第52章

For nearly a dozen years there had not been a word of truth upon any subject important to the people of Remsen City in the columns of any of the three.During wars between rival groups of capitalists a half-truth was now and then timidly uttered, but never a word of ``loose talk,'' of ``anarchy,'' of anything but the entirely ``safe, sane and conservative.''

Thus, any one who might have witnessed the scenes in Market Square on Thursday evening would have been not a little astonished to read the accounts presented the next day by the three newspapers.According to all three the Workingmen's League, long a menace to the public peace, had at last brought upon Remsen City the shame of a riot in which two men, a woman and four children had lost their lives and more than a hundred, ``including the notorious Victor Dorn,'' had been injured.And after the riot the part of the mob that was hostile to ``the Dorn gang'' had swept down upon the office of the New Day, had wrecked it, and had set fire to the building, with the result that five houses were burned before the flames could be put out.The Free Press published, as a mere rumor, that the immediate cause of the outbreak had been an impending ``scurrilous attack'' in the New Day upon one of the political gangs of the slums and its leader.The Associated Press, sending forth an account of the riot to the entire country, represented it as a fight between rival gangs of workmen precipitated by the insults and menaces of a ``socialistic party led by a young operator named Dorn.''

Dorn's faction had aroused in the mass of the workingmen a fear that this spread of ``socialistic and anarchistic ideas'' would cause a general shut down of factories and a flight of the capital that was ``giving employment to labor.''

A version of the causes and the events, somewhat nearer the truth, was talked about Remsen City.But all the respectable classes were well content with what their newspapers printed.

And, while some broad- minded respectabilities spoke of the affair as an outrage, none of them was disposed to think that any real wrong had been done.Victor Dorn and his crowd of revolutionists had got, after all, only their deserts.

After forty-eight hours of careful study of public opinion, Dick Kelly decided that Remsen City was taking the dose as he had anticipated.He felt emboldened to proceed to his final move in the campaign against ``anarchy'' in his beloved city.On the second morning after the riot, all three newspapers published double- headed editorials calling upon the authorities to safeguard the community against another such degrading and dangerous upheaval.``It is time that the distinction between liberty and license be sharply drawn.'' After editorials in this vein had been repeated for several days, after sundry bodies of eminently respectable citizens--the Merchants' Association, the Taxpayers' League, the Chamber of Commerce--had passed indignant and appealing resolutions, after two priests, a clergyman and four preachers had sermonized against ``the leniency of constituted authority with criminal anarchy,'' Mr.Kelly had the City Attorney go before Judge Lansing and ask for an injunction.

Judge Lansing promptly granted the injunction.The New Day was enjoined from appearing.The Workingmen's League was enjoined from holding meetings.

Then the County Prosecutor, also a henchman of Kelly's, secured from the Grand Jury--composed of farmers, merchants and owners of factories--indictments against Thomas Colman and Victor Dorn for inciting a riot.

Meanwhile Victor Dorn was rapidly recovering.With rare restraint young Dr.Charlton did not fuss and fret and meddle, did not hamper nature with his blundering efforts to assist, did not stuff ``nourishment'' into his patient to decay and to produce poisonous blood.He let the young man's superb vitality work the inevitable and speedy cure.Thus, wounds and shocks, that have often been mistreated by doctors into mortal, passed so quickly that only Selma Gordon and the doctor himself realized how grave Victor's case had been.The day he was indicted--just a week from the riot--he was sitting up and was talking freely.

``Won't it set him back if I tell him all that has occurred?''

said Selma.

``Talk to him as you would to me,'' replied Charlton.``He is a sensible man.I've already told him pretty much everything.It has kept him from fretting, to be able to lie there quietly and make his plans.''

Had you looked in upon Victor and Selma, in Colman's little transformed parlor, you would rather have thought Selma the invalid.The man in the bed was pale and thin of face, but his eyes had the expression of health and of hope.Selma had great circles under her eyes and her expression was despair struggling to conceal itself.Those indictments, those injunctions-- how powerful the enemy were! How could such an enemy, aroused new and inflexibly resolved, be combatted?--especially when one had no money, no way of reaching the people, no chance to organize.

``Dr.Charlton has told you?'' said Selma.

``Day before yesterday,'' replied Victor.``Why do you look so down-in-the-mouth, Selma?''

``It isn't easy to be cheerful, with you ill and the paper destroyed,'' replied she.

``But I'm not ill, and the paper isn't destroyed,'' said Victor.

``Never were either I or it doing such good work as now.'' His eyes were dancing.``What more could one ask than to have such stupid enemies as we've got?''

Selma did not lift her eyes.To her those enemies seemed anything but stupid.Had they not ruined the League?

``I see you don't understand,'' pursued Victor.``No matter.

You'll wear a very different face two weeks from now.''

``But,'' said Selma, ``exactly what you said you were afraid of has occurred.And now you say you're glad of it.''

``I told you I was afraid Dick Kelly would make the one move that could destroy us.''

``But he has!'' cried Selma.

Victor smiled.``No, indeed!'' replied he.

``What worse could he have done?''