spot, the uprising would have been checked before any one heard of
it.

"But it now seems that Calastia, during the last few hours, has
become a seething hotbed of rebellion. Of course, we have isolated
the district, and a search for arms is now in progress.

"The head of the recalcitrants is a man named Ernol. He takes his
confinement as a matter of course, and no amount of pressure will
induce him to talk. Neither can we get anything from his companions,
nor from his son.

"It is up to us to decide what measures to adopt."

A large, pugnacious-looking man on the left put in the first
comment. "Would it not be a saving of time to provoke violence, in
one way or another, and thus form a pretext for disposing of the
entire lot?"

"I admire your bluntness," remarked the former chairman across the
table, "although I can't say as much for your philosophy. It is our
duty to keep everybody contented; we cannot do any public
weeding-out until the others are satisfied that the malcontents are
really weeds."

"That is clear enough," spoke the shock-headed man. "What are the
conditions, Powart?"

"Nearly normal. The percentage of overhead is only slightly higher
than average. Until Ernol moved into the locality every one seemed