; but, my dear sir, 'truth is 
 mightier than the sword/ and 
 
 " If you mean to lecture me I prefer to attend 
 one at some other time," he interrupted. 
 
 "-I would be honored," she said, languishing her 
 vehement looks and softening her words. "I I 
 came to tell you I was going away. I wanted to 
 thank you for the way you treated us the night of 
 the accident." 
 
 " Not at all," he assured. 
 
 " I wanted to make an honest statement " 
 
 " I will listen to what you say." 
 
 "We tried to make a general strike, but found 
 you too strongly entrenched behind your parapet 
 that all the agitators in the world could do you no 
 harm. Suddroff, Binger and myself came here to 
 tie up your industry. We thought we had been 
 successful when we saw the men walk out; but, 
 as there were thousands of unemployed ready to 
 take their places they refused to remain loyal and 
 
88 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 see the product of their own folly appropriated by 
 others. The contest was so brief it was hardly any 
 contest at all, and now you are still unhurt and the 
 C. F. & D. continues merrily on." 
 
 " I am not surprised at your frank statement. If 
 all people were as good as you, I don't believe we 
 would need any law we would be as brothers 
 and sisters," he paused a moment, then continued, 
 " Trade unions are a good thing as long as they 
 stay in the social stage, but when they go beyond it 
 they are out of their jurisdiction. They become a 
 class Autocracy when they try to run the Manu- 
 facturers' business. Trades-people are poor people 
 they have nothing to sell but their labor. The 
 Manufacturer is the principal buyer of it. The 
 whole proposition assumes a farcical phase when 
 the product (Labor) tries to dictate to the buyer 
 (Manufacturer). When it comes to a crucial test 
 the Manufacturer can say to the Unions, ' Work 
 for me at my terms or suffer the consequences.' 
 And if it comes to that it does not take a philos- 
 opher to foretell the result." 
 
 " You are right. Trades-unions are imperfect ; 
 they are found wanting," she admitted. 
 
 " If I have to ask the union-people if I can run 
 my business, I will close it down; and who is to 
 say I shall not do as I wish with my property ? " 
 
 " When it comes to this I think it is time for 
 the Trades-Union-People to own that business," 
 she answered. " There is only one of two ways, 
 either the Manufacturer must own his business or 
 the Trades-Union-People, through the Government, 
 must own it." 
 
 "You are about right," he said, slowly. "You 
 
THE STRANGE VISITOR 89 
 
 are choosing the proper course. If it is right for 
 the Manufacturer to own his business, it is right 
 to let him operate it as he sees fit; and, if the 
 Trades-Union-People have a right, through the 
 Government, to dictate to the Manufacturer, then 
 they have a right to own. And, if they have a right 
 to meddle and try to regulate, they may as well 
 own. If I can't have my own way, the Trades- 
 Union-People can take the whole thing and go to 
 . . ." he paused, throwing up his hands. " If the 
 principle is wrong on a large scale, it's wrong on 
 a small one. Wrong is not right and right is not 
 wrong, every day in the week and every week in 
 the year." 
 
 " You display much knowledge on this subject," 
 she said. 
 
 " You thought we Clouddwellers were a bit in- 
 flated, didn't you ? " 
 
 " Not exactly, but only inclined. You can make 
 yourself believe any course is right if you will dis- 
 regard your conscience." 
 
 " Yes, I agree with you." 
 
 " It's just a mere matter of sentiment. When 
 the time for you to relinquish your hold upon this 
 world comes you will gladly do so. In fact, your 
 business will not be a source of pleasure, and you 
 will give it up willingly; however, this depends 
 upon how soon you get your eyes opened." 
 
 " I will never suffer my business to be governed 
 by Mobocracy the spirit of the mob. I am op- 
 posed to the Initiative, Referendum and Recall, 
 and therefore, I will not, if I can help it, let it rage 
 like a mad bull through the Government. This 
 institution will never be managed by a lot of ras- 
 
90 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 callions ! Who would be riding into power on the 
 riff-raff, tag-rag and canaille spirit. I can see 
 these gaffers, bacon-chawers and the scum of crea- 
 tion grinning their loutish brutish scorn. I can 
 hear their loud guffaws, and smell the odor of 
 cinder-wenches, as these muckworms worm their 
 way from their dung-hills. Born within the sty-pen 
 this swinish multitude, drunken with new liberties, 
 would drag through the mire this glorious civiliza- 
 tion and pull it back upon the dirt heap. Horrors ! 
 I can see Suddroff's beggarly looking face mock- 
 ing me as he pulls these levers." 
 
 He reflected for a moment, then continued, " No. 
 Human nature to-day is only a few steps from the 
 savage stage, as you have said ; but, while you see 
 me one savage, I see millions in the Pit. I agree 
 that the world to-day is dominated by the passions 
 of the jungle. Even the women of to-day, their 
 wants and desires are not very far above their sis- 
 ters of an ancient yesterday. Your dream of a 
 Heaven on earth is very noble; but human nature 
 will have to be changed. I would favor your 
 Utopia, if all the people were as good as you ap- 
 pear to be." 
 
 " It has been my wish to make them so," she 
 said, bowing profusely. " My hopes have been 
 centered on you for the first one. You are hope- 
 less, and from now on I shall use force where per- 
 suasion has failed. I am bound for the Metropolis ; 
 there to concentrate our forces for the final over- 
 throw of you Clouddwellers ; then, if we are suc- 
 cessful at the next election, your operations will be 
 a matter of so many days that is, if you are ob- 
 stinate and show fight." 
 
THE STRANGE VISITOR 91 
 
 " That I'll do do, if I have to take to the field 
 in the defense of my property," he returned, em- 
 phatically. 
 
 " You are aware of the danger of this step ? 
 You are informed of the millions of Pitdwellers, 
 who welcome your death ? You know all of this ? " 
 
 " I may be marked by your class in the East, 
 which I presume is the case ? " 
 
 " Yes, and it does not take a very bright person 
 to see by your and your father's removal these 
 vast holdings would become escheat there would 
 be no heir consequently, they would revert to the 
 government and become the property of the people. 
 The Pitdwellers are not Anarchists, but they are 
 Anarchists enough to remove two persons, if by 
 their removal it becomes necessary. I saw this 
 state of affairs long ago, and spent much wealth in 
 building a great cosmopolitan palace in Murd's 
 row, to avoid this very thing." 
 
 He shivered at the name of Murd. That name 
 always made the Clouddwellers tremble in horror 
 and dread. Murd (himself) had been and was a 
 leader of a mysterious secret organization, organ- 
 ized originally for promoting all that was good for 
 society, but was now operated extensively for the 
 purpose of intimidation and radical propagandism. 
 It was a Pitdwellers' organization criminal in na- 
 ture and bound by an oath that swore by the 
 Murds. 
 
 " You live and dwell in that place ? " he asked, 
 dumbfounded. 
 
 " Yes," she answered, not abashed, " I am the 
 right hand bower. Murd as king, and Suddroff 
 second in authority. A loathsome trio?" 
 
92 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Horrors ! Murd and murder are synony- 
 mous ! " he cried. " And you ? Impossible ! 
 " Yes, she must be smudged," he decided, " the 
 smudge of that slimy impetiginous Pit was upon 
 her. She was a repulsive, acrimonious thing. My 
 dear Madam, I am very busy, I must say good day." 
 
 "What if I don't go?" she returned. 
 
 " As a lady, I hope you will. If not, then I'll not 
 deal with you as such," he declared. 
 
 " My dear sir, I can't feel as if I have been in- 
 sulted. Your words can't hurt my feelings any 
 more than if a dog should growl at my approach. 
 I only take your command to go not in the sense 
 of an insult but as an earnest request from a soul 
 that is weary and wants rest. Good-bye, Mr. 
 Cle vendor ; remember your friend, Humanity of 
 Murd's row, Humanity of the Pit, is your friend." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF LORD SUMMERSOUTH 
 
 " THAT woman ! " Cleve muttered, as Humanity 
 left the room, " there's something about her that 
 makes me admire her, even though she be very 
 radical." Her oddity and strange ideas would pre- 
 clude the thought of her as a suitable friend. Being 
 wholly out of harmony and unreconcilable to such 
 a thought he regarded it with much repugnance; 
 however, if she had had the same degree, standard 
 or ratio of feeling if their minds had been of the 
 same human pitch tuned to life then they 
 could have walked with ease in the same sphere 
 without her sending cold uncongenial chills for a 
 pastime up and down his spinal column. 
 
 There might have been something commensur- 
 able, he thought; but to characterize the element 
 of harmony of congenial natures must be one com- 
 mon thought no visible oasis in the desert sepa- 
 rating the opposing factions; still, contrary to an 
 expression from himself, she had persisted in want- 
 ing to be his friend. 
 
 In her blue eyes he saw something akin to dan- 
 ger; but somehow they impressed him. He 
 thought, to possess them must mean to live in a 
 new land to breathe a different atmosphere to 
 talk in another tongue to meet strange people; 
 
94 HUMANITY AND THE L1YSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 but, yea, verily, it meant the giv ; ng up of Marion 
 he could not and would not. No. He must not 
 think of it he must not see this woman, called 
 Humanity, again he, perhaps, had overstepped 
 his latitude the night of the accident, when he, 
 more from idle curiosity than any serious intent, 
 had detained her. 
 
 Now he regretted his action of that night; be- 
 cause, after thoroughly digesting the matter he had 
 come to the conclusion, notwithstanding the old 
 German's silence and Humanity's pretended deten- 
 tion against their will, that the visit was a pre- 
 arranged affair. It was a sly trick of Humanity's 
 intelligence. 
 
 In their conversation she admitted their opera- 
 tions had been nothing short of failure the men 
 refused to maintain the strike they were becom- 
 ing desperate also, she had expressed surprise 
 when she found him so accessible. He began to 
 think. 
 
 She was going back East, and for the time he 
 would be rid of her. He thought of the message 
 the day previous requesting he and Newman come 
 to the Metropolis. What did it mean? Did it 
 have any relation to this woman's talk? Was his 
 father and Norton fearful of some kind of social 
 eruption? He realized there was something com- 
 ing, and it would. He was beginning to agree with 
 Newman " It's coming coming sure as fate ! " 
 
 Marion having sufficiently recovered to travel, 
 the guests prepared to take their leave. Cleve de- 
 cided as soon as he could arrange he would follow 
 them. The idea of Marion being away with Grey- 
 
THE ARRIVAL OF LORD SUMMERSOUTH 95 
 
 house near to press his suit was distasteful to him ; 
 however, he knew she didn't love that Politician. 
 
 And more than once during these thoughts he 
 thought of giving up his business as these wishes 
 continued to harass him quit and be with her 
 always was the strong arguments he had to meet 
 up and down; but he finally determined to fight 
 it out and not be a quitter as he had accused New- 
 man. 
 
 Soon after Marion's convalescence the pink of 
 health again predominated her cheeks the day of 
 departure had arrived Cleve stood in the door of 
 her boudoir to say good-bye. As he stood there he 
 could see the dainty Misses Windsthurs, with their 
 blonde faces and sunny smiles, and the mischievous 
 Miss Delainey. They were talking rapidly and 
 moving hurriedly to and fro from the recess rooms 
 and alcoves that joined their apartments to the 
 parlor. 
 
 Miss Delainey was directing the porters and 
 maids in their work with the luggage, and for some 
 cause the movement of trunks seemed to be an ob- 
 ject of no small importance, as all hands were busy 
 shoving the conglomerated mess to the transfer. 
 They were moved with much expenditure of 
 muscle as though weighted with lead, and they and 
 their movements could be readily likened unto the 
 antics of inmates of some insane asylum. 
 
 The situation was soon explained by Miss Jack- 
 son who appeared on the scene with a strange, 
 stately individual whose every move and expres- 
 sion stamped him, unmistakably, a gentleman of 
 foreign birth. Judging from the tone of conversa- 
 tion, Cleve surmised that he had arrived unan- 
 
96 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 nounced, and finding the girls on the verge of 
 leaving, evidenced, by his expression, his disap- 
 pointment because he had not come sooner. 
 
 Miss Delainey was displeased. The inopportune 
 arrival had, for the time, stopped the movement of 
 equipage. Trunks, valises, traveling-bags, etc., 
 had been ruthlessly thrown and indiscriminately 
 piled in one congealed mass. Miss Jackson, the 
 Windsthurs sisters and the tall stranger were en- 
 gaged in an animated conversation and were in the 
 way of the movement of the baggage. Every- 
 thing was at a standstill and Miss Delainey grow- 
 ing impatient was visibly annoyed. Her arms 
 akimbo and sleeves turned above her dimpled el- 
 bows, she gave orders in a way that the most dicta- 
 torial sea captain would have envied. Cleve heard 
 her shout, " Here there, Earl, break away, grab 
 holt, make yourself useful as well as ornamental." 
 
 The gentleman addressed, bowed somewhat awk- 
 wardly, while the black eyes of Nell's flashed. The 
 Windsthurs sisters tried to keep a serious and dig- 
 nified composure, but their assumed tranquillity 
 was dispelled when faint smiles and smothered 
 " te-he's " came from their direction. Miss De- 
 lainey poised, her arms resting on her hips, her 
 head in an authoritative and peremptory degree 
 convinced she was born to command, and had she 
 ascended a throne of a Gynecocratic Government, 
 she would have ruled in absolute despotism. 
 
 "You think I am the maid, the servant," she 
 continued. " I will show you ' Who's who ' around 
 here ! I'll put you all in irons ! Now, move on ! " 
 
 " By Jove, you're a devilish charming little 
 
THE ARRIVAL OF LORD SUMMERSOUTH 97 
 
 angel . . . er, I might say cherub, don't 'er know. 
 But I haven't the pleasure of " 
 
 " I beg pardon, Mr. Summer south," said Miss 
 Jackson. " I am sure you think we Americans are 
 very forgetful. This is Miss Delainey, Lord Sum- 
 mersouth." 
 
 The Englishman acknowledged the introduction 
 very politely. 
 
 " You are dashing, very different in ways and 
 respects, too numerous to mention, from our Eng- 
 lish ladies." 
 
 Cleve could see and hear without being detected, 
 and from the situation he concluded this new man 
 must be a titled European. 
 
 " Earl, present company ' is always accepted/ 
 and you forget your mother was an American," he 
 heard Miss Delainey say. 
 
 " You question the sincerity of that statement ? " 
 
 " Oh, no. We believe, we believe because you 
 said it. Don't we, girls ? " 
 
 The girls affirmed in chorus Miss Delainey's 
 statement. 
 
 " You're devilish funny, ' don't 'er know.' You 
 freeze you burn you thrill and sweep by 
 storm. How ridiculously stupid we Englishmen 
 must appear to you vivacious Americans ? " 
 
 " Oh, Earl, quit your kidding, you are half 
 American yourself. You're a brick. Come now, 
 grab holt and growl. We must rush if we get to 
 hear May tine Carry sing to-night," was Dimple 
 Delainey's reply. 
 
 The Lord addressing Nell : " Do you intend go- 
 ing, too?" 
 
 " Yes ; but you can go also." 
 
98 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Really, by Jove, I can't accept. I have im- 
 portant matter to discuss with Mr. Clevendor. I 
 shall follow soon." Cleve wondered what was the 
 nature of his business. 
 
 " Then, you won't go ? " she pouted, appearing 
 displeased. 
 
 " Honestly. I prefer to accompany you. Busi- 
 ness before pleasure, don't 'er know." 
 
 She growing mad : " Anyway, we or I, will 
 be glad to see you at your earliest." 
 
 At this juncture the door of Marion's apartment 
 opened. Mrs. Norton appeared and apologized to 
 Cleve for keeping him waiting. He entered the 
 room and found Marion fresh and the picture of 
 health. The rest and medical attention had 
 wrought wonders she was gloved and the maid 
 was almost through packing her trunk. He told 
 them of the new arrival and the " time " the girls 
 were having with him, and added in response to a 
 query, " I understood his name to be Lord Summer- 
 south," 
 
 " Jackie's friend ? " put in Marion. 
 
 " Yes, Lord Summersouth," said Mrs. Norton. 
 " I knew his mother, and, Marion, I am sure you 
 have heard me speak of Gertrude Jefferson." 
 
 " Quite often. You told me she was very pretty 
 and accomplished." 
 
 " She is the mother of this young man. He is 
 the descendant of an old aristocratic American 
 family and is of noble English birth as well. His 
 mother was the ' raging beauty ' of two continents 
 in her day, and I want to meet him. We must 
 insist that he visit us while in the States." 
 
 " Jackie may object," suggested Marion. 
 
THE ARRIVAL OF LORD SUMMERSOUTH 99 
 
 " She ought to feel proud and be thankful for 
 us to entertain him. The Jackson family is having 
 a hard time keeping up appearances here of late. 
 I understand they have met with some reverses." 
 
 " I presume the Englishman is not aware of 
 this ? " put in Cleve. 
 
 " No. Mr. Norton told me last night." 
 
 " Poor Nell," cried Marion, " the blow, the 
 humiliation will kill her. What will she do? To 
 the Pit. Horrors! What will become of her? 
 Poor girl ! " 
 
 " Marry the Earl. That will save her," con- 
 soled Cleve. 
 
 "If she has no money? Will it be a bargain?" 
 asked Mrs. Norton. 
 
 " If money is what he's after, he's a scoundrel." 
 
 " Cleve ! " exclaimed Marion. 
 
 " Yes. And more, too. She could teach voice, 
 give music lessons, go on the stage, or anything in 
 preference to selling herself like that." 
 
 "She would then be working; almost a shop 
 girl. Think of it. We could not associate with 
 'her." 
 
 ''' That's true," Cleve reflected. 
 
 " It's simply too bad for Jackie ; she's such a 
 sweet girl," said Mrs. Norton. " Don't say a word 
 about it, daughter." 
 
 They met the Englishman, and Marion, making 
 herself agreeable, said, " We welcome you back to 
 the home of your mother. Our parents were 
 friends and we shall expect you to accompany us 
 to town and be our guest while in this country." 
 
 Mrs. Norton added, " I feel, Lord Summersouth, 
 
100 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 as if I had first claim, and if you don't make our 
 home your home I shall be much disappointed." 
 
 " I shall. And I will be delighted to do so, for, 
 I am sure my mother's friends will be her son's 
 friends. I would return with you, and the invita- 
 tion is hard to refuse, but, I left there this morn- 
 ing, having arrived from England yesterday in the 
 interest of the International Aviation Meet. I met 
 representatives of the Flyers' Club last night, but, 
 owing to the absence of Mr. Clevendor, we didn't 
 come to any understanding. We are anxious to 
 make the next Meet the biggest event of the com- 
 ing year, and, I am sure America, as well as Eng- 
 land, will do her part." 
 
 i( You are mighty sly, Mr. Summersouth ; how 
 about Nell ? " asked Marion, mischievously. " 'Fess 
 up, now. Is this Aviation business the only thing 
 you have come to see about? When is it going to 
 happen ? " 
 
 The young Earl looked abashed, and his face be- 
 came erubescent. " You American girls have a 
 clever way of putting things. Your allusion is a bit 
 too deep for me. Miss Jackson and I are friends, 
 if you refer to her." 
 
 " You must excuse our manner of address," re- 
 turned Marion, "as by birth you are ultra-Ameri- 
 can. Please don't think we Western girls are all 
 hoydens." 
 
 " You are breezy, dashing and the most splendid 
 specimens of womankind the world over. I will 
 not do myself justice or think I have honored the 
 memory of my beloved mother, until I have taken 
 one of you across the seas to my castle, as my 
 wife." 
 
THE ARRIVAL OF LORD SUMMERSOUTH 101 
 
 " Every inch an Earl/' cried Marion. 
 
 " The true Anglo- Saxon- American spirit," cor- 
 rected Cleve. " Here's my hand, old man ! We 
 welcome to our shores a gentleman of your stamp 
 and breeding." 
 
 " Mr. Clevendor, the more I see of you, the more 
 I admire you. I am glad the commercial interests 
 of this country are destined to fall into your hands, 
 and I might add they could not fall into safer or 
 more deserving hands." 
 
 " I thank you, sir. I will do my duty." 
 
 " You will," continued the Englishman. " You 
 can save the world from the dreaded Pit." 
 
 " I expect to try, sir," answered Cleve, with a 
 shudder. " But, friend Summersouth, permit me 
 to say, with we Americans, it is not good taste to 
 speak of that place in polite society. It has such a 
 loathsome sound; however, I speak as a friend, 
 and knowing on certain occasions . . ." 
 
 " By Jove, old man, I appreciate this bit of in- 
 formation, and believe me, I accept it." 
 
 " We shall expect you ? " asked Marion, as they 
 were about to depart. 
 
 "Yes, if " 
 
 "That the only hindrance? If she agrees?" 
 
 "Well yes. Til " 
 
 " We will look for you," entreated Mrs. Norton 
 as they left. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE TRIP TO THE METROPOLIS 
 
 THE girls waved a farewell salute as they en- 
 tered their private cartridge at the Pneumatic 
 Tubing System's station. They expressed their 
 regrets for leaving and assured they had " had the 
 time of their lives." Each was very loquacious in 
 their endeavor to persuade the men to hurry to the 
 city, thereby giving them a chance to reciprocate 
 in hospitality. 
 
 Small flurries of snow fell. The biting Novem- 
 ber winds told the season had come when little 
 could be accomplished ; and, too, this was the time 
 of the year when Cleve sought his hiemation in 
 the metropolis. 
 
 The day after the guests' hegira, having dis- 
 cussed everything pertaining to the coming Meet, 
 they arranged to make their exodus. 
 
 The Earl represented the combined English 
 Aerial Clubs and was a promoter of International 
 Meets. He had quite a record himself as an Avia- 
 tor and no doubt would be one of the entries at the 
 next Meet. He was honest and Cleve knew if the 
 event was left to his advice it would be clean in 
 every respect. No doctoring of ships, storage bat- 
 teries, etc. No impairing in any way that would 
 disable one entry to the advantage of another. 
 
THE TRIP TO THE METROPOLIS 103 
 
 When they were alone the Englishman intro- 
 duced the subject and presented a letter of recom- 
 mendation from Mr. Grey, President of the Flyers' 
 Club of the Metropolis. He stated the proposition 
 in a businesslike way, pointing out the different 
 features, cost of financing, etc. He said, " There 
 were several bids from different Nations, and as 
 cost was quite an item, the one that made the most 
 lavish outlay and promised the largest bonus would 
 be the one considered." 
 
 As Cleve was the wealthiest member of the club 
 and his father's combine governed all the Manu- 
 factures of Aerial Crafts, his views and help 
 toward financing was earnestly solicited. Surely, 
 as they were to be more directly benefited they were 
 the logical ones to handle the undertaking. 
 
 The matter was settled and they, together with 
 Newman, left for the city, leaving the C. F. & D. 
 satisfactorily with able assistants. The policy of 
 the Company was so clearly defined that even the 
 smallest salaried employee knew when there was a 
 hitch in any one of its many departments. 
 
 Each employee was a tooth, without independent 
 thought or action, in a great self-acting machine. 
 They were a myriad automatic cogs of flesh and 
 blood, not irrespective to the imperial mandates of 
 a great business wheel, and slaved, and lived, and 
 died in the course of the grind. 
 
 " You will be a great man, if you are not al- 
 ready," said the Earl, as they leaned over the rail- 
 ing of the Aerial Craft, looking- at the country be- 
 low. Newman was in the State-room engaged 
 with some detail matter. The Englishman con- 
 tinued, " This is a beautiful craft its balance 
 
104 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 its equilibrium its propelling power. Marvel- 
 ous ! How fast are we going ? " 
 
 " Aero-speedometer will tell," Cleve answered, 
 raising his voice above the swish of the wind off 
 of the scythes. These air escutcheons were cutting 
 through the atmospheric waves like the buzz of 
 millions of bumble-bees and leaving mad, swirling 
 choppy clefts in space behind. 
 
 " At this rate we will reach our destination very 
 soon," said the Englishman, glancing nervously at 
 the wind armors as the air rolled off leaving an 
 apparent blueness in the ship's wake. " Before 
 dusk," assented Cleve. 
 
 " By Jove, how do you keep your wind-shields 
 from burning ? The friction from the air how 
 do you keep them cool enough to meet this re- 
 sistance? We have had trouble with this condi- 
 tion." 
 
 " An automatic cooling process just invented," 
 he answered. The Earl looked dejected. This was 
 his first information of such a cooling system. 
 Cleve went on, " I do not enter the contest with 
 these shields." 
 
 " We would be forced to bar you if you did." 
 
 " I am sure that would happen." 
 
 " How much does the Tubing System pay ? " 
 asked the Englishman, as his eyes caught sight of 
 the huge snake-like pipes that seemed to be 
 creeping stealthy like on the ground and at inter- 
 vals would spring suddenly up after some buzzing 
 ship for its afternoon meal. 
 
 " Profits have been tremendous," said Cleve. 
 " The up-keep expense after being equipped is small 
 and is almost a shame to charge a cent a mile for 
 
THE TRIP TO THE METROPOLIS 105 
 
 service. The earnings are enormous; we can re- 
 duce to a half cent, and still make a reasonable 
 profit; this we will do if it becomes necessary, in 
 order to quiet the people." 
 
 " I understand. Your father had foresight to 
 know when to unload. He sold his railroads to the 
 government, below cost, and with such generosity. 
 When the people were shouting they had made the 
 mighty commercial Emperor bow, he quietly put 
 in this Tubing System and now the Government 
 roads are idle and decaying in rust and neglect." 
 
 " In this particular instance it has been such a 
 blow to the idea of Government ownership that it 
 has not hardly recovered," put in Cleve, as he 
 pulled up the collar of his overcoat and advised the 
 Englishman to do the same as the radiators were 
 not able to compete with the velocity the ship main- 
 tained. Cleve continuing, " As there is no law to 
 prevent a corporation from competing with the 
 Government we have taken over the transportation 
 of the mails. The old-fashioned Railroad was too 
 slow and we put in a bid, and of course the people 
 were eager to patronize the quicker way. What- 
 ever the Government has demanded of us we have 
 granted, and have beat it at its own game. We still 
 have another trump card up our sleeve, and when 
 the time comes it will be played." 
 
 " You are wonderfully ahead of we English. 
 The Pit have almost whipped us." 
 
 " Yes ; the Pit ' put one over you/ to speak in a 
 slang phrase." 
 
 " In that you may be right ; but, suppose the 
 Government demands, which it will in time, the 
 Tubing System ? " 
 
106 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Then the trump card. Should it demand the 
 System, we will pretend to fight, but of course it 
 will whip us ; that is, unless we wish to bring on a 
 great Civil War. I can assure you we wish to 
 avoid that just at this time. The card we will play 
 is yet our secret, as you are in sympathy with our 
 cause, I don't mind saying the safety of the whole 
 thing depends upon Aerial navigation. We can 
 develop until we can surpass the Tubing; but, this 
 we will not do until we have fought the Govern- 
 ment through all the courts, thereby delay many 
 years in our favor. We have all the secrets and 
 patents known to the art. Our chief interest as yet, 
 is land, which is our natural inheritance, and so far 
 we are having no trouble with it, because we 
 lower the cost of necessities from time to time until 
 there is no demand by the Government for this 
 kind of property." 
 
 " But the Pit contends that all forms of prop- 
 erty is robbery/' 
 
 " Yes, and when it comes to the giving up of 
 our lands our last heritage we will fight be- 
 cause there is no alternative," he answered, looking 
 serious. " We have our schools educating what 
 few people we can depend on ; but prefer the lower 
 classes for our defenders and soldiery. We keep 
 up class hatred as much as possible, and give the 
 best of them social equality. To be a Clouddweller 
 is what every mother son of them wants. The Pit 
 has nothing to promise ; we offer them everything ; 
 consequently, they look to us for their Heaven 
 Social Equality. It's the dream of almost every 
 Pitdweller to be some day in life a Clouddweller. 
 It takes millions to hold what we have, but we make 
 
THE TRIP TO THE METROPOLIS 107 
 
 the Pit pay for it in the long run, and occasionally 
 give concessions." 
 
 " You are very pushy, I must say, we English 
 could never have thought out all of this." 
 
 " The concentration of wealth in your country 
 is not or has not been as rapid. You must own or 
 control the four avenues of wealth the land, the 
 mine, the forest and the sea." 
 
 'To be sure," replied the Englishman, in very 
 grave thought. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 
 
 THE Airship slowed down its terrific speed and 
 lessened its dangerous velocity as towering- moun- 
 tains of steel and reinforced concrete buildings 
 loomed up in their course. The Aerial Telescope 
 showed that they were nearing the Metropolis. 
 
 The November sun was setting in the distant 
 horizon or some place near the C. F. & D. Red, 
 streaky rays shot from this ball, high into the west- 
 ern sky, and was now being shut gradually from 
 view by dense clouds of vapor stratum through 
 which the ship had passed. 
 
 The big city, with its many skyscrapers appear- 
 ing like huge cliffs, rose towering, grand and awe- 
 inspiring, was now like mountains and dangerous 
 boulders before them. Below was a mass of hills 
 and ravines deep cuts, here and there, which 
 came to a sudden and unceremonious ending as 
 some large stately concrete blocked their course. 
 
 " Your city," cried the Earl, looking intently be- 
 low, forward and then above as the pilot steered 
 dexterously around a towering wall of stone and 
 steel that shot so high, even from their position, 
 that it made the eye weary and head ache to fol- 
 low it to its apex in the firmaments, " we have 
 nothing that will compare with this in the old 
 world." 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 109 
 
 " This is the result of the American commercial 
 spirit which has of late discovered it is cheaper to 
 go up with its buildings than to conquer the ter- 
 ritory surrounding. The last two or three years 
 this spirit has dominated, and in reality, they are 
 our castles of protection. They are our fortifica- 
 tions from behind which the Pitdwellers, with all 
 their wild rampage of blood and murder, will never 
 be able to get any of we Clouddwellers." 
 
 The young Lord was intensejy interested and re- 
 plied, " I am sure these chateaus are all very well, 
 but suppose a bomb should be dropped from some 
 Airship then, what ? " 
 
 " Each and all main structures are protected by 
 fleets of War," he answered, "and we are safe. 
 That building over there," pointing to it, "over a 
 million souls live and dwell in it. Behind its walls 
 you will find Churches, Theaters, Fashionable Clubs 
 and every amusement known. You will find beau- 
 tiful Parks, Ball teams, Tennis Courts and any and 
 all things that would add to the enjoyment to the 
 fullest extent. This piece of architecture cost over 
 a billion, and is owned by our syndicate. Is named 
 Temple Marion in honor of Marion Norton." 
 
 " One of the wonders of the New World," re- 
 plied the Earl, " but, my dear friend, you still have 
 the Pit below." 
 
 " No danger from that source," assured Cleve. 
 " I understand you are thinking of the damage the 
 Pit might do. Why, there is not a gun known that 
 can put a ball through the layers of armor at the 
 base of these buildings." 
 
 " It is almost inconceivable," said the English- 
 man, bewildered ; " it's absurd to think of the size 
 
110 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 of these structures. Their circumference, and ex- 
 tending so high, makes me look with a sense of 
 reverence. It is with obedience to some Deity far 
 above earth I bow to some sovereign who has 
 left monuments behind to be preserved in the mem- 
 ory of future generations." 
 
 "Grand Central, the secluded resort for Fash- 
 ionable Flyers, is second in size and bulk," Cleve 
 continued. " Hotel Marion, where we stop to- 
 night, has the highest altitude and her rotunda cost 
 a half billion dollars. The Clevendor-Norton in- 
 terests own one hundred of these structures and 
 some of the inmates who live in these buildings 
 have never touched the earth." 
 
 " I have heard of Hotel Marion before, and have 
 always wanted to see it, now I am jolly glad I shall 
 have the pleasure. But, Mr. Clevendor, I am still 
 fearful, I think your father and Mr. Norton have 
 not figured on this one thing. Suppose the Pit- 
 dwellers should become possessor of Aerial Men 
 of War and shoot down instead of up. Where are 
 your portcullis when it comes to the big battles of 
 the clouds ? " 
 
 " Our fortifications can be explained in this way, 
 if the Pit should ever own these crafts it will never 
 shoot down, because it would be equivalent to mur- 
 dering their own kin. No ; it, in all of its blood- 
 thirsty vengeance, will never tumble falling walls 
 on their own friends and relations. The future 
 battles of mankind will be fought within the con- 
 fines of these steel walls in those corridors, hall- 
 ways and escalators the future historian will write 
 of deeds of bravery, valor and heroic achievements, 
 and all for the good of society and civilization 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 111 
 
 above the clouds. They will write of the storming 
 of Temple and Hotel Marion by Aerial Men of 
 War as the present historian describes the taking 
 of Manilla, the battle of the Plains or the deadly 
 combat of Bunker Hill." 
 
 He extended his conversation, the Englishman 
 silent and very still. " 'Tis certain we are now 
 defensive rather than aggressive, we are not so 
 prone to encroachment on new fields. Every suc- 
 cessful application of industry on any object is met 
 with cries of ' Exploitation/ We can hold what 
 we have for a few years, then we will have to defy 
 the world." 
 
 " Create a war and force the Pitdwellers to 
 fight," suggested the Earl, breaking his taciturn 
 mannerism. 
 
 " Fight, they would never do. They are not 
 Patriots, or have qualities that constitutes love for 
 their country. They are deluded followers and 
 Martyrs for a dreaded Pit illusion." 
 
 They passed through the eddies and criss-crosses 
 of air currents over architectural wonders of the 
 lower Metropolis. This section contained more 
 and larger skyscrapers, at one time, than any other 
 locality in the world. The ship grazed the roofs 
 of the structures in the vicinity, then upward 
 towards Hotel Marion, and landed on the marble 
 pier. The aureate shade illuminated auriferously 
 the twilight gloom, and Cleve exclaimed, " Home 
 at last." 
 
 " And, by Jove, we both are glad," returned 
 Summersouth, as his eyes caught the metallic glim- 
 mer of silver floors and golden caryatides columns 
 in the world-famed lobby ahead. As they ap- 
 
112 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 preached the register he became more dazed at the 
 splendor. The very air he breathed seemed to be 
 composed of precious metal. 
 
 Women passed them, as they were imbibing the 
 magnificent place, covered in diamonds, and to the 
 young Lord's refined taste it was all a monstrosity. 
 
 " I am no connoisseur," he spoke with some bold- 
 ness ; " I have never in fashionable centers of Con- 
 tinental Europe, seen such an exhibition or parade. 
 At no English Court or Coronation has such os- 
 tentation, gewgaw and strained effect been 
 equalled." 
 
 " These people whom you see are either Million 
 or Billionaires, consequently it is the natural daily 
 occurrence," confessed Cleve. 
 
 At this juncture Newman excused himself. He 
 was to go to pay his respects to Colonel Clevendor. 
 The old gentleman still lived in the house Cleve 
 was born in. It had been a sumptuous erection, but 
 was now very dilapidated. Cleve was more fastid- 
 ious, besides his room at his father's place, which 
 was kept by an old family servant, he had his suite 
 at the Hotel. Newman held the proxy vote of the 
 Clevendor interests to be cast in the Directors' 
 meeting of the C. & N. Co., which was to be held 
 in the wine room of the Hotel on the following 
 morning. 
 
 11 You are my guest," Cleve said to Summer- 
 south. " I will arrange for you. I would have you 
 visit our home, but it would be too lonesome, as 
 father would not be a suitable entertainer, and 
 neither of you would understand the other." 
 
 "How about the Nortons?" 
 
 " That's so ; but we can fix that," he assured. 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 113 
 
 Porters bowed the way and fell over each other 
 to do homage to the distinguished guests. While 
 powerful meteoric rays shot up and among the 
 spangled draperies and hangings of the cone can- 
 opy. Color eclipsed color in one mad chromatic 
 run of brilliancy. Transcendent after-rays flitted 
 momentarily and furtively, like wild beautiful 
 things afraid to venture in the stronger and swifter 
 current. Fountains of onyx marble deep with 
 semi-pellucid veining in the glistening quartz and 
 agate, and the chalcedony shining like eternal 
 snow created infant, shimmering, iridescent rain- 
 bows, as the soft, wet, dewy sprays of the crystal 
 water fell like vapor in the silvery basin. The 
 Aurora Borealis and panoramic furore of flash- 
 lights continued on and on, in one mad blend of 
 perpetual harmony. 
 
 They seated themselves, surrounded by white and 
 yellow chrysanthemums, near the fountain to watch 
 the scene. The illumination began with colors 
 strong and then evanescent with the ever-accented 
 yellow; then, when the final flash of the lone op- 
 posing color crossed the battleground from the 
 empyrean maze came a mirage of orange that 
 flooded and left all and everything of a golden tint 
 and dye; then, as if by magic the forces would 
 clash again and be wafted on the wings of gentle 
 breeze and lost from view in the glimmer of the 
 haze. 
 
 " You are at a loss to know the purpose of this ? " 
 
 " I would like to understand," returned the Earl. 
 
 " This battle is twofold ; it serves as a drawing- 
 card, and emphasizes the power of gold." 
 
 " By Jove, I see." 
 
114 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 Suddenly, to their amazement, from that vast 
 impervious mystery above, as if from the clouds, 
 came the sounds of music so sweet were the 
 strains that it seemed as if the entire celestial band 
 was playing the opulent guests stopped as if 
 dazed, looked and listened. Louder and louder 
 came the deep pulse of an Organ whose melody 
 cast a spell over its auditors and made them feel 
 as if they could see that Eternal City of peace and 
 love. 
 
 The aristocratic air lifted for the moment, but 
 as the last echo of the throbbing instrument died 
 away a halo of gold again permeated like a mantel 
 in every nook and corner of the spacious audito- 
 rium. 
 
 " My ! What music ! Who is it that makes it? " 
 demanded the Englishman, almost fiercely. 
 
 Cleve was dumbfounded. " I don't know. The 
 last time I was here the Organist was a man. The 
 Organ you have heard is the most expensive one in 
 the world." 
 
 His companion was not satisfied, and in a tone 
 half solicitous, " You must tell me. I must see the 
 Organist this place is enchanted it's a golden 
 night's dream." 
 
 " I do not know. I can't tell. Such as this does 
 not interest me." 
 
 " It is no small affair," returned Summersouth. 
 " I think I have heard this score before, as it brings 
 the sights and scenes of Sunny Naples back to me. 
 It was the evening of a glorious day, four years 
 ago next June; it was the last day of the Meet 
 I had won a fortune My ! I will never forget 
 her," he muttered, as if his thoughts were far away. 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 115 
 
 They were still sitting, lazy-like, on the golden 
 bench that bordered the fountain. " It was a 
 woman, then/' Cleve observed. 
 
 Cleve was now inquisitive. He had thought Eng- 
 lish people were not so sentimental, rather phleg- 
 matic. This amorous outburst had to some extent 
 changed his notion. 
 
 " She. She was a super-woman. She knew the 
 games she could gamble she won a fortune 
 every day of the Meet and gave it away the next. 
 She possessed some psychic knowledge. Her 
 emoluments were for those in need." 
 
 " Would one gamble that made music like we 
 heard ? " Cleve asked, as the speaker paused. 
 
 " She made wagers to obtain money for the poor. 
 This, Mr. Clevendor, may not interest you I may 
 be taking your time I may be asking too much," 
 he said, somewhat stiffly, and a little dismayed that 
 he had betrayed his emotions. 
 
 " No. Mr. Summersouth, I would be pleased to 
 hear more of this woman," Cleve insisted. 
 
 He made an effort at humor : " I want it under- 
 stood that Miss Jackson " 
 
 " Certainly," put in Cleve, " I know how you 
 feel." 
 
 " To begin. It was the evening of a beautiful 
 Mediterranean sunset. The breeze from the bay 
 thrilled and made the living of life a joy. After 
 dinner I had escaped my friends to go for a solitary 
 stroll ; on every hand the flowers and shrubbery 
 of the garden seemed to greet me. The Sicilian 
 sky was imbued in a gloaming maize the sun dis- 
 appeared behind some crags the red ball of fire 
 faded like a wandering meteor the warm day 
 
116 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 cooled the stars began to peep, and it was then 
 that I felt like giving up my occupation. 
 
 " To me, Sunny Naples looked so grand so 
 beautiful, I thought if I should stay another day I 
 would never leave that ' lovely Kingdom.' Of 
 course, the delightful Summer the inspiring 
 situation my mood, may have conspired to make 
 this girl as beautiful as she appeared to me. I had 
 passed, or was about to pass, one of those old 
 mediaeval fountains, when on a bench I discovered 
 this woman ; her face was resting in her hands 
 her long, white, graceful arms extended in V-shape 
 and supported her chin 'her tapering fingers 
 buried themselves in the dark auburn disheveled 
 curls that fell in clusters over her face. My! but 
 she was pretty, sweet and demure she was 
 dressed in white and the marble of the fountain 
 and banks of flowers around her made a pleasing 
 background. 
 
 " I stood several moments drinking the nectar 
 of the picture she presented she was not aware 
 of my approach she was in solitude she was 
 in deep thought. There before me was the woman 
 who had stirred the soul of Naples this daring 
 American woman this plunger this gambler 
 this enchantress this woman with a marble heart 
 who won hearts as easily as she cast them aside 
 this creature who had caused many a lovesick youth 
 to drown his affection in the waters of the deep 
 blue bay. 
 
 " She had captivated me as she had all Naples, 
 and while I had not been introduced to her it was 
 not my fault, and now, as the opportunity had so 
 joyously and romantically presented itself, I did 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 117 
 
 not intend to let it go by unnoticed. I hardly knew 
 how to address her and thought I had made a big 
 mistake when I said, ' I beg your pardon, but ' 
 
 " She rose from the bending position, sat up- 
 right, and looked at me from those dark blue eyes 
 in a languorous way, biding her time as though 
 trying to collect her wits. Finally, she extended 
 her hand, and made room for me on the bench, 
 saying, 'This is Lord Summersouth, is it not?' 
 
 " ' Yes/ I stammered, and immediately began to 
 feel the power she possessed. Whether it was from 
 my imagination or not I felt that I was not her 
 equal intellectually." 
 
 " My ! an extraordinary woman," said Cleve. 
 
 " Yes/' he answered. 
 
 " Your look implies that you still know of her." 
 
 " No. I have not seen her since that night. She 
 left Naples as she came a stranger." 
 
 Cleve was quiet; he rather liked to listen to the 
 Englishman's romance. 
 
 " For several moments we did not speak," he 
 continued, "as we sat there studying each other. 
 I grew numb and very chilly, and then by some 
 subtle spiritual phenomenon she released her force 
 over me; and I became flesh and blood again. 
 And in her voice that sounded like music, she said, 
 ' I am glad to meet you. I have heard of you be- 
 fore. You have been the means by which I have 
 raised money to feed the poor of this city.' She 
 paused in mockery : ' Lord Summersouth, you are 
 a gentleman according to your standard. I am a 
 student with views not in keeping with people who 
 believe nobility to be the special bequest of Provi- 
 dence. Your title prohibits us from being amicable, 
 
118 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 whether we wished to be so or not. Now, since 
 you have overstrained that nice line of social ob- 
 servance, I shouldn't be so exact in my language/ 
 
 " ' But Miss ' I started to explain. 
 
 " ' Miss Incognito/ she supplied. 
 ' But why are you as you are ? ' I asked her." 
 
 " Naturally this question baffled you," put in 
 Cleve. 
 
 " She laughed in my face as I asked her/' he re- 
 turned. " ' You are in a foreign country, among 
 strangers. If anything should happen to you, 
 where are your friends to aid you ? ' 
 
 ' ' Lord Summersouth, did you ever stop to con- 
 sider that we do things "because it pleases us to do 
 them/ was her direct answer. ' Your inquiry re- 
 veals to: me that you still have on your "blind 
 bridle." I have no fear of strangers. I know them 
 as well as I shall ever know you. The moment you 
 came near me I felt your thought atmosphere, and 
 no thought harmony. In this way I select my road 
 of destiny. Perhaps, I am speaking too high/ she 
 went on smiling, ' remember, you have violated all 
 laws of propriety, and deserve a haughty and an 
 indifferent reception/ 
 
 " ' A moment please/ I said. ' You looked so en- 
 chanting so charming ' 
 
 " ' A mission of curiosity. My dear Lord/ she 
 forced an assumed sigh. 
 ' I meant no harm ' 
 
 " ' Had I an escort. Then what? Oh! you Mr. 
 Englishman ! ' 
 
 " ' I wanted' an introduction before you went 
 away ' 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 119 
 
 " ' And really thought that wish would be ful- 
 filled/ she replied with some sarcasm. 
 
 " Then, as if by some caprice of misfortune a 
 messenger came and informed her that she was re- 
 quested to render a musical score for the people, 
 including the poorest element, who had come to 
 hear her. She had given a number of recitals dur- 
 ing her stay, and at each performance her audience 
 had grown larger and larger. She had played her 
 way into the hearts and souls of many thousands. 
 The masses were denied the privilege of the spa- 
 cious conservatory, but showed their appreciation 
 by hearty clapping of their hands where they had 
 congregated on the lawn outside. 
 
 " This invitation was sufficient and, perhaps, 
 served as an able excuse for her departure. I 
 realized her true nature when she permitted me to 
 accompany her to the hotel. I felt, as we walked 
 through the garden, as if I were a King, and I 
 would have gladly given my kingdom to have been 
 her companion in this garden forever." 
 
 " I would have liked to have met this woman, 
 too," remarked Cleve. 
 
 " I have never seen her equal," speaking, as if 
 living the whole incident over again in his mind. 
 
 " I hope you shall see her again." 
 
 " Yes, thank you," returned Summersouth. 
 " The score we just heard sounds exactly as the 
 one she played that memorable night. Yea! I 
 would remember it to my dying- day. I tried to 
 find it every place. The music publishing houses 
 knew nothing of it." 
 
 "You failed to obtain the title, then?" 
 
 " Yes. It was the last number, and then she 
 
120 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 rose hastily, her face imbued with some divine feel- 
 ing, her cheeks with some tears on them; she 
 smiled, bade me good-night, and before I could 
 utter a word said, * Don't ask me the name of this 
 number.' 
 
 " She vanished ; the audience sat like statues of 
 marble for several minutes ; then, one by one, we 
 arose and left the chamber. Something seemed 
 to lay heavily on our hearts. When I came out I 
 expected to see the cities' poor. I saw only the 
 usual crowd. She had preceded me and had bidden 
 them adieu. This is and was the last I ever saw 
 of her, and finishes my story. I must thank you for 
 your undivided attention." 
 
 " I was entertained, I assure you," said Cleve ; 
 " now let us prepare for dinner." 
 
 " As you wish, Mr. Clevendor." 
 
 " I have instructed Valets in placing our trunks, 
 and as we go to our apartments I will inform the 
 Clerk you are my guest." 
 
 They arose from the yellow plush of the golden 
 bench and walked over to the office bar of solid 
 gold, where a pale slender Clerk presided. Cleve 
 turned the diamond studded register and picked 
 up a mother of pearl pen and made two hasty 
 silver scrawls on the orange-colored leaf. His 
 eyes scanned the page, and his brow contracted, 
 and his face showed signs of displeasure. Marcus 
 H. Greyhouse and Friend stood out before his as- 
 tonished vision as if the name had been under- 
 scored with precious stones. " Lord Summersouth 
 will occupy my guest chamber," he said; "and, by 
 the way, I see Greyhouse has a friend." 
 
 " Yes. A very beautiful woman," replied the 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 121 
 
 Clerk. " The men admire while the women envy 
 her. They are dining now." 
 
 Cleve apparently passed the remark unnoticed. 
 " Have you seen the Nortons go to dinner ? " 
 
 'They are in their reservation. A little to the 
 right of center in the refectory." 
 
 " Let's go," he turned to the Earl 
 
 Seizing a photophone in his room Cleve obtained 
 connection with the Nortons. Mr. Norton's round 
 face appeared and Cleve informed him that the 
 Earl and himself were about to join them. He 
 asked especially about Greyhouse's companion. 
 
 " Oh, they are across from us," informed Nor- 
 ton. " She is a good looking creature ; but, so 
 far, they haven't dared to look in our direction." 
 
 " And Marion ? " he asked, anxiously. 
 
 " She will not notice him. She wants to speak 
 to you." 
 
 Marion came, and said, " Hurry up, poke ; I 
 want you to see Greyhouse's new sweetheart. 
 She's surely good-looking." 
 
 "As you?" he asked, jokingly. 
 
 " I hope not, you goose." 
 
 " Greyhouse is trying to make you jealous." 
 
 " I guess so," she answered ; " at any rate, she 
 is creating a sensation. Everybody is looking and 
 talking about her. Hurry up. Nell passed and 
 pinched me because I had a rival. She whispered 
 that ' you and the Earl would be here to-night ! ' 
 
 u You arrived safely?" he inquired. 
 
 :< Yes ; but Jackie pouted all the way. She was 
 afraid she had ruined her chances with the Earl. 
 Outside of that we were a jolly crowd." 
 
 " Is she expecting the Earl to-night ? " 
 
122 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Yes. After we have had an informal affair in 
 his honor. So hurry and don't keep us waiting." 
 
 " We will come as soon as he completes his 
 toilet ; and listen, how do the girls feel towards 
 Greyhouse ? " 
 
 " Snubbed him. We have hardly spoken to him ; 
 but come on and we can talk this over when we 
 are alone." 
 
 As they entered the magnificent room they were 
 both a little excited, the Englishman from the new 
 surroundings, and Cleve, because he felt an inward 
 " hunch " that something unusual would happen. 
 Would he speak when he met Greyhouse was un- 
 settled in his mind. The spacious hall was an 
 effulgent display itself a replica of the omnipo- 
 tent lobby. The everescent yellow was only a con- 
 tinuation to emphasize the color scheme. 
 
 The first employee of the dining service pomp- 
 ously directed, without hesitation, the " newly ar- 
 rivals." As formerly explained the Norton table 
 was slightly to the right of the center of the room. 
 It was enclosed by silver pickets which were sup- 
 ported by two railings of gold. It was an effica- 
 cious effect, elevated to be the cynosure at all times. 
 To be invited to this table was the only passport 
 needed to that inner-circle of Clouddwellers' soci- 
 ety. Norton loved to exaggerate his riches, and 
 display his self -exaltation to the world. 
 
 Cleve heard low hum of voices as they went down 
 the aisle and paused before the auspicious table. 
 As they were about to ascend the golden steps he 
 felt the Englishman's nervous hand grasp his arm ; 
 he turned just in time to hear him exclaim in a 
 suppressed voice : " My God ! who is that 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 123 
 
 woman ? " Cleve looked in the direction indicated 
 and saw Greyhouse. That was enough. He would 
 not look again ; and seizing the startled man by the 
 arm, he prevented, by introducing him to Mr. Nor- 
 ton, a scene which for the moment seemed inevi- 
 table. 
 
 Norton made the situation easy, when he said: 
 " He had known Lord Summersouth when he was 
 but a lad; and, now, since he had grown to man- 
 hood he was more than glad to meet him." 
 
 If any of them had noticed the Englishman's 
 strange actions they did not let it be known. After 
 the usual pleasantries and compliments the con- 
 versation lulled. Marion engaged the Earl's atten- 
 tion and then Cleve ventured to look in Greyhouse's 
 direction. He was immediately in front of him. 
 He had only to raise his eyes. He dared to look; 
 but quickly diverted his attention in a rapid sur- 
 prising manner. He began to feel as if he had no 
 blood in his veins. He became numbed, then 
 chilled; then he felt torpid; and then, at last, 
 deadened. The oil of his body ceased to feed the 
 lamp wick of his brain. The light of life was gone, 
 and his skull seemed to encase a hollow as dark as 
 an unlighted cave. Suddenly life came back to him 
 from some unfathomed darkness. Thoughts 
 flashed and reflashed conclusions crossed and 
 crisscrossed his chaotic mind. Like the Lord of 
 Summersouth, he was crying to himself, " My God ! 
 who is that woman ? " 
 
 It was Humanity dressed in a gorgeous gown 
 with dazzling, gleaming stones of immense value. 
 Why was she here? Why with Greyhouse? Yea! 
 a baffling mystery enshrouded her. She was the 
 
124 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 cause of the Englishman's excitement she, that 
 enigmatic enchantress. Was she mortal or spirit? 
 Was she superhuman? She was not ubiquitous, 
 for she could not reside in that foul Pit and be a 
 Clouddweller. This was impossible, he reasoned. 
 
 He ventured to look again. She met him with a 
 greeting smile that sent his blood bounding and 
 making more joyous the sensation at every leap. 
 Her voice came to him, and while her lips did not 
 move, he heard her as he had heard her speak be- 
 fore. 
 
 " Dear friend, you no doubt are astonished to see 
 me again, and here with the first man of your city. 
 Do not be so foolish to try to unsolve this question. 
 You, perhaps, may never know. In another or 
 older day you may discover this secret. I see/' her 
 voice went on in that same sweet way, " that Lord 
 Summersouth has come over to this country. He 
 is just a passing acquaintance of a few seasons 
 ago. I met him in Naples at an International Meet. 
 He is a good man and will be your competitor in 
 June (your next Meet). You will be the victor. Lord 
 Summersouth is a Clouddweller like you, and is 
 very ignorant of the forces the laws that govern 
 the spiritual and material worlds." To Cleve it was 
 now apparent she was the one and same woman 
 Summersouth had described. As the voice con- 
 tinued it changed in tone : " I see you are dining 
 with your fiancee she does not love you she is 
 deceiving you she loves Greyhouse better than 
 her own life, while she pretends to you she hates 
 him. Her love for you is mercenary; and just to 
 please her and your father who wants to perpetuate 
 the Clevendor-Norton interests by this union ; to 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS MUSIC AT HOTEL MARION 125 
 
 gratify a selfish desire to marry the son of the rich- 
 est man in the world." 
 
 Her words angered him. Once before an accusa- 
 tion was traced down to find it nothing but a bold 
 attempt to smirch her good name. 
 
 " You think terrible thoughts," the voice said ; 
 " you deny my words with great vengeance this 
 bit of information was given you once before, 
 which you cast aside after you thought you had 
 found out differently. This is all tame to me 
 your love affair concerns me only to the extent of 
 fair play. I tell you these things to put you on 
 your guard. You think no other man's lips have 
 ever touched the border of her mouth you are 
 mistaken you are only one of the many she is 
 after all nothing but a woman she is no angel 
 as you have pictured she " 
 
 Cleve tried to pull himself together tried to 
 conj ure an ugly temper he could do nothing but 
 listen. 
 
 " Should you take this advice depends on your 
 intellectuality; notwithstanding your commercial 
 knowledge is far above the average. But the 
 power of commercialism is waning you will be- 
 come more to be pitied than censured you in- 
 flated persons and your high society will soon come 
 to earth again another force will rule the world. 
 I lower my brain to yours with great effort your 
 r>rain is centuries behind in development you 
 must travel far and long before the dense gloom is 
 dispersed and your slumbering soul within you sees 
 the light of truth." 
 
 Cleve began to recover and breathe the atmos- 
 phere of the table. Just how long under Human- 
 
126 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 ity's influence he didn't know ; but the conversa- 
 tion was going on as if nothing had happened 
 had he been asleep or was Marion trying to jolly 
 him when she said, " That was an apt saying, 
 Cleve." 
 
 All the guests were laughing. " I am glad you 
 think so/' he stammered. 
 
 His keen perception and knowledge of human 
 nature told him that neither guest nor host had 
 noticed his somnambulistic stage. He reasoned at 
 once that while this woman was talking in one ear 
 he was listening to their conversation with the 
 other; and while he did not use his lips to talk to 
 this woman, he had used them in the chit-chat 
 around the table. 
 
 This was wonderful. It verified a doctrine 
 which had been preached to him it proved con- 
 clusively that he possessed two minds he was 
 thrilled to make the discovery it created a sensa- 
 tion within him like an explorer who had suddenly 
 found a new route to a known land, or an unknown 
 route to a new land. With these spiritual and 
 psychic truths he had always been at variance, this 
 was knowledge from a new world. Humanity was 
 a Psychiatret of a new and higher school her 
 psychanalysis, the new science that reveals the 
 secrets of the mind was marvelous. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE WEIRD SPELL 
 
 THE dinner consisted of several courses, and was 
 brought in on a golden wheeled tray, and was 
 served out of gold and silver plates. The knives, 
 forks and spoons were all diamond studded and 
 composed of the same metals. The room seemed 
 to be under some strange influence which appeared 
 to hold the place in a spell the people's thoughts 
 and actions were governed by an unseen force that 
 cast its dynamic effect at its own volition. 
 
 Cleve glanced over the effulgent room the 
 place was of a lurid yellow Humanity and her 
 companion, he could see, was the cynosure of a 
 myriad eyes. In Marion's there was a gleam of 
 jealousy. And with a contemptuous smile nodded 
 in Humanity's direction as much as to say they 
 were beneath her notice. The Englishman was 
 reticent, and occasionally would take sly glances at 
 Humanity. Cleve studied him casually and thought 
 that he was living over again his life of four years 
 ago, in Naples. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norton appeared to be uninter- 
 ested in the surroundings and tried to keep up the 
 conversation by introducing commonplace topics; 
 but these were cast aside and the charms of Hu- 
 manity commanded attention. Whether the com- 
 
128 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 ments were favorable or unfavorable, her presence 
 was felt just the same, and whatever direction she 
 chose to look she seemed to conquer and subject. 
 
 Greyhouse and his companion were now rising, 
 which caused a hubbub in the otherwise dignified 
 place. The garceful lines of her sylph-like figure 
 shone in wonderful contrast as she rose to her full 
 height, and like a beautiful animal possessed with 
 no conscious understanding of her own charms and 
 powers. Her eyes seemed to radiate the intelli- 
 gence of centuries and penetrated you with such a 
 mellow warmth that you felt honored when they 
 were centered on you and snubbed when turned 
 away. After deliberately surveying the spacious 
 place and calmly cowering all hostilities, the waiters 
 bowing obeisance to her every whim, she discov- 
 ered that Cleve was looking at her. She returned 
 his gaze with a charm that sent spasmodic chills 
 coursing up and down his spinal column, and ac- 
 companied by Greyhouse made a move to pass 
 them. 
 
 As they approached, Cleve felt the metallic table 
 vibrate as if something had struck it. Turning to 
 the Englishman, whom he had for the time for- 
 gotten, he saw him in a half -standing position with 
 real joy in his expression and acting as if he were 
 trying to fight some force that had captured him 
 he was making a mad heroic effort to maintain his 
 composure. 
 
 " Who is that damned woman with Grey- 
 house ? " Cleve heard Norton ask. But no one an- 
 swered, as any response, however suppressed, 
 could have been overheard by Humanity and her 
 escort. 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 129 
 
 When they drew near the base of the steps that 
 led up to the golden pedestal of the Nortons, Hu- 
 manity said, " Mr. Clevendor, I am very glad to 
 see you again." 
 
 He arose and acknowledged the salutation by 
 leaving his place and the astonished people at the 
 table and going down the steps to greet her. He, 
 for the time being, seemed to forget all his hatred 
 for Greyhouse, which caused much wonderment 
 and speculation among his friends. " I can also say 
 as much for you," he said. " Let me introduce " 
 
 The Earl had followed close behind and was now 
 shaking her hand. " I have met Lord Summer- 
 south before," she replied, and turning to the Eng- 
 lishman asked concerning his health and when he 
 arrived. 
 
 The young Lord had almost stumbled over Cleve 
 to get near her, and in an animated voice said, 
 " Seeing you again brings ' Sunny Naples ' vividly 
 before me. I am so delighted to see you I hardly 
 know how to talk or act. Tell me, was that you 
 making that music a moment ago ? " 
 
 She smiled, showing her beautiful even teeth. 
 " Yes. It was at the request of Mr. Greyhouse. I 
 never play otherwise," she added, making a move 
 to go. 
 
 " Just a moment," he asked. " Will you tell me 
 the name of that score ? " 
 
 "Absurd, Mr. Summersouth," she replied press- 
 ing forward. 
 
 " But I must know," he persisted. " I will go 
 with you." 
 
 He appeared to be in earnest and she said, 
 " Lord Summersouth, I have no desire to become 
 
130 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 a party to any social estrangement upon which your 
 matrimonial venture depends, and besides, your 
 betrothed may be looking." 
 
 Her words staggered him, while Greyhouse 
 maintained his wonderful stoic-like indifference. 
 Marion scanned eagerly the faces of her suitors 
 and glanced furtively at the antics and capers of 
 the seemingly unbalanced Englishman she was 
 hurt and tried to suppress her surprised indignation 
 but vowed inwardly to never forgive this wanton 
 breach of etiquette. 
 
 Mrs. Norton was stung to the core and it was 
 evident that she thought anything but favorably 
 towards the young woman. Norton's face showed 
 an ugly scowl his bushy eyebrows connected and 
 it was plain he resented the insult and was swear- 
 ing vengeance against Greyhouse. 
 
 As the couple vanished through the door the 
 Norton party was besieged by their friends and 
 bombarded with questions relative to this mysteri- 
 ous woman with Greyhouse. He had the reputa- 
 tion of being very select and had never, so far as 
 could be ascertained, gone outside the narrow con- 
 fines of their society. 
 
 Following the dinner the Earl disappeared with 
 Miss Jackson and repaired to some secluded spot 
 in the garden where they could spend the evening 
 in a way especially adapted to people of tneir 
 prominence and standing. 
 
 Miss Delainey, as usual, gave vent to her opin- 
 ions and pronounced the Englishman as a " maud- 
 lin silly baby/' whereupon the girls jeered and said 
 in chorus, " You'll not dare to say that to Nell." 
 
 " Wait and see," she returned. However, if it 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 131 
 
 ever reached the ears of parties directly concerned 
 no one seemed to know it. 
 
 Of course Cleve gave an account of his connec- 
 tions with this woman, and on one particular point 
 he had an advantage. No one seemed to realize she 
 was the same woman whom they had seen with him 
 the night of the accident. Her clothing made the 
 change and added a great deal to her beauty, and 
 thus far, not one suspected she was the same Hu- 
 manity. 
 
 Norton had crept stealthily, by a side door, into 
 the garden leaving his wife to entertain the guests 
 at some Clouddweller game. If he was missed no 
 one mentioned it. Mrs. Norton, the Windsthurs 
 sisters and Miss Delainey played in the games, 
 while Cleve, Marion, Nell and the Englishman oc- 
 cupied some inconspicuous place in the garden 
 which they were pleased to call " lovers' retreat." 
 
 The garden was a wonderful and minute replica 
 of nature indoor lawns shrubbery trees 
 artificial lakes and water fowls water lilies 
 sparkling marble fountains green grass and 
 flowers of every known species or that ever lived 
 within the walls of a hot-house. 
 
 Cleve and Marion wended their way down a 
 small narrow path bounded by hedges, until they 
 reached a forsaken spot a rustic bench covered 
 by running vines and natural shrubbery. It was 
 near a running spring that came bounding out of 
 natural rocks and emptied into a small basin be- 
 low and then into the lake. They could sit upon 
 this bench and watch the swans mate in the lake 
 they could hear the doves coo and lonesome whip- 
 poor-will's plaintive call they could hear the lit- 
 
132 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 tie squirrel's defiant bark as he sat perched high 
 on the limbs ready to dart in his den at the ap- 
 proach of danger. Cleve often wondered if the 
 animals that roamed this garden as free and lei- 
 surely as though it were a native heath, if they ever 
 knew or even cared whether it was a cheap imita- 
 tion of nature. 
 
 " It seems a long time since we were your guests, 
 and had you ever stopped to think, this is the first 
 time I have seen you since we returned to the city." 
 
 " Yes," he answered. " This is true. I have not 
 seen you since you played that horrible kimono 
 game on me. I have hardly recovered from the 
 thoughts of it. Did you really want to hide from 
 me when you jumped behind that divan, or was it 
 a subterfuge ? " 
 
 " I deny it. It was no subterfuge. You are the 
 one that used a ruse and came into our private 
 apartments uninvited. We girls thought we would 
 teach you a lesson, while the offense was fresh on 
 your memory." 
 
 " You certainly gave most fiendish punishment. 
 I hope no man will be put to the same experience. 
 To endure those tortures again would turn my hair 
 white." 
 
 " I know we treated you badly, dearie," she said 
 in babylike sympathy. " Forgive us ? " she con- 
 tinued stroking his dark hair softly. 
 
 " No. I can't forgive," he maintained stoutly, 
 at least as long as it was such bliss to hold it 
 against them or her. 
 
 " They treated my little boy very cruelly, didn't 
 they ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I am mad at them for doing it." 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 133 
 
 " And you'll not forgive us ? " she asked. 
 
 " No. Indeed, I will not. I am mad I am 
 very mad Gee ! but I am mad. The idea of 
 putting a female garment on a man. Terrors ! 
 Shuddering lightning! Princess of Bombast! 
 Kildees of hightower ! Colossus of high-pok-a- 
 tan ! ! Rip-snorting, fire-eating Ki-yi-kip-i-tan ! ! ! 
 Mad ! ! ! ! Yes, I am mad, woman, I'm mad ! ! ! ! ! 
 
 " Cleve, my darling, you should not use such 
 profanity," she said putting her arms around his 
 neck and smoothing back his tossed hair, and using 
 a tone of voice that would suppress the strong ad- 
 jectives that came from his lips like the rapid fire 
 of a machine gun : " I'm the beauty taming the 
 beast," she added, after a time. 
 
 A subtle smile crossed his face as he asked, 
 "And you are not mad with me for speaking to 
 that Woman ! " 
 
 Her face became suddenly achromatic the nat- 
 ural flush and rose tint of her features went pale 
 and hueless. The glassy and lack of luster look in 
 her eyes startled him he saw he had asked too 
 much she was a different creature her aver- 
 sions were strong evidence that she [hated this 
 woman. 
 
 " You are asking too much of me, sir," she said 
 superciliously, rising and standing like an aveng- 
 ing angel. " I do not know that woman, but her 
 actions make me believe that she is something 
 more to you than a friend." 
 
 In the dull wanish glow of the garden her eyes 
 seemed to flash sparks like burning rockets from 
 her ashy and decolorized face. Weird and un- 
 canny-like dressed in white, standing between 
 
134 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 him and the dark waters of the lake her spirit, 
 ghost-like and unearthly for the moment made him 
 speechless. Her apparition, shade or shadow, came 
 like a flashlight vision of the haunted and demoni- 
 acal. Her soft folds were winding like a burial 
 shroud. The scene was cadaverous and the lake 
 looked as if it was her sepulchre the mild wind 
 the death march the streamlet's falling waters on 
 the rocks was the sermon. " I am going," she 
 spoke again in much bitterness. 
 
 " Going ! " he repeated, as her voice came to him. 
 
 " Yes, I am. Didn't care for Greyhouse being 
 with her, not at all. When you, Lord Summer- 
 south and everybody seemed to be so taken in by 
 her, it hurt beyond endurance." 
 
 " She's less than a friend to me," he assured. 
 " Why, I hardly know the woman. She was using 
 Lord Summersouth and myself to make Greyhouse 
 jealous and to strengthen her position in our soci- 
 ety; can't you see her object?" 
 
 She began to reason that he cared not for this 
 woman and with a faint smile and low laugh, she 
 said, " I have changed, Cleve, I am not going so 
 soon." 
 
 " I am glad now we see each other in the true 
 light, and by the way, Marion, how would you like 
 to present that Aviation cup I'll win it ' 
 
 She went pale again. He had made the fatal 
 mistake of placing this woman before her vision in 
 another role. She had uttered a smothered scream, 
 and was falling off the bench he took hold of 
 her and drew her to an upright position. Seizing 
 a drinking cup from the fountain, filling it with 
 sparkling liquid, he soon revived her. When she 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 135 
 
 opened her eyes, she asked, " Please don't leave 
 me. Don't call any one I am right now." 
 
 "What on earth," he ventured frightened. 
 
 " I am right now," she repeated, trying to smile 
 and observing^ him intently. Then gazing toward 
 the lake : " What do you suppose I saw just now? " 
 
 " I can't imagine," he answered anxiously. 
 
 " I saw " she faltered " that woman she 
 was speaking to you and the jeweled cup." 
 
 Terrors! The double vision; certainly, this 
 condition was becoming very uncanny. " Nonsense ! 
 it's all a myth," he declared to himself "it's a 
 chimera of her jealous brain." His excitement in- 
 creased until he exclaimed aloud, " Marion ! that 
 woman and the International Meet had nothing to 
 do with us." 
 
 " Perhaps not," she murmured a reply ; " but I 
 saw her as plain as if she had been standing right 
 before us." 
 
 "You saw a cup also?" 
 
 " A wonderful one," she answered. 
 
 " Describe it," he requested. 
 
 She told what she had seen of it in minute detail. 
 Cleve knew that she had never seen it, and how she 
 could state the number of its jewels so accurately 
 was beyond his comprehension. On several occa- 
 sions he had been a close competitor for this trophy, 
 which was presented to the association by the King 
 of England, and was now the property of the Ger- 
 man Club which had been successful in France at 
 the last Meet. Where he had been in the running 
 all through the race and lost by a few yards, not- 
 withstanding the fact that his motor worked badly. 
 The more he thought of her vision the more com- 
 
136 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 plex it became and he could only reply : " I cannot 
 understand, and I cannot dispute it." 
 
 " I only see it when something happens to me, 
 such as fainting/' she added. 
 
 " I can't understand/' he repeated. " It's all a 
 great puzzle. I can say, however, in reference to 
 this woman, she cares no more for me than you do 
 for Greyhouse." 
 
 She started at this statement; turned her face 
 from him : " Well, then, I am satisfied," she said 
 in a husky voice. 
 
 Suddenly, as if all the celestial harps were in 
 harmony the huge organ began to play. The 
 Heavens had opened. 
 
 " My God ! " he exclaimed in an undertone, " it's 
 that woman or spirit at the organ again." He felt 
 the tightening grip of Marion's hand on his arm 
 and the jealous gleam from her eyes it was 
 stronger than ever before. She tried to speak, but 
 the muscles of her mouth prevented sound. This 
 score was a different one. It Was wild, weary and 
 gruesome, and as if some dying soul cried for a 
 friendly face before it departed on the unknown 
 river, on which no boatman returns. 
 
 The atmosphere became charged with some in- 
 visible force that benumbed the senses. With the 
 effect of death a melancholy condition unpowered 
 him. He glanced at Marion her eyes were soft 
 and tears were on her cheeks, accompanied by low 
 jerky sobs. He tried to rise but his limbs felt like 
 so much lead and he fell back to the bench as if 
 composed of so much metal. In mad determina- 
 tion he combated his deadly, odylic force to no 
 avail. At last he lost control and acted at the voli- 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 137 
 
 tion of some higher intelligence like an obedient 
 child. 
 
 What was in those music waves that came like 
 a magic wand and made everything bend to it? 
 What sorcery what black art what demonal- 
 ogy lay hidden in those incantatory notes that fell 
 with gripping cabalistic and talismanic effect? Was 
 it the voice of Satan or God? was it a necro- 
 mancer at the organ sending a message to the liv- 
 ing from the City of Necropolis? was it a mes- 
 sage to the worshipers of Baal (The Golden Calf) 
 and this modern commercialism? Was it a warn- 
 ing "a handwriting on the wall ? " These 
 thoughts overwhelmed his obfuscated brain. 
 
 What occult art ? occult science was in that 
 music which cast its enchanting evil eye and fee- 
 fan- fum spells in its weird phylacteric texts in its 
 physic way? What hocus-pocus, sortilege and 
 divination was in the throbbing pulse of the fetish 
 organ? What inspiration was prophetically re- 
 vealed? What ministering spirit touched those 
 ivories that sent those hallowed and celestial com- 
 munications to a calloused world? Surely, it was 
 Humanity's electrobiology that held them in this 
 mesmeric spell. He felt Marion's arm about his 
 neck and as he kissed her tear-stained cheek he 
 heard a piercing feminine cry. He looked toward 
 the other side of the lake and saw a woman swoon 
 and a man run away. 
 
