Part 36 (1/2)

”Mr. Remington, you here!” she cried in amazement as he strode toward her. ”What--what do you want?”

”I want--I want--” gasped George. But instead of finis.h.i.+ng his sentence he elbowed Mrs. Herrington out of the way, shoved past her, and stepped forth in front of the Voiceless Speech. There, standing in the frame of jagged plate-gla.s.s, upon what was equivalent to a platform raised above the crowd, he sent forth a speech which had a voice. ”Ladies and gentlemen!” he called, raising an imperative hand. The uproar subsided to numerous exclamations, then to surprised silence; even Noonan's men checked their disorder at this appearance of their party's candidate.

”Ladies and gentlemen,” and this Voiceful Speech was loud,--”I'm here to answer the questions of this contrivance behind me. But first let me tell you that though I'm on the ballot as the candidate of the Republican party, I do not want the backing of the Republican machine.

I'm running as an Independent, and I shall act as an Independent.

”Here are my answers:

”I want to tell you that I shall enforce all the factory laws.

”I want to tell you that I shall enforce the laws governing housing conditions--particularly housing conditions in the factory district.

”I want to tell you that I shall enforce the laws governing child labor and the laws governing the labor of women.

”And I want to tell you that I shall enforce every other law, and shall try to secure the pa.s.sage of further laws, which will make Whitewater a clean, forward-looking city, whose first consideration shall be the welfare of all.

”And, ladies and gentlemen--” he shouted, for the hushed voices had begun to rise--”I wish I could address you all as fellow-voters!--I want to tell you that I take back that foolish statement I made at the opening of the campaign.

”I want to tell you that I stand for, and shall fight for, equal suffrage!

”And I want to tell you that what has brought this change is what some of the women of White-water have shown me--and also some of the things our men politicians have done--our Doolittles, our Noonans----”

But George's speech terminated right there. Noise there had been before; now there burst out an uproar, and there came an artillery attack of eggs, vegetables, stones and bricks. One of the bricks struck George on the shoulder and drove him staggering back against the Voiceless Speech, sending that instrument of silent argument cras.h.i.+ng to the floor.

Regaining his balance, George started furiously back for the window; but Mrs. Herrington caught his arm.

”Let me go!” he called, trying to shake her off.

But she held on. ”Don't--you've said enough!” she cried, and pulled him toward the rear of the room. ”Look!”

Through the window was coming a heavier fire of impromptu grenades that rolled, spent, at their feet. But what they saw without was far more stirring and important. Noonan's men in the crowd, their hoodlumism now unleashed, were bowling over the people about them; but these really const.i.tuted Noonan's outposts and advance guards.

From out of two side streets, though George and Mrs. Herrington could not see their first appearance upon the scene, Noonan's real army now came charging into Main Street, as per that gentleman's grim instructions to ”show them messin' women what it means to mess in politics.” Hundreds of Whitewater's women were flung about, many sent sprawling to the pavement, and some hundreds of the city's most respectable voters, caught unawares, were hustled about and knocked down by the same ruthless drive.

”My G.o.d!” cried George, impulsively starting forward. ”The d.a.m.ned brutes!”

But Mrs. Herrington still held his arm. ”Come on--they're making a drive for this office!” breathlessly cried the quick-minded lady. ”You can do no good here. Out the rear way--my car's waiting in the back street.”

Still clutching his sleeve, Mrs. Herrington opened a door and ran across the back yard of McMonigal's building in a manner which indicated that that lady had not spent her college years (and similarly spent the years since then propped among embroidered cus.h.i.+ons consuming marshmallows and fudge.)

The lot crossed, she hurried through a little grocery and thence into the street. Here they ran into a party that, seeing the riot on Main Street and the drive upon the window from which George had spoken, had rushed up reinforcements from the rear--a party consisting of Penny, E. Eliot, Betty Sheridan and Genevieve. ”Genevieve!” cried George, and caught her into his arms.

”Oh, George,” she choked. ”I--I heard it all--and it--it was simply wonderful!”

”George,” cried Betty Sheridan, ”I always knew, if you got the right kind of a jolt, you'd be--you'd be what you are!”

E. Eliot gripped his hand in a clasp almost as strong as George's arm.

”Mr. Remington, if I were a man, I'd like to have the same sort of stuff in me.”

”George, you old roughneck--” began Penny.

”George,” interrupted Genevieve, still chokingly, her protective, wifely instinct now at the fore, ”I saw you hit, and we're going to take you straight home----”