"Well, you know you’ve ruined yourself there. You can never get back again. When you can’t hurt your enemies, why not make them your friends?" "No, thank you." "But these letters are of no use to you." "How do you know that?" asked Luke quietly. Forbes blushed. "Are they?" he countered. "And why," persisted Luke, "didn’t you suggest this to me days ago?" His eyes probed the man before him. "What else did Judge Stein say to you?" he demanded. Forbes drew back in his chair. His flush deepened, but presently he made an impatient gesture. "Oh, very well," he said defiantly, "the Judge did see me yesterday, and if you had been at the factory, as you should have been, you’d have seen him, too." Luke thought it unnecessary to remark that he had been honored by a previous call from Stein. "What else did he say?" Luke repeated. "He said a great deal; but the upshot of it was that he would induce your enemies, who are the men that control the trust we’re competing with, to lower wages and join the fight against the employees, if you would agree to surrender those letters." "I won’t do it," said Luke. "Don’t be hasty," Forbes implored. "Think of me. Think of Betty——" Luke winced. "Don’t begin that," he commanded. "But what have you to gain?" asked Forbes. "Nothing. I’ve nothing to gain. I’ve only something to keep: my self-respect." "Your self-conceit, you mean. Be reasonable, Huber. These people won’t give in." "So I must?" "They won’t give in, and you can’t get back to politics and can’t get any paper to take up your case." "Oh,"—Luke could have laughed—"so Stein told you that, too, did he?" "Never mind what he told me. The point is: his people can help you if you’ll only acknowledge defeat, now that you’re defeated. They can give you back all you’ve lost, and nobody else can." "And if I don’t admit I’m whipped, they’ll whip me some more?" "They’ll finish what they’ve begun, Huber; they will wipe out the Business, too." "I’m sorry," said Luke—"very sorry for you, I mean. But there’s no use arguing: I won’t give in." Forbes exhausted his every resource. He pleaded for the business, for Luke, for Betty. For an hour he sent the squadrons of his appeal against the impregnable wall of Luke’s determination. "What have you to gain?" he reiterated; and once he said: "The worst of the crowd is dead, anyhow." Luke was not listening. He was saying to himself: