Morrison stood straight and secured a hearing after a time. "Boys, those of you who are in the right mind--and I hope all of you are that way now, after a good laugh--I've given you a sample of how to handle the Bolshevist blatherskites when you come across 'em in this country. Look around and if you find any more of 'em in the crowd go ahead and dose 'em with dingbats! Fine remedy for childish folly! I reckon all of us have found out that much for ourselves in the old days. I won't keep you standing in the cold here any longer. Good night!" He leaped down on to the porch and went into the State House. General Totten was near the big door. The men outside were guffawing again. Morrison was dusting his palms with the air of a man who had finished a rather unpleasant job. "Do you hear 'em, Totten? Sounds better than howls of a crowd bored by machine-gun bullets, eh? How much chance do you think there is of starting a civil war among men who are laughing like that?" XIX LANA CORSON HAS HER DOUBTS The chief of police had distributed his officers to posts of duty and was patrolling the rotunda. He saluted the mayor when Morrison came hurrying in through the main entrance. "All is fine, Chief! I thank you for your work. I don't look for anything out of the way, after this. But keep your men on till further orders." At the foot of the grand stairway Stewart's self-possession left him. Lana Corson was standing half-way up the stairs. Her furs were thrown back, revealing her festival attire. Her beauty was heightened by the flush on her cheeks and by the vivid animation in her luminous eyes. He paused for a moment, his gaze meeting hers, and then he hastened to her. "How did it happen--that you're here, Lana?" "I'm here--let that be an answer for now. But this, Stewart--this what I have been seeing and hearing! Does it mean what it seems to mean?" "I'll have to admit that I don't know exactly how it does show up from the side-lines. Suppose you say!" "I heard you talk to General Totten. I heard you talk to that mob. I saw what you did. But I heard you give all the credit to my father." She searched Stewart's face with more earnest stare. "You have saved the state from disgracing itself, haven't you? Isn't that what you have done--you yourself?" "Oh, nonsense! Tell me! How did you get in and who came with you?" "I'm here alone, Stewart, and it's of no importance how I got in. The question I have asked you is the important one just now." Her insistence was disconcerting; he had not recovered from the astonishment of the sudden meeting; he felt that he ought to lie to that daughter, in the interests of her family pride, but he was conscious of his inability to lie glibly just then. "Where is your car?" "Waiting for me in the little park." "Lana, there'll be no more excitement here--not a bit. Nothing to see! Suppose you allow me to take you to the car. Come!" He put out his arm.