“What’s that?” cried Gibbons, springing to his feet and taking a step forward. “Don’t interrupt the speaker,” shouted Braunt, from the body of the hall. “He interrupted me,” roared Gibbons, now thoroughly angry. Turning to the young man who stood there silently, waiting for statement and retort to cease, the secretary demanded: “When did Sartwell tell you that?” “On Tuesday night.” “On Tuesday night!” repeated Gibbons, coming to the front of the platform. “On Tuesday night! and you have the brazen cheek to stand here and admit it.” “Why shouldn’t I?” asked Marsten, with perceptible self-control, but whitening around his tightened lips. “Why shouldn’t you? I’ll tell you why. Because you sneaked in behind the backs of the committee you had helped to appoint. That’s why.” “I had no hand in appointing the committee.” “Every man in the works had a hand in appointing the committee. If you didn’t vote, then you neglected your duty. If you voted against the committee, you were bound by the result just as the committee would have been bound, if they had been defeated. That’s trade unionism--stand together or fall together. You, knowing a committee had been appointed to deal with this very business, must go crawling to Sartwell, and undermine the work of your fellow-unionists.” “That’s a lie!” hissed Marsten, through his set teeth, in a low but intense tone of voice which was heard to the further end of the hall. The young man strode toward his antagonist, his right hand nervously clinching and unclinching. It was an electric moment,--the crowd held its breath. They expected the next move would be a blow. Gibbons stood his ground without flinching. Not a muscle of his face moved except his eyelids, which partially closed over his eyes, leaving a slit through which a steely glance shot at Marsten; but his answer was not so truculent as his look. “If it’s a lie,” he said calmly, to the evident disappointment of his hearers, “then the lie is not mine. I was merely putting your own statements in a little terser language; that’s all.” Braunt, who had with difficulty kept his hot temper in hand during this colloquy on the stage, now roared at the top of his voice: “Give t’ lad a chance to speak and shut your silly mouth. He’s called you a liar like a man and you daren’t take him oop like a man. Sit down, you fool!” “I must really ask the protection of the Chair,” protested the secretary, turning to Scimmins. The latter, feeling that something was expected of him, rose rather uncertainly to his feet, and struck the table three or four times with his mallet. “Order, order!” he cried. “If there is any more disturbance down there, the man will be put out of the meeting. “What!” shouted Braunt. “Put me out! Egod! I’ll give ’ee th’ chance.”