"Yes, give it to us, Sheldon," they cried. "Get to the point!" "Look at those flags," Frank cried in answer, pointing with quivering finger to the sullied emblems that lay in the dust where the German had left them. "Those are the flags of liberty, justice and right, and this dog," his fingers tightened in the man's collar till the craven cried out with the pain of it, "dragged them down, threw them in the dust, stamped upon them--stamped upon them, fellows! And our flag, Old Glory, is among them! Do you hear that? Old Glory is among them!" An ominous growl went up from the crowd which had been listening breathlessly and with growing indignation to Frank's words, and now it surged threateningly forward. "What are we going to do with him?" cried Frank, his eyes afire. "What would you do with a cur like this?" "Tar and feather him!" cried someone, and a score of voices took it up. "Tar and feather him! tar and feather him!" "Ride him out of town on a rail!" "Aw, that's too easy," yelled another, making a megaphone of his hands so that his voice soared above even that deafening babel. "I've got a good tough rope, fellows, tough enough even for this hog here. What do you say?" "Lynch him! lynch him!" the cry arose deafeningly and the crowd surged forward once more closing in upon Frank and his quivering, terrified captive. "Out of the way, Sheldon!" "Let's get at him!" "Oh, mein Gott!" wailed the German, sinking on his knees and gazing up at Frank with terror-stricken face. "You will not let dem murder me--like dis--in gold blood--you will not--" "There's not much cold blood about this," said Frank, with a glint in his eye and another tightening of his fingers. "However, we'll let you live a little while yet. You're not fit to die." "Lynch him! lynch him!" the cry still rose menacingly. The crowd was becoming impatient. "Wait a minute;" shouted Frank, straightening himself to his full height and holding up his hand compellingly. "We're not going to lynch this man. We're going to punish him worse than that." The German's face, which had grown hopeful at the beginning of Frank's speech, resumed its terrified expression and he sank back despairingly. The shouts and cries of the crowd had settled down now to a muttering, murmuring, undertone so that Frank's voice rose clear and determined above it. "First of all," he said, while the crowd surged forward in mingled disappointment and eagerness, "he's going to pick up the flags he has dared insult, dust them off carefully and restore them to their former position." The crowd shouted its delight at the suggestion, while the German's face grew sullen and he looked stolidly at the ground. "I vill not do it," he muttered. "What's that?" queried Frank politely, while his knuckles dug deep into his captive's neck. "I'm afraid I didn't quite understand you. If you will repeat--"