their slogan was simpler and more to the point than Chester
Pelton's--the only good Literate is a dead Literate. He tensed himself
and challenged them directly.

"Joe; Horace. How about you? Satisfied the Pelton girl isn't a
Literate, now?"

Yingling looked at West, and West looked back at him questioningly.
Evidently the _suavitor in modo_ was Yingling's province, and the
_fortior in re_ was West's.

"Yeh, sure, Mr. Cardon," Yingling said dubiously. "Now that you
explain it, we see how it was."

* * * * *

It was worse than that in some of the other boroughs. One fanatic,
imagining that Cardon himself was a crypto-Literate, drew a gun.
Cardon's guards disarmed him and beat him senseless. At another
headquarters, some character was circulating about declaring that not
only Claire Pelton but her younger brother, Ray, as well, were
Literates. Cardon's two men hustled him out of the building, and,
after about twenty minutes, returned alone. Cardon hoped that the body
would not be found until after the polls closed, the next day.

Finally, leaving his guards with the 'copter at a public landing
stage, he made his way, by devious routes, to William R. Lancedale's
office, and found Lancedale at his desk, seeming not to have moved
since he had showed his agent out earlier in the day.