“Well I'll--” he paused expressively, then inquired: “What's your game?” “Well, you see, boss, this executive council that runs the State-house has refused our demands.” “What are your demands?” “Double pay.” “Double pay! Now how do you figure it out that you ought to have double pay?” “Rush work. You see we were under oath, or pretty near that, to get every carpet in the State-house down by four o'clock this afternoon. Now you know yourself that rush work is hard on the nerves. Did you ever get rush work done at a laundry and not pay more for it? We was anxious as anybody to get the Capitol in shape for the big show this afternoon. But there's reason in all things.” “Yes,” agreed his auditor, “there is.” The man looked at him a little doubtfully. “Our president--we elected Johnny McGuire president last night--went to the Governor this morning with our demands.” The Governor's fellow official smiled--he knew the Governor pretty well. “And he turned you down?” The striker nodded. “But there's an election next fall; maybe the turning down will be turned around.” “Maybe so--you never can tell. I don't know just what power Carpet-Tackers' Union Number One will wield, but the Governor's pretty solid, you know, with Labour as a whole.” That was true, and went home. The striker rubbed his foot uncertainly across the floor, and took courage from its splinters. “Well, there's one thing sure. When Prince Ludwig and his train-load of big guns show up at four o'clock this afternoon they'll find bare floors, and pretty bum bare floors, on deck at this place.” The attorney-general rubbed his own foot across the splintered, miserable boards. “They are pretty bum,” he reflected. “I wonder,” he added, as the man was half-way out of the door, “what Prince Ludwig will think of the American working-man when he arrives this afternoon?” “Just about as much,” retorted the not-to-be-downed carpet-tacker, “as he does about American generosity. And he may think a few things,” he added weightily, “about American independence.” “Oh, he's sure to do that,” agreed the attorney-general. He joined the crowd in the corridor. They were swarming out from all the offices, all talking of the one thing. “It was a straight case of hold-up,” declared the Governor's secretary. “They supposed they had us on the hip. They were getting extra money as it was, but you see they just figured it out we'd pay anything rather than have these wretched floors for the reception this afternoon. They thought the Governor would argue the question, and then give in, or, at any rate, compromise. They never intended for one minute that the Prince should find bare floors here. And I rather think,” he concluded, “that they feel a little done up about it themselves.” “What's the situation?” asked a stranger within the gates.