 The pale lurid light of the garden grew a shade 
 darker and then darker still, and as he opened 
 wider his eyes to pierce the gloom he heard the 
 organ notes grow fainter and fainter, until at last, 
 
138 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 they were swallowed up by the murmur of the little 
 stream. 
 
 The birds who had so joyously chirped in the 
 shrubbery had long 1 since hushed their plaintive 
 notes, and were, perhaps, listening to a far greater 
 music than their little throats could ever produce. 
 As the music died away a complete silence en- 
 veloped him. Even Marion, her arms about him, 
 seemed far away no sound came to him he 
 felt like being lifted on angels' wings, and higher 
 and higher he appeared to go. Suddenly, the dark- 
 ness was dispelled and it began to grow light 
 brighter and brighter ; and he found himself in a 
 strange land with wonderful surroundings he 
 was in Heaven the Olympus or the Elysiaii 
 fields ! 
 
 He was in the garden of Hesperides grand 
 and paradisical. He could see the inhabitants of 
 this new place they were idealistic, happy and 
 contented. The streets were of marble and glis- 
 tened in white and cleanliness. Every building was 
 a palace graced by lawns and adorned with flowers. 
 No structures of iron pyramided to the clouds and 
 lost themselves in the skies greeted his eyes. He 
 saw no Pit with dirty avenues or Clouddwellers' 
 skyscrapers. He saw only a glimpse of the Arcadia 
 and the City of Brotherly love. 
 
 He awoke from the dream. The organ had 
 ceased. Marion was by his side and she exclaimed : 
 " Cleve, where have you been ? I thought some 
 Archangel, the host of Heaven, came down and 
 carried you up to the morning star." 
 
 "Dear, I feel numb and chilly," he answered, as 
 the haze cleared and he recovered control of his 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 139 
 
 limbs. " I heard a woman scream a moment ago, 
 perhaps we had better see what is the trouble." 
 
 " Very well," she said, and he caught the cold 
 gleam of her eyes as she arose. <f I heard the first 
 sound," she continued, " then something came over 
 me. I dreamed you went up with some Angels. I 
 thought that Woman was with them." 
 
 " You are talking about that organ ? " he asked. 
 She was such a different creature he thought and 
 continued, " we had better quit talking about the 
 dream and this woman and try to be of some as- 
 sistance to those in trouble." 
 
 She acquiesced : " I hope nothing has happened 
 to the guests." 
 
 A short way up the path they met Miss Jackson. 
 She was terribly excited and looked as though she 
 had had some dreadful experience. Her face was 
 greatly agitated and she carried herself as if she 
 might have been fifty years older. Her features 
 were contorted and the luster of her eyes was gone. 
 She was walking hurriedly towards them. 
 
 " I am glad to see some human face," she cried. 
 " Bedeviled spell ! Marion, did you too experience 
 this open seance with the devil? I hope I shall 
 never go through such a scene again. Why, when 
 the music started," she went on, " Lord Summer- 
 south acted like a mad man. He tore his hair and 
 cried like a baby for Naples. He talked of a 
 woman whom he knew and had heard her play like 
 that. I tried for several minutes to keep him with 
 me, but he quit me cold. Then, all of a sudden, a 
 ghost came before my eves. I tried to keep my 
 courage. I tried to think it was all my imagina- 
 tion ; but, when this apparition came again, it was 
 
140 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 no use. It caught me and I cried aloud. I'll tell 
 you now I don't want to go through this again. 
 No, never ! " 
 
 "Where is the Englishman?" asked Marion. 
 
 " Don't ask me. The Lord knows, I don't," she 
 answered with a serious look coming into her eyes. 
 " I'm half sick of him anyway." 
 
 " Don't say it, Jackie. You know you are wild 
 about him," returned Marion. 
 
 " If you are not afraid to stay here alone," put 
 in Cleve, " I will look for him. I don't think you 
 should censure Nell as we (all four of us) have had 
 the same gruesome spell placed over us." 
 
 His words lifted a great load from her heart, 
 and her face brightened as she said, " I am so glad 
 to hear you say that. I thought the Englishman 
 and myself were the only fools in the garden. It 
 was hard to tell which one of us was the craziest." 
 
 " Then go to the retreat," said Cleve. 
 
 " It's the best place to wait," said Nell. " We 
 started to go there when we left the dining-room, 
 but the Earl wanted to look the place over and 
 when we started there we discovered you were 
 there already, and as we didn't want to see ... we 
 turned our attention in the other direction." 
 
 " Oh ! so kind and very thoughtful of you, 
 Jackie," returned Marion, ironically. 
 
 "They wanted to do the same thing," put in 
 Cleve. " Now honest, Jackie, wasn't that the rea- 
 son you left us So readily ? " 
 
 "Why, Cleve, I didn't think you could be so 
 rude," interceded Marion. 
 
 " Thanks, Marion," said Nell, blushing. " How- 
 ever, this is not finding the Lord of Summersouth." 
 
THE WEIRD SPELL 141 
 
 " Then go and find him/' pleaded Marion, ad- 
 dressing Cleve. " You want him." 
 
 " Oh, I suppose so ; but if he is going to act so 
 silly again, I think it best for him to stay where he 
 is, unless he is already in the mad-house," she re- 
 plied. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE ENGLISHMAN VISITS MURD'S ROW 
 
 As Cleve started to find Lord Summersouth he 
 thought he would go by the secret passage to the 
 conservatory, but changed his mind before enter- 
 ing, and went through the glaring rotunda. Mrs. 
 Norton and the guests were just coming out of the 
 drawing room, and when he met them they were 
 very excited, having also come under the spell of 
 the organ ; but they became somewhat relieved 
 when he told them the girls were still in the garden. 
 
 Cleve's object in going through the lobby was to 
 see what effect the music had in this place. There 
 he found the throng wondering and bombarding 
 each other with many questions. Here he did not 
 stop, but continued on. 
 
 His purpose in going for the Earl was twofold 
 he wanted to see Humanity again he did not 
 deny it himself he wanted to see and thank her 
 for the music. 
 
 The place was brilliantly lighted the same 
 flashlight performance of the lobby appeared to be 
 going on heavy draperies of spangled gold hung 
 high above the polished silver floor. The walls 
 were engraved with descriptive scenery and the 
 ceiling was a mass of innumerable lights, with 
 every shade and color and the eternal yellow always 
 predominating. 
 
THE ENGLISHMAN VISITS MURD's ROW 143 
 
 He paused before the silver door which was 
 made in imitation of an oaken door of some medi- 
 aeval castle. It was ajar and was supported by 
 hinges of gold, and while it was heavy and massive 
 it opened with but the slightest touch of the finger, 
 without noise, save only the swish of the air it 
 propelled. In the entrance the huge instrument 
 with its many pipes greeted him. He surveyed the 
 chamber. " Gone," he muttered, disappointed. He 
 looked again they were there his heart beat 
 faster he choked back the words that cried, 
 "Curse that Englishman. What right had he to 
 be here, anyway? Curse Greyhouse, too. What 
 right had he to dine with her ? " But, on second 
 thought what grounds did he, himself, have to 
 base a claim ; had he not orderd her out of his 
 office she had obeyed, and to-night she spoke to 
 him without trace of anger. He thought, a woman 
 like her was worthy of any man's love. 
 
 In the doorway he faltered between thought and 
 action. "What right did he have here anyway?" 
 he thought. He was already an engaged man 
 he could not cast Marion aside. Yes, he loved her 
 and she loved him and this Humanity was but a 
 passing fancy a stranger with magnetic power 
 from Murd's row (he shuddered) and not a suit- 
 able companion for a Clouddweller ! 
 
 Did he think of her as his wife? he asked him- 
 self. Yes, and the thought startled him. She his 
 wife? Impossible! It would kill his father, and 
 decent people would laugh at him. But . . . the 
 Englishman; he would marry her if she would 
 have him. She was sly and wanted higher game. 
 Was she after him? Yes. . . . No, she cared for 
 
144 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 no man. Free lover, mistress ? What a lie ! New- 
 man had branded that hint. She may be a misog- 
 amist and would marry no man. 
 
 What business of his if the Englishman did like 
 Humanity? But why did he develop a sudden dis- 
 like for him ? Standing there talking they were the 
 only ones in the room she was with her back to 
 the organ, her hands clasping the keyboard. The 
 Earl was on the pedestal near her, so near, in fact 
 he could have taken her in his arms, and Cleve 
 thought such a course would have been excused 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 Flowers almost hid them from his view she 
 appeared so enchanting so alluring, the young 
 Lord regarded her an angel and was ready to be- 
 come her servant if she would but notice him. He 
 felt the mad inclination to drive him away smash 
 his face as possibly he had done Greyhouse's. 
 But where was Greyhouse? He could not see him 
 with them. He must have gone under cover the 
 moment the Lord appeared. However, he would 
 watch them and if Humanity acted anyway less 
 than a lady he would put her out of his mind for- 
 ever. 
 
 He was so far away that he could not hear their 
 conversation, but she was shaking her head and 
 motioning toward the empty seats. The English- 
 man was trying to persuade her to play again, he 
 thought, and she was explaining that should she 
 play again the place would likely become crowded 
 again. Why did she want to spend her time with 
 this young Earl when she could be doing a far 
 greater good by playing. Thus being angered and 
 losing control of himself he walked boldly toward 
 
THE ENGLISHMAN VISITS MURD'S ROW 145 
 
 them. Humanity looked at him with an expression 
 of face that quickly drove him to explain his actions. 
 
 " Lord Summersouth," he began angrily, and 
 with condemnation in his voice, " Miss Jackson 
 has sent me to follow you and ask that you return. 
 She wants you." 
 
 " Tell Miss Jackson I am engaged at present," he 
 answered curtly, turning his back to Cleve and re- 
 suming his conversation with Humanity. 
 
 Humanity uttered a little liquid laugh and looked 
 him over coolly, and addressing the Earl, she said : 
 " And you are not afraid to go home with me ? " 
 seemingly to forget that Cleve was near. 
 
 " No, I am not," he replied. " Just let me it 
 is all I ask. I will go anywhere, everywhere, noth- 
 ing this side of the stygian shore will stop me. 
 I'll " 
 
 " That will do," she interrupted. " I am not a 
 Clouddweller. I live in the Pit. Will you go there 
 to my home ? " 
 
 "I will. Just let me just let me," he contin- 
 ued to cry. 
 
 Cleve felt stung slapped full in the face with 
 a damp towel. " Curse them both," he thought. 
 He tried to go, but somehow he could not. He was 
 forced to listen. 
 
 " Think, Lord Summersouth, of your social os- 
 tracism," she commanded. 
 
 "Social ostracism with whom? these people?" 
 he asked sneeringly. " These Americans ? Why, 
 they are a bunch of mawkish snobs. Their common 
 ancestry sticks out on their rugged faces like knots 
 on an untrimmed gate post." 
 
146 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " I demand an apology," said Cleve advancing 
 threateningly, his face flamed and determined. 
 
 " Men, you forget yourselves/' said Humanity. 
 " If you are going to be brutal and show your ani- 
 mal natures, I must excuse myself. I have no de- 
 sire to witness a scene of jungle life. This is no 
 place for combat and if you are going to do this, 
 I will take my leave. You, Mr. Clevendor, have 
 much to learn." 
 
 Cleve stopped short, but the fighting blood was 
 still in his face he longed to beat the English- 
 man's head into a pulp. Perhaps he had acted 
 rudely by his quick resentment and he showed his 
 common ancestry by his readiness to fight. 
 
 " Forgive me," he pleaded, addressing Humanity. 
 
 " Certainly," she answered ; " but you must first 
 apologize to Lord Summersouth. He also owes you 
 an apology you were both to blame for this af- 
 fair. It was ungentlemanly in you both, and now 
 since you have shaken hands " as they took each 
 other's hand in their own "I still think you are 
 both good men after all." 
 
 She went on, and now addressing the English- 
 man : " And you, wish to go to my home? " 
 
 " Yes," he returned elated. 
 
 " You will go with me to Murd's row ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes. I will. I will go with you to any place. 
 Where you reside there are good people; if this 
 were not so, I am sure you would not stay there," 
 he said. 
 
 " Have you heard of the Murds ? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes. I know of them," he replied. 
 
 " You are not astonished at me " 
 
THE ENGLISHMAN VISITS MURD'S ROW 147 
 
 " I will live with you and them, if you will only 
 let me," he cried. 
 
 In the bottom-most depths of his heart he wished 
 all the evil in the world would blight the invidious 
 Englishman's life. The fool would go to the Pit 
 to that loathsome place, just to be with this woman. 
 He would give up his rank, his wealth and his 
 present society just to be near her. But, why not? 
 Surely she was worth the all of it. What made 
 these exotic thoughts creep into his mind? What 
 did he care for a thousand Humanities? She was 
 just a woman and he could have any woman his 
 fancy desired. Of course, he could get Humanity 
 if he wanted her. 
 
 They were about to go. Humanity turned and 
 addressed Cleve: "Mr. Qevendor, you have noth- 
 ing of interest to say to me, so I will bid you good 
 night." She merely glanced at him as she con- 
 ferred a wondrous smile on the Earl. 
 
 Did she dare tell him to go. She did, and he 
 heard her only too well. She had answered him as 
 he had answered her. She told him that. She 
 asked him and decided in favor of the other, and 
 right in his own hotel, too. 
 
 He had been chasing rainbows this woman 
 cared nothing for him he was very egotistical 
 but he must be recognized. 
 
 "This I'll not accept," he answered stubbornly. 
 
 " Then I will go," she returned, offering the Earl 
 her arm. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE ATTEMPTED ASSAULT 
 
 CLEVE watched Humanity and the Englishman 
 as they walked down the aisle and out through the 
 door he knew not what to do or say he was 
 dumbfounded and so astonished he had never 
 been snubbed. Her wonderful independent nature 
 made him ponder he could not unfold to himself 
 the mystery of who she was. 
 
 A desire to follow them seized him, but they were 
 bound to Murd's row and he could not hardly afford 
 to go there. And besides he wanted to be true to 
 the woman he was to marry. 
 
 At all hazards, he wanted to take Summersouth 
 back to Nell, but since he had refused, what could 
 lie do? If he told her he had jilted her for this 
 woman it might make her suffer greatly the 
 thought bothered him perhaps, a story he might 
 invent, "that he had not seen him/' would do her 
 good and save her the ordeal of crying. But it was 
 preposterous to think of her doing so he had 
 never seen her shed a tear her eyes were without 
 lachrymal glands; but, this was different, the Eng- 
 lishman quitting her might effect her pride and 
 possibly make her do so. 
 
 He made his way back to the bench in the garden 
 where the girls were still waiting for him. " Did 
 
THE ATTEMPTED ASSAULT 149 
 
 you find him ? " Nell greeted, hardly giving time 
 for him to come within range of her voice. 
 
 He at first thought he would tell the truth, but 
 decided it would best to break the news slowly and 
 more gentle. " No," he answered. 
 
 The girls were silent not a sound was audible 
 save the water of the little stream bounding over 
 the rocks pulled by the law of gravitation. 
 
 " Any signs of him ? " 
 
 " Yes to be honest I saw him with that 
 woman Greyhouse had! with him at dinner to- 
 night." 
 
 This confession brought acrimony in her face 
 a gleam from the black depths of her eyes, and he 
 knew Summersouth was getting a furious mental 
 drubbing. 
 
 " I wouldn't care," consoled Marion. " He is 
 unworthy of you, and is a c " 
 
 " A contemptible puppy," supplied Cleve, remem- 
 bering what he had said about Americans. " I 
 think he has no regard for us." 
 
 " I don't care so much," said Nell, tears coming 
 to her eyes ; " but he has hurt my feelings and I 
 can never forgive him. No. Never ! " 
 
 "Nell, I wouldn't do that," cheered Marion, 
 looking anxiously at Cleve. " Though it is a shame, 
 and I can't blame you." 
 
 " I am not grieving," she replied, looking up 
 quickly with watery drops on her cheeks "I mean 
 I mean not over this English monkey. He has 
 quit me because he has discovered that we are 
 poor now money was the all he was after. My 
 poor old father . . ." 
 
 " I can give your father a position," brightened 
 
150 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 Cleve, trying to uplift the cloud that had come upon 
 her. 
 
 " No ; father will not, or cannot accept." 
 
 " Don't Jackie ; don't say it," interrupted 
 Marion. " Your father will and must take this 
 position." 
 
 " I would consider it an insult if offered by any 
 one else besides Cleve . . . and, I can't think of 
 papa working. I ... can't bear it. It is awful," 
 she moaned, and covered her face with her hands. 
 
 "Don't, Nell. For the Lord's sake, don't! I 
 can't hear you cry that way ; and perhaps, you are 
 not so bad off after all," comforted Marion. 
 
 To Cleve women were unknown quantities. 
 Here was this beautiful girl ready to tie herself for 
 life to a man she didn't love in order to better or 
 maintain her social standing. She was pretty, well 
 shaped and vivacious enough to set any man's 
 heart afire. 
 
 Jackson & Company had been the last opposition 
 of the syndicate stores and had been allowed to 
 exist only through friendship on the part of Cleve's 
 father. Now this small Company would or had 
 become a trouble maker and stood in the way of the 
 C. & N. Co.'s big business idea. Nell's father 
 would not work for the Consolidated Farm & De- 
 velopment Co., because he had a thousand curses 
 for Norton and all the Norton interests. Cleve 
 was confident his father knew nothing of the failure 
 or any of the circumstances leading up or around 
 it. Norton was the operative general and was with- 
 out doubt the cause of all this and all the trouble 
 in the Jackson family. Norton, he believed, had 
 some evil motive, other than mercenary satisfaction, 
 
THE ATTEMPTED ASSAULT 151 
 
 and of this his father had no knowledge. He must 
 be told he must know and if no one else would 
 tell, he would do it himself. 
 
 " No, Marion, this is the last time I shall ever 
 see you. I am going away/' she said. 
 
 " You are not going to leave us ? " they both 
 pleaded. 
 
 " Yes/' with bitterness in her voice, " I am going 
 I know not where. The Pit ... I guess, will find 
 me!" 
 
 " Mercy sakes, Jackie ! Do you know what you 
 are saying? Please don't talk like that," Marion 
 supplicated with earnestness. 
 
 " Yes, I am going. There's everything but sin- 
 cerity in this society it's rotten I'm insulted 
 often, and by whom you would least suspect. My 
 father knows and opposed my coming to-night," 
 she affirmed. 
 
 She was crying and threw herself into Marion's 
 arms, sobbing : " Kiss me before I go ; you have 
 been my only sister." 
 
 " Jackie, this is foolishness ! " 
 
 " You don't understand. I must go. The Pit 
 will find me!" 
 
 " That's where Summersouth went to-night," 
 said Cleve. 
 
 " I'll find him then," she returned mockingly. 
 
 " Think of those mean men and women the 
 class you will have to associate with. Just think of 
 it," Marion beseeched. 
 
 " No worse than I have found here," she an- 
 swered bitterly. 
 
 " Why, Jackie ! How can you say this ? " 
 
 "Yes, and perhaps as bad. They are no worse 
 
152 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 in the Pit. The only difference, there they tear 
 rags ; here they tear silks," she affirmed emphatic- 
 ally. 
 
 " Why, girlie ! Do you know what you are say- 
 ing ? " she cried. 
 
 ' You, perhaps, will never know you are pro- 
 tected I'm not. Your money shields you, and if 
 I remained here without it, my name would be a 
 byword throughout eternity," she said. 
 
 She gave a low hysterical laugh and ran rapidly 
 away from them. Marion attempted to follow her 
 but Cleve retained her by holding her arm. " No 
 use," he consoled, " no use, Marion. When a 
 woman talks that way, there's a reason." 
 
 She had not gone far when they heard a sharp 
 scream, and Cleve rushed in all haste to her leaving 
 Marion behind. 
 
 What he saw proved the truth of her remarks. 
 She was struggling in the arms of a big man she 
 cried again for help he yelled, " I'm coming." 
 
 The villain slunk away the girl freed from the 
 gorilla-like embrace went running on her way. 
 The man dodged behind the shrubbery he saw 
 him crouching in the bushes. It was enough 
 he saw it was Norton. 
 
 " For the sake of God ! Man, run ! Your 
 daughter is coming ! " he cried. 
 
 " Is it you, Cleve ? " he heard Norton ask. 
 
 " Yes. And if you were not Marion's father I 
 would " he paused in his vehement answer. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE FAILURE OF JACKSON AND COMPANY 
 
 THE following* morning the deep sounding voice 
 of the Daily Labor roused Cleve from his slumbers 
 he rubbed his eyes and sat upright as the 
 words reached his ears : " Last evening 1 , Miss Nell 
 Jackson (daughter of the broken store magnate) 
 was insulted. It is thought by many the assault 
 was committed by a young English Nobleman who 
 is a guest of the Hotel Marion. We wish to make 
 this correction on behalf of Lord Summersouth. 
 He was not in the place at the time the dastardly 
 act was attempted, therefore, it must have been 
 made by one of those wealthy monsters who dwell 
 in that bloodthirsty rendezvous." 
 
 Cleve was now wide awake that is one time, he 
 thought, that miserable magniphone has told the 
 truth. It continued : " This proves that those aris- 
 tocratic inmates will not only rob you of your life's 
 blood, but women, as well, are ever an object of 
 prey." 
 
 Following this sentence he closed the small re- 
 flectorscopephone, and glanced at the time of day. 
 It was late, really later than he thought. When 
 he left Marion the night before he knew the hour 
 was between midnight and the grey dawn. His 
 lateness at retiring and the " bell-hops " not call- 
 
154 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 ing accounted for his hour in bed. He had several 
 matters of business to attend to this morning ; first, 
 was to see his father about the aviation meet and 
 this ordeal he dreaded very much. 
 
 As he slipped out of bed he wondered what had 
 become of the Englishman, and what explanation 
 he would give for his behavior. Nell was gone, 
 and perhaps, gone for good. " Poor girl," he 
 thought, " it's the law of the game." A dark scowl 
 crossed his face as he thought of Norton's part. 
 It may be right to make war on men, but on women 
 it was very different. 
 
 Mrs. Norton and the girls censured the Earl for 
 Nell's disappearance, and vowed they would never 
 have any more use for him. Cleve, with Marion's 
 assistance, explained that Summersouth had left the 
 garden long before she had gone away, and trying 
 to clear the Earl and shield Norton, created a 
 situation that took the strategy of a diplomat to 
 handle the pointed questions propounded to him. 
 
 As few had access to the garden and no one was 
 seen to enter, Mrs. Norton was far from being 
 satisfied and declared intentions of placing her 
 private detective on the case. But after Marion 
 repeated Nell's statements relative to their society, 
 Mrs. Norton desisted, never dreaming her hus- 
 band was the foul actor that caused the Jacksons' 
 downfall. 
 
 Suddenly his photophone rang and the English- 
 man's agitated face appeared. " I am sorry to 
 bother you," he explained; "but I have some very 
 important matter I want to discuss." 
 
 " Very well," Cleve assented ; " after my bath 
 
THE FAILURE OF JACKSON AND COMPANY 155 
 
 and my turn with my masseur I will see you. I 
 presume you stayed here last night ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and, by Jove, I want to compliment that 
 bed. I only spent a few hours in it but I want 
 to see you." 
 
 " I will see you as soon as these fellows get 
 through with me." 
 
 The young Lord's face vanished from the mirror 
 and Cleve thought, " quite a different person this 
 morning. Not so haughty and really wants to see 
 me. Last night this he wouldn't do." In the lounge 
 he found him excited and wearing a distressed look. 
 
 " I am so glad to see you," he said piteously, 
 and his lofty pride gone. " I don't know what to 
 do, or how to act." 
 
 " You have heard ? " asked Cleve gravely. 
 
 " Yes, after that woman dismissed me in a dark 
 street and I found my way back here with no little 
 ease." 
 
 Cleve's own spirits arose. Humanity had toyed 
 him and dropped him. Poor fool ! He tried to 
 play two women and had lost them both. 
 
 " I heard," he went on, the muscles of his face 
 tightening and his long fingers closing as if ready 
 to strike. " How I wish I had been here to defend 
 her. I couldn't sleep for thinking about it. I tried 
 to get her last night, but it was impossible. I have 
 just returned from her home this morning no one 
 is there except creditors who are scrambling to get 
 any article of value. I inquired for the Jacksons, 
 and one brutal creditor mistook me for a relative 
 and gave me this blow on the head," he said placing 
 his hand to where a knot appeared beneath his hair. 
 
156 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 "Then you know what happened here?" Cleve 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes," he returned very gloomily. 
 
 " You must feel sorry for deserting her," an- 
 swered Cleve, half sympathizing and half condemn- 
 ing the young suitor. 
 
 " Yes," he agreed, his face admitting his guilt. 
 " I don't understand. I can't comprehend ; but 
 then," he continued assuming a cynical look, 
 " what more could be expected of these American 
 women ? " 
 
 A sense of gentlemanly propriety restrained 
 Cleve's strong fingers from clutching the English- 
 man's throat : " I see, Lord Summersouth, you are 
 inclined to wreak your vengeance on the whole 
 class of our women, because one or two have jilted 
 you. You should respect your mother's country. 
 Doubtless you have forgotten ! " 
 
 "No " he paused "I have not; but the 
 American women have apparently changed since 
 my mother's day." 
 
 " That's a nice subterfuge, I must say," returned 
 Cleve. 
 
 " It is not one. It's the truth," he maintained 
 stoutly. " I speak as an outsider and without bias. 
 However, Mr. Clevendor, I do not wish to debate 
 this subject, and am wasting time that could be 
 used in searching for Miss Jackson." 
 
 u You may be searching, Mr. Summersouth, but 
 I am not. Nell told Marion and myself where she 
 expected to go. Her destination was the Pit." 
 
 " The Pit ! " exclaimed Summersouth. 
 
 " Yes, and that is all I know about her." 
 
THE FAILURE OF JACKSON AND COMPANY 157 
 
 "You have no inclination to look for her?" he 
 asked pointedly. 
 
 " None whatever. She passed out of our society 
 last night she's the same as if she never existed to 
 us. My advice to you, sir, would be for you to 
 forget her." 
 
 " I cannot," the young Earl replied. 
 
 " You did last night when you left her for this 
 other woman," Cleve retorted. 
 
 " The whole of last evening seems like a dream. 
 I had no control over myself," he answered weakly. 
 
 " Then, dream again," spoke Cleve sardonically. 
 
 " I don't understand," he said, looking puzzled, 
 " whether you are joking or not." He accented the 
 " not " as though giving it the benefit of the doubt. 
 
 " Why," Cleve continued, " if I could dream of 
 her, I would all the time, and try to forget this Miss 
 Jackson. You can't compare Humanity to any 
 woman. It is impossible to do so. Women and 
 men are only inferiors by her side." 
 
 " From this standpoint you are right," he said as 
 if speaking confidential. " I have known both be- 
 fore, and between them, I prefer Humanity." 
 
 Cleve decided that Summersouth was wild over 
 Humanity and couldn't help himself he even 
 blushed at the mention of her name he was crazy 
 about her. Now as he had failed to get Nell his 
 chances were even worse with Humanity than no 
 chance at all. Perhaps this was more the cause of 
 his crestfallen condition. " You have my sym- 
 pathy," said Cleve, "but let me speak plain. It is 
 useless to follow her she does not care for you 
 now you have made an impression that you can 
 never right with her." 
 
158 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 "You believe it?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " Advise me." 
 
 " Merely forget," replied Cleve, emphatically. 
 " That's all you can do." 
 
 " Pardon me, gentlemen, if I have intruded," 
 said Mr. Newman as he entered the room. 
 
 " Oh, no ; glad to see you," remarked Cleve. 
 
 " You have heard about Peter Jackson," said 
 Newman looking at the young Lord. 
 
 " Yes," they answered. 
 
 " It's a beastly outrage ; that's all I have to say 
 about it. Your father knows too, Cleve, and is 
 greatlv worried. You know he let this business 
 stand." 
 
 " I know it was my father's wish," Cleve replied. 
 
 " What mortifies me," continued Newman, 
 " Jackson was pressed by one high in the circle 
 of the C. & N. Co." 
 
 " All because of a woman," Cleve supplied. 
 
 "You know this?" queried Newman. 
 
 " A supposition only." 
 
 " You intimate ? " he asked. 
 
 " Ask Norton," he replied, looking at Summer- 
 south, who was now white and trembling. 
 
 " I thought so," sneered Newman. " When your 
 father is no more, my boy, you and I will have a 
 hard time of it." 
 
 " That may be true," agreed Cleve. 
 
 " It's up to Mr. Summersouth to settle with Nor- 
 ton," returned Newman. 
 
 " I desire no encounter with a beast with my 
 fists ; but I'll fight either with sword or pistol," 
 said Summersouth. 
 
THE FAILURE OF JACKSON AND COMPANY 159 
 
 "Now you are talking go after him," sided 
 Newman. 
 
 " Gentlemen, this is outrageous ! " cried Cleve. 
 
 " For you ? " asked Newman. " Place yourself 
 in Lord Summersouth's position. What would you 
 do?" 
 
 " I do not care to discuss the question." 
 
 " No. Not while your father-in-law, to be, is the 
 subject," returned he. sarcastically. 
 
 " Mr. Newman " 
 
 " Yes, it is Mr. Newman who speaks, my boy, 
 and is astonished at your mildness in taking things." 
 
 Cleve was silent. Newman had spoken the truth. 
 Norton was a man that should not be defended. 
 His love for Marion had kept him from doing 
 what Newman and the Englishman wanted to do 
 now. 
 
 " This is not my fight," he said. " If you wish 
 to execute your decision, that also, is no affair of 
 mine. I have intimated and have told you I am 
 saying all I am going to say about it. It was all 
 because of a wornan. She was strong the family 
 lost all its financial prestige to retain one of its 
 members. This states the cause of the Jackson 
 failure in a few words. Now, if Mr. Summer- 
 south, Peter Jackson, or anybody else wants re- 
 venge, the man is known ! " 
 
 When Cleve finished, Mr. Newman seemed with 
 great effort to be suppressing his hatred of Norton. 
 Summersouth was nervous, and looked as if he, 
 too, shared Newman's feelings. 
 
 " If you wish to marry a true woman, Lord 
 Summersouth," continued Cleve, " you can find her 
 
160 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 in the person of Nell Jackson. She has stood the 
 test." 
 
 " Good morning, gentlemen," said a burly figure 
 appearing in the doorway. It was Norton, himself. 
 " Mr. Newman, I am so glad to see you," he went 
 on, extending his hand which Newman took me- 
 chanically. 
 
 "Why," he continued, "your atmosphere is 
 rather chilly. I " He glanced at Cleve, which 
 revealed the situation. Then, with a contemptu- 
 ous sneer he said, " I came to talk of the C. F. & D., 
 but I see I am an intruder." 
 
 " The Company is doing well enough, Mr. Nor- 
 ton, thank you, sir," returned Newman. 
 
 " There's an implication in the construction of 
 your remark which I don't like which I don't 
 like, Mr. Newman. You understand, I said I don't 
 like," he reiterated, his face growing red. 
 
 " I heard you the first time, Norton," replied 
 Newman unintimidated. 
 
 " I will excuse such language, Mr. Newman ; 
 but an underling should know his place," shot 
 Norton. " We have used you we have used you 
 well. You were a Benedict Arnold to the Pit and 
 how soon shall we expect you to turn traitor to 
 us?" 
 
 Cleve's hero went down under the cutting words 
 
 once before when in the strike he cowed and was 
 ready to hoist the white flag. 
 
 " And furthermore," continued Norton, " when 
 we wanted a dirty piece of legislation we had you 
 
 and, we paid you well. You intellectual prosti- 
 tute ! Lord Summersouth," he said, turning to him, 
 " I am glad to see you again and I am willing to 
 
THE FAILURE OF JACKSON AND COMPANY 161 
 
 finance the Aviation Meet for the Clevendor inter- 
 est, if Cleve's father does not favor it. I will do 
 all I can to aid you in this proposition." 
 
 The young" Earl thanked him profusely for his 
 generosity and warmed over to him, forgetting the 
 duel he had fought a moment ago in his mind. 
 
 " You will hear many things said about me," 
 Norton went on, " calculated to impair my good 
 name ; but, you know Mr. Summersouth, the world 
 is jealous of a successful man and I am generous 
 to forgive them." 
 
 This confused the Englishman and he apparently 
 doubted what Cleve had unfolded. Norton seemed 
 to be so liberal so fair towards those who wished 
 to do him wrong. 
 
 " I am accused of," he went on, " and on the 
 surface it may appear so, but Peter Jackson is now 
 behind bars, put there for admixturing and adul- 
 terating foods, which many millions have put into 
 their stomachs not knowing they were eating 
 poison. This is the latest it came a moment ago. 
 I see you have the reflectorscopephone closed and 
 doubtless you have not heard. He was arrested this 
 morning at daylight for violating the pure food law. 
 So, there you are. It was the Government and not 
 Norton who caused the downfall of this good 
 family." 
 
 " Mr. Norton, I have been against you," said the 
 Earl ; " but I am now your friend, and I want you, 
 your wife and daughter to visit my home in Eng- 
 land." 
 
 Cleve was disgusted with the sycophantic Eng- 
 lishman. Norton began to speak : " I shall be glad 
 and I am sure Marion and her mother will be de- 
 
162 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 lighted. My wife requests the pleasure of your 
 company to lunch to-day. You are also invited," 
 he said turning to Cleve ; " but I should not ask 
 you as you have a standing invitation, you know." 
 
 " Yes, I know ; but I have business with father 
 this morning and ask you to excuse me," said 
 Cleve, glad of this plausible outlet, and Norton's 
 eyes lowered as he met the young man's gaze. 
 
 " You may, also, come along, Mr. Newman," 
 Norton added. 
 
 " I would go to jail first," he answered, taking 
 the advantage of the first chance to hit back at him. 
 
 " Keep up your course and you will be there 
 soon enough," returned Norton. 
 
 Norton left arm in arm with the Englishman 
 Cleve and Newman eyed each other laughingly. 
 " That man is the limit," spoke Newman. " A mo- 
 ment ago he wanted to murder the insulter of his 
 intended wife now, he goes to dine with the 
 beast. 'Don't that beat the Jews?" 
 
 " He simply makes me sick," replied Cleve. 
 
 " I should think jealous," returned Newman. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " He's after Marion now. Can't you see through 
 it?" 
 
 " Curse him " 
 
 " Yes, you may curse him ! But now, since 
 there's no hope for the Jackson girl he is after 
 your mortgaged property. And I don't believe 
 that old crafty fox of a father would object." 
 
 " He may not. But she will 
 
 " I am not so sure about that," put in Newman. 
 " He's a good-looking ' sort of chap/ and these 
 Nortons are apparently warming up to him." 
 
THE FAILURE OF JACKSON AND COMPANY 163 
 
 " I'll block his game," Cleve assured. 
 
 " You may, and you may not society people 
 of the Clouds are as fickle as corporation lawyers 
 they always believe in the side that has the most 
 money," he answered. 
 
 " Well, I have the most money," said Cleve. 
 
 " Yes. But you have no title, my boy." 
 
 " Look here, Mr. Newman, you tried to make me 
 think she was untrue once before, but I got the 
 facts in the case." 
 
 "You beat me that time," he replied; "but 
 what's ' born in the bone will out in the flesh.' She 
 is a ' chip off the old block.' ' 
 
 "Yes, that's the truth; but you are prejudiced 
 against Norton." 
 
 "My God! What of this beastly act? Would 
 not that alone make a decent man hate him ? " 
 Newman expostulated. 
 
 " Well yes," Cleve answered. 
 
 " He has as many loop-holes as a cat has lives. 
 You know how easily he got over the Jackson 
 affair, and I'll bet he's the cause of him being in 
 jail, if what he told us is the truth. Jackson was 
 as ' honest as the days are long.' If you are going 
 to marry his daughter you had better get busy 
 Greyhouse and this Englishman are both after her 
 and she is going to wed somebody in trousers be- 
 fore long." 
 
