"And as I looked the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Behold, I make of thee My fist and arm of granite, that thou mayest strike and slay without mercy My enemies and thy enemies, them that oppress and grind down My people. Strike then, slay and spare not, else shall it be to thee as to Saul, who, when bidden by Me utterly to destroy the Amalekites, spared many, bringing thereby upon himself and upon his house the just and heavy vengeance of God.'" The man was mad--mad as it is possible for a man to be; but there was method in his madness. In all that had been said, no single word had been dropped which afforded any clue in regard to the crimes he had committed or meant to commit. Passionate as had been his outpourings in the cause of the poor and of the oppressed, and vehement as had been his declaration of war against the oppressor, he had given me no inkling of the means at his command for the carrying on of the war he was waging, no clue in regard to his associates, their methods, or their meeting-places. Not one word of all he had said could be adduced against him in court, as evidence in connection with any crime with which he might be charged. Then from under his cape of Christ-like compassion, the cunning and cruel eyes of the madman peeped. "But I mustn't tell you too much--anything you could use against me," he said with a leer, "until I know whether you are for the oppressor or the oppressed. Tell me you are on our side, Rissler, and none shall raise finger to harm or to injure you. "But"--and now his voice was terrible to hear, the blue blaze in his eyes terrible to see--"let me have cause to suspect you of assisting the enemy, the people's enemy, God's enemy, and I'd throttle the life out of you, tear the heart out of you, this night, this moment, in this place. Which is it to be?" CHAPTER XIX. THE DUMPLING'S SECRET. The man, as I have said before, was mad--stark, staring mad, and with a madman one must go warily. Had I too profusely protested my sympathy, too readily declared myself an adherent, his cunning would, I am persuaded, have led him to doubt my sincerity, in which case his promise to strangle the life, or to tear the heart out of me, would, I believe, have been fulfilled. Under the circumstances I thought it best not to appear too eager. "You can't frighten me with your threats," I said, quietly. "I did lose my nerve some time ago. But I've got it back again now, and while I'm willing to hear all you have to say about a cause with which I'm not only ready but anxious to throw in my lot, I'm not going to be bounced or threatened into doing so. The co-operation of a man who, in making so momentous a choice, is capable of being threatened or talked into standing in with you, who jumps, in fact, to your whistling, isn't worth having. There are more momentous matters than my life hanging to this, and before I say definitely I'm with you--as is my wish--there are one or two more questions I must ask."