"By no means. It is an absolutely necessary one. At any cost the lazy and the idle must be wiped out. Under such a _régime_ no man need starve whilst he is willing to work. His life will be in his own hands." "And it is by the hurling of bombs and such-like missives you hope to bring about your millennium?" "Mr. Mallow, the world and its rulers will not listen to us. So long as we are what those in power choose to call good citizens' the injustice, the great wrongs under which we suffer now, will remain unaltered. If we are to be heard, we must perforce make a hearing for ourselves. Supplication is useless, hopeless. By terror alone can we wrench the attention which is our right. That is why we resort to force; that is why you hear of bombs, Mr. Mallow. For the safety of their lives even a king, an emperor, must heed us. Persistence in that direction will in the end secure to us the attention which we claim--the attention which is our right. That will be the dawn of the new era, Mr. Mallow, for we shall conquer. Till then--but there," said Madame, resuming her knitting, "I have much to do. I must leave you. I will place you in the hands of an instructor from whom you will learn everything that is needful. Then you can come to me and say if you will join us or not. I hope you will. We want men with brains and money." "Particularly money!" said Mallow, contemptuously. He was not to be convinced by all her rhetoric. "I do not deny it; we cannot have too much." "Was it not a pity, then, to lose Carson and his fifty thousand pounds?" "We have not lost it or him yet," said Mrs. Arne, with a long breath. "Think you that Italy is in the moon that my arm cannot reach him!" "Then you did intend to have that fifty thousand!" "I did; it was my scheme and to a point, it has been a successful one." "In that case," said Mallow, deliberately, "Major Semberry is with you, no doubt. Without him you would have been helpless." "Major Semberry has not taken the oath," said Mrs. Arne coldly, "but he is one of us." "How does he reconcile that with his allegiance to his sovereign?" Mrs. Arne knitted rapidly. "You don't know our power," she said. "In every grade of society we have our adherents--yes, even in your army. I was introduced into Mrs. Dacre's house by a friend of the cause. I am not a dressmaker, but it suited me to assume that capacity for the moment. I told Semberry to give Mrs. Dacre's address to Mrs. Carson. If I could not have got into that house, I should have given another address. Mrs. Carson wrote, and her letter naturally was given to me. I replied, and secured for the girl the position I designed for her. A friend in society helped me there, and there are dozens of people who can place me in any position I choose. You don't know my power. But enough of this"--she rose and pressed an electric button. "I will introduce you to Monsieur Rouge. He will instruct you. I have other things to do."