 "Why do you think so?" 
 
 " I can see it in her eyes she is not stable 
 she will tire of her first husband and before he 
 wakes up to the realization she will be flirting with 
 some other man." 
 
 " I don't like to hear you say it but if you 
 
164 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 keep on I will soon believe what you say is the 
 truth." 
 
 " I am speaking for your own good," he an- 
 swered, 
 
 " Look at the situation the country the 
 social unrest! Do you think I should marry and 
 the mobs in the streets crying for bread ? " 
 
 " You have asked a question I can't answer ; 
 but, if you wish to marry her, may success crown 
 your every move." 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 CLEVE VISITS HIS FATHER 
 
 i 
 
 COLONEL CLEVENDOR was to finance in America 
 what Napoleon was at one time to the political af- 
 fairs of France, except, Napoleon was absolute 
 dictator of France and half of Europe; while the 
 nations of the world must pay tribute to Clevendor 
 the I. He is felt in every zone, in every clime 
 where people eat and breathe. In every nook and 
 corner of the globe we find articles necessary to 
 life coming, directly or indirectly, from sources 
 controlled by him. 
 
 While the power of men may be felt from hemi- 
 sphere to hemisphere, yet are they happy? Let us 
 analyze this one: The old veteran was past sev- 
 enty, aged perhaps, prematurely by his mode of 
 living chronic indigestion subject to moods 
 and depressions susceptible to being cold and 
 melancholy \ hated more and loved less than any 
 King, Emperor or Monarch a mountain of gold 
 at his command, and yet can't buy or gain one pure 
 drop of human love. 
 
 In his face you see the genius the general 
 the organizer the veteran of many hard fought 
 financial battles. In his person you see the victor 
 the results, and from a pair of brown eyes that 
 search you suspiciously, from beneath a massive 
 brow, you see and feel the man. 
 
166 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 He began life a fighter being the son of poor 
 parents it was necessary to fight desperately and 
 madly until fortune favored him. Other men 
 struggled harder and more often to succeed but 
 failed '- he was the survival of the fittest one by 
 one the great factories fell into his hands. Oppo- 
 sition was crushed to the wall money began to 
 accumulate he was greedy to make more and 
 more became his second nature people called 
 him " insane," " money-mad/' but he heard them 
 not. 
 
 In middle life he married a woman by the name 
 of Belle Bludwine, who died soon after the birth of 
 his only son, Cleve. She was one of the leaders 
 of her set during her single life but after mar- 
 riage her course was completely revoked and she 
 was retired and strictly confined to the Clevendor 
 mansion. It was hinted that this beautiful and 
 accomplished lady died of a broken heart. Affec- 
 tion was an unknown quantity in Clevendor's me- 
 tallic soul and it was not capable of diffusing that 
 which it did not know. 
 
 After his marriage he was seldom seen at any 
 of the clubs nor did he frequent the regular haunts 
 he ceased to continue the life of his younger 
 days and the life to which his wife was adapted. 
 He lived the jealous life of a miser and guarded 
 his wife from the eyes of men as painstakingly as 
 he would the hiding place of his gold. His chief 
 aspiration lay in the accumulation of wealth and 
 not once, night or day, did his mind rest when it 
 beheld a chance to enrich himself. He was as 
 wakeful and watchful as a yard-dog at the mid- 
 night hour. 
 
CLEVE VISITS HIS FATHER 167 
 
 Cleve grew to manhood without the love of a 
 father. The short time he spent at the home it 
 seemed like a prison his father was as cold as 
 the marble that marked the dreary interior of the 
 large spacious rooms. 
 
 While the people were starving, and the cry for 
 help was raised as often as the clock ticked, Cleve's 
 father heeded them not. All reforms tending to 
 improve the dreadful conditions were checkmated 
 by him reformation was an impossibility. The 
 Legislatures, the Judiciary and Pulpit were domi- 
 nated by his influence. Demagogues and syco- 
 phants proclaimed his virtues and heralded his 
 greatness, while honest Statesmen held their 
 tongues in silence and in obedience to his authority. 
 
 Cleve was aware as he was about to enter his 
 father's little room that the affairs of the nation 
 were narrowing to a dramatic crisis he knew the 
 Clevendor interests would soon be facing a violent 
 and dangerous tempest. The President of the na- 
 tion was weak and all the law-making bodies, great 
 and small, would be frightened as the mobs, hun- 
 gry and crying for bread, demanded new liberties. 
 He knew that strikes, lockouts, the destruction of 
 life and property would soon be the order of the 
 day. Business failures, murders, robberies and 
 suicides would greet you on every hand and no law 
 would intercede. Officials would act in name only 
 and no law would be known save the mob rule of 
 the streets. Men would be without honor and 
 women without virtue Pitdwellers would murder 
 the Clouddwellers thev would rob their bodies 
 and escape. He felt Newman's pessimism fit 
 was coming coming sure as fate. All would be 
 
168 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 hopeless and a state of anarchy would reign su- 
 preme ! 
 
 An offensive smell of the close room occupied 
 by his father greeted his nostrils he stood near 
 the slightly opened door and could see the furni- 
 ture looked old and neglected. Everything had 
 the appearance of great reverses he felt like a 
 stranger or an uninvited guest. He could see his 
 father as he sat at the little shabby desk, pale, wan 
 and an unsteady nervous look in his eyes. He 
 looked as if living in constant fear of something 
 
 deep mutterings came from his lips as if going 
 over something in his past life. The young man 
 brushed a tear from his cheek he was sorry for 
 and pitied his old father even if he were cold and 
 eccentric. 
 
 Suddenly a smile crossed the old man's features 
 
 it was the smile of the conqueror, cold and vin- 
 dictive. He looked as if he was thinking when he 
 had sent an opposing concern crushing to the earth 
 and had turned defeat into victory. Cleve pushed 
 the door ajar and entered. For a moment they 
 looked at each other with no visible signs of love 
 
 the father appeared to regret the son had en- 
 tered, the son Deemed to fear the ordeal. 
 
 " Well," the old man snapped, " more money ? " 
 
 " Yes," the young man answered, stoutly. 
 
 " It's a terrible way you spend it," the father 
 growled. " Newman has told me of an English 
 Lord who is over here to get me to finance an 
 Aviation proposition." 
 
 " What else have I to do but spend ? " Cleve 
 asked. 
 
CLEVE VISITS HIS FATHER 169 
 
 " Go to work and make it like I did," the Colonel 
 returned. 
 
 " I have made money with the C. F. & D." 
 
 "If you did, you gave it all away," answered 
 the old man. 
 
 " Didn't try to make money with it." 
 
 " You didn't." 
 
 " No, it was Newman's wish, and according to 
 your orders." 
 
 " What ? I want you to understand that New- 
 man is not running the Clevendor interests." 
 
 The younger man looked earnestly at the older: 
 " You sent Mr. Newman with orders, and I 
 thought you wanted me to follow his instructions. 
 Now, you ask me to go to work ; but, where ? " 
 
 " Don't ask me. I am not a labor bureau. 
 That's the cry I hear all the time every minute 
 in the day. Out in the streets, everywhere, it 
 haunts me until I am almost mad. Mad, do you 
 hear ? They say I am to blame they lie I 
 know not why there are so many poor. This prob- 
 lem has disturbed me every hour of the day and 
 every day in the year I have had enough I will 
 not stand for any more. When I give to charity 
 they say I do so to ease my conscience; if I re- 
 fuse they say I am a miser and they don't want 
 my money because it's tainted. It's a shame! 
 What would these millions of working people do 
 if it were not for me? What would the Pit do? 
 Why, I feed and clothe the nation and if it were 
 not for me it would starve ! Everybody should 
 know that ! " When he finished he was greatly 
 excited. 
 
170 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Yes, but father you are not right to-day. I am 
 sorry I disturbed you." 
 
 "Not right! not right! You, my son, don't 
 think I am wrong?" he cried. 
 
 " No, not exactly ; but, you have listened too 
 much to the wild, deluded censuring of the Pit." 
 
 " It's my life's blood this monster wants it 
 will not stop until it gets it we are not safe 
 there's hardly a place we can go there's no one 
 to trust ; but, it will find me a fighter, still ! " he 
 cried, as his lean fist came down on the desk with 
 a thud. 
 
 An anxious look crossed the younger man's face 
 as he said : " Father, I came to speak about aerial 
 contests, but I see you have no plans to offer. I 
 came to speak about it and if the Flyers are to be 
 rep-" 
 
 ' Nothing," he interrupted. " I gave you the 
 C. F. & D., and if it has not been a paying invest- 
 ment it is not my fault." 
 
 " It has. But all its earnings have been placed 
 back into the business. The valuation of the stock 
 has been increased; but at present I am a little 
 handicapped for ready cash. This Meet without 
 a resort to entertain judges, visitors and friends 
 may reflect considerably on our respect. If we 
 win it will pave the way for us to dispose of many 
 warships. Every nation will have an army expert 
 at the contest" 
 
 His father's eyes took on a far-away look his 
 mind ceased to think enthusiasm died in his 
 face his nerves relaxed, nothing short of strong 
 stimulants would revive his interest. Cleve became 
 
CLEVE VISITS HIS FATHER 171 
 
 disgusted with his effort: "Father, you are not 
 right." 
 
 (< You, too, believe I am mad," he muttered. 
 
 He closed the door leaving his father in the same 
 old unsympathetic mood. In the hall he met New- 
 man and his spirits arose as Newman agreed to 
 influence the old man to the proposed proposition. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL MEET 
 
 THE Winter merged into Spring, and the first of 
 June, the day of the great Aviation Meet, had ar- 
 rived. Newman had made good his word, and to 
 use his own expression, " had fixed the old man 
 up in apple pie order ! " 
 
 Lord Summersouth had made occasional visits 
 to the States during the Winter and had always 
 been the guest of the Nortons'. Cleve had been 
 as congenial as ever with Marion, but their mar- 
 riage had been less spoken of or talked about. 
 Preparation for the big event was the topic of the 
 day. Mr. Newman had gone back to manage the 
 C. F. & D. and couldn't attend the Meet ; in fact, 
 " he cared nothing for it," he said. 
 
 Cleve thought often of Humanity. He had not 
 seen her since the night of the organ recital. Nell's 
 disappearance was still a mystery; but the Eng- 
 lishman was ever looking for her, or used that as 
 an excuse for coming over so often. Whether he 
 still loved her he did not know. 
 
 The day came fresh and invigorating with the 
 weather that makes every one feel good and agree- 
 able. It is contended by some, of authority or not, 
 that the weather governs our feelings. When the 
 sun shines and the day is bright and cheery we 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL MEET 173 
 
 naturally feel better than we do on a cold, bleak, 
 dreary afternoon. A bright day brings smiles, a 
 dark one makes us sad and miserable. If this be 
 true, and is stated without affirming or denying" 
 the hypothesis, Grand Central was the happiest 
 spot in the world on the day of the world-famed 
 tournament. 
 
 It was a gala day; a day of blood, nerve and 
 handiwork of man in combat. An air contest, to 
 be fought in friendliness, but to be waged with the 
 fierceness of war. 
 
 The Germans had the very ship that had sur- 
 passed Cleve in the last event and was still a dan- 
 gerous looking antagonist. Lord Summersouth's 
 craft was neat and trim, and impressed every one 
 with its velocity. The French had an unusual one 
 built on an old pattern that balanced well and 
 winged the air like a huge bird. Italy, Russia, 
 Spain and Japan, and other nations of minor im- 
 portance were out mainly to be represented rather 
 than entering seriously the contest to win. 
 
 It was a momentous occasion when the Shooting 
 Eagle (Cleve's craft), winged its way into view. 
 The sun's glistening rays fell upon its wonderful 
 mechanism, turning the tide of thought and caus- 
 ing the teeming millions to yell in one grand 
 chorus : " Three cheers for the ' red, white and 
 blue.' ' 
 
 The bands which had been playing the national 
 airs of different nations now struck, " Yankee 
 Doodle/' "Hail to the Chief" and "The Star 
 Spangled Banner." The " Bookies " went from 
 even money to odds of two to one on the United 
 States. The resorts increased the dispensing of 
 
174 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 stimulants, and enthusiasts drank deeper and 
 longer to the success of their respective ships. 
 Some lost their better judgment and proclaimed, 
 without hope, the virtues of crafts that were sure 
 to be " also rans " in the final finish ; but never- 
 theless, they stood their ground like heroes and 
 died like gladiators in the betting arena. 
 
 Grand Central was a Clouddweller landing, but 
 to-day its exclusion was open to all classes of hu- 
 manity. The conglomerated mass jostled together 
 friendly and good-naturedly. Women of the blond 
 type smiled coquettishly at the dark foreigner. 
 Flirtation after flirtation followed by a walk to- 
 gether on the marble promenade. It was like unto 
 the beach where no formal introduction is neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Money was bet equally among women as among 
 men, and flowed almost as free as the stimulants 
 dispensed at the resorts. 
 
 In the bleachers were the Pitdwellers, there they 
 were more at home, as they were only considered 
 dregs by the foam at the top of the social glass. 
 This great class, composed of people with more 
 or less artistic feelings, culture and refinement, 
 were likewise jammed and elbowed by dull 
 phlegmatic creatures of the same world. 
 
 At last the opportune hour came all was in a 
 state of expectancy the pulse of the people 
 moved faster the huge magiphone called the 
 different position of the ships and lined them for 
 action. The contestors were to go to Aerial Roost, 
 twenty miles away and return. All was in readi- 
 ness the bands ceased to play the noise abated 
 the excitement lulled the tremendous gong 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL MEET 175 
 
 sounded the ships started the bands resumed 
 playing and a deafening roar went up from many 
 throats. 
 
 The gorgeous colors, streaming banners and the 
 wave of many pennant trophies made Grand Cen- 
 tral look like a meadow of wild flowers bending 
 to the balmy touch of gentle Summer zephyrs. 
 The bands played " The Watch O'er the Rhine," as 
 the German took the lead. The French were sec- 
 ond, the Shooting Eagle third, Lord Summersouth 
 fourth, and the smaller nations vied for fifth, sixth 
 and seventh places. The Germans were vociferous, 
 their representative had started well. The French- 
 men cheered lustily as the bands played " The Mar- 
 seillaise." They seemed to be surprised that their 
 ship made the showing it did and was satisfied with 
 what was to them a victory over their expectations. 
 The race shifted the Shooting Eagle took second 
 place the bands played " The Stars and Stripes 
 Forever " the Americans yelled themselves 
 hoarse. 
 
 The reflector (a powerful magnifying glass) re- 
 vealed the order of landing at Aerial Roost 
 The glass was very strong and showed the eager 
 excited faces of the contestants as if they were only 
 a few yards away. The German, Shooting Eagle, 
 French and English landed in the order named. 
 The rest were out of the running some had quit 
 entirely while others flew playfully around and 
 were enjoying the race as spectators. Now for the 
 home stretch the race resolved into a single- 
 handed combat the German still leading and the 
 Eagle gaining. Betting in favor of the Eagle now 
 dropped back to even money. At the five mile post 
 
176 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 coming back the German was still in the lead. 
 " Ten miles, the German leading by a length/' 
 cried the magniphone. 
 
 " Fifteen miles, the German leads," came the 
 voice. Betting now went two for one on the Ger- 
 man. No American money in sight. Then an ex- 
 cited woman, with flushed cheeks, stepped into the 
 betting circle, and began to take all the " Bookies' J: 
 odds. 
 
 " Eighteen miles, the German leads," came the 
 voice. 
 
 " Don't do it ! You can't win ! " pleaded a tall 
 man who was following her. 
 
 She turned on him like a flash : " I'll wager my 
 life in this race," she replied. 
 
 Greyhouse bit his lip and said no more. 
 
 And with many Bookies' paste-boards, repre- 
 senting large sums of money, in her hands, she 
 rushed to the pier, cheering. Greyhouse followed 
 mechanically, deep down in his heart, wishing the 
 German would win. It was a mad fight the 
 Eagle gaining and widening her golden wings 
 soared high into the sky. Only two miles re- 
 mained. Then shooting down an incline plane with 
 the speed of a rocket she passed the German with 
 ease. She dashed gracefully by the goal and made 
 what seemed a deadly contested finish a comical 
 " walk-over." 
 
 A tremendous roar went up from the throats of 
 many thousands the championship of the air had 
 been fought and won by an American the Inter- 
 national Aviators' Cup was now the property of 
 the American Flyers'. 
 
 The Germans were disgruntled what seemed 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL MEET 177 
 
 to be a " cinch " was turned into an overwhelming 
 defeat. The trophy had been manfully wrested 
 from their grasp. 
 
 As Cleve landed an excited crowd rushed to con- 
 gratulate him so far he had not been crowned 
 with the laurels of victory. He was nervous and 
 wished to avoid anything like an ovation. A bat- 
 talion of soldiers had been wisely and timely pro- 
 vided, and, perhaps, prevented a nervous collapse. 
 
 Marion and her mother, Miss Delainey and the 
 Windsthurs sisters had been chosen as a committee 
 to present the Cup. They were gathered to make 
 the presentation when the woman gambler broke 
 through the patrol. She pressed on while the Nor- 
 ton crowd held their breath in wonderment. 
 Marion had long dreamed of this opportunity to 
 welcome her hero publicly. She wanted to pro- 
 claim him her King to the world. This was to be 
 the happiest moment of her life. No wonder her 
 face flushed no wonder her eyes were aflame and 
 a look of outraged feelings covered her features 
 as this adventuress interrupted the proceedings. 
 The shock was too great and she was borne away 
 from the embarrassing position. 
 
 " I hail the greatest man in all the world," cried 
 this woman, who was none other than Humanity, 
 as she grasped Cleve's hand. 
 
 The blood surged to his face as he said : " I 
 hardly know how to answer you." 
 
 With a small frown of disapproval, she said, 
 lauehingly, " I am surprised that a man of your 
 ability cannot answer the simple question of a mere 
 
178 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Humanity, who are you ? I have not seen you 
 for so long" a time/' he said. 
 
 " Like a genius, you answer a question by ask- 
 ing one," she replied. 
 
 " You have not answered me," he said mildly. 
 
 " Neither have you answered me," she parleyed. 
 " You needn't ; great men don't talk their deeds 
 speak for themselves," she added. 
 
 " Are you sure ? " he questioned, anxiously. 
 
 " Yes. Quite sure," she replied. 
 
 " Then, why not tell your real name ? You 
 seemed to be anxious to greet me." 
 
 " I see you still have a little ego," was her reply. 
 
 " No. I was just stating a reality," he con- 
 tended. 
 
 " Then, you were conscious of me running to 
 greet you, and " 
 
 " And taking me by the hand," supplied he, and 
 continued : " You are so different yes, so dif- 
 ferent from other women, I really would like to 
 know your name ? " 
 
 "Honest?" 
 
 " Honest," he said, gathering a little hope. 
 
 " And you want to know ? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 With a smile, she said : " I am still Just Human- 
 ity, with the ' Just ' prefixed. I was eager to con- 
 gratulate you because you were my means to an 
 end, sir. I was elated over mv success. Don't 
 flatter yourself, my dear inflated Clouddweller ! " 
 With this she ran quickly through the patrol and 
 his eyes followed her and his face assumed an 
 amused and bewildered expression. 
 
 During the delay an old man, whom Cleve 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL MEET 179 
 
 thought resembled Herr Binger, seized the oppor- 
 tunity to make a speech. The crowd thought he 
 was to deliver an eulogy, but in this they were mis- 
 taken. He began a harangue that chilled their 
 enthusiasm. " You spend millions to entertain," 
 he cried, " while the people starve/' 
 
 " To hell with the people," shouted Norton, his 
 face red and angry. He elbowed his way through 
 the press and ordered the programme to be con- 
 tinued. 
 
 " You say to hell with the people ? " queried the 
 speaker ruefully. 
 
 " You are out of your place. You are seeking 
 advertisement. You can't make a demonstration 
 here. You had better move on," replied Norton. 
 
 " But the people are starving," pleaded the old 
 man. 
 
 " Whom do you term the people ? " asked Nor- 
 ton, contemptuously. 
 
 " Those down there," he answered, pointing a 
 lean forefinger toward the bleachers and the depths 
 below. 
 
 "Who? The Pit! Those animals? They are 
 wolves, hyenas " he paused. " You fool ! " he 
 sneered. " We are the people. Enough of this 
 damn foolishness ! Take the looney away ! " 
 
 The old man was led away, through much ex- 
 citement, by two policemen, and Norton began ad- 
 dressing Cleve : " Our arrangement has been de- 
 layed. Marion has suffered greatly and is still in 
 suspense." 
 
 Cleve began to apologize. 
 
 "Nonsense, Cleve," he returned. "The fault 
 was none of yours. Marion thinks some woman 
 
180 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 was the cause, but I saw nothing but an old crank 
 advertising his pet theories. I'll inform the poor 
 child." 
 
 The excitement lulled and the decision of the 
 judges was forthcoming. As the complimentary 
 speech was being delivered Marion handed Cleve 
 the Cup. There was something in her face that he 
 didn't like he did not see the smile there was 
 no light in her eyes. He felt as though he had 
 done her some wrong; but, perhaps it was the 
 vision she was remembering! It had been fulfilled. 
 Humanity had broken through the patrol she 
 had talked to him the people were clammering 
 and everything had come true! No wonder she 
 was depressed no wonder she looked sick of 
 heart no wonder her voice shook as she extended 
 the Cup, saying: "I give you this but, I feel 
 that another should have done so." 
 
 Without giving him a chance to reply she turned 
 to her father, saying : " I am ill. I must get away 
 from here ! I must go ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 
 
 IT had been a week or more since the Meet 
 Cleve was driving for exercise and for reasons 
 hardly known to himself he steered the Shooting 
 Eagle out of the sky and landed in the Pit. 
 
 He had broken the Clouddwellers' rule and had 
 established a precedent he had done what no 
 man occupying his station in life would do. 
 
 Whether moved by intuition, curiosity or adven- 
 ture he only answered the inclinations that came 
 from within him to see this world beneath, so 
 far away, of which he had but the remotest con- 
 ception had been the desire of his life. 
 
 Immediately he was surrounded by a curious, 
 ragged throng, who volunteered aid in case he 
 needed their assistance. When he so courteously 
 declined all offers they looked amazed they were 
 a little nonplussed to see one so civil from his world 
 of " stone hearts." 
 
 " You see," said one of them, who appeared very 
 loquacious, and introducing himself, " I am Sir 
 Wilbro Dockins." 
 
 Cleve smiled, and the said Sir Wilbro continued : 
 "There are many people here to-day. They are 
 here because it is announced that the Pit will be 
 fed at the mansion across the street. They are 
 
182 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 preparing tables on the lawn now. It is a very un- 
 usual thing for some of the Pitdwellers to eat with 
 their feet under a table. Some of them have been 
 here twenty-four hours, or since the announcement 
 was made, in order to be the first. Their hunger 
 has not been satisfied they have been disap- 
 pointed with places of distribution because the food 
 was far short of the needs of the multitude." 
 
 " You seem to be of good intelligence of good 
 address why are you here ? Why are you not 
 at work ? " asked Cleve. 
 
 " You don't understand," he answered sadly. 
 " It's the same old story. I was not always a beg- 
 gar." 
 
 "Drink?" Cleve questioned. 
 
 The said Sir Wilbro sneered : " I know you can't 
 understand. It is not drink. I never touch stimu- 
 lants, and this kind I hope I never shall. I will 
 not be a coward," he continued, drawing his little 
 stature to its full height, " and I'll not drown my 
 troubles in strong drink. Some years ago the Pro- 
 hibitionists said 'the liquor traffic was causing the 
 poverty of the country. Destroy this evil and you 
 will make the people prosperous you will de- 
 stroy want and make misery an impossibility/ 
 They swept the nation they smashed the ' red- 
 eyed monster ' wherever it appeared. It was a 
 wave, for the time, fatal to the business, and the 
 cry of the unfed was just the same, but of course 
 a poor devil becomes so tired of this ' hell-on-earth ' 
 that drink, dope or suicide is his only way of es- 
 cape." 
 
 " You are very interesting ; but you have not 
 told me why you are here," Cleve responded. 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 183 
 
 " The syndicated stores," he answered. " They 
 have made it impossible for the private store to 
 exist. In the conquest for markets, to dispose of 
 their surplus, the manufacture has systematically 
 eliminated beyond a possibility the existence of the 
 small merchant. The system that created Cleven- 
 dor and Norton made me what I am, and also, this 
 hungry mass of human misery here." 
 
 " Then you blame this condition to greedy, selfish 
 men ? " Cleve asked. 
 
 " No. Not exactly. Human nature is the same 
 in all stations of life. In the distribution of food 
 to-day you will see the strong crowd out the weak 
 they will fight among themselves for the choice 
 portions. In this degraded state you would think 
 there was some fellow feeling some brotherly 
 love but they will forget and fight like so many 
 animals. They are not intellectual enough to work 
 in a movement to better their condition. So there 
 you are," he replied. 
 
 " Mankind is naturally inclined toward good," 
 he went on, " or else man would have never de- 
 veloped out of the savage state. You may ask me 
 why does the strong not divide with the weak to- 
 day? It looks like selfishness, but it is not. The 
 stronger ones know, should they divide, it would 
 only be a question of time when they would be in 
 the same condition. This is self evident the 
 same law the world over. Clevendor knows if he 
 were to become a philanthropist and give his vast 
 holdings to the poor, it would be a question of time 
 till he would be down in this abyss fighting for 
 preservation like the rest of us. 
 
 " The person who is to feed the mob," he con- 
 
184 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 tinued, " may be foolish or a sentimental dreamer, 
 and does not understand the solution of this per- 
 plexing" problem. One meal only makes the pangs 
 of hunger all the greater on the morrow; and, 
 perhaps, prolongs the life of some who would 
 have gone to that place, where they say there is 
 no starvation." 
 
 At this juncture, large motor vans put in appear- 
 ance and dumped their contents on the tables. A 
 mad scramble followed, and Cleve saw his new 
 friend vanish in the writhing mass. These loads 
 were consumed as rapidly as others that followed, 
 and he watched, glued to the spot. He saw in the 
 faces of this mad mob, the tragedies of life. No- 
 where before had he seen such a sight no time 
 before had he felt as he did. A lump came up in 
 his throat a mist in his eyes, and he tried to be- 
 lieve it was all a horrible nightmare. 
 
 They came and went, those dull, hollow-eyed 
 looking nomads. They gorged themselves so 
 greedily that they went away in stupors, grunting 
 like so many animals, their nervous energy al- 
 most exhausted from paralytic shocks, caused by 
 forcing food so hastily into their stomachs, which 
 were in no way prepared to receive it. The crowds 
 grew the chain seemed to be endless, and as 
 dusk deepened into night, around the lights, came 
 new human moths to eat and flicker. 
 
 The Daily Labor, in the distance, began its eve- 
 ning editorial. Its words came as though a mon- 
 ster demon was speaking to them from the bowels 
 of the earth : 
 
 " Few have done more for humanity millions 
 have done less. Some have lived in poetry and 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 185 
 
 song- and some have been f orgotten. A new friend 
 to the poor has come. ' A friend in need makes a 
 friend indeed/ Many good and generous souls 
 have fed the poor before, but not to this extent. 
 We can commend this deed and we rejoice that a 
 new, wealthy heart has been touched. We curse 
 a system of Government that makes the almsgiver. 
 We despise a system of Government that creates 
 the almstaker. When this generous soul has passed 
 away and praises are still being sung by the living, 
 the ever the often the endless the eternal 
 poor still live to suffer, and the system still lives 
 to murder. Unless " Here the voice died away 
 in a mournful echo, leaving its piteous appeal in 
 this sorrowful little street, called Murder's Row. 
 
 Cleve put his machine into action and shot into 
 the sky. As he rounded the top of the marble 
 mansion, he heard the rumbling sounds of Army 
 Autos. He looked, and through the twilight he 
 discerned the form of a woman standing on the 
 balcony in the attitude of making a speech. He 
 was sure it must be Humanity. 
 
 Long, red streaks marked the sky where the sun 
 had appeared the stars peeped out the moon 
 was round and full and rose higher and higher 
 in the Heavens. Another day had gone and 
 it had been an eventful one for him. He was 
 unusually grave and he looked back into the little 
 street and beheld the Autos charging the Pit- 
 dwellers. On and on he flew, over Grand Central 
 in his course to Hotel Marion. His eyes lingered 
 for a moment on this colossal structure beneath 
 him. Its marble steps illuminated with lights of 
 many shades extended from the ground below to 
 
186 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 the garden above and seemed to unite earth and 
 sky. The building pyramided so high that the 
 tower of Babel which the ancients regarded with 
 awe and wonder would have been quite small in 
 comparison. He thought, in an absent way, of the 
 honor he had received on its pier a few days ago 
 and of Marion's queer actions. 
 
 He wended onward, meeting aerial crafts loaded 
 with people, who were all merriment. He was 
 barely conscious of meeting them as he went on his 
 way, brushing low roofs and steering skilfully 
 around some wall of stone in his course. As he 
 entered the ghostly shadows of the Daily Labor 
 his blood almost ran cold. Guttural wails of 
 despair came from the streets, where the people 
 were demonstrative and the police trying to dis- 
 perse any mobilization. Speakers were pulled, 
 jerked from their rostrums, beaten, clubbed and 
 jailed. When the mass became unmanageable 
 Autos plowed, crushed and ground flesh to atoms. 
 
 A thousand thoughts surged back and forth in 
 his mind. He wanted to get away from the sights 
 and haunting sounds. He quickened his speed and 
 soon landed on the hotel pier. Placing his Eagle 
 in the care of keepers he entered and made his way 
 to the Nortons' apartment. The wild strains of a 
 rhapsody greeted his ears Marion is at the piano, 
 he thought. The door of the drawing-room stood 
 ajar he hesitated to summon courage. At last, 
 nerved, he walked boldly in. Hardly on the 
 inside the thought to turn back seized him. He 
 had acted like a fool he hadn't seen her since the 
 Meet, and, too, how did he know if she would wel- 
 come him after that affair? The Englishman, or 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 187 
 
 Greyhouse, might be with her, he thought. A deep 
 color mounted her face as she saw him approach- 
 ing. 
 
 " Marion, I have " he began. 
 
 " Don't," she interposed, resuming her music. 
 " Have you been invited ? " 
 
 His face flushed at her words : " No but I 
 want ed to see you," he stammered. 
 
 "Can't you see I have purposely avoided you?" 
 she asked. 
 
 " I demand a reason," he returned, almost sav- 
 agely. 
 
 " Oh, to give you more time with Well, I 
 don't care to mention," she snapped back. 
 
 " You are unreasonable. Your insinuation is " 
 
 " I made no insinuation," she replied curtly. " I 
 state facts. I saw that woman that virago at 
 Grand Central with my own "eyes." 
 
 " I thought you were stronger I thought you 
 understood that no woman could come between us. 
 I didn't know you were jealous, Marion." 
 
 " It's a " she restrained herself. " I am not. 
 But she's not a lady. She resides in Murder's Row. 
 Do ladies go there? No! No lady goes there I 
 associate with," she said vindictively. 
 
 " You know her as well as I do. You know her 
 pedigree. Who informed you ? " he sneered. 
 
 " Mr. Greyhouse/' she answered. 
 
 "And you let him come back," he spoke grimly. 
 
 " To get even " 
 
 "Not jealous?" he innuendoed. 
 
 " No. I am not," came her retort. 
 
 " He knows her better than I," he answered 
 cuttingly. 
 
188 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " He just knows her or knows of her. He is 
 not acquainted," she excused. 
 
 "He does, eh?" he scoffed. " And he dines 
 with the lady in this very hotel? You disgust me." 
 
 " Thanks," she came back, sarcastically. 
 
 " And you jealous of her," he muttered. " I 
 hardly know her. I caused her to win much money 
 in the race, and she came to thank me. Grey- 
 house ! " he uttered his name again, with a hard 
 grin of contempt. 
 
 She wilted. 
 
 " Forgive," she sobbed. " I see through it now. 
 But she was so eager to congratulate you, I 
 couldn't stand it. Greyhouse has been acting his 
 part. He has been here the whole of the after- 
 noon and wouldn't give way to Lord Summer- 
 south. I let Greyhouse stay because I thought you 
 loved that woman. You will not see her again, 
 will you ? " 
 
 " Of course not," he answered, as she came 
 down from her position to be his sweetheart again. 
 '' You still have the ring?" he continued, as he 
 pressed her hand tenderly. 
 
 u Yes, and shall keep it always." 
 
 " You are the woman," he said affectionately. 
 
 She planted a tender caress on his cheek : " And 
 nothing shall ever come between us." 
 
 " Nothing again," he repeated. 
 
 " It is too near our wedding day," and her 
 soft arms went around his neck. 
 
 " Wedding day ! " he cried, freeing himself 
 from her embarce. He felt a cold shudder pass up 
 and down his spine. Those two words ran riot 
 in his mind. He looked at the floor he gazed 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 189 
 
 at her without seeing. He thought of the streets 
 O ! those bloody streets where chaos reigned. 
 O! the mockery of life! How soon would it be 
 until the slaves would break their chains ! He had 
 Newman's pessimism. He tried to explain, but 
 could only utter incoherent sounds. 
 
 She tried to read his mind her face turned 
 pale. Surely, it hadn't come to this, she thought 
 It was this woman ! She looked at him from the 
 enraged depths of her eyes and said: " Go on with 
 it. You are playing the double cross. I had no 
 idea your relations with this woman " 
 
 Her words stung him. He heard no more : 
 " You think I'm a coward ! " he defended. " I 
 care nothing why are you always putting her 
 up to me ? " 
 
 " Then, why so frightened at the mention of 
 Wed " 
 
 " Don't speak of it to me ! " he cried madly. 
 
 " Why not ? " she asked, acrimoniously, her eyes 
 gleaming. " I don't understand." 
 
 " Great God ! " came his heated words. " Have 
 you not heard the cries of the starving? I wouldn't 
 even if I loved beyond control make my wife a 
 target for the bloody pike. No ! ! Never ! ! ! " 
 
 With a look of disgust she said : " This settles 
 our engagement. First, I thought it was that 
 woman, now it's the Pit. However, I would sug- 
 gest a few of the Pitdwellers out of the way would 
 ameliorate conditions." 
 
 He fell back as if he had been struck a heavy 
 blow he was dazed and bewildered had she 
 hit him with a heavy stone she would not have 
 stunned him more. The words she uttered so 
 
190 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 freely he could hardly believe, or bear to think, 
 and to hear them come from the women he in- 
 tended marrying; and whom he thought would 
 have some respect for his views and some sym- 
 pathy, was beyond his comprehension. He decided 
 he did not understand human nature here was 
 a girl whom he had known from childhood had 
 loved her enough to ask her to become his wife, 
 and now he must admit that he didn't know her. 
 
 She openly advocated murder, and she was 
 brutal ! Didn't have lofty ideals was not kind 
 and had no sympathy and compassion. She had 
 no nobleness of soul, and she was not the Marion 
 his mind had pictured she was cruel, cold and 
 vindictive. 
 
 " I didn't mean it," she cried, seeing the effect 
 of her words. " Please speak to me ! Don't think 
 me so heartless," she continued, throwing her arms 
 about his neck again and burying her head upon 
 his shoulder. " I was mad," she said, sobbing, as 
 if her heart would break. " Mad to think of what 
 had come between us. You know a woman will not 
 stop at anything when the affections of the man 
 she loves are in jeopardy. You tried me you 
 fretted me, and I have lived a life of torture since 
 the affair at Grand Central. I can't forget I 
 may be jealous, as you say, but I can see that 
 woman she's a nightmare to me." 
 
 She became more calm and deliberately taking 
 the ring from her finger she passed it to him. He 
 stretched out his hand mechanically : " I can't, 
 Marion," he murmured. 
 
 After all, perhaps he had been a little too severe 
 and judged her wrongly. The scenes in the streets 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 191 
 
 had been trying on his nerves. However, had she 
 seen what he had she would very likely not have 
 spoken as she did. Surely, he could overlook this 
 weakness if weakness it be; none of us, he 
 thought, were perfect. She was not superhuman. 
 Her environment made her acquainted with more 
 pleasant sights. 
 
 " No, Marion, I can't take it. It is yours for- 
 ever," he answered, still holding her hand. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I gave it." 
 
 " Only conditional," she suggested. 
 
 " But you consented," he replied. 
 
 " You would never marry," she reminded. 
 
 " If the trend of affairs continued," he explained. 
 
 " No woman, then ? " she questioned. 
 
 " I promised," he answered smiling. 
 
 " I showed my temper and said some bad things," 
 she reflected. 
 
 " Yes. And you astonished me." 
 
 "Mr. Greyhouse " 
 
 " What of him ? " he interrupted. 
 
 " Said the Pit would have to be removed before 
 the country could be improved. And I thought 
 that you believed that way," she explained. 
 
 " Emphatically, I do not. That's the commercial 
 system's view." 
 
 " He said our fathers were of the same opinion." 
 
 " That may be true. I don't claim that they are 
 infallible all are subject to error. How can a 
 man be clean when everything is so dirty ? " 
 
 " Why ! I have never heard you talk like this." 
 
 "No, Marion, I have just awakened I feel as 
 though it were my duty to join the Pit to-night. 
 
192 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 When I saw those poor people mistreated by the 
 police. It was hard to see those Autos grind the 
 life out of them. It was terrible ! " he cried, with 
 some vengeance. 
 
 " Don't think about it try to forget, for my 
 sake," she replied sweetly. 
 
 He shook his head, and answered her slowly : 
 " I can't forget. I must speak it must out it 
 is imprinted so forcibly on my mind. I believe 
 I'm a different person. It has created a feeling I 
 can't throw off." 
 
 " Horrors ! Are you losing your mind ? " she 
 cried piteously. 
 
 He looked at her with a sad smile in his hand- 
 some features : " No," he assured. " The doctors 
 say when you lose your mind it is preceded by de- 
 pressions. Nothing like it has come over me." 
 
 The lights shaded by red chandeliers cast a dull 
 crimson glow on the sumptuous furnishings. They 
 had seated themselves on a divan and were nest- 
 ling close to each other. They talked on, uncon- 
 scious of everything save themselves. Suddenly, 
 as if by magic, the street below in front of the 
 hotel was thrown into great confusion. They be- 
 came very much alarmed as the reflectorscope- 
 phone brought the sounds and scenes to them. 
 
 " What can it mean ? " she asked, grasping him 
 by the arm. 
 
 " I fear it's the beginning of the bloodiest revolt 
 that man has ever encountered ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Are we safe ? " she asked, as the machine regis- 
 tered the cries, howls and curses of the maddened 
 mob. 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 193 
 
 " I am unable to say," he said, very much con- 
 cerned. 
 
 " See ! They are only making a demonstration. 
 They don't seem to be making any attempt at vio- 
 lence/' she said somewhat relieved. 
 
 The mob grew in numbers instead of being 
 boisterous it was quieter the extreme rage of a 
 moment ago reverted to silence. A large touring 
 car made its way to the center of the mass thou- 
 sands pressed and jammed together in an effort to 
 get near it. A woman arose, amid loud and vocif- 
 erous cheering. Cleve's face flushed and Marion 
 dared not look at him. The woman was Human- 
 ity and she steadied herself as the applause ceased, 
 and her deep rich voice began: 
 
 " I am no stranger to you/' she said. (Loud ap- 
 plause.) " I appreciate your respect. What I have 
 is yours. If it relieves but a few souls, I feel I 
 have done my duty (in a small way) to the suffer- 
 ing millions, and to that cause the Brotherhood 
 of Man." (A long demonstration.) 
 
 " I fed some of you to-day," she continued, " but 
 it was not with my money ; it was the Cloud's 
 money. I won at Grand Central." (Laughter and 
 cheering.) "I gave it back to you who produced 
 it." (Prolonged cheering and a ripple of 
 laughter.) "Did I not do the proper thing?" 
 (Cries of "yes, yes.") 
 
 " It is remarkable, my friends," she went on, 
 " what the time, the place and " she smiled 
 sweetly over the audience " the girl will do. I, 
 at one time, was a society favorite (thanks to Herr 
 Binger)." (Loud cheering at the mention of his 
 name.) " I lived in that inner-circle, which doubt- 
 
194 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 less none of you have ever seen, or ever will see. 
 To move within its confines you must own States 
 and count your wage slaves by the tens of thou- 
 sands. They regard you from up there as so many 
 dumb brutes. For one of that company to put its 
 dainty foot outside its golden border, or to have 
 friends below the cloud-line, means ostracism. I 
 went below that sky-margin. I ventured to see 
 where the rain-drops fell. Imagine my surprise, 
 when I found you with two walking-limbs instead 
 of four, and hands and human faces. This was 
 astonishing. The Bible had taught me that the 
 mean would go below. I lived up there then," she 
 said, looking upwards, " and I thought here was 
 hades if some of you object?" (Cries of "Go 
 on! go on! You can't say anything worse than 
 what has been said," came the greetings to her 
 sally.) 
 
 " To you down here Heaven is up there ; to 
 those up there the " other place " is here. We 
 have both places on earth to-day." (Much 
 laughter.) She became more serious: "It is my 
 desire to be here. It is love that brought me. Love 
 for home love for country, and love for all man- 
 kind. To those of you who cannot interpret my 
 meaning, God pity you. To those who can, my 
 prayer is God help you." 
 
 " I did not come here to make a speech," she 
 went on, " I came here to ask you to do acts of 
 violence. It is your enemies who wish you to do 
 this. Give them no excuse to murder you. To 
 those of you who defend the doctrine of force, who 
 argue that freedom has always been gained that 
 way, forget the ballot, and that the world is mov- 
 
CLEVE'S VISIT TO THE PIT 195 
 
 ing in different atmospheric thought. I am an ad- 
 vocate of a bloodless revolution. It is sane from 
 a moral, a financial, or from any standpoint of 
 human justice. 
 
 "If we win the control of the Government by the 
 ballot, and are denied that right, then self-preserva- 
 tion is the first law of nature. If it shall be war, 
 war it shall be; and war to the sword, and the 
 sword to the hilt. I have lived that I - 
 
 At this moment wild and frantic cries came from 
 the terrorized thousands. The armored engines, 
 hissing like death-dealing dragons from the gates 
 of Hell, plowed into the defenceless mass. From 
 the iron sides of life-destroying instruments, be- 
 neath the wheels oozed human gore like juice from 
 a cider-press. In their murderous wake, bodies 
 lay flattened on the pavement. Some crushed in 
 head and shoulders ; some through the middle, and 
 others with their lower anatomy gone. But all, 
 with life enough, writhed and twisted in their dis- 
 torted agony. Cleve looked at Marion. Her face 
 was achromatic. The street was darkened. From 
 it came no scene, only the anguishing calls of the 
 dying and the exhaust of the ponderous engines. 
 " The Clouds cared not to witness their own foul 
 exhibition," he thought. Then he offered a mental 
 prayer for Humanity's safety. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE DEATH OF COLONEL CLEVENDOR 
 
 CLEVE'S mind was afire from what he had seen 
 the night before the injustice of the brutal as- 
 sault the inequalities and the utter hopelessness 
 of it all Marion's views and actions. A cry 
 for justice reigned in him and made him as 
 furious as a lion. He left the hotel to go to his 
 father's home and tell him all. He found Norton 
 there before him discussing this very topic. His 
 father informed him that he and Mr. Norton 
 " were speaking of generalities and he was relating 
 the terrible assault by ruffians, thugs and cut- 
 throats on the hotel, when the dragons prevented 
 what might have been a hideous massacre of the 
 inmates." 
 
 " Yes, this was the predicament/' added Norton, 
 looking uncertainly at Cleve. " That the ruffianism 
 of this class makes us unsafe is self-evident. Why, 
 they sang songs about you and all Clouddwellers. 
 I was nearer the ground and could hear their 
 vituperations. The speaker who addressed the mob 
 was a woman, very beautiful of face and figure, 
 but very criminal. She poured out gush and slush 
 calculated to stir the baser element of man. I 
 feared for my loved ones, and for you, Cleve. I 
 feared for you, Mr. Clevendor, here alone. There 
 
THE DEATH OF COLONEL CLEVENDOR 197 
 
 were millions of them. I sent word to Greyhouse, 
 and you know the rest. 
 
 Norton continued : "As I have said, Mr. Cleven- 
 dor, I came to see you about putting- down these 
 brazen affronts. No free Government can long 
 exist if these assassins congregate in its streets. 
 They refute the divine right to own property, that 
 land should be as free as the air. They vow such 
 men as we are an impediment to progress. What 
 have you to say, Cleve?" asked Norton, " some- 
 times young brains are good." He turned to Mr. 
 Clevendor : " We must invite his opinions. He has 
 become great since his victory with the C. F. & D. 
 and his success at Grand Central." 
 
 " I have only regarded him as a boy as yet, you 
 know," answered his father. 
 
 " Never thought much of his views ? " Norton 
 questioned. 
 
 " I admit it," agreed Mr. Clevendor ; " an audi- 
 ence with most any one, I am ashamed to say, is 
 very painful to me. I may be getting- old, but I 
 have cared very little for them. A conversation 
 of few words can reach me better; however, as 
 we have come to that stage of political affairs 
 when longer interviews are necessary, and the wits 
 of all, who are marked for execution are needed, 
 Mr. Norton. This is the time that ' tries the souls 
 of men/ ' 
 
 " As you have dropped a bar (excuse the phrase) 
 where I can mildly criticize," said Norton, " I will 
 say you should have been more fatherly, and per- 
 haps (I have no intention of hurting feelings) more 
 civil." 
 
 " That I have admitted," returned Clevendor 
 
198 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 again, " but my mannerisms should not now be the 
 subject, if we are to save the country from revo- 
 lution. The less we mince words the quicker we 
 will put into operation a plan to perpetuate the 
 Republic. If Cleve has an idea to advance I am 
 ready to listen." 
 
 " We are ready to listen," repeated Norton, 
 looking anxiously at him. 
 
 Cleve's fire had increased his steam above the 
 capacity of his boiler and an explosion was inevi- 
 table. Norton, reputed for truth and veracity 
 father of Marion had wilfully lied. He had re- 
 spected him up till the Jackson affair. His father's 
 partner, and in his father's home, had falsified. 
 Should he shield him? Should he remain shut- 
 mouth to this and other dastardly acts? No! his 
 soul cried. His soul made him tell the truth, 
 rather than wilfully refuting Norton's word. 
 
 " If you want me to state," he began slowly, 
 " what I saw last night, I will begin by saying, 
 what Mr. Norton has told you is a damn lie!" 
 
 Norton started, turned red and the steel grey of 
 his eyes froze, chilled and gleamed a defiant rage. 
 Colonel Clevendor trembled in the excitement and 
 cried : " You see the reason ! He's a I want to 
 say it ! I am his father. He must apologize ! " 
 
 " Not necessary," replied Norton, regaining his 
 composure. " Our sympathies sometimes make us 
 make some astonishing declarations. Shall I con- 
 tinue ? " he asked, half questioningly and shooting 
 a cutting glance at Cleve who was nervously hold- 
 ing the office table and breathing in quick succes- 
 sion as if he was almost choking with emotion. 
 
 "You are at liberty to explain my son's ungen- 
 
THE DEATH OF COLONEL CLEVENDOR 199 
 
 tlemanly conduct," assured his father, " and why he 
 passes such an insult." 
 
 " Marion says your son has been strangely drawn 
 to a woman called Humanity. She has exceptional 
 beauty and intelligence. She created a scandal at 
 Grand Central. She broke the patrol and held a 
 tete-a-tete with him. Ask him if he was not at 
 Murder's Row the day the beasts were fed, and that 
 was no longer than yesterday? You know the 
 place. Shall I mention its political beliefs ? " 
 
 " No," said the father looking sternly at his son. 
 
 " Ask him if the woman who met him at Grand 
 Central was not the same woman that fed the Pit 
 yesterday ? " Norton went on. " Ask him if she 
 was not the leader of the mob last night ? " 
 
 " What have you to say to this ? " asked his 
 father. " Is this the truth ? " 
 
 "Yes but " he faltered. 
 
 " Enough ! Not another word ! " exclaimed the 
 Colonel angrily. 
 
 " I will speak," retorted Cleve stoutly. " If you 
 are a just father you will grant the privilege." 
 
 " This I do not refuse, but you have no right to 
 insult a gentleman in our home ! " 
 
 " When there's one here, I'll be the last one to 
 do it," he returned, looking at Norton. 
 
 Norton winced under the direct slap, and Mr. 
 Clevendor relieved the situation by saying : "Mr. 
 Norton is a gentleman." 
 
 " I was an eye-witness, too," Cleve shot back. 
 
 " Well, what did you see ? Perhaps you can be 
 a little more explicit." 
 
 " I was there, as Norton says. I had just gone 
 into the hotel after witnessing, in the streets, what 
 
200 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 I had never witnessed before. Marion and I ex- 
 changed greetings, when this so-called mob came. 
 They were only making a demonstration and I 
 judged they had left the main thoroughfares to 
 carry out their programme in peace. This woman 
 addressed them. I know nothing of her except 
 that she spends time and money to uplift the Pit. 
 She pointed out that a bad act reverted against 
 them and not to indulge in it to return good for 
 evil. Then the dragons and the street became 
 dark " 
 
 " Gentlemen ! " put in Norton, " I am very sorry 
 I have been the cause of this ; but Mr. Qevendor, 
 I am not afraid to talk to you. I have always had 
 great admiration for Cleve. I have looked forward 
 to that day when I could take him by the hand and 
 call him my son. But now, that day can never 
 be ! " 
 
 "What!" shouted Clevendor. "You mean he 
 is not good enough ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, Mr. Clevendor, I meant no such allu- 
 sion. He has virtually declared this engagement off. 
 I will not say your son told an untruth ; above all 
 things I believe he would not. But " he paused 
 " certain things sometimes blind us. I can for- 
 give this rashness of youth. What he has said and 
 done cannot hurt me ; but, can Marion forgive and 
 forget? Can she? It is her grief that pains me. 
 You, Mr. Clevendor, have no natural right to let 
 him ruin himself. It is not low blood, but he has 
 felt the gifted designing influence of a creature who 
 preaches death and destruction ! " 
 
 With these words Norton moved toward the door. 
 Cleve's eyes followed him in disgust. His father 
 
THE DEATH OF COLONEL CLEVENDOR 201 
 
 was in his dotage. He knew Norton would not 
 stop at crime itself. After his exit it was a pain- 
 ful moment (it seemed hours) before his father 
 spoke: " What is your defense, young man? " 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " What ! " he demanded. 
 
 " Nothing further than what I have made," he 
 replied. 
 
 " Your talk and acts both justify an apology to 
 Mr. Norton, which you must make, or leave this 
 house and never return, as my son, until you have," 
 he declared. 
 
 *' You wouldn't make me bow because I told the 
 truth ? Father, you are sane ! " 
 
 "Will you do it?" his father cried, trembling, 
 
 his eyes blazing, nostrils twitching and his lips the 
 
 pallor of death, clasping the table with his nervous 
 
 fingers and looking an outraged look at his son. 
 
 Cleve remained silent. " Will you do it ? " came 
 
 the repeated words from an imbecile shadow. His 
 
 father was in the omega the evening of his life 
 
 had come. Pity reached the depths of Cleve's heart. 
 
 Suppose he should be suddenly hurled into eternity 
 
 he would go believing his son was a liar. What 
 
 must he do? Cleve asked himself. Why not give 
 
 in in for his father's sake ? No. He would make 
 
 Norton the liar in his father's mind. The old man 
 
 rallied from his nervous exhaustion and pulled 
 
 himself together and demanded : " I dislike to 
 
 drive you to obedience, but you can't live under my 
 
 roof, you understand! and insult a gentleman." 
 
 " Give me time to. explain." 
 
 " You admitted what Mr. Norton said " 
 
 " Part of it," Cleve corrected. 
 
202 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " What of this engagement? What were your 
 reasons? unless it was that woman/' 
 
 " Stop ! Father, you are carrying this too far." 
 
 " And no doubt 'tis a woman that would disgrace 
 the name I have given you ! The name I have tried 
 to make stand for honor and " 
 
 " Stop ! Father, I know nothing of this woman ! " 
 Cleve interposed. 
 
 " You defend her ! " he continued, " when she 
 led a murderous band of cut-throats ! And 
 
 "Father " 
 
 " Don't father me ! And you were in Murder's 
 Row; you do not deny! A loathsome place for a 
 gentleman ! " 
 
 " She was at Grand Central ! Showing that you 
 were intimate ! " he continued. 
 
 " She was," he replied, somewhat subdued. 
 
 "And tagging each other around at different 
 places ! You a son of a gentleman and she a ques- 
 tionable woman ! " 
 
 " Stop ! Father, even you must not say that ! I 
 know better ! " 
 
 " Know better ! Then you must be acquainted ! 
 It's an outrage to me, and an insult to Norton and 
 an indecency to Marion. You would turn a good 
 woman down for this unknown quantity. No 
 doubt she is a woman that will place you beneath 
 my dignity and respect! If you be my son, you 
 must renounce this woman and apologize to those 
 you have offended ! " 
 
 " Take care ! Father, you are the only man on 
 earth whom I would allow to say such a thing; 
 and even you must not force this insult ! " 
 
 " Insult ! You ingrate ! " cried Clevendor. 
 
THE DEATH OF COLONEL CLEVENDOR 203 
 
 " Have you fallen so low as to forget the stigma 
 you have glued to a spotless name? Have your 
 infamous dealings with this woman become so 
 great that you are a moral pervert? Has all honor 
 and sense of decency died in you? Must you feel 
 insulted every time this ' free-lover ' is censured ? 
 Have you no self-respect, or respect for me or your 
 friends? Renounce. her and promise never to see 
 her again. Apologize for your deeds and I'll " 
 
 "If you insist upon my answer," Cleve inter- 
 rupted, " if you intend to take the C. F. & D. from 
 me if this is your final and crucial test if you 
 intend to drive me into the streets, where by na- 
 ture, I am unfit to compete with the already over- 
 production of wage workers where my struggle 
 for existence would be but short lived, knowing it 
 to be absolutely suicidal, my answer is emphatically 
 no. I will never apologize, for / will go to the Pit 
 first!" 
 
 " You ingrate ! " cried his father, tottering 
 toward him with his fists clinched and raised in a 
 striking position. He had advanced only a few 
 steps when he fell headlong to the floor. The end 
 had come, Cleve thought, as he bent over the pros- 
 trate form. He caught the sound of incoherent 
 words as he tenderly removed him to his little bed- 
 room. In there as he laid him down in his bed, his 
 hands became cold and clammy, his chest heaved 
 and breath came faster and faster, and before he 
 could obtain medical aid, his body went into a rigor, 
 he ebbed a sigh and was still. What he had ex- 
 pected was a reality his father's soul had passed 
 into the land of spirits. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE FUNERAL 
 
 IT was all over, and all that was mortal of his 
 father's body had been cremated, the ashes placed 
 in a black metal urn, left in the open for the winds 
 to blow to every nook and corner of the city. This 
 had been his father's wish and had been carried out 
 to the letter. 
 
 As in all cases the day had been trying. Friends 
 had come to console and offer good cheer. 
 
 The light of the eventful day was slowly reced- 
 ing and a diffusion of night, dreary darkness fell 
 once more over the turbulent city. In the twilight 
 of what, otherwise, would have been a beautiful 
 evening, he had sought the solitude of the aerial 
 tower. Here he could watch the last star peep, and 
 imagine he saw the last particle of his father's 
 ashes wafted to the four ends of earth. Grave 
 were his features ; more intense, perhaps, were his 
 thoughts. However, his face wore no expression 
 of sadness or regret. To him death had no hor- 
 ror; it was only the inevitable, and he viewed it 
 philosophically. To him death had no sting, the 
 grave contained no victory. It was only a moment 
 of intermission, a short rest, that permitted the 
 soul of man to pass from the material to the spirit- 
 ual world. The grave received and retained that 
 
THE FUNERAL 205 
 
 part, or substance, which could not float in that 
 realm beyond the skies. 
 
 There had been no love between them, he 
 thought, as he sat there in his loneliness ; how- 
 ever, he regretted the last interview, the last scene, 
 and felt some compunction of conscience, that he 
 might have been the cause of hastening the untimely 
 end. 
 
 Under the powerful searchlights he could see 
 aerial boats passing to and fro, seeking sport and 
 pleasure. Some were of gorgeous array and shone 
 in the moonlight like birds of golden or silver 
 plumage. Some had bodies as black as ink, with 
 glaring lamp-like eyes and tails of fire that looked 
 like creatures of prey. They shot across the sky 
 with the speed of meteors and buried themselves 
 in the utter darkness. The music from pleasure 
 boats dinned in his ears and Grand Central in the 
 distanct looked like a pyramid of obscurity. 
 
 Down, from below, came the call of the wild and 
 weary. Greyhouse had sent double patrol late in 
 the day as the crowds grew in the streets around 
 the place. Once a riot almost precipitated, con- 
 sternation running to fever heat, by harangues 
 from Pit orators, until a spirit of vengeance was 
 manifested. The dragons again played their part 
 and drove the nomads to subjection. Even this did 
 not stop the cries of the many, as they shouted 
 gleefully on what they termed the death of the 
 " monster." This concerned Cleve, and he decided 
 at all hazards to earn their respect. 
 
 Marion, her mother and father had come to see 
 him. Norton, himself, showed no feeling of resent- 
 ment and was willing to forgive and forget. This 
 
206 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 morning visit was short and they anticipated to 
 return in the evening. And he was not surprised 
 when a craft landed and the Norton party came 
 out of it. Besides them, there were Greyhouse and 
 other ladies and gentlemen. Cleve could not under- 
 stand why they should all come at this inopportune 
 time, as he was gloomy and none of this primrose 
 party could get much pleasure in talking to him. 
 
 Marion displayed her usual amount of feeling 
 towards him, and had out-distanced the rest of the 
 party to be the first to greet him. Cleve felt more 
 at home with the C. F. & D. or some kind of sport 
 than he did in parading in social functions where 
 conversation usually runs on topics that were not 
 to his liking. As yet, he had won no medals for 
 bravery in it, and had felt no little timidity in the 
 presence of those who lived and acted this life. 
 
 Marion intuitively read his mind, and said: 
 " This is the night of Helen Windsthurs' debut (the 
 youngest of the three sisters). It has been post- 
 poned on account of your misfortune, and the 
 guests volunteered to come with us to show their 
 sympathy." 
 
 He pressed her hand softly and looked earnestly 
 down in her eyes as he replied : " Marion, if there 
 is a time I need you, it is now." 
 
 A deep red mounted her cheek her lustrous 
 eyes softened, and beaming a smile, she answered: 
 " You really are not ' kidding ' me ? However, it 
 makes me so happy to hear you say it ! " 
 
 " I am not," he returned laughingly. 
 
 " Humanity ? " she asked anxiously. 
 
 " You should not bother about her," he assured. 
 
THE FUNERAL 207 
 
 " Remember you let me stand there at Grand 
 Central." 
 
 "Didn't we settle this the other night? You 
 know the circumstances." 
 
 " Noticed her," she pouted. 
 
 Further conversation of this nature was impos- 
 sible. The rest of the party arrived, including 
 U. S. Senators John L. Dawson and A. K. Clark, 
 Rudolph James, of the Evening News, and their 
 wives and daughters, and other lesser guests. 
 
 " We I suppose I speak the sentiment of all," 
 said Norton, glancing around before proceeding, 
 " have come to pay our respects. Had we wanted 
 entertainment, we would have gone to Temple 
 Marion, where the Windsthurs are to prese " 
 
 " Oh, no, father," put in Marion. " It has been 
 postponed, and you remember why." 
 
 " Sure ! How thoughtless of me. Well, we 
 could have gone to Defry's and had a time," he cor- 
 rected. 
 
 " I am glad you came," said Cleve, using a little 
 diplomacy. " To look at this party one might think 
 it was a political caucus." 
 
 " Call it what you wish, Mr. Clevendor," said 
 Greyhouse, " we have come to say we will stand by 
 you/' 
 
 " Friends, I thank you, and feel grateful to the 
 friends of my father and hope they will be his son's 
 friends. You can have music and a dinner from 
 Defry's, and Mr. Norton can still ' have his time,' ' J 
 returned Cleve, changing to a half jocular strain. 
 
 " You will let us dance, too ? " asked some of the 
 ladies. 
 
208 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " You can have full sway guests here can have 
 what they wish," he replied. 
 
 Norton and Greyhouse walked away and when at 
 a safe distance Greyhouse remarked : " A great 
 scheme, Norton. I never would have believed he 
 would do it." 
 
 " The only way," answered Norton. " You 
 know as well as I do why this Windsthurs' recep- 
 tion was postponed. Old Henry lost the ' where- 
 with ' trying to keep his stocks afloat last week. 
 The unstable market the panicky times and not 
 knowing what the fool Pit will do has eliminated 
 him forever as a stock broker. Cleve thinks his 
 father's death will end all of this and, also thinks, 
 our happiness has been marred so he is planning 
 this dinner." 
 
 " I understand the Daily Labor has an editorial 
 on this death," said Greyhouse, branching a little 
 from the subject. 
 
 " Just it. This feast will give them more fuel. 
 It will hit him hard. He will strike back and per- 
 haps declare war on the Editor. I understand 
 they have a new Speaker, and will speak to-night. 
 Do you know her ? " he asked pointedly. 
 
 " Slightly," answered Greyhouse, coloring and 
 growing nervous. " She calls herself Humanity, 
 or or that's what the Pit calls her." 
 
 " Cleve's in love with her, or whatever they call 
 it. I'm talking plain, Greyhouse," said Norton. 
 
 "A bold game," put up Greyhouse weakly. 
 
 " Call it that but I want this woman out of 
 the way. You understand you can turn the 
 trick you know her ! " 
 
THE FUNERAL 209 
 
 " Yes but Marion will marry Cleve," he 
 whined. 
 
 "You guess rightly." 
 
 "Where do I come in?" the Mayor pleaded. 
 
 " In that I'm not at all interested," returned Nor- 
 ton. 
 
 " Have I nothing to say about this ? " 
 
 " You are not considered," Norton growled. 
 "Didn't I make you Mayor?" 
 
 " Yes " 
 
 " And you have the nerve to ask to be my son- 
 in-law," interrupted Norton. 
 
 " I'm staggered ! " Greyhouse exclaimed. 
 
 " Can I depend on you ? " asked Norton roughly. 
 
 " I am your slave, Norton ! " sneered Greyhouse. 
 
 " Then, slave, serve your master ! " Norton shot 
 back. 
 
 They went to where the tables were fixed. All 
 were seated toasts offered and the music started. 
 The feast was in full sway the wine sparkled 
 and all were making merry and some dancing. 
 Like unto Belshazzar's feast of debauchery the 
 handwriting on the wall, came the roaring and 
 thundering words from the mouths of the Daily 
 Labor. While those big polished bell openings 
 gleamed with unusual brightness no editorial 
 speaker appeared. 
 
 "Dear Pitdwellers," it belched, "yesterday's 
 death removed the great ' Monster ! ' We are not 
 happy because of it, for the fangs of this great 
 ' Robber ' which were driven into your hearts are 
 willed to his offspring, who will drive them still 
 deeper. This young octopus, and other parasites, 
 together with sycophants and henchmen are having 
 
210 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 a festival of Belshazzar's debauchery while you 
 starve ! 
 
 " We fail to see how you will profit," the voice 
 went on, " by this death. Only the Cloud's forces 
 will be weakened; but the loss of any, or one sor- 
 did intellect of their cause ought to be a welcome 
 to you poor devils who know no law but force. 
 We cannot forget the creator of the ' black 
 dragons/ 
 
 " We do not wish to go into the past career of 
 this immoral life, because, we have no admiration 
 for the beast that won out in the survival of the 
 fittest. To him we can offer no crown of glory; 
 but can only point out that the skulls of his many 
 victims were but stepping-stones to his success, and 
 the sobs of widows and orphans* are yet fresh in 
 our ears as we, in our own minds, picture him, a 
 hideous monster without a heart. We notice him 
 editorially as the biggest shark of them all and the 
 mainstay that now props a tottering monarchy of 
 profit, interest, greed and graft. 
 
 " We also note with pleasure the celebrations in 
 the Pit to-day ; but, we wish to again reiterate 
 that you have gained nothing by this death. You 
 are still the slaves of the system and the death of 
 ten thousand men like this one will never sever the 
 chains that bind you. Remember our motto: 
 ' That our ballot is our sword our law is love ! ' : 
 
 As the dismal echo of the voice died away Grey- 
 house sprang to his feet, and cried : " Outrageous ! 
 Outrageous ! Are there no law, Senators " 
 
 " By which this infernal voice can be closed ? " 
 interrupted Norton, his face heated with excite- 
 ment. 
 
THE FUNERAL 211 
 
 " No law no moral, by which we can close its 
 mouth," responded Dawson, the Senator addressed. 
 
 " If I were a Senator," spoke Greyhouse, " I 
 would do my part in putting- every Pit mouth- 
 piece under censorship. If this I could not do I 
 would be in favor of shooting- or destroying- all of 
 those who deny the divinity of the right to own 
 private property. I would pledge my word, the 
 Divine Ruler being my helper and witness ! " 
 
 " You are too great to be a mere Mayor ! You 
 ought to be President. " exclaimed Norton, de- 
 lighted, tightly grasping- his slave's hand. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE SIGNIFICANT CARD 
 
 IT was a scared and frightened crowd that de- 
 parted after the words of the Daily Labor. Cleve 
 could not remember whether he shook hands with 
 his friends or not, so great was the chaos. But of 
 one thing he was sure, there was some hidden 
 scheme on the part of Norton on bringing the 
 politicians along. 
 
 He was quick to seize the opportunity of an- 
 nouncing Greyhouse for President. He must have 
 know that the Daily would have something to say ; 
 yet, the editorial was graver than he expected. 
 His face was flushed and the programme was cut 
 short. James mumbled something inaudible. 
 Even Greyhouse, that cool, gambler-looking gentle- 
 man shuddered after his over-anxious appeal for 
 the Cloud's support. 
 
 The editorial sank like a dagger into Cleve's 
 heart. He was not vindictive, but silent. He was 
 marked by the Pit because he was the son of the 
 deceased Octopus and that was all. Marion as- 
 sumed courage to press his hand and to look ear- 
 nestly into his eyes. Somehow, he wondered, if 
 she was sincere. Whether, after all, she was but 
 one more tool of her father's many? 
 
THE SIGNIFICANT CARD 213 
 
 No, he must not believe this ; he must think her 
 good and true. Oftentimes, if ever, it was difficult 
 to distinguish between the good and the bad in- 
 tent; therefore, he concluded it was just as hard 
 for an earnest face to look into his and deliberately 
 tell a lie. He decided to give her the benefit of the 
 doubt. Some may be able to tell, he continued on 
 in this line of thought, but he had not reached that 
 intellectual development when he could peer 
 through the frontal bone and see a contradiction 
 of what appeared on the surface. 
 
 He did not have spirit eyes. He was still human, 
 governed by the laws of flesh and blood. He knew 
 Marion of the past, and the present, and these were 
 the only standards by which he could measure her. 
 
 The city grew quiet as the hours dwindled past 
 midnight. Aerial crafts became scarcer and in- 
 habitants once more began to sleep. For Cleve 
 this was impossible. He sat grim, with a thousand 
 thoughts burning his mind. By nature he was an 
 idealist ; by environment a Monopolist. A Monop- 
 olist with nothing left to monopolize. The C. & 
 N. Co., together with the C. F. & D., owned prac- 
 tically all of the nation. " Where would it end ? " 
 he thought, his mind confused. 
 
 Deep in this meditation, he did not notice a neat 
 craft land, and a stylishly dressed woman ap- 
 proaching. She came with no uncertain step. The 
 symmetrical grace of the girlish figure indicated 
 good breeding and good looks before you had be- 
 held her features. In this abstraction, his face in 
 his hands, looking between the long fingers, down- 
 ward, he was unaware of her presence until she 
 laid a hand on his shoulder. He arose hurriedly 
 
214 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 from his position, his fist clinched and in a striking 
 attitude. 
 
 " You strike a woman ! " she said, holding up her 
 hand to ward off the blow. " However, it is only 
 natural; a Clouddweller is no respecter of persons. 
 Money is God ; it is everything ! " 
 
 " Humanity ! Where ! What ! You here ! " he 
 cried. 
 
 " Yes," she answered. 
 
 " Glad ! " he returned, regaining composure and 
 offering his hand. 
 
 She drew back as if afraid : " You see I am 
 alone," she said ; " and as I am a woman who fights 
 for the Pit, I am not considered by your class. It 
 is best to remain at a conversational distance." 
 
 " Understand, now and forever, I consider it 
 otherwise," he returned offended. 
 
 " You make me smile," she answered. " I would 
 laugh if I were in the mood. It is ridiculous for 
 you to talk to me like that. Why, man, do you 
 know who I am? I am supposed to possess no 
 soul ! Believed to be more heartless than mere 
 man. If it were known by those whom I have 
 given my life to " she paused; "Mr. Norton 
 and your father have given me no little trouble ! " 
 
 "I thought the 'Black Dragons' got you the 
 other night," he returned. 
 
 " They gave me a ' race for the money/ " she 
 answered smiling. 
 
 " Why did you speak in front of the hotel ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " To be frank, I thought you would be there ; 
 and I wanted to reach you," she said seriously. 
 
 " Me? " he asked surprised. 
 
THE SIGNIFICANT CARD 215 
 
 " YOU ! " 
 
 " Why should you have any interest in me?" he 
 stated. 
 
 A painful expression crossed her face as she 
 answered : " Then you, too, are already hardened. 
 I am not sorry I spoke this evening for the Daily." 
 
 "You?" he asked fiercely. 
 
 " Yes," she came back emphatically. 
 
 " You said : ' I was an offspring and would drive 
 fangs into hearts ; or something like that ! ' : ' was 
 his laconic reply. 
 
 " I did, and I have come to ask forgiveness. I 
 thought the words might have cut you. Granting 
 you are the son but " Her face grew white 
 with rage : " I hate the system ! And they who be- 
 lieve in it ! I cannot help it ! It is born in me, and 
 has become my second nature." 
 
 " Forgiven ! " he said gently. 
 
 She started to take his hand. He held back say- 
 ing : " You being alone prevents this. Remember, 
 young lady, you have no chaperon." 
 
 She smiled sweetly : " As you wish, Mr. Cloud- 
 dweller. I see you are bound to be contrary; but 
 some day you will be glad to do so. But " she 
 stopped "I have come to talk to you. I wish to 
 warn you." 
 
 " Thank you ! " he returned bitterly. 
 
 "You doubt me?" 
 
 "Not exactly," he replied. 
 
 " Do you know I have risked much to come 
 here ? " she asked. " Do you know if it were known 
 I were here I would be termed a traitress ; and 
 and something awful would happen to me ? " 
 
 " No ! I didn't know as much ! " he answered, 
 
216 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 trying to keep back the myriad terrors that threat- 
 ened to overwhelm him. 
 
 " A cold-blooded fact," she continued. " The Pit 
 recognizes no friend outside its dirty life. And if 
 I am discovered outside its sphere, I might as well 
 bid friends good-bye, because I am sure to take a 
 journey across the ' Stygian river/ 5: 
 
 He shuddered! He had laughed at her when 
 she had told him something similar before! He 
 began to argue, saying : " I saw you at the hotel, 
 at Grand Central. Why not this diabolical pledge 
 then? These places are certainly outside the Pit's 
 realm." 
 
