wall of breathless humanity. Between these walls strolled Jud, roaring
his opinion and defiance of every one in general, and the citizens of
Corinth in particular.

It could not last long, of course. There were many men in the crowd who
did not fear to challenge Jud, but there was that inevitable hesitation,
while each man was muttering to his neighbor that this thing ought to be
stopped, and they were waiting to see if someone else would not start
first to stop it.

Nearly the length of the block, Jud made his triumphant way; then, at the
corner where the crowd was not so dense, he saw a figure starting across
the street.

"Hey there," he roared, "get back there where you belong! What th' hell
do you mean? Don't you see the procession's a comin'?"

It was Denny. He had left his garden to go to the butcher's for a bit of
meat for dinner. The crippled lad had just rounded the corner, and,
forced to give all his attention to his own halting steps, did not grasp
the situation but continued his dragging way across the path of the
drunken and enraged bully. The ruffian, seeing the lad ignore his loud
commands, strode heavily forward with menacing fists, heaping foul
epithets upon the head of the helpless Irish boy.

The crowd gasped.

"Oh, why does someone not do something!" moaned a woman. A girl screamed.

Several men started, but before they could force their way through the