 " Then, I had not taken the Murder's thirty-sec- 
 ond degree," she explained. " It is like Dante's ' In- 
 ferno ' : ' Lose all hope, ye who enter here/ I can 
 never visit the Clouds again, except under penalty 
 of death, if caught! " 
 
 ''You have taken " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Yes. I took the ' Guild of Blood/ the last and 
 most fiendish of the Murder's exacting bonds of 
 confederacy. I drank the gore of a murdered 
 Clouddweller ! " she replied. 
 
 " You have taken this hellish blood-drinking de- 
 gree ! Hounds of Satan ! " he cried. 
 
 " Yes ; and why not ? " she asked. 
 
 " You mean to tell me you drunk the blood of a 
 human being? " 
 
 She gave a little heartless laugh : " Tremble, you 
 weak Clouddweller. I only drank some wine sup- 
 posed to be the blood of our enemies." 
 
 " Sounds better," he said, heaving a sigh of re- 
 lief. 
 
 " But " she went on, " I came to inform you 
 
THE SIGNIFICANT CARD 217 
 
 that you and every one, directly and indirectly con- 
 nected with the C. & N. interests, are marked. Do 
 you get the trend of conversation? Mind you, and 
 furthermore, those who are dependent or draw an 
 income from this gigantic monopoly, are likewise 
 marked." 
 
 " You/' she continued, " the natural owner, by 
 ' terms of law/ the Pit has figured put out-of-the- 
 way, this holding would then become escheat; and 
 become the property of all the people. The Pit 
 believes this to avoid a revolution. I hate to think 
 of this proposition, but the Pit knows nothing but 
 cold-blooded business. Now/' she went on, " I 
 have tried to make you conscious of this, and by 
 your actions you have led me to believe that you 
 think I am painting the picture worse than it really 
 is, but at the first smell of powder your defenders 
 will run; they do not fight for love of it or for 
 civil virtue, but because you and Norton feed them. 
 If the Pit was in power there would be no army 
 and navy. And at your and Norton's murder, the 
 troops will join the Pit and will begin a carnage 
 that the ' dark night of civilization ' will not com- 
 pare, unless checked by the moral elements of both 
 classes." 
 
 " I thank you for this consideration," he said, 
 " but I can't join the Pit, as you wish ; the Cloud- 
 dwellers would say something about this. No. 
 I'm born under an unlucky star, and I am marked 
 for execution either way I go." 
 
 Her face pained, as she answered him : " Per- 
 haps, I think more of you than I should. Remem- 
 ber whatever happens I am still your friend. Here 
 is a card which the Pit will respect; take it, and 
 
218 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 some day it may come in very handy and you'll not 
 regret I gave it to you." 
 
 With bowed head and a sorrowful face she re- 
 turned to her ship. An impulse was strong in him 
 to call her back and feel more of the force that she 
 used in pulling him towards her and seemed in- 
 evitable as the law of gravitation. He wanted to 
 be near her to feel the inspiration her presence 
 inspired. He wanted to look long and tenderly 
 into the face he could love and respect. 
 
 While a retrospective view of conditions and a 
 panoramic scene of future uncertainties for the 
 time, blinded his senses, he was aroused from his 
 reverie by the whirr of a motor, and again, the 
 spice of her life, the ginger of her emotions had 
 passed, possibly for the last time, from his pres- 
 ence! 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL LINERS 
 
 CLEVE found himself on the landing of Grand 
 Central's pier, late one afetrnoon, a few days fol- 
 lowing Humanity's mysterious visit. Grand Central 
 was a landing for all the Trans-Continental Liners. 
 A spectator could see and meet people from the 
 four corners of the globe. Each nation was rep- 
 resented by a nomad of more or less respectability. 
 Cleve stood to one side of the vast throng and 
 watched the conglomerated mass of humanity as 
 it surged in its wake. 
 
 The liners, loaded with passengers, came down 
 looking like great pillows of clouds or demons of 
 hurricanes as the color was perceptible. The nearer 
 they came the bigger they were and looked as if 
 the huge things of metal would cover the whole 
 city. They came from every port and every nation 
 and made a great disturbance as they landed. It 
 was a beautiful sight and had always afforded him 
 royal entertainment when in the city. He would 
 slip away from his friends, take a seat near the 
 docks, and would muse and ponder to his heart's 
 content on the insignificance of the emigrants who 
 had left the old world to seek their fortunes in the 
 new. 
 
220 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 The hissing and buzzing of the propellers made 
 speech impossible and the force of the wind almost 
 disturbed his equilibrium. Cleve moved to a safe 
 distance and soon his attention was arrested by a 
 party that seemed to be surounding a woman. At 
 first he thought they were of his society, but as they 
 drew nearer their dress and manner indicated to 
 the contrary. Suddenly he caught his breath and 
 his heart seemed to leap to his throat. The out- 
 lines of the girlish figure he knew too well for it 
 was none other than that of Humanity. As they 
 advanced he walked boldly into the circle. His 
 actions caused a commotion and Humanity, her- 
 self, looked at him in wonder. She surveyed him 
 coolly and was quite a different person of a few 
 nights before. Wishing to know the why of her 
 refrigator's stares he purposely blocked her way 
 as she made an effort to pass. 
 
 " Don't you know me ? " he asked, as she tried 
 to shun him. 
 
 " I can best answer for her," said one of the 
 men of the party. ' Can't you see this lady does 
 not know or does not want to recognize you? You 
 look like a gentleman but her actions forbid your 
 further intrusion." 
 
 Cleve looked at the speaker. It was the same 
 face that had visited him in the West. The same 
 ugly scar proclaimed him Suddroff. He began to 
 feel uneasy. 
 
 " I know him, Mr. Suddroff," she explained. 
 " He's a nugatory pupil, and with a little learning 
 may yet become a great benefactor. I would in- 
 troduce him, but it would be of no consequence. 
 He has acted with some temerity, and possibly 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL LINERS 221 
 
 caused all some unnecessary embarrassment. I will 
 say for his credit that he has a heart, but we and 
 the Pit regard him as a monster. He is a Cloud- 
 dweller!" 
 
 SuddrofFs black eyes flashed and he saw gestures 
 of hatred from all sides. Whether Suddroff rec- 
 ognized him, Cleve could not tell ; but he would 
 not have liked the idea of encountering him either 
 in a physical or intellectual battle. Why Humanity 
 would keep company with these people he could not 
 understand. 
 
 " As you wish," said Suddroff, withdrawing his 
 threatening advances. " If it is your desire I will 
 let him go, otherwise, I will throw him headlong 
 into the depths below." 
 
 " It is my wish," she replied. 
 
 As Suddroff desisted he still regarded Cleve as 
 if he wished to carry out the ruling passion of his 
 brain. He eyed him so closely that he could not 
 meet his piercing gaze with ease or candor. This 
 made him appear doubly guilty and as if some 
 secret understanding existed between him and Hu- 
 manity. She was placed in the position of playing 
 the double cross. These people were catholic and 
 lived in the world by laws that were exact and un- 
 bending. 
 
 Humanity was master of the situation she 
 read SuddrofFs thoughts and began to speak: "If 
 any of you doubt my sincerity to the cause let him 
 speak so I may not continue under this wrong im- 
 pression. I left a place where my fidelity was 
 never questioned," she said, shooting a glance at 
 Suddroff. " It was the upper-circle, where I was 
 an equal. I left it for the blackest spot of the city 
 
222 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 - Murder's Row. Here to begin the overthrow of 
 the system a system that makes nothing but 
 rulers and slaves. I did it not because I wanted 
 notoriety; if that was my aim I would have acted 
 differently. I left the portals of its pearly gates 
 to cast my lot with suffering humanity. If my acts 
 are questioned, I have lived in vain, and my dream 
 for the great human principle is but a sickly 
 vision." 
 
 This commotion had drawn the idle and curious. 
 Cleve moved away in the opposite direction. The 
 congestion became so complete that the principals 
 narrowly averted being arrested. The police dis- 
 persed with the emphatic " move on." He was 
 conscious of the fact that he had caused this hub- 
 bub. To speak to her he had made a very foolish 
 attempt. It was inopportuned, and to protect him 
 and herself had caused her coldness. Why not, 
 after all, dismiss the thoughts of her? She could 
 never be anything more to him, because of where 
 she lived and he could never go there. 
 
 He had not seen Marion since the night of the 
 dinner. He had been pondering the great ques- 
 tions all the time and to-day had gone to Grand 
 Central to see sights calculated to change his trend 
 of thoughts for the while. And, too, his relations 
 between himself and her father had been strained. 
 Perhaps she didn't care for him now, but, Norton, 
 by his actions, bore no malice towards him. 
 
 Of course their business should continue on the 
 same way. But the mere trifle of money-making 
 was of no interest to him. To find who Humanity 
 was before she entered the Pit was paramount in 
 his mind. He was certain she was a lady then and 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL LINERS 223 
 
 now. It was noble in her to make this sacrifice to 
 help others. 
 
 What if Marion were like her: what happiness! 
 He chided at the comparison. The mockery ! This 
 could never be. The cries of the weak and mis- 
 erable had never reached Marion's ears. Yea ! he 
 was lonesome, even while the crowds passed and 
 repassed him. 
 
 He was marooned isolated in his thoughts 
 with a sea of faces about him. He dared not speak 
 for aid or advice. In Humanity alone was the 
 center of his aspirations and the goal of his happi- 
 ness. The dream of his life! The way! But 
 could he make this leap? Jump from the Clouds 
 to the Pit! Must he? She had, and he would 
 wager his life she was happy. Yes, happy in that 
 place! Yet, was that evidence that he would be 
 contented? Why not try it! He could never be 
 near her any other way. Disguise take an as- 
 sumed name and follow her. Join the movement! 
 These thoughts charged his being with new life. 
 Every nerve vibrated with thrilling sensations. 
 Electrified until his face shone with enthusiasm, he 
 felt for the first time in his life the real joy of 
 living. 
 
 But suppose she should not care for him after he 
 had made this surrender! This was perplexing, 
 should he fail in this attempt ! But being near her 
 would be worth the price. He would go go to 
 the Pit and live as the Pitdwellers lived! 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE JAIL DELIVERY 
 
 SOME few weeks had elapsed since the incident 
 at Grand Central and Cleve was still debating- the 
 probable journey into the Pit. He had remained 
 in seclusion and even refused to appear in the 
 photophone. He had been making 1 preparations for 
 the intended visit. He had let his beard grow and 
 then had it trimmed Vandyke style. It, with his 
 hair, was dyed rufous color and in this manner his 
 disguise was so complete that he was astonished 
 at himself. 
 
 Arranging the finishing touches of the make-up 
 he slipped away by the secret passage with a grip 
 full of gold certificates and made his way to the 
 Continental Bank & Trust Co. Under the name of 
 John Roberts he deposited the contents of the bag. 
 
 " Mr. Roberts," said the pale faced teller, recov- 
 ering speech after counting the huge sum, " we feel 
 honored to have you as one of our customers. I am 
 sure our President, Mr. Evans, will be glad to meet 
 you." 
 
 " I have just arrived," returned Cleve. " I came 
 here to study sociological conditions." 
 
 Cleve observed that a small slender clerk had 
 looked up from his work at his remark and was, 
 without doubt, making hasty memoranda of their 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 225 
 
 conversation. Cleve was well acquainted with 
 Evans, but he wished to make a test of his disguise. 
 And as they went to the private office, our hero 
 almost refused to enter as he saw Norton with the 
 Bank's executive. 
 
 Mr. Jones, the teller, introduced him, and his in- 
 cognito was complete. Both gentlemen asked him 
 many questions concerning his study of this nature, 
 and he left them as the hour grew late for the Pit. 
 
 As Cleve's feet touched the earth the Daily's 
 evening edition began. He listened until he learned 
 that Humanity would address the Pit in the Row. 
 His heart beat faster this was the place to which 
 he was bound. A limousine was passing. He 
 hailed it and gave instructions to go in all haste 
 to Murder's Row. The driver looked as if he mis- 
 understood. " The speaking ! Murder's Row ! 
 Quick ! " he explained. 
 
 The place was crowded, and Humanity was on 
 the rostrum. An old gentleman whom he took to 
 be Murd was directly in front of the speaker's 
 stand. His hair was long and white and a pair of 
 beady-black eyes gleamed from beneath the shaggy 
 mass. Suddroff was on the right, his ugly scar 
 looked repulsive and hideous, and his shoulders 
 seemed to broaden as he sat beside the old man. 
 This cicatrized condition of his face was his great- 
 est asset. It kept him in good standing, and many 
 times, when addressing, to supply emphasis, he 
 would call attention to it with the remark: "This 
 is what it cost me to be a Pitdweller." 
 
 Humanity spoke in a very refined way, and 
 words seemed to enrapt him. She explained her 
 great scheme to bring about its adoption. Her 
 
226 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 proposition was for the Government to either buy 
 all the property or go into the manufacturing- of all 
 the necessities of life at production prices. 
 
 Suddroff was the second speaker and arose in a 
 manner that defied opposition and the law of au- 
 thority. He began : " You may call me an anar- 
 chist! Let that be as it may. I favor no plan for 
 the Pit to buy from the Clouds what is already 
 their own." (Applause.) "While I have the ut- 
 most respect for our young lady friend " (more 
 applause) " I feel, somehow, that she is only a 
 woman and expects our dream to materialize like 
 some ' Pink tea ' affair." 
 
 " There is blood in Norton's eye," he continued. 
 " He is a true successor to the Monster. He is 
 every inch a criminal. Clevendor II has the same 
 blood." (Prolonged applause, and Cleve shivered.) 
 " To those of you who expect or wait for the rulers 
 to have a remorse of conscience, I cannot offer 
 words of encouragement. I have seen and felt 
 their aversions. I have been ejected from their 
 offices, and I would rather meet the devil, him- 
 self, face to face, and expect him to reform." 
 (Vociferous applause.) "I see not the millennial 
 dawn ushered in on the white wings of peace! I 
 can only see the bat and vampire wings in the skies, 
 and the streets of our cities stained in your blood, 
 as I stand in the center of this battling stage of 
 life's never-ending denouement!" (Wild applauses.) 
 
 " I have no patience with those of you who be- 
 lieve the lamb and the lion may lie down together 
 without the lion being the gainer. Neither do I 
 have any patience with you who expect to gain 
 your freedom without fighting for it. If the thing 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 227 
 
 is not worth the fight we might as well give it up 
 and acknowledge that we have been a pack of fools. 
 We might as well go home to our dirty hovels and 
 be contented with our portion of this Hell on Earth ! 
 I am not an orator," he went on, " I cannot tickle 
 your ears with honeycombed phrases. I came to 
 speak words I hope will burn in your minds and 
 make you think. If you are seeking entertainment 
 you might as well go, for it is likely that blood 
 will be shed here to-night. I may say and do the 
 very thing that may bring about this very condi- 
 tion. 
 
 He paused, surveyed with a fiendish and wicked 
 gleam coming from his savage eyes. "Am I not 
 right ? " he shouted. No response. Murd twisted 
 uneasily. Humanity lowered at him in disgust. 
 " You are cowards ! Nothing more ! " he growled 
 madly. " You want me to do all the fighting ! " 
 
 " Police ! Police ! " greeted this remark, and in- 
 stantly the place was in an uproar. Cleve sat still 
 and watched the scene like a spectator. A burly 
 Policeman reached the stage ; Suddroff shoved 
 him off. The people stampeded: Suddroff, Murd 
 and Humanity alone made no effort to escape. 
 " You are cowards ! " he heard Suddroff shout. 
 " Turn on these American Cossacks ! " 
 
 In the chaos he was not heeded. A second 
 policeman gained the rostrum ; Suddroff struck 
 him between the eyes and he fell like a stuck pig. 
 The police circle closed upon the three leaders. 
 Cleve managed to restrain himself until he saw 
 Humanity roughly handled. He was now running 
 frantically towards the melee ; but before he 
 reached it he saw Murd was pursued by a police- 
 
228 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 man and as the old man turned to defend himself 
 he heard simultaneous reports of automatics and 
 both went to the floor. As he bent over the bleed- 
 ing form of Murd his false flowing beard had left 
 his face and he easily perceived the German fea- 
 tures of Herr Binger. He reached the rostrum to 
 find himself surrounded, but he fought manfully 
 but manfully to no avail. It suddenly occurred 
 to him, " The sins of the father will be visited upon 
 the son.? . . . The laws his father had created to 
 oppress the Pit were now being used upon his son. 
 Cleve felt the stunning effects of blows from many 
 clubs, and became dazed and sank to the floor. 
 When he regained consciousness his environments 
 were that of a jail or police-station. The grey sky 
 through the barred windows told him it was the 
 cold dawn of morning. 
 
 He was a bundle of aches and pains. He knew 
 from the way his face felt it must be twice its 
 normal size. Huge bumps adorned his head and as 
 he pulled himself to a sitting position he felt a 
 thousand knives severing his spinal column. The 
 dry and parched feeling of his tongue and his 
 mouth indicated fever. He could hear the tread 
 of the regular watch. He managed to get near the 
 heavy iron door and tried to attract the guard's 
 attention. " Hey," he began, " would you give a 
 fellow some water ? " 
 
 :< There's supposed to be running water in 
 there," the guard replied and resumed his tramp- 
 tramp. 
 
 " I want some water, and want it quick ! " Cleve 
 commanded. 
 
 " I'm no plumber," the Watch replied. 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 229 
 
 Cleve swore to himself if he ever got out he 
 would do some reformation in regard to prison 
 deportment. He was in the act of speaking to the 
 guard again when a familiar voice from the cell 
 next to his interrupted by saying : " My kind 
 friend, what you say will do you no good. You 
 will have to take what treatment they propose to 
 give us." 
 
 " I have just been reminded of that fact," he 
 answered. 
 
 " It will be best for you to remain as quiet as 
 possible. I am sorry for you because of your 
 plight. Last night you acted heroically but not 
 wisely. Who ever you are, I think I have found a 
 friend and supporter, whom it* will be a pleasure 
 to know and one who will earn a name for himself 
 in the great coming battles of liberty. Whom may 
 I have the pleasure of addressing ? " 
 
 " The Adventurer," he replied. 
 
 " Quite romantic," she said. " However, I will 
 not press my curiosity; but, I will venture that 
 your last night's experience did not smack of either 
 romance or pleasure ? " 
 
 " No ; " he answered sadly. " It was my begin- 
 ning." 
 
 " I was aware of that," she returned. " I almost 
 knew it. The stranger at our meetings is the one 
 that is always caught. The police are after the 
 leader and the unfamiliar go to their rescue; and 
 the result is, he or they find themselves in jail with 
 the speakers." 
 
 " Your surmise of my case is correct," he said ; 
 " but what do you suppose they will do with us ? " 
 
 " That depends," she answered. " If we were 
 
230 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 just ordinary bomb-throwers we would be locked 
 up for disturbing the peace. But, since we are in- 
 telligent and have given the Clouds trouble it may 
 mean a life imprisonment or even worse. You 
 may be turned loose, but for Suddroff and myself 
 I do not know. 
 
 " You see," she continued, trying to appear 
 cheerful, " a policeman was killed last night. It 
 was Murd's bullet that did the work; but, as he 
 was also killed, Suddroff and I will be tried for 
 the crime; and, perhaps, they will bring you in 
 also." 
 
 Cleve shuddered. He trembled with fear and 
 horror. He cared not for himself but for Human- 
 ity. " Is this your first arrest ? " he inquired. 
 
 " It is," she answered. 
 
 Streaks of the early dawn streamed through the 
 barred window. With them came an increased 
 noise in the streets and many people were gather- 
 ing around the building. From the location of ad- 
 jacent structures he knew they were confined in 
 the county jail. Resuming his conversation with 
 Humanity he called attention to this fact. 
 
 " Yes," she replied ironically. " It takes a strong 
 place to hold we murderers." 
 
 "What of the noise? and why so many people 
 around ? " he asked. 
 
 Just then the voice of the Daily cried : " Extra ! 
 Extra!" 
 
 "Listen," she cried, "I believe the Pit's upri- 
 sing!" 
 
 The tremendous voice came in clear resonant 
 tones : " To the people of the city ; to the Cave- 
 men, Pitdwellers, and to you who love liberty, 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 231 
 
 Listen! The Clevendor Aerial Works are now be- 
 ing destroyed by desperate and enraged mobs. The 
 old Clevendor home t Norton's Aerialdome are but 
 smouldering ruins. It is said that Cleve Clevendor 
 and all servants in the old home have been mur- 
 dered or lost their lives in the flames. Now, dear 
 people, the last sovereign of that House is gone! 
 Freedom is dawning! The cause of this display 
 of vengeance was the storming of the Labor Hall 
 last night. The veteran Murd murdered; and 
 Humanity, Suddroff and another gentleman's ar- 
 rest. 
 
 "The Pit claims," the voice went on, "that 
 Clevendor created the ' Black Dragons.' While 
 the Daily does not approve of the arrest of these 
 individuals it does condemn lawlessness and mur- 
 der." As the voice ceased Cleve heard faint sobs 
 from Humanity's cell. He, too, was sad ; but glad 
 he had made the adventure, otherwise, he might 
 have perished as the Daily depicted. A great lump 
 came in his throat; tears trickled down his cheeks. 
 Just why he cried he could not tell; but, many 
 things that were dear to him were gone. The 
 Eagle, his room in the old home; the Aerial land- 
 ing and all were no more. 
 
 " I knew it ! I warned him ! " he heard Human- 
 ity sob. " He didn't believe me ! " 
 
 " I judge you have heard some very sad news? " 
 Cleve asked. 
 
 " I am sorry my emotions have disturbed you," 
 she replied. " I suppose it was a foolish notion I 
 wanted to gratify. I thought, perhaps, I might 
 make a man out of a friend whom I have just 
 learned is dead. There was no love of the sweet- 
 
232 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 heart kind ; only for the sake of humanity did I try 
 to save him. His brain was most too small, I 
 think; and what has happened is for the best." 
 
 Cleve fell back as if she had hit him ; and it was 
 a good thing for either of them that they could not 
 see each others' faces. He vowed some day he, at 
 least, would rise to her level. 
 
 " Wonder where Suddroff is ? " he asked, wish- 
 ing to change the subject. 
 
 " His cell is further down," she answered. " He 
 was unruly and, of course, his punishment will be 
 greater. I heard a noise from his cell a few times 
 during the night and I knew some of the demons 
 who were felled by his blows were seeking revenge. 
 Poor old Suddroff has paid dearly." 
 
 Cleve withheld the many curses that surged to 
 his trembling lips. " I guess it was good for me 
 that I was unconscious before I was brought here, 
 otherwise they would have to do the same thing to 
 me." 
 
 " They knew you were no leader ; but you put 
 several of them down, and they brought you along 
 to punish by imprisonment. I am to be doubly 
 tried," she went on. " It is intimated that I have 
 captured the heart of the young Octopus, and this 
 young man was to marry the daughter of King 
 Norton. I was accused of breaking up the match. 
 All grew out of me congratulating him the day he 
 won the International Cup. He caused me to win 
 a great deal of money, that was all. I fed the 
 starving with that money and, thereby, I gained 
 more prominence. My flight in the political sky 
 has been rather meteoric " 
 
 " And no doubt," put in Cleve, " you will yet go 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 233 
 
 higher in the people's favor and in your works, 
 too." 
 
 " Thank you," she said. 
 
 " I was at Grand Central on the day of the 
 Meet," he continued, " and I also witnessed the 
 jealousy of several women whom you did not men- 
 tion ; and I will say, further, you were the mate- 
 rial cause that hastened the death of Clevendor I." 
 
 " Your knowledge of people in high places leads 
 me to believe you are not a Pitdweller, and it is 
 very remarkable that you are where you are; how- 
 ever, as you have said you were an adventurer, I 
 can only judge by that you did not want to tell 
 your real name. I know it is very natural for one 
 not to have any human heart in this commercial 
 age, and I know when a person wants to seek the 
 Pit he or she must be in disguise. You are a seeker 
 after sociological truths and I suppose that chance 
 or destiny has brought us together." 
 
 " Your suppositions are quite right," he returned. 
 " I am all you have described and more. I left the 
 higher world to explore the underworld. It has 
 been the dream of my youth to know what kind of 
 creatures dwelt in these dark alleys. I had the 
 desire, and the opportunity came yesterday. Last 
 night found me in the Hall, and now you see what 
 has happened to me." 
 
 " I agree with you," she laughed. " Your intro- 
 duction has not been very pleasant ; however, down 
 here you receive your knowledge of social condi- 
 tions by blows and prisons. You have started 
 right." ' 
 
 Cleve was still suffering from the many blows. 
 Humanity had not been hurt. Poor old Suddroff, 
 
234 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 thought Cleve, had suffered enough, and had passed 
 the night akin to torment. With the rays of light 
 came a shift of guards. The second watchman, to 
 them, was as bad as the first. Breakfast was 
 served, but Cleve longed for an appetite. He felt as 
 though he would never eat again ; this sensual feel- 
 ing lay dormant and very unresponsive. Had he 
 more water he would have consumed it with his 
 meal with great gulps. 
 
 Poor Humanity, he wondered if she fared the 
 same. He truly felt sorry for her. 
 
 Cleve, after looking over the food and finding 
 nothing he wanted, and consuming the one glass of 
 water and cup of coffee, said : " Bring me some 
 more water to drink and some to bathe my face and 
 hands." 
 
 " I'm not a water-boy," growled the guard. 
 " This is not a bathing establishment. If the water 
 connection in your cell is out of commission, you'll 
 have to make it the best you can. I'm not a 
 Plumber or a water-boy." 
 
 Cleve suppressed his outraged feelings, but the 
 desire was strong to clutch the beast's throat and 
 choke him till his form was lifeless. 
 
 " Are there any other prisoners receiving this 
 same treatment ? " Cleve questioned. 
 
 " Sure. All Pitdwellers do," he replied. 
 
 Again his thoughts ran riot. He would gladly 
 have given his life to kill him at one blow, pro- 
 vided, he would not make it worse for Humanity. 
 " For the sake of a human principle," he cried, 
 " man ! beast ! who, or whatever you are, bring me 
 some more water ! " 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 235 
 
 " I've followed my instructions," the watch re- 
 plied and moved on to Humanity's cell. 
 
 " Youse sure a pretty woman," he said. " I 
 would like to put my arms around youse." 
 
 " My God ! " Cleve cried, as he heard the key in 
 the lock of her cell door turn. Humanity 
 screamed ; he could stand it no longer. He rushed 
 to the window and with all the voice he could mus- 
 ter he cried to the thick populace. His appeal was 
 caught up by the reflectorscopephones and echoed 
 up and down the great thoroughfares. High up 
 into the air it re-echoed and revoiced until almost 
 instantly the world knew what was about to take 
 place in the barred prison. 
 
 Suddenly that ever vigilant voice began its belch- 
 ing words: " Friends," it began, "Humanity, the 
 Joan of our movement, is now being sacrificed upon 
 the altar of savagery ! She is now being embraced 
 by the fiendish defenders of this damnable system ! 
 In the name of God, in the name of justice, in her 
 name ! Go ! go to her aid ! " 
 
 Cleve heard the door slam and Humanity's 
 pathetic " Thank God ! You have saved me ! " 
 The burly watch ran away. 
 
 The guards were now running up and down the 
 hall in vain effort to escape. The cries of the 
 people grew louder and louder, and he heard ex- 
 plosions and surmised that the jail defenders were 
 bombing the Pitdwellers. The crowds grew larger 
 and seemed to be ignorant of danger. They were 
 bent on storming the jail. From his barred win- 
 dow he saw the people run, and immediately there 
 followed a deafening report. A deep rumbling, 
 as if from the bowels of the earth, seemed to 
 
236 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 make the ground in front of the jail divide. 
 Fragments of dirt and mortar and the rattle of 
 fallen debris swept hissingly through the hall. The 
 huge walls seemed to vibrate and give way like 
 some mighty Titan was being overcome by a 
 stronger foe. In the moment of intermission Cleve 
 thought he saw the form of Sir Wilbro Dockins 
 directing a dynamite squad of Pitdwellers. His 
 head was bandaged as if he had received a wound. 
 In his hand he held a stick which he used as though 
 it were a sword. His corps were pushing some 
 huge instrument towards the Bastile. The crowd 
 cheered their efforts. A second lull, then this ter- 
 rible engine of destruction went off, followed by 
 a deafening detonation and it in turn was succeeded 
 by a thundering earthly roar. The stone flooring 
 of the cells rose and fell like the deck of a Mer- 
 chant Marine riding the angry waves. A mon- 
 strous seismic disturbance appeared to be taking 
 place. The air came through the prison chambers 
 like a raging tornado. Small particles beat the 
 prisoners' faces with stinging effect. The fortress 
 oscillated like a string in a gigantic piano, struck 
 by a Titan musician, and the dampers failed to 
 stop the doleful sound as it echoed and resounded 
 over the city. 
 
 Prolonged applause from the people, and the 
 guards were panic stricken in the halls and passage- 
 ways. The darkness and confusion cleared. The 
 explosion had torn away the fagade of the building. 
 
 " That must have been a powerful explosion/' 
 he heard Humanity say. " Everything is so light 
 now since the front has been demolished." 
 
 " I thought so," said Cleve. " I can't see as 
 
THE JAIL DELIVERY 237 
 
 well from here. You had better stay close in to 
 avoid flying bullets and bombs. These demons 
 have placed some with time fuse, but I think these 
 doors are strong enough to protect us." 
 
 Immediately a bomb burst, followed in quick 
 succession by others. The air filled with dust and 
 flying particles which beat against the doors. 
 They had taken the precaution to lay flat on the 
 floor, and they were not injured. The steel doors 
 were now jarred from their fastenings and they 
 were now at liberty. A torrent of bullets rained 
 through the hall in defense of the attempt to rescue 
 Humanity and other prisoners. The firing had 
 partly ceased when she spoke : " I must go out and 
 let the people see me. They want to know if I'm 
 alive." 
 
 "A good idea," he returned. "There's little 
 danger now ; the guard's ammunition is exhausted, 
 and I think we will have very little trouble in leav- 
 ing." 
 
 " I am ready," she said, " but don't you think we 
 had better see about Suddroff? We must not 
 leave him here." 
 
 " That's true," he replied, " I'll try to find him. 
 You say he is or was about four doors below ? " 
 
 Humanity assented, and he ventured out and 
 crawled to the fourth cell. He called to Suddroff; 
 no response. He tried the door; it was locked. 
 He peered through the opening and saw him on the 
 floor. He identified him by the scar. He was not 
 dead, but unconscious. His face was swollen, 
 bruised and bloody. The guards had pounded him 
 as she had said. 
 
238 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 "Did you find him?" she asked when he re- 
 turned. 
 
 '< Yes " he faltered. 
 
 " Dead ? " she whimpered with tears in her eyes. 
 
 " No," he answered, " but beaten to a pulp." 
 
 Her cheeks were colorless and she suffered great 
 pain. " The Clouds will pay for this in their own 
 blood. The Pit must know this. Come! the 
 people .are calling us." 
 
 But on the outside they found that the " Black 
 Dragons " maintained an aggressive front that 
 nothing could move or intimidate. 
 
 " It's no use," he said, " this patrol makes escape 
 impossible. 
 
 " See ! " he continued, " they have already taken 
 some prisoners. Look at that huddled circle; they 
 look as though they had been or are inmates of 
 this place." 
 
 " True," she responded. 
 
 All around were scattered bodies ; the fruits of 
 pestilent war. On both sides of the streets were 
 piles of human forms ready to be cremated. Blood 
 flowed in little rivulets to the ditches and gutters. 
 It was a sickly sight, and Cleve turned a discour- 
 aged face to her, saying : " We had as well go 
 back ; it's all off." 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE TRIAL 
 
 THE court room was crowded. People pushed 
 and elbowed for places of advantage in the big 
 hall of justice. Pioneers said the throng " was a 
 record breaker." The furniture, the judge's desk 
 and the bar appeared to frown in all its majestic 
 supremacy at the belligerents who had so boldly 
 outraged its sanctuary. 
 
 It had been proclaimed that the great labor 
 leaders would be tried for murder. 
 
 People came either from morbid curiosity or 
 deeply interested motives. It was a grave situa- 
 tion; a class battle pure and simple. The Clouds 
 arrayed against the Pit. The Pit leaders refused 
 to be represented at the bar; they had refused 
 counsel on the grounds that they were convicted 
 before being tried, and that the whole proceedings 
 were a prearranged, concocted affair to railroad 
 them to the electric chair. They even refused to 
 take the stand in their own behalf ; they said they 
 were " innocent," and that the Clouds' justice was 
 nothing less than a farce. A man of the Pit had 
 been murdered on the same night but no case had 
 been made of it. 
 
 The Daily Labor had openely declared that it was 
 a " concerted scheme," and it was the intention of 
 
240 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 Norton during- the few hours the Pit stormed the 
 jail, some few weeks ago, to put the Pit leaders 
 out of the way before they could be rescued. To 
 this the Pit had gotten wise and prevented his plans 
 and now as a last resort they were to be tried. 
 The heroes would go to the court and show 
 their contempt by remaining silent. If they were 
 declared guilty the Pit would rise in one grand 
 unit of revolt and would pursue or be pursued to 
 the damnable end of extermination. 
 
 A formidable patrol formed a barrier between 
 the spectators and the court officials. Every pre- 
 caution to prevent any possible attempt at rescue 
 was made. The prisoners were held secure in a big 
 steel cage in the room. 
 
 Some few days previous Cleve had been startled 
 by the announcement that Greyhouse and Marion 
 had been married secretly in the music room of the 
 Hotel Marion. He almost doubted his existence; 
 he aroused himself several times to see if he were 
 not dreaming. The Evening News was telling the 
 truth and the strangest part of it all was her parents 
 did not object. They considered it all quite proper 
 and were now making purchase for a handsome 
 suite for their distinguished son-in-law. Cleve 
 clinched his fists; he was fighting mad. He arose 
 to go to the hotel and investigate, but the iron door 
 of fate confronted him, and with a grim smile he 
 returned and sat upon the edge of his bed. 
 
 Newman was right, after all, he mused. She did 
 not love him ; his money was all she was after. 
 Now, that her father had obtained it by his sup- 
 posed death she was free to marry whom she 
 pleased. His father had made provision that in the 
 
THE TRIAL 241 
 
 event of his death his property should be inherited 
 by Norton. He knew this. Norton now controlled 
 the courts and every power through which he could 
 possibly regain his fortune, and Cleve now could 
 see himself incarcerated in some madhouse for pre- 
 tending to be the son and heir apparent to the 
 throne. No ! he could never do it now, he must 
 wait for some other opportune time to strike! 
 
 As Cleve raised his heavy eyes he chanced to see 
 Norton, Greyhouse and Marion entering the room 
 from the secret passage. He knew his eyes flashed, 
 and he could feel the situation growing more tense 
 as they made their way and took seats just behind 
 him. His face was still bruised beyond recogni- 
 tion. Humanity looked in their direction, but gave 
 no visible sign of interest. Suddroff glanced, too, 
 but his eyes resumed their cold stare as he encount- 
 ered his arch enemy. He was still in a stupor, 
 still stunned by the terrible infliction. 
 
 The judge nervously pulled a few papers from 
 his desk and looking at the State's attorney, said : 
 " I find the defense refuses to have counsel." 
 
 " Your Honor, you are right/ 5 replied the lawyer. 
 
 A deep hush fell upon the vast audience, only 
 audible by sounds of the continual hubbub of excite- 
 ment on the outside. Near the front were many 
 Pit leaders and sympathizers, while directly behind 
 the pirsoners' cage were seated Senators Dawson, 
 Clark and Mr. James and a number of prominent 
 persons. These people composed and made up the 
 Norton circle and seemed to regard the proceedings 
 with some degree of uneasiness. 
 
 The first twelve men out of a special venire of 
 five hundred had been examined and passed into 
 
242 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 the jury box unchallenged. The clerk read the 
 charge, " State vs. Humanity, Suddroff and John 
 Roberts." 
 
 "Guilty, or not guilty?" queried the judge. 
 
 No response from the cage they were silent 
 the judge grew agitated. 
 
 At this juncture, a towering, stately form arose 
 and stood before the bar. " Your honor, sir," he 
 began, " I offer my service as a lawyer and not as 
 an official in behalf of these prisoners." 
 
 " Very well," replied the judge, " let the case be- 
 gin." 
 
 Great cheering came from the audience. The 
 voice of the Daily took up the echo and reiterated 
 in words the scene before the court : " The case has 
 begun," the voice cried, " and Mr. Greyhouse (the 
 mayor and son-in-law of Norton) has offered him- 
 self to defend the prisoners without fee or com- 
 pensation." 
 
 The judge faced the people and demanded order, 
 saying : " I mean to try this case according to the 
 law and evidence." (Hissing and cat-calls greeted 
 the remark.) 'The case shall begin," he repeated, 
 surveying the assembly in an assumed attempt at 
 defiance. 
 
 Greyhouse's action had to some extent stemmed 
 the tide of sentiment and placed many bitter ones in 
 a doubtful state as to the guilt or innocence. Dur- 
 ing the preliminaries he had sat with his knees 
 crossed and maintained that stoical indifference 
 characteristic of the man of affairs, and seemed to 
 regard the whole thing as a melodramatic farce. 
 
 Cleve was perplexed beyond comprehension. 
 He could see that Marion was vexed; even the 
 
THE TRIAL 243 
 
 heavy scowl of Norton's showed to a great degree. 
 The corps of distinguished men in the " golden 
 circle " looked their chagrin. The Mayor sat still 
 and determined; he looked as though, however, 
 he was acting against the wishes of some out- 
 side force. Cleve's deep bitterness for him did not 
 melt; he could not trust him, and a man without 
 this element he could not consider. No call of jus- 
 tice prompted Greyhouse's move; he could not 
 help but feel that some sinister motive was behind 
 it. 
 
 The first witness to be questioned was a big 
 burly Policeman. 
 
 "Your name?" asked the attorney. 
 
 " J. H. Johnson," the witness replied. 
 
 " What is your business ? " 
 
 " Policeman," he said, as if proud of his job. 
 
 " Mr. Johnson, you were at a labor meeting on 
 the night of June sixteenth in Murder's row? " 
 
 " I was." 
 
 " Did any disturbance happen that night ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 :( Tell the jury what kind of trouble it was." 
 
 " It was one of those Pitdweller's disturbances." 
 
 " Rough house," the prosecutor suggested. 
 
 " You can call it that." 
 
 " Do you know these prisoners ? " 
 
 " I saw them there." 
 
 "You are sure?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Did a Policeman get killed that night?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You know he was killed there ? " 
 
 " Sure." 
 
244 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 "Was his name W. L. Jenkins?" 
 
 " It was." 
 
 " You know he was the man, and was killed in 
 the meeting? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Do you know who killed him ? " 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " Can you point out the murderer among these 
 prisoners ? " 
 
 " Sure I can." 
 
 Instantly all necks were craned and people stood 
 up in their chairs and seats to get a glimpse of the 
 famous prisoners, and to see which of the three the 
 Policeman would designate as the guilty one. 
 
 " The woman called Humanity fired the shot, 
 and these other two prisoners held Mr. Jenkins 
 while he was murdered," came the direct words of 
 the witness. 
 
 Cries of "Outrage! Black lies!" greeted the 
 witness. Humanity stood and smiled her appre- 
 ciation to the people. The crow r d hissed and the 
 judge rapped for order, exclaiming: "Another 
 contempt of court and I will clear this room. You 
 are here because I want to show the Pit that there 
 is justice in my court and I am going to try this 
 case according to the law and evidence." 
 
 The second and third witnesses testified word for 
 word as the one who had preceded them. Grey- 
 ihouse let them go, as he had the first, without a 
 question. This finished the State's witnesses, and 
 as the defense offered no witnesses or rebuttal 
 testimony, the prosecuting attorney arose to argue 
 before the jury. His plea was a butchered 
 harangue of English purported to stir the feelings 
 
THE TRIAL 245 
 
 of class hatred without a semblance of argument 
 to the case. 
 
 As he resumed his seat Greyhouse's majestic 
 form rose towering in its intellectual prestige and 
 with that firm and defiant manner born of a leader, 
 he began: "This, gentlemen of the jury, within it- 
 self is the most wantingly absurd case imaginable. 
 It is lacking in all of its requirements; a manu- 
 factured case," he said. "The State has been 
 forced to institute this not because the State be- 
 lieves that these prisoners are or were guilty, but 
 because there's one man that wants them murdered. 
 That's the reason, gentlemen of the jury. A Pit- 
 dweller was killed at this same meeting, and it has 
 not been mentioned. No case has been made of it. 
 Why? Because it was the Clouds' bullet that did 
 the work that's why it escaped their notice ! An- 
 other thing that makes this case all the more ab- 
 surd is, that you are all Clouddwellers to try poor 
 Pit prisoners! Do you think there is any justice 
 in that? Where is the precedent? The criterion? 
 It's a farce! This and these prisoners are inno- 
 cent. They are as innocent as new born babes. 
 And you know it! Though, Pitdwellers they may 
 be, that should not make any difference to reason- 
 able men. It has never been proven that this 
 woman or prisoners had pistols at that meeting. 
 All the evidence you have is that this Policeman 
 said she killed one of their rtumber. Is not that 
 enough to make any self-respecting person blush? 
 To think these inhumans could be given credence 
 or relied upon in this enlightened age is preposter- 
 ous. A revolting thing and an insult to your in- 
 telligence. If you place capital punishment on these 
 
246 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 prisoners, and they are murdered by this farce 
 court, I can but see the inevitable. Some great 
 indescribable something is certain to befall this 
 nation. I am not " 
 
 A terrible explosion or some extraordinary fear- 
 ful noise that sounded like the firing 1 of many 
 thousand cannons interrupted Greyhouse : " You 
 hear it ! " he cried. 
 
 In the jury box were twelve frightened faces; 
 the audience cheered. The judge turned an 
 anxious look to the crowded room and said : " An- 
 other demonstration like that and I will send my 
 words on the points of bayonets." 
 
 When the excitement subsided Greyhouse con- 
 tinued : " I hear the call ; I hear the voice of the 
 law the court the jury of last resort (the 
 people). That voice says this woman and pris- 
 oners are innocent. What will this jury say?" 
 he paused, from the windows he could see the air 
 was dense with dust and all could hear the rattle 
 of some small fragments on the roof of the room. 
 The huge place seemed to swing like a pendulum 
 in a big clock. A deafening roar permeated the 
 atmosphere and the Dailv's voice like a voice " cry- 
 ing in the wilderness " said : " A black shooting 
 craft came out of the sky and dropped a bomb on 
 the Hotel Marion and now this magnificent struc- 
 ture is a mass of smouldering ruins." 
 
 " My mother ! " Cleve heard Marion cry above 
 the voice of the judge who demanded that the re- 
 flectorscopephone be closed. 
 
 Norton was now deeply affected. Dawson, 
 James and Clark and others looked uneasily 
 
THE TRIAL 247 
 
 towards an exit. Greyhouse maintained a cool in- 
 difference while Marion sobbed audibly. 
 
 " As the judge has ordered the reflectorscope- 
 phone closed," said Greyhouse continuing, " gen- 
 tlemen, who knows but that this same mysterious 
 craft is at this moment hovering over this building 
 ready to drop one or more of its destroying bombs 
 the moment this jury convicts these prisoners?" 
 
 With these words he seated himself saying to the 
 prosecution, " I have finished." 
 
 The attorney refused to answer or to rise from 
 his seat. He seemed to be dazed and paralyzed. 
 Qeve saw a mischievous smile pass over Human- 
 ity's face. The jurymen were eyeing each other 
 uneasily. Greyhouse's suggestion that the court 
 would be destroyed appeared to affect them beyond 
 expression. 
 
 The Clouddweller judge was still determined to 
 charge the jury, but the dull rumbling continuing 
 outside seemed to strike terror to all. Officers, 
 jurymen, court and audience adjourned in the most 
 chaotic manner. The verdict was never rendered. 
 Greyhouse went over to the cage and turned the 
 lock and the prisoners were now free. Marion was 
 overwhelmed with fear. Qeve remembered her 
 vision and as her husband moved toward her he 
 saw the powerful fist of Norton strike him full in 
 the face. The Mayor went down groaning with 
 agony. Marion uttered an ear-piercing scream and 
 how her eyes fastened upon him as he felt Hu- 
 manity's hand placed on his shoulder. He was 
 conscious that she was leading him towards the 
 door while Suddroff followed. No one had the 
 nerve to molest them or stay their going. 
 
248 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Come ! " she said, her face all smiles, " they 
 are afraid of the result. They know not what to 
 do. Greyhouse could see it all. This unselfish ac- 
 tion of his will be rewarded." 
 
 Cleve was unable to answer and like Suddroff 
 followed in mute silence. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 OUTSIDE a special car was provided for them; 
 they climbed into it quickly. Suddroff was still in 
 deep thought, and appeared as if the strain had 
 been so much as to almost unbalance his reason. 
 His every act was mechanical and without interest. 
 Thousands greeted them as the Auto moved along 
 the streets. A great army of Pitdwellers instantly 
 formed and marched behind their car, yelling and 
 giving vent to their glad feelings. It seemed to be 
 understood that a great demonstration would take 
 place in the Row. 
 
 This was the first time in many years that a huge 
 procession had been allowed to proceed unmolested 
 by the " Black Dragons." The reason, perhaps, 
 was that the father of the city (Norton) was admin- 
 istering some kind of punishment to the Mayor. The 
 vigils who had watched the Pit in good faith, and 
 had performed their duty in every way, knew that 
 there were some kind of row or fight on at head- 
 quarters. Now the vigils may watch in vain and 
 tell what may be of good or of bad conduct on the 
 part of the Pit, but to whom could they report? 
 Greyhouse had defended the prisoners of the Pit ! 
 and while there was a disagreement at the city hall 
 there would also be a jubilee in the Row. 
 
250 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 At last the machine came to a standstill at Hu- 
 manity's home. From here a number of strong 
 editorials had come and it was the hub of all opera- 
 tions for the final overthrow of the Clouds' rule. 
 
 Cleve found himself lionized. He was proudly 
 introduced to all the prominent leaders who rushed 
 forward to greet them. A great sea of faces were 
 before him and the cries of " Speech ! Speech ! " 
 were heard from every side. He acknowledged 
 their salutations with bows and smiles ; but this 
 mild recognition failed to satisfy the throng who 
 had gathered to hear an account of the trial and 
 the mysterious knight. Humanity stood on the 
 back seat of the Auto as she had on former occa- 
 sions, and said: 
 
 " Comrades, you have no idea how pleased I am 
 to be with you again." The crowd cheered, and 
 she continued : " They tried to make martyrs of us, 
 but in their bloodthirsty scheme, Providence pre- 
 vented." Cries of " You are right ! " and a voice 
 of powerful proportion said : " God indeed has 
 saved our Queen." This brought forth renewed 
 applauses and Humanity blushed and bowed in the 
 direction of the speaker. " I suppose you are speak- 
 ing figuratively and not literally," she answered. 
 (More applause.) 
 
 " Kings and Queens, my comrades, belong not to 
 our new brotherhood of man. I am glad to say we 
 have reached a higher plane of civilization. We 
 have reached a rung in the ladder from which we 
 can now see the light. Kings and Queens belong to 
 that period of darkness when beasts prowled in 
 human forms and skins to that age when men 
 and women were ' red of fang and tooth/ '' 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 251 
 
 (Laughter and wild applause.) " Norton," she 
 went on, " belongs to that civilization, and so does 
 every Clouddweller who believes in the present 
 condition of things. In proof of what I say I wish 
 to point out that they have gone to the jungles to 
 get their intelligence to defend the principles they 
 believe in. They have turned the enforcement of 
 the law over to them, showing you where they wish 
 to keep society to-day. They have imported thou- 
 sands from the darkest nooks and corners of the 
 world ; have given them suffrage ; they have prom- 
 ised them social equality, everything! if they will 
 but help to perpetuate this beastly system." (Wild 
 and prolonged cheering.) 
 
 She continued : " This system of Government is 
 beastly, friends, because it is defended by beasts. 
 If it had not been for the ' Mysterious Knight/ I 
 might have suffered the excruciating ordeal of be- 
 ing embraced by one of the monsters." (Vocifer- 
 ous cheering and calls for the " Mysterious 
 Knight.") 
 
 " The Mysterious Knight ! The Mysterious 
 Knight!" cried voices. "Tell us about him?" 
 
 " Comrades," she besfan, " this noble Knight is 
 as much a mystery to me as he is to you. How- 
 ever, as he is here it would be more becoming for 
 him to tell his own story, but, in the event he needs 
 any recommendation, remember I stand sponsor 
 for him." (Applause and calls for the Knight.) 
 Humanity paused for the cheering to cease, then 
 resumed : " My friends, presently the Mysterious 
 Knight shall speak to you." Cleve blushed and 
 groped for words that must come to him when he 
 should speak. 
 
252 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " Fellow citizens," she continued, " if I had lived 
 in those old Roman days and been as barbarous ; 
 if I had been with Caesar when he thrice refused 
 the crown from the politician Mark Anthony; and 
 had I known the Mysterious Knight as I now know 
 him, I would have said, ' these are they who are 
 even greater than Caesar.' " (Applause and voices 
 of approval.) " On June the i6th our noble friend 
 proved himself to be a Caesar, and now, my 
 friends and co-workers, I take great pleasure in in- 
 troducing your modern Caesar who will also refuse 
 to be crowned." (Prolonged cheering.) 
 
 Cleve arose; a hush, the silence of death fell 
 over the vast audience, and he noticed a dark scowl 
 envelop the features of Suddroff. It was evident 
 'he was not pleased. While Humanity was speak- 
 ing, and calls were emanating from the throng for 
 Cleve, not one time did he hear his name mentioned. 
 He had sat gloomily on the front seat looking at the 
 people and the repeated cries for this man who was 
 an unknown quantity made him feel all the more 
 sullen. This man who had never been identified 
 with the movement had been given an ovation ; even 
 Humanity had lauded him without one reference 
 to him. His grey locks had succeeded the buoy- 
 ancy of youth; he had grown feeble in mind and 
 body. No wonder he envied this young man ; no 
 wonder every cry for him was but a dagger thrust 
 deeper into his bleeding heart. Before Cleve could 
 utter a word Suddroff aroused himself and began 
 to talk. This action so astonished our hero that 
 for the moment his wits were scattered and the sea 
 of faces were but a blurred mass. His tongue 
 clove to the roof of his mouth and the speech he 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 253 
 
 had corralled came not. His lips refused to work, 
 his mouth was sealed and he could utter no sound. 
 When he pulled himself together Suddroff was say- 
 ing: 
 
 " Comrades, you are wrong." A storm of hisses 
 greeted him. " You hiss ! " he continued, " you 
 scaly reptiles ! You geese ! You hiss because of 
 your malignity and simplicity. You know not what 
 you do/' he cried amid jeers and hisses. " Such 
 as you crucified the Savior!" ("Sit down! Sit 
 down ! " came from all sides, but he didn't heed 
 them and went on) : " You call for this person as if 
 you thought he were made of Pitdweller clay and 
 belonged to your class. You simpletons ! He's a 
 Clouddweller an exploiter he's a spy, hired 
 by Norton ! " 
 
 " Proof ! Proof ! " demanded the crowd. 
 
 " Proof ! you cry," challenged Suddroff. 
 
 " I can prove every word," he answered de- 
 fiantly. 
 
 "We believe Humanity; she says he's all right," 
 shouted a voice. 
 
 " Humanity ! Who is this woman ? She may be 
 a spy as well ! " (Cries of shame ! shame !) " She 
 came to the Pit with millions of exploited dollars ; 
 she has been a Pitdweller " ( A voice interrupted 
 him : " What's the matter, old man ? Are you, too, 
 jealous?") A volley of laughter followed this re- 
 mark and the voice went on : " We still believe 
 Humanity and will take her word." 
 
 Humanity arose and looked over the audience 
 and encountered Suddroff with a look that made 
 'him cower. He sat down and gazed at Qeve with 
 
254 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 malice and envy written in every line of his coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 " Friends," she said, " I am glad of your con- 
 fidence. I hope you will never rue this day because 
 of it. Suddroff proves by his rashness that he is 
 not the leader of our cause the greatest cause 
 since the days of Christ. I, for one, am ashamed 
 that he would use his power to prejudice you 
 against a noble person. And as for his allusions 
 to me, it is for you to say whether I have kept the 
 faith." (Cheers and cries, "You have!") 
 
 " I, for one," she continued, " regret that the 
 movement is so narrow, or composed of men so 
 narrow, that all cannot be leaders." (Applause.) 
 " I would rather be a follower in the ranks, yea ! I 
 would prefer to be an humble private, free to take 
 to the ' tall timber ' at the first smell of powder, 
 and perhaps save my life than be a leader marked 
 for execution. I would rather be of the masses 
 with an honest record, than to be of the first, a 
 prisoner, marching between a defile of soldiers to 
 my fatal doom." (Applause.) " Friends, there is 
 much truth in the old saying, ' Heavy is the head 
 that wears a crown/ That is one of the reasons 
 I refused to be made a Queen a moment ago ; even, 
 if a friend did say I was worthy, I simply deny it." 
 (Laughter and applause.) 
 
 While Humanity spoke, Suddroff remained quiet, 
 awaiting an opportunity. After she had exhausted 
 a flowery laudation of Cleve's bravery at the jail 
 and his action on the night of June i6th, she 
 paused. Suddroff arose again, looked appealingly 
 at Humanity as the crowd began to jeer and cry, 
 " Sit down ! " 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 255 
 
 " My friends," she said, " I beg of you to restrain 
 yourselves and listen to him. He looks on this 
 movement as a parent does its child; he will be- 
 have and I believe he is sincere in what he is going 
 to say, but, of course, a parent is sometimes 
 jealous." (Cheers.) "Listen to his accusations, 
 whether prompted by a spirit of good or not." 
 
 " You needn't be afraid," she said to Cleve as 
 she sat down amid cheers. " I believe I am able to 
 protect you." Suddroff surveyed the audience in 
 cold contempt and shot daggers at Qeve. 
 
 " Comrades," he began, " I believe you are yet 
 my friends." (Light ripple of applause.) " I know 
 there are some of you who hate me ; I can't blame 
 you, it is natural. Some people always despise a 
 successful man. Some even scorn their Creator 
 because He made better men and women than they 
 could ever hope to be. I will admit that I have 
 done wrong in speaking of our own beautiful Hu- 
 manity so uncomplimentary." (Cheers.) " I was 
 prompted by a spirit of madness. Some of you say 
 I was jealous; but you are wrong. My friends, 
 our movement is about to be led by a person in 
 the employment of Norton. I got mad. Wouldn't 
 you? Now, don't get excited, that is what is about 
 to happen and I give you my word that I will prove 
 what I say. I was informed on the afternoon of 
 June i6th, that this person, who has become a 
 Mysterious person, and is known bv the name of 
 John Roberts, deposited several millions in one of 
 the Clevendor-Norton banks. He was introduced to 
 Norton and after receiving his instructions came 
 directly to our meeting and put up a very hard fight 
 for us. We understand no law but force and can't 
 
256 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 realize that a man out in merely sociological study 
 would do this. If he were poor I would say he 
 fought for liberty ; but he is rich and is using a 
 ruse, and will betray us to the enemy. This in- 
 formation came from our spy-system, and we can't 
 doubt it." 
 
 Cries from all sides rang out : " Kill the spy ! 
 Burn him ! Suddroff is right ! Get the traitor ! " 
 A spasmodic rush was made toward the car. Cleve 
 knew the bloodthirsty passions of the mob and with 
 Suddroff the leader, his life would be of but so 
 many minutes. Humanity sprang to her feet. 
 
 " Gentlemen ! " she cried, " I couldn't believe 
 that you are so criminal ! Take the life of one who 
 has come from above to make you as free as him- 
 self f Comrades " 
 
 " A spy ! " interrupted a voice. " We know you 
 are all right; we love vou, but we can't let an im- 
 postor Come on, boys, let's make short work of 
 the wretch ! " 
 
 " The first brute that puts his hand on him will 
 have to kill me ! " she cried, taking a position in 
 front of Cleve. " Let him speak. This man will 
 clear everything ! " 
 
 The crowd fell back and Suddroff jumped up 
 and shouted : " Come on, boys ! Don't stop at what 
 that woman says ! " 
 
 The fire in Cleve's eyes glared in magnificent 
 flame of self-protection. He bounded to his feet; 
 grabbed Suddroff by the nape of the neck with his 
 left hand and securely fastening the other in a con- 
 venient place just north of his thigh he pitched the 
 old man headlong into the street. " There goes the 
 biggest coward of the bunch ! " he exclaimed. 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 257 
 
 " And the rest of you are not much better, other- 
 wise you would not permit this system of Cloud- 
 dweller robbery! I say you are cowards! On the 
 night of the raid I was the only one to go to this 
 kind-hearted girl's rescue. But when several thou- 
 sand to one you would murder to gratify the ambi- 
 tion of a cowardly leader! I thought you were 
 liberal people, but I find that you care more for 
 personal ambitions. You cry loud for the down- 
 fall of Clevendor-Norton & Co., and are yourselves 
 ten times more criminal. You say it's the system 
 that makes you do this, but that's the cry to excuse 
 your baser natures. 
 
 " I am a Clouddweller," he went on, " and ' have 
 the coin ' lots of it. The babble of you blather- 
 skites that I'm an employee of Norton's gives me a 
 sickly pain. A spy! How's this," he said, hold- 
 ing the black card Humanity had given him. 
 " Does that look like it? when it is dated before 
 June 1 6th ! " he shouted, holding the card aloft 
 amid vociferous cheering. " I am your New 
 Knight, too, although somewhat mysterious, be- 
 cause I came from obscurity to the ' limelight.' I 
 heard Humanity she gave me the inspiration for 
 which my soul cried. Gentlemen, I am honest, but 
 not yet converted; I am free to admit I am igno- 
 rant, but where my knowledge falls short I bring 
 millions to further the cause. Now, if you wish 
 to destroy the opportunitv of securing a new friend 
 with a bag of gold carry out your dastardly inten- 
 tions of a moment ago and you will have accom- 
 plished a commission for which Norton will shed 
 tears of joy." (Applause and cries of "We are 
 satisfied.") 
 
258 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 Humanity's admiration increased; she saw in 
 him a future leader. A man who could change a 
 mob, crying for his blood, into cheers for his glory, 
 was indeed great, she thought. Instantly she was 
 by his side proclaiming his greatness, and with a 
 small American flag waving above his sandy brow, 
 and wild cheering from the vast throng, made a 
 pretty close and fitting climax to the dramatic 
 scene. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE PHOTO OF KARL 
 
 CLEVE opened his eyes on a new day. The Daily 
 was still echoing how it happened and what it all 
 concerned. His picture, with Humanity's and 
 Suddroff's, had been shown and were still being 
 shown on thousands of electrical boards with gush- 
 ing eulogies. Cleve was now before the world not 
 as Mr. Clevendor, the richest man in all the world, 
 but as John Roberts, a Pitdweller. 
 
 He rubbed his drowsy eyes as he beheld his sur- 
 roundings with some degree of interest. He had 
 been assigned to a sumptuous apartment. Al- 
 though one thing was conspicuous for its absence, 
 no servants had put in their appearance and there 
 was no call bell in the room. He had become ac- 
 customed to waiting on himself while in prison, so 
 he bounced out of bed and began making his toilet. 
 
 The evening before he wondered if the brilliant 
 chamber would look so well by the light of day. 
 However, dawn had found him enjoying even more 
 the place. My that bed ! he thought, it was so dif- 
 ferent from the hard prison one. When he retired 
 for the night it seemed to unfold and he was con- 
 scious of entering the " land of nod " and travel- 
 ing many sleepy miles across the dream-land sky 
 before he reached slumber-land. He felt the vital- 
 
260 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 izing influence of this deep sleep and the fresh air 
 had stimulated him wonderfully. After his cold 
 plunge, every nerve, every tissue and fiber thrilled 
 in one perfect strain of melody. 
 
 Observing himself in the mirror, the dyed hair 
 had made no perceptible change; had his impris- 
 onment lasted longer, this may not have been the 
 case. He was still the same self-seeking person. 
 Yea! to be this person had cost him much the 
 woman destiny decreed should have been his wife. 
 He wondered if he truly loved Marion? He now 
 doubted it. Perhaps, if he had never met Human- 
 ity. He blushed as he thought of her. But, a 
 friend of the viper Greyhouse ! What was there 
 between them ? Mistress ! It was preposterous 
 it was a lie ! But, she must explain her relations 
 with him. 
 
 The huge mission clock told the hour was high 
 noon he began to hurry and went straightway 
 to the library ; here he had bid Humanity " good 
 night." He entered; no one was in sight. He 
 began to amuse himself by turning through a num- 
 ber of volumes of Greek Classics ; but, before he 
 had gone far his attention was arrested by a life- 
 like painting looking down at him. It was so real 
 it startled him. The small beadlike eyes appeared 
 to regard him suspiciously, and he felt a little un- 
 canny. It was the likeness of some great departed 
 soul. The eyes, while piercing, were kind and 
 sympathetic; the nose aquiline and Jewish. The 
 dark hair and Vandyke beard, with patches of grey, 
 showed the picture had been made in the prime of 
 middle life. The blurred inscription below read : 
 " Karl , the enthroned hope of millions." 
 
THE PHOTO OF KARL 261 
 
 "Karl who?" he repeated reflectively; "who 
 was he ? " He could not call to mind a single re- 
 minder of this person. A writer, a musician, an 
 orator, or what? He looked again at the picture 
 and saw the heavy brow that fell straight over the 
 eyes, shielding a massive brain he looked into 
 the face of a thinker, a student; but to what age 
 and what great cause did he belong? The clothing 
 looked the style of a century or more ago, still the 
 general expression of face indicated knowledge far 
 in advance of his day. 
 
 He concluded he was some famous Pitdweller 
 writer whose name had not received a place in 
 Clouddwellers' conversation. " A great soul, Mr. 
 Roberts," spoke a voice that had always thrilled 
 him. She had entered from a side door and no- 
 ticed his critical observation of the painting-. 
 
 " I wasn't aware I was enjoying your company," 
 he replied. 
 
 " I should not have disturbed you," she answered. 
 
 " No apologies," he interposed, " I was trying 
 to figure out this man." 
 
 She looked at him in that frank innocent way, 
 saying: "Are you really serious, Mr. Roberts?" 
 
 " Yes, Miss " he faltered. 
 
 " Humanity," she supplied. 
 
 " Well, Miss Humanity, I acknowledge my ig- 
 norance." 
 
 " What Christ gave to the world to make spirit- 
 ually free," she replied, " this man gave to make 
 politically free. The Savior dealt not in economics, 
 but proposed a new system of morals a more 
 thorough understanding of man's relation to God. 
 This man opposed or proposed a religion. He 
 
262 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 cared not for personal or individual desires I 
 suppose I am boring- you ? " she asked looking 
 earnestly into his face. 
 
 " No, I am interested," he answered. 
 
 " You must be sadly in need of this information. 
 Think of making- a sociological study and never 
 having heard of this man," she laughed. 
 
 " I am willing to learn the A. B. C/s of your 
 wonderful philosophy," he said. 
 
 " You will learn," she encouraged. 
 
 " Depends on who teaches me," he ventured. 
 
 " Oh ! does it ? " she arched her eyebrows. 
 
 " When a pupil loves the teacher, it makes a 
 great difference," he queried. 
 
 " Phrase it to read like, instead of love," she sug- 
 gested. 
 
 " Should I secure you I would never change it," 
 he fished. 
 
 " Stop ! This is going a little too far. Two 
 blonds could never agree. The proposition is per- 
 fectly hostile. I could see your red hair and 
 whiskers in my dreams. Your eyes, I must admit, 
 remind me of one who was dear to me. If it were 
 not for them I would not waste one moment here 
 talking to you." 
 
 " I'm glad of one redeeming feature," he an- 
 swered. "May I ask you who they remind you 
 of?" 
 
 " Remember," she replied, " questions are not 
 asked concerning one's private life. The public 
 and they who come here know the rules. This 
 place is at the disposal of those who come and go. 
 Of course, I have my private apartment and you 
 have yours, which you may keep as long as you 
 
THE PHOTO OF KARL 263 
 
 desire. The rest room, where every game known 
 is played, is free to all. No introductions are neces- 
 sary here we are all friends. In the discussion 
 hall, where all questions pertaining to sociology are 
 debated, you will find much matter that will help you 
 in your study. In the music room where I give 
 concerts, you are welcome but, of course, no one 
 is compelled to listen," she smiled. 
 
 " I don't believe there is any power that could 
 keep me out of there when you play," he answered. 
 
 " Thank you," she said, making a nice little bow. 
 
 " This place is a regular charm it's a fetich 
 place," he continued. " I am sure I'll be loath to 
 leave here. Where are the signs, fines for violation 
 of your rules ? " 
 
 She laughed : " When you came from your high 
 position you thought you would find us all animals 
 here. Signs and printed rules are for people who 
 are not civilized yet ! " 
 
 " I object ! " he cried. " I'm no animal ! " 
 
 " You were hit either hard or you are ashamed 
 to admit the truth," she returned still laughing. 
 " This place is free free to be used as it is seen 
 fit. If the guests are ill-bred enough to deface the 
 walls and furniture, that is their business. While 
 I gave it all to them I would not raise one finger 
 in protest at its destruction. I see you marvel and 
 don't understand. The people will not destroy 
 what is their own. Now if I have hurt your feel- 
 ings," she continued, changing in tone, " I ask you 
 to forgive me ? " 
 
 " Certainly," he answered. 
 
 "And you don't feel hurt?" she asked. 
 
 " No ; not a bit," he replied. 
 
264 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " I am sorry," she said, turning to look at the 
 painting. 
 
 " Why should you wish to do this ? " he asked. 
 
 " To make you think," she answered, facing him.' 
 " You have a great thinking machine, but the gear- 
 ing is sadly off. It is atrophied. Your speech in 
 your own defense was wonderful ; it raised you in 
 my estimation. I thought I saw the personality of 
 another; I thought I heard his voice! But " 
 
 " Humanity ! " he cried unable to restrain him- 
 self. 
 
 She turned her face from him. 
 
 " Humanity, do you ! " he cried again, and started 
 to take her in his arms and press her to his aching 
 heart, but she quickly vanished. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 CLEVE MEETS SIR WILBRO DOCKINS AGAIN 
 
 IT had been several long- days since Cleve had 
 seen Humanity in the library and he had explored 
 every room in which the guests were free to roam 
 without one sight of her. He was afraid to ask, but 
 his interest got the better hand of his judgment and 
 he addressed people whom he thought most likely 
 to know. They could or would not tell him what 
 he wanted to know. 
 
 He had noticed the little Scotchman about the 
 place who seemed to usurp the title of a " know 
 all." His clothing and general appearance was not 
 that of the starving vagabond he had met before. 
 So far he had avoided this busybody, but on this 
 morning he decided to make his acquaintance again. 
 It was his delight to be noticed, and was at his best 
 in forming new friendships, or acting as the cyno- 
 sure of the art or rest rooms. When a stranger 
 darkened the door he was sure to be accosted by 
 Sir Wilbro, and if nothing prevented he would be 
 led to the bust of some departed leader. A highly 
 colored history would be devolved upon the ears of 
 the unsophisticated listener. An impression that a 
 very intimate friendship existed between the de- 
 ceased and the little fellow would be left, and the 
 most distressing 1 feature of his eloquent discourse 
 
266 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 was, it never ceased so long as the visitor had a 
 grain of patience. 
 
 Cleve could never forget the bewildered astonish- 
 ment of the Scotchman's face the morning he per- 
 mitted himself to be interviewed. He deliberately 
 entered the library about the time he was sure the 
 little fellow would be in waiting. Sir Wilbro was 
 at his post of duty and made a dive to be the first 
 to greet this famous man. In his eager desire he 
 stumbled awkwardly and floundered profusely over 
 obstacles that made such a noise that it took Qeve 
 some minutes to realize that he was meeting Sir 
 Wilbro instead of being incarcerated in the throes 
 of some mad-house. 
 
 " I presume," he began, " that I have the honor 
 of bowing before the greatest man of the age ! 
 Permit me to introduce myself, Mr. Roberts? I 
 am Mr. Dockins Sir Wilbro Dockins," he ex- 
 plained. " I was the first propagandist in the little 
 city of Anderburg, and also the first man to carry 
 the Harpoon across the Belgium frontier into des- 
 potic Russia. I was at the death bed of that great 
 philosophical anarchist, Count Tolstoy. It was I 
 who suggested the plans to the great mind who 
 built this magnificent building. Listen! I know 
 you will ask me concerning this great lady ; I have 
 heard " 
 
 " You have heard what ? " Cleve demanded, 
 growing embarrassed because of his familiarity 
 with his affairs," or that, perhaps, he was face to 
 face with the shade of Cagliostro, the recognized 
 " King of liars." 
 
 " She will not appear as long as you make in- 
 quiry," he continued. 
 
CLEVE MEETS SIR WILBRO DOCKINS AGAIN 267 
 
 "If that is true, my friend," said Cleve, "I'll 
 make no further effort." 
 
 " You are a stranger in our midst and I will ad- 
 vise that you never speak of her in public," he went 
 on. 
 
 " I will never do so again, Mr. Dockins," replied 
 Cleve, thinking there might be some truth in his 
 statement. 
 
 " The reason I have not instructed you is because 
 I have been away on a mission for the lady." 
 
 " Your errand ? " he asked more interested. 
 This little fellow seemed to be possessed with an 
 abnormal imagination. Whether he believed him 
 without discount, Cleve could not determine; but, 
 anyway, he might tell him much. 
 
 " You are in good standing," he said after some 
 deliberation, " she and I have been to see the 
 Mayor."" 
 
 " The Mayor ! " Cleve exclaimed, his face twitch- 
 ing with pain. " Impossible! You lie! " 
 
 " Nay, I lie not ! " refuted the little fellow. 
 
 " Look here, fool ! " spoke Cleve savagely, clutch- 
 ing the Scotchman's throat, " you call me a liar 
 and I'll cut your wind off ! " 
 
 " Don't speak so disrespectfully of our lady," he 
 squeaked, as Cleve's fingers tickled his jugular 
 vein. 
 
 "What right had she to go there? Did she go 
 in disguise ? " he demanded. 
 
 " Do you think she would go in any other way," 
 replied Sir Wilbro, as Cleve loosened his hold. 
 " This mission had nothing to do with the Pit or 
 its people; I can ease your mind on that score." 
 He spoke as if his respect for him had undergone 
 
268 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 a toboggan slide and had reverted into cold indif- 
 ference. Cleve noticed that he assumed more in- 
 telligence and less bombast as he proceeded : " I 
 would rather have suffered my right hand to be 
 severed than to have told you this." 
 
 Cleve grew sympathetic : " I give you my word, 
 Sir Wilbro, this shall be confidential." 
 
 The Scotchman grasped his hand reverently and 
 thanked him in his peculiar way, saying : " I re- 
 gard you highly and wish to ingratiate myself by 
 showing my intimacy with the great lady/' 
 
 " I am very ignorant of the philosophy taught by 
 this young lady/' Cleve returned ; " I consider my- 
 self fortunate in securing the acquaintance of one 
 so near her." 
 
 Sir Wilbro bowed a complete captive to Cleve's 
 flattery, feeling as though he had found one, at 
 least, who could appreciate his own greatness. 
 
 " Do you know," he began, " some people can't 
 conceive my importance. They can't distinguish 
 me from an attendant. My contemporaries envy 
 me; they realize their inferiority. Anthropologic- 
 ally they are failures, because their ancestors had 
 no brains to transmit. Consequently, according to 
 Ethnology it will take generations to produce off- 
 springs who can understand my intelligence." 
 
 Cleve smiled at such wonderful display of ego- 
 tism. " Accordingly, my dear sir, you are an indi- 
 vidualist, but you shouldn't be so severe on your 
 poorly endowed brother. If I understand your 
 philosophy, it is to teach your insignificant fellow- 
 man." 
 
 " That is the principle, Mr. Roberts, but it is use- 
 less; by nature they are unfit, and by environment 
 
CLEVE MEETS SIR WILBRO DOCKINS AGAIN 269 
 
 they are only creatures of circumstance. Why, as 
 I associate with the great mind these creatures sink 
 back into the dark abyss that awaits them." 
 
 "The 'survival of the fittest,"' said Cleve. 
 " Why you stay in this atmosphere is beyond me. 
 However, I am one of your creatures who have not 
 seen the light; you can always regard me as one 
 of your most willing and respectful pupils." 
 
 The Scotchman's skull could hardly hold Cleve's 
 gush; think of this man recognizing his influence 
 and wishing to be his pupil. This substantiated his 
 dream the dream of his life ! He would yet 
 demonstrate to the world his superiority. This was 
 positive proof. 
 
 "Mr. Roberts," said Sir Wilbro, "I have a 
 secret which I will tell you, and will be further 
 proof of my greatness." 
 
 " I would be glad to know it," returned Cleve. 
 
 " It was I who manned the mysterious craft that 
 destroyed the Hotel Marion and caused the court 
 to render a verdict of ' not guilty ' at your trial." 
 
 " You ! " 
 
 " Yes, it was I." 
 
 " Does Humanity know this ? " 
 
 " She does ; it was her own craft I sailed. It 
 was taken out of this very building the early dawn 
 of the day of the trial, and the moment the Daily 
 announced the case had begun, we shot into the 
 city and dropped a few bombs. If you doubt me," 
 he said looking toward to the door, " here comes 
 the Great Mind herself. You can ask her." 
 
 He saw her coming into the room. She had not 
 as yet seen them as she swept gracefully into the 
 library. 
 
270 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 His heart pumped the red blood faster, and at 
 the same instant the organ of life appeared to be in 
 his throat. His face was the shade of a rainbow 
 and he began to tingle from head to foot. The 
 very atmosphere about him was charged with some 
 invisible force. It vibrated through his body, in- 
 toxicating his brain. The feeling was ephemeral. 
 His bravery forsook him and he leaned heavily on 
 the marble railing around the statue where he and 
 the Scotchman had stopped to talk. 
 
 At length he found courage to speak and he 
 wondered if the little fellow had noticed anything 
 unusual about him. He was either too well bred, 
 or else he was not cognizant of the situation. " I'll 
 take your word for it, and about her visit to the 
 Mayor I will not speak," said Cleve, " and I would 
 like to expect of you the same." 
 
 Sir Wilbro nodded his assurance and moved 
 away. 
 
 Cleve made no sign or effort to reply, but his 
 eyes were glued to the girlish form before him. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 HE WORSHIPS AT HER SHRINE 
 
 CLEVE, for the moment, drunk the nectar of the 
 situation, debating whether to approach her. He 
 felt the timid unequalness to the occasion. His 
 nerve had left him just when he needed it most of 
 all. He did not feel natural; he still experienced 
 a sense of weakness. It made him self-conscious 
 and he imagined that he must appear awkward in 
 her sight. 
 
 Yea ! he longed to feel like he would feel in the 
 presence of any other woman. The more he 
 labored to gain this point of ease, the deeper he 
 was aware of his humiliation. To be self-possessed 
 was a great accomplishment and meant points in 
 his favor. 
 
 Was it proper to force his presence when she had 
 undoubtedly avoided him? To think of being her 
 companion was incompatible he was so incon- 
 spicuous and inconsequential that her cleverness 
 eclipsed him whenever they met. 
 
 That she was high was self-evident. If there 
 were such a thing as rising to her standard of liv- 
 ing and thinking, he, in the person of John Roberts 
 would do it. As Cleve Clevendor, he was the arch- 
 enemy. So in incognito he came; it was the only 
 
272 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 way. In masquerade it was true, but he was not 
 ashamed. 
 
 He could see the askant face, the beautiful pro- 
 file, and the velvet-like condition of her skin. The 
 dark auburn curls smothered her ears and fell in 
 clusters. A taint of pink flushed her cheeks, and 
 she became even more radiant as she continued the 
 search for some recalcitrant volume. 
 
 Her superb figure, so symmetrical, was gowned 
 in a tastily light rose color of empire princess vari- 
 ety. He thrilled; no wonder he dared to venture. 
 As yet she had not seen him and had not seen his 
 eager look. Summoning courage with a resolve he 
 walked towards her. No visitors were around to 
 witness a rebuff if he should meet one; then, too, 
 " faint heart never won fair lady." This saying 
 was rather prosaic but it stimulated his mind as it 
 wavered between two opinions. 
 
 " Beg pardon ! " he said. " Can I help you in 
 any way ? " He hardly recognized his voice as his 
 own. 
 
 His offer of assistance occasioned no reply. He 
 saw the pink in her cheeks deepen, and a queer 
 feeling stealing, which he liked and disliked, in 
 quick succession, the two sensations that were bat- 
 tling for supremacy within. 
 
 " How you startled me ! " came her sweet even 
 modulated tones. 
 
 " I hope my intrusion is not misunderstood," he 
 continued. " You appeared to be searching for a 
 lost book; please don't refuse my offer of help." 
 
 " And all this time without offering your aid ? " 
 she asked, her face still turned from him. 
 
 " I saw no serious exhibition of distress," he jus- 
 
HE WORSHIPS AT HER SHRINE 273 
 
 tified. " Only now and then a flutter of a vexed 
 expression." 
 
 She turned her face to give a look of reproof. 
 
 " I mean I saw no signal/' he stoutly main- 
 tained, " one that would justify an advance. If 
 my volunteered assistance is not welcome is mis- 
 understood I pray you to accept my earnest sup- 
 plication. I promise to never trespass the private 
 sanctuary of your most high presence again. No! 
 Never ! " 
 
 " Your multitude of words, Mr. Roberts," she 
 answered, softening in her attitude, " are unhar- 
 monious in an applicable justification of the situa- 
 tion. Your profuse apologies are incompatible with 
 the fairness of the case. I am more concerned by 
 your present actions than by your former. Your 
 self-depreciation grieves me. I want it understood 
 that I hold no position of loftiness. I live by the 
 same irresistible compulsions that give all mortals 
 life. I eat the same food and drink the same water. 
 You have the same blood and brain ; the same fluid 
 to build and replenish the worn parts of this human 
 machine. When I have consumed this electrical 
 substance life ! I simply die. The only dif- 
 ference between us is, I had the desire, the oppor- 
 tunity and the courage with it. I eat no ambrosia ; 
 it was not the meat that Caesar ate that made him 
 great, as the Roman senators thought, it was his 
 taking advantage of his opportunities, that was all." 
 
 While the echo of these words died away, she 
 vanished through the door by which she had en- 
 tered the chamber, leaving him to gaze after her, 
 amazed and bewildered. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 CLEVE BOOMED FOR U. S. SENATOR 
 
 IN the afternoon of the same day when Cleve 
 entered the library he found Humanity there again 
 still looking for the tardy volume. 
 
 She was dressed in an evening gown and the 
 luxuriant curls almost hid the pink flush of her 
 face, the color of face and arms harmonized per- 
 fectly with the dress she wore. She was indeed 
 more beautiful than ever to him, he thought, as she 
 drew herself to her full height in reaching for that 
 book which was reclining peacefully on the top 
 shelf of the bookcase. " My ! if he could only 
 change places with the volume," he mused, " he 
 would surely fall at the first solicitation of those 
 ivory arms. Yea ! life would then be worth liv- 
 ing; he liked the thrill again; the sensation again, 
 and he had been amply paid for the journey here. 
 
 " Why return to the Clouds ? " he asked him- 
 self; "to return meant to forfeit what he had al- 
 ready gained. And, furthermore, there was noth- 
 ing now left for him there ; Marion had betrayed 
 his trust or had thought him dead in the course she 
 had pursued. But she had married too soon ! " 
 
 " No, he would not go back ; he was now happy 
 even happier than he had been in all his life. He 
 
CLEVE BOOMED FOR U. S. SENATOR 275 
 
 was now contented as plain John Roberts. And 
 furthermore he may soon have grave difficulty in 
 re-establishing- his identity." 
 
 He knew the aid that Norton had at his com- 
 mand ; knew that he would use it to the bitter end. 
 He could never prove himself against the forces of 
 this crafty financier. Norton was now the monarch 
 of wealth made so by his father's will; and to try 
 to prove that he was the lawful heir meant either 
 death or the insane asylum. 
 
 He could see " gunmen " on every corner, and 
 death to the " squealer " or " trouble-maker " in 
 this desperate method for gains. The " gangsters " 
 in every clime and the murder car ever ready to 
 pursue to extermination those who reveal informa- 
 tion implicating the "higher ups." 
 
 He realized that he was helpless; he looked at 
 the girlish figure who had not as yet discovered 
 him. Yes, he had given it all to be near her, and 
 she was more than worth the price. He had fol- 
 lowed the cravings of his half-starved heart. He 
 had only half dreamed it before; now it came like 
 a glorious revelation. 
 
 Was it madness that crazed him to crush the 
 sylphic form in his arms! Or was it just a plain 
 understanding that he needed the substance that he 
 had always been deprived ? He did not know ; but 
 one thing, she was the consummation of all his joys. 
 
 He felt like rushing to her and falling on his 
 knees and making a clean breast of it all ; but what 
 right had he to do so? Had she not spurned him? 
 Surely, there was some reason that would excuse 
 his action! She loved all the world but no indi- 
 vidual. To force his attentions was selfishness. 
 
276 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 What could he do? To be near her without speak- 
 ing his mind was unbearable. 
 
 He must go away! He decided, at all hazards, 
 he must try to prove he was not John Roberts. He 
 was living a bold lie. His conscience was stinging 
 him; he was not in sympathy with the Pit. He 
 had nothing in common with It ; his errand was not 
 a sociological research, but a mission of love. Hu- 
 manity was the magnet that had drawn him, and 
 this she would not be long discovering. 
 
 He approached her with this intention. 
 
 " Good evening, Mr. Roberts," she greeted him, 
 before he had time to speak, still hunting for the 
 pesky missing book, without looking at him. " I 
 am so glad to see you." 
 
 " How did you know it was I ? " he asked trem- 
 bling. 
 
 " I felt your thought waves," she answered, con- 
 tinuing her quest. 
 
 A look of hopelessness passed over his face in- 
 dicative of his battle at self-control. 
 
 " Don't feel so blue over it," she sallied. 
 " Cheer up and remember about that ' faint heart 
 and fair lady ' business." 
 
 " But you are no lady," he returned. 
 
 " What ! " she asked with some warmth, but ap- 
 parently more interested in her pursuit. 
 
 " No no no Not that. You are more 
 than a lady," he stammered. " Tell me why you 
 always keep your face turned from me ? " 
 
 " Because, you goose, it's a woman's privilege." 
 
 This joy of encouragement quivered his frame. 
 He knew love and disdain authorized a woman this 
 
CLEVE BOOMED FOR U. S. SENATOR 277 
 
 right. He was excited and began : " Humanity 
 Humanity, do you mean it ? Do you mean it ? " 
 
 She was silent; her face was still turned away. 
 " Look at me ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " I am afraid of you," she murmured. " You 
 are not John Roberts you dare not think of your 
 real you make me feel different I even forget 
 the cause when you come near. I felt you watch- 
 ing me and your strange force. Man! you have 
 made me forget and you have a queer power which 
 you are unable as yet to use." 
 
 He started to touch her hand when she cried: 
 "Don't, Mr. Roberts, can't you see I am almost 
 upset?" 
 
 Humanity, can't you see I love you ? " 
 
 " I know it do you think I am blind ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " Humanity, do you ? " he faltered ; his words 
 failed him. 
 
 " Why, yes, I certainly do," she said, her face 
 flushed and beaming with smiles, " I love all man- 
 kind." 
 
 "That's not it," he returned half angrily. "I 
 mean don't you love me enough to quit this busi- 
 ness?" 
 
 " No," she answered, speaking slowly, " my love 
 for you is only platonic while yours has a different 
 meaning. It means marriage ! A life of devotion 
 within the narrow family circle, while the cause of 
 the Pit extends to the end of the earth." 
 
 " Then, I can't stay ; I must leave ; it was my 
 intention to go without telling you of my love. It 
 was the departure I came to discuss." 
 
 " No, no, you must not go ! " she replied sadly. 
 
278 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 " You must stay ; you must give your life and 
 service to the cause. Your going would make me 
 lonesome, and I cannot give you up ! " 
 
 " Humanity ! " he cried. " Do you mean it? " 
 
 " Yes, I mean exactly what I have said. Your 
 going would make me very lonesome, because of 
 your likeness to the only man I ever loved. Your 
 ways, your manner, your hands and your eyes are 
 his. I could love you if you had his hair and would 
 shave your beard." 
 
 She had virtually said she loved him, but he sud- 
 denly remembered her visit to the Mayor. He had 
 defended her ; she had dined with him ! Was she 
 true ? A second Marion ! " One question on which 
 I wish to be clear," he asked. " How about Grey- 
 house ? Do you love him ? " 
 
 She looked at him in intent silence, then she 
 spoke slowly : " What makes you ask this, Mr. 
 Roberts? He's a married man, you know; but, 
 now, since you have asked me, I must say that I 
 do. Both you and Suddroff and all the Pit owe 
 him a debt of gratitude." 
 
 " I suppose so, if you want to look at it that 
 way," he muttered. 
 
 Then Sir Wilbro put in an appearance and an- 
 nounced two visitors to see Humanity. She turned 
 to Cleve saying : " You must go with me. I feel 
 safer with you." 
 
 In the reception room they found the callers wait- 
 ing. " My name is Norton," said the male visitor, 
 " and this is my daughter, Mrs. Greyhouse (the 
 wife of our Mayor). We wished to see you, but 
 we prefer to talk to you alone," he continued, 
 shooting a glance at Cleve. 
 
CLEVE BOOMED FOR U. S. SENATOR 279 
 
 " Mr. Roberts is my confidential secretary, and 
 what you have to say will be regarded the same as 
 if we were alone/' she replied. 
 
 " Our business concerns you, but if you wish this 
 gentleman to remain, I suppose he must," he re- 
 turned with much emphasis. 
 
 " He will," spoke Humanity not easily intim- 
 idated by his manner or the billions behind him. 
 
 " I presume you are acquainted with my 
 daughter's husband, Mr. Greyhouse ? " he began. 
 
 " Slightly," she replied ironically. 
 
 " You dined with him at the hotel before it was 
 destroyed ? " 
 
 " Yes," she assured. 
 
 " He defended you in the trial and you have been 
 to his office several times since ? " 
 
 " You either have the information or you are a 
 wonder at guessing," she returned, eyeing him 
 closely. 
 
 " Well, my daughter desires that you stop see- 
 ing him." 
 
 " Certainly," she answered, " I would do almost 
 anything to make Mr. Greyhouse happy." 
 
 " It is not his happiness so much as it is my 
 daughter's," stated Norton with much gusto. " We 
 have come, my dear madam, to inform you to dis- 
 continue your flirting with him. He's a Presi- 
 dential possibility and the family's reputation is 
 also at stake. We prefer that you cease, altogether, 
 your attentions ; you know he is a married man and 
 you a spinstej, that is, I presume you are single ? " 
 
 " So far, sir, I am at liberty to do as I please 
 and have no husband to protect or no parents to 
 inform young ladies to cease their attentions to my 
 
280 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 better half. I appreciate your information and am 
 glad of your warning and will state now, that I 
 am not after your daughter's pet. If this is all 
 you have to say, I don't care to discuss it further; 
 good day. Come, Mr. Roberts, these people pollute 
 the air we breathe ; " with these words they left, 
 leaving the Nortons with the polite Mr. Dockins 
 who entered as they were going out of the room. 
 
 They returned to the library; Cleve liked the 
 place, because it was here she told him, indirectly, 
 that she loved him. " I have some information 
 for you, Mr. Roberts," she began, forgetting that 
 Marion and her father were in the other room. 
 " Your name is on the party ballot for U. S. Sen- 
 ator. I hope you will accept the nomination if you 
 win." 
 
 " But Miss Humanity," he paused ; it 
 sounded peculiar to call her by such cognomen. 
 
 She quickly came to his rescue. " That's all 
 right, just call me Humanity, omitting the prefix, 
 Miss," she requested. 
 
 " I don't think I know enough about the philos- 
 ophy," he objected. 
 
 " Oh, yes, you do," she urged ; " anyway you are 
 honest, and that is all that is necessary. The Pit 
 will demand it. You will be easily nominated and 
 you must make the campaign." 
 
 "What of Suddroff?" he asked. 
 
 " He's the man we want you to beat. In fact, 
 you are the only one who can do it. I am afraid 
 of him; he is dangerous and if this anarchist 
 crowd should get hold of the reins of Government 
 they would " 
 
CLEVE BOOMED FOR U. S. SENATOR 281 
 
 " Then it's a question of defeating Suddroff ? " 
 he put in. 
 
 " Yes, that's the paramount issue and I beg- of 
 you to accept," she pleaded. 
 
 " I will, for your sake," he replied. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THE ELECTION RETURNS 
 
 CLEVE had been nominated as Humanity pre- 
 dicted. He had defeated Suddroff by a handsome 
 majority. To his surprise he developed into a won- 
 derful speaker and he was in demand everywhere. 
 This was his first experience and was as novel as it 
 was real. He became popular with the people and 
 swept the country like an avalanche. 
 
 The Pit was making great strides in all the states, 
 and looked as though the standard bearer would 
 be the first man in the land. " Humanity was afraid 
 of this," thought Cleve. She was afraid that the 
 party would win everything and Suddroff and his 
 bunch in control the country would be seething in 
 one bloody marsh. She was right; she was really 
 the great woman of the hour. She wanted the 
 Pit's dream ushered in without blood or noise. 
 
 Greyhouse was the standard bearer of the Clouds, 
 in the convention the steam-roller had been promis- 
 cuously used, and he was nominated on the first 
 ballot with the blaring trumpets and much ado that 
 usually proclaims to the world that a great man 
 has come forward to lead a great cause to victory. 
 
 The Mayor, without doubt, was the most formid- 
 able leader the Clouds could put up. His defense 
 of the three labor leaders in the trial made him, in 
 
THE ELECTION RETURNS 283 
 
 a way, a friend to the Pit. With a solid Cloud 
 vote and a sprinkling of Pit support he was most 
 sure to be elected. 
 
 Dr. J. M. King, a very strong man and renowned 
 writer, had been selected as the Pit's choice for 
 President. He had been expelled from the faculty 
 of the University of the Clouds as a dangerous 
 radical ; and had thenceforth made his home in the 
 Pit and had given his talents to their cause. 
 
 All summer the battle raged and Cleve fought 
 for the Pit like a veteran. He learned late in the 
 campaign that Newman had been nominated on the 
 same ticket in the West and was striking back with 
 a vengeance that was sure to win. Newman was 
 making a hard fight, whether from patriotic mo- 
 tives or from rancour against Norton, he did not 
 know. It had been said that the old secretary op- 
 posed Norton when he increased the prices of the 
 C. F. & D.'s products and turned that philanthropic 
 concern into an oppressing and thieving institution. 
 This rich Nabob had discharged him. Another 
 story ran that he left the service of his own ac- 
 cord, as soon as he heard of Cleve's death, and had 
 thrown himself with vim and vigor into the cam- 
 paign in order to forget the ill fate of his former 
 associate. Cleve knew their cause had been ad- 
 vanced but it was not a time to claim victory be- 
 fore the laurels had been safely stowed away and 
 they were securely entrenched behind the walls of 
 the Federal Government. 
 
 From the surface appearance the political situa- 
 tion was going to be a momentous struggle. Cleve 
 was firm; he had acted from no personal stand- 
 point of aggrandizement, but the one absorbing 
 
284 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 purpose was to please Humanity, and Norton's vil- 
 lainy with the C. F. & D. helped him some in his 
 fight for this purpose. 
 
 At last the dusk closed on the dawn of election; 
 it was indeed a great day. They received the re- 
 turns in the drawing-room of the public house. It 
 was evident that the opposing forces were running 
 " neck and neck." Suddroff was not mingling with 
 the Pitdwellers ; it had been whispered that he had 
 joined the Clouds and was doing some underhanded 
 work for them. Had he been nominated he would 
 have been an easy tool in the hands of the interests. 
 
 " Yes, the poor fellow has quit us and has taken 
 his anarchist bunch with him," said Humanity. 
 " His underhanded work will no doubt defeat Mr. 
 King and will possibly do others some damage. I 
 am sorry we cannot make the order a party for 
 justice, for the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood 
 of man everywhere ! That was Christ's mission 
 here on earth," she reflected. 
 
 The audience showed its appreciation of her by 
 a ripple of applause; then, the voice of the Daily 
 Labor announced the returns. Thus far the Pit 
 was leading by a small margin. " Owing to traitors 
 in our ranks we will not defeat the Clouds' standard 
 bearer. The returns indicate that Greyhouse will 
 be President, but our party will have a lead in the 
 Senate and an overwhelming majority in the 
 House. John Roberts, the Mysterious Knight, has 
 won by a safe margin ; he will defeat Senator Daw- 
 son by a squeeze. Another glorious victory, dear 
 people, is reported from the West ; Mr. Newman, 
 the old attorney for the C. & N. Co. and former 
 secretary of the C. F. & D. Co., has been elected 
 
THE ELECTION RETURNS 285 
 
 to the Senate on the Pit's ticket. He has always 
 been a Pitdweller in principle, but did not break 
 away from the ranks of the ' strong arm squad ' 
 until he heard of the cremation of his old friend 
 and business associate, Clevendor II." 
 
 Cleve could not withstand the good news; he 
 cheered the voice and his sudden outbreak startled 
 the small assembly. Humanity looked at him in 
 puzzled surprise. " By Newman's victory," he 
 hastened to explain, " it means that the Government 
 will take over the C. F. & D. Co." 
 
 The voice continued : " We owe our defeat in 
 the Presidential race to Suddroff and his band of 
 political grafters, who stabbed us in the back. 
 With them it is rule or ruin." 
 
 The Daily had about stated the facts in the case, 
 but the crowd sat up late watching for any change 
 that might occur in the districts yet to report. 
 
 " Your success makes me so happy," said Hu- 
 manity to Cleve. " I can hardly restrain my feel- 
 ings." 
 
 " Be careful," he muttered. " You once told me 
 that you loved a man who had passed into the great 
 beyond. Don't arouse me again. I have tried to 
 forget ; you could never love John Roberts. While 
 he is a good man in many ways he is not the kind 
 you could love." 
 
 Humanity blushed at this reminder; her features 
 were more beautiful. She turned to her companion 
 saying : " Don't you think Mr. Roberts one of the 
 grandest of men? Let me introduce you." 
 
 Cleve looked to see who could be the object of 
 her remarks. He had an inkling of Humanity's 
 beautiful associate from stray conversation over- 
 
286 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 heard in the rest and art rooms. He was inter- 
 ested in no one in particular but Humanity and it 
 had never dawned upon him that the lady com- 
 panion was an old acquaintance of former days. 
 He was dumbfounded when Humanity said : " Let 
 me present to you Miss Jackson." 
 
 " I am glad to meet you, Mr. Roberts," Nell re- 
 turned. " I have heard much of you, and I have 
 been informed that you, like the most of us, were 
 once upon a time a Clouddweller." 
 
 " Yes/' he said, " and I congratulate Humanity 
 in securing such a refined and intelligent lady as 
 her companion. Really, I feel a personal interest 
 in you already." 
 
 " Miss Jackson is not receiving the company of 
 men whom she has known for only a few mo- 
 ments," said Humanity. 
 
 " But you will stand sponsor for me ? " he asked, 
 with a mischievous smile flickering across his 
 bearded countenance. 
 
 " No ; I would not recommend you," spoke Hu- 
 manity quickly. 
 
 " And besides a stronger title than a U. S. Sen- 
 ator appeals to me," interrupted Nell. 
 
 He wondered if she still heard from the Lord 
 or if she were only jesting. " I presume it's a lord 
 that summers in the south ? " he ventured. 
 
 She shot a deep direct look at him : " You're a 
 wit, and you speak the name as though you might 
 be intimate with him." 
 
 Humanity frowned her disapproval, but Cleve 
 continued : " It was the talk of the Clouds a few 
 months ago when a Miss Nell Jackson was en- 
 gaged to Lord Summersouth of England." 
 
THE ELECTION RETURNS 287 
 
 " My God ! Man, who are you ? " she cried. 
 
 "John Roberts," he replied meekly. 
 
 " I thought I saw ; I thought I heard the voice 
 of an old friend. But I guess not," she explained, 
 trying to peer through the red surface disguise. 
 
 Luckily his speech-making and open air dis- 
 courses had made his voice discordant, rough and 
 hoarse. Otherwise, he might have been discovered. 
 
 " You resemble an old friend so much," she con- 
 tinued, " and if we have never been friends before 
 I am sure I have seen you often." 
 
 " Perhaps so," he replied ; " but don't you think 
 it time for us to retire ? " 
 
 They agreed and as Humanity and Nell closed 
 their door, they discussed and rediscussed the iden- 
 tity of the one said to be John Roberts. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 THE SENATORIAL FIGHT 
 
 AT last Cleve took his seat as a Senator from the 
 Pit. Between times he had been busy studying 
 parliamentary law in order to familiarize himself 
 with the rules and usages of the Senate chamber. 
 Humanity had given him much information which 
 would assist him in holding his own in the floor 
 encounters. 
 
 He was soon stamped as a leader; his initiative 
 ability forged him to the front. He met Newman 
 and formed a " strong arm squad," because the big 
 fight was now on. The Pit having gained an over- 
 whelming majority in the House and holding a 
 greater number by five in the Upper House it looked 
 as though legislation would be easy. The trouble 
 was to prevent a majority report on the drafted 
 bill to create Government ownership of the great 
 C F. & D. Co. 
 
 This Bill now had passed the Lower House by a 
 handsome margin, but it promised to be a Sena- 
 torial fight to a finish. The most weighty and mo- 
 mentous battle in the annals of the American Con- 
 gress was now being waged. Money flowed like 
 water ; if Pit Senators had been so inclined they 
 could have secured enough to make their home in 
 the Clouds forever afterwards. But they were 
 
THE SENATORIAL FIGHT 289 
 
 made of firmer clay; money was not their price. 
 They had a higher ideal. Their aim was to make 
 their Government good. They were patriots fight- 
 ing for a more noble cause. Tainted money of- 
 fered by the Clouds they shunned with contempt. 
 The paramount question of the hour was the posi- 
 tion the Government was about to assume. 
 
 The Bill had now passed to the third reading in 
 the Upper House. There was much display of 
 oratory on both sides and many cries of " Confis- 
 cation! Robbery! And you want to use the brutal 
 power of the majority ! " The Pit Senators retali- 
 ated : " Governments with Kings are good so long 
 as the Kings are good ! The C. F. & D. Co. was a 
 good thing so long as it was a philanthropic con- 
 cern and as long as young Clevendor owned it, but 
 the moment it became an institution of Norton's 
 it was a bad thing to exist in a free Government." 
 But the Bill finally passed in the face of all oppo- 
 sition and was now ready for the President's sig- 
 nature. 
 
 The Clouds were elated; it had been rumored 
 that the President would veto the Bill. Cleve, it is 
 said, made the most stunning and able maiden ad- 
 dress that had ever been delivered in the hall. 
 Many press reports stated that his course would 
 be emulated by patriots of following ages. The 
 Bill was on the desk of the chief executive; the 
 country was wondering. He received tons of mail 
 pertaining to the measure, feut whether it influenced 
 him could not be learned, as he was kept under 
 close surveillance by Norton and his gangsters. 
 
 At last the suspense was broken; the decision 
 came the President refuses to sign the Bill. The 
 
290 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 Pit's Daily at Washington announced: "That at 
 first Mr. Greyhouse favored the Bill, but after re- 
 considering, he could only do the bidding of his 
 dominating father-in-law." 
 
 Newman was mad; the old veteran had fire in 
 his eyes. " It's all off," he said as Roberts ap- 
 proached him. " We can't pass the measure now 
 under four years unless the Congress will force it 
 over the veto by the two-thirds rule, but we can't 
 hope to gain that majority in both houses. We 
 can't do it for we are losing ground now. A few 
 Pit Senators are ready to flop now." 
 
 " Yes, that's the state of affairs now," returned 
 Cleve. " But we must reintroduce the measure 
 and I will address the joint body on to-morrow." 
 
 "That's the course!" he exclaimed, his face 
 brightening. 
 
 " I will address them and I will say something 
 that was never heard on the floor of that august 
 assembly." 
 
 " Mr. Roberts, I have heard that voice before and 
 I have seen those eyes before. There's something 
 in that face that knows no defeat. Why, boy (I 
 call you boy because of a dear young pal of mine) , 
 you, like him, are a genius. (He died too soon.) 
 And he could have made this country a Pitdwellers' 
 commonwealth in a day." 
 
 "Thank you," said Cleve. "Hear me to-mor- 
 row and I will give the Clouds a scare they will 
 never forget." 
 
 " Here's my hand, boy," returned Newman. "If 
 it can be done, boy, you are the one to do it for 
 it's coming coming as sure as fate ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 THE REVELATION 
 
 EVERY Congressman attended the joint session. 
 Every seat in the galleries were taken long before 
 the House was called to order. It was learned 
 that the Blond Knight would pay his respects to 
 the President and to those who opposed the Bill. 
 Norton, the President and wife were in the Presi- 
 dential balcony. Marion was somewhat nervous 
 and her eyes seemed to fasten on Cleve as he 
 mounted the Speaker's stand. 
 
 He met her gaze unfalteringly ; she smiled and he 
 wondered if she knew knew that she was once 
 his erstwhile lover. Yea! did she recognize him? 
 Surely she would cry out soon. He now wore wigs 
 in place of his dyed hair and beard. He took his 
 look away from Marion and began to look for 
 Humanity. 
 
 Where was she? He surveyed the audience and 
 found her so near that he had overlooked her. She 
 nodded encouragement; and as he faced the gal- 
 leries he discovered Summersouth with Nell. He 
 confronted the assembly, and knew that in a few 
 moments the whole world would be flashing the 
 news he was about to divulge. 
 
 " Gentlemen of both Houses/' he began, " I have 
 not come here to-day to speak again on this vetoed 
 
292 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 measure as many of you think. The merits and 
 demerits have been the subject of long and tiresome 
 debates. The Bill is a failure ; not because it failed 
 to become a law, but by the power of veto vested 
 in your President/' (Light applause. A voice, 
 "He did right!") 
 
 " Yes, to those of you who think so," he re- 
 turned. " But, gentlemen, I do not wish to lower 
 the dignity of this place by going back two thou- 
 sand years to get my language to let you know 
 what I am talking about." (Laughter and cheers.) 
 
 He looked at Norton and noticed the deep heavy 
 scowl. " In a short while, the country would be rid 
 of that monster," he thought. The assembly was 
 now silent. The atmosphere impressed every one 
 that something startling would happen. People of 
 the galleries looked into each other's faces with 
 puzzled expressions. Greyhouse glanced at Norton 
 and at Marion. She was now an achromatic and 
 her eyes were glued on the speaker. With all the 
 venom and hate he could muster Cleve looked at 
 Norton and began: 
 
 " Excuse me, if I apparently branch from my 
 subject. It may be a deviation, but it yet deals in- 
 directly with the subject. Some few months ago 
 we were aroused by what appeared to be, and which 
 was, the most dastardly attack upon a woman in 
 the garden of the Hotel Marion before that place 
 was destroyed. It was declared that a young Eng- 
 lish Lord made that assault, which I will say was a 
 black misrepresentation. This couple are now side 
 by side within the confines of this chamber and 
 only a few feet away ! " ( Cries of " Outrage ! 
 Outrage ! ") 
 
THE REVELATION 293 
 
 " This goes to prove," he continued, " the kind 
 of criminals who want to rule this nation." He 
 glanced at Norton and all eyes followed in quick 
 succession. The monarch of wealth was colorless; 
 he looked beseechingly at Cleve. " Of course, dear 
 people, you do not know that the man who made 
 this attack was the man who had this bill vetoed ! " 
 (" Proof! Proof! " greeted this sentence.) 
 
 Norton looked defiance; Cleve could understand 
 his bluff. He almost felt sorry for him now, or 
 for Marion at least. Her intuition must have told 
 her; she was spellbound. Greyhouse never quiv- 
 ered a muscle, still maintaining his wonderful 
 stoical indifference. Cleve looked at Newman and 
 received an approving smile; Humanity appeared 
 as though she was ready for any change or course 
 he might be pleased to take. Our hero paused, 
 surveyed the place in silence again ; the atmosphere 
 was stifling with humidity. He now challenged 
 and defied the opposition in every move of his face 
 and in every curve of his body. " God knows I am 
 telling the truth ! " he shouted, amid a deafened 
 roar of applause. 
 
 " There are those of you who came to be enter- 
 tained/' he continued, " and I hope you shall not 
 be disappointed. My friends, I have not the vocab- 
 ulary to express my aversion ; neither have I a 
 word that will express my dislike for certain Cloud 
 leaders." (Wild applause mingled with a few 
 hisses.) 
 
 "Hiss, you slimy vampires," (Laughter), "you 
 carnivorous cannibals! You revel in your Cloud- 
 dweller rights and wallow in the bins of authority; 
 but I say the people should own and will own the 
 
294 HUMANITY AND THE MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT 
 
 C. F. & D. Co., and the C. & N. Corporation will 
 soon follow." (Applause from the Pit section and 
 cries of " Confiscation " from the Clouds. The 
 chamber was in an uproar.) 
 
 " You cry ' Confiscation ! ' ' yelled Cleve above 
 the bawls and squalls of the tumult. " No confisca- 
 tion ! I give the Consolidated Farm & Development 
 Company to " ( Many calls of " Throw him out ! 
 throw him out ! ") " You Clouddweller cowards 
 are glued too tight to your seats to throw me out ! " 
 he yelled vehemently. " Go on ! go on ! " bellowed 
 the galleries. 
 
 " Now I will give the C. (Tumultuous ex- 
 citement and loud cries from the Cloud section : 
 " The man's crazy He's demented ! Throw him 
 out!") 
 
 " Not crazy but sane ! " he shot back, and I 
 give the C. F. & D. Co. to the people ! " 
 
 "Who are you?" shrilled a voice above the dis- 
 orderly throng. " Is your name John Roberts ? " 
 
 "No! I am not John Roberts! Pit Senator 
 and Soi-disant Sociologist, but Cleve Clevendor! 
 The only son and rightful heir to the Clevendor 
 estate ! " he cried, pulling away his mask and throw- 
 ing his disguise out over the startled heads of Leg- 
 islators, amid wild and vociferous cheering, 
 
 " Proof ! Proof ! " he heard from a deep sono- 
 rous voice in the Presidential party. Norton had 
 risen and was gesticulating wildly. " It's Cleve ! 
 It's Cleve ! " screamed Marion her eyes sent her 
 suffering soul to him. 
 
 " Your daughter can ease your mind on that 
 score ; she can testify in my behalf," Cleve re- 
 
THE REVELATION 295 
 
 turned, shooting a parting glance at the burly 
 figure. 
 
 The joint session was in an uproar; pande- 
 monium reigned. A woman, flushed with excite- 
 ment, her face covered with tearful smiles, came 
 bounding down the aisle and into his arms. 
 
 " Humanity," he exclaimed, " who are you ? " 
 
 " Why, I am Genevieve Greyhouse a sister to 
 the President," she replied sweetly. " But I 
 have no name now, and as you have been so gen- 
 erous to give the Government back to the people, 
 you ought to give me your name." 
 
 " I will," he cried. " It's the one thing I have 
 desired. It has been the source of my existence 
 and the goal of my ambition ! " 
 
 He clasped her in his arms, walked to the edge 
 of the rostrum and waited for silence. " Friends," 
 he said, " you owe it all to this unselfish girl and 
 the future Mrs. Cleve Clevendor ! " 
 
 THE END. 
 
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