Liederman finished his testimony without further interruptions until he reached the end, when, leaning forward, he pointed his stubby forefinger at the smiling Hochwald and proclaimed him as the Russian Khodkine. Georg Senf rapped furiously for order, but the roar refused to diminish until the Committeemen saw Hochwald standing upright facing them, his handsome face quite composed, awaiting his opportunity. Not until the disturbance had been quieted did he speak and then very deliberately, his pale eyes passing slowly over the audience as though seeking out those who had cried the loudest against him.
"Friends and brothers," he began, "if you will have patience for a few moments I will tell you what has happened. I am Herr Khodkine the Russian Socialist. I am Herr Hochwald the German Socialist, for in my politics I recognize no nationality--no power but that which comes from the people themselves."
A murmur more encouraging greeted this announcement.
"I am German by birth, but the wrongs of Russia were greater than any you had suffered here. I changed my name and went to Russia to work for the revolutionary party and was one of those who was sent to the train which carried Nicholas Romanoff toward Tsarskoë Seloe and demanded of him in the name of the Russian people his abdication from the throne. I was one of those who conducted him to Tobolsk where he is now imprisoned, a harmless fool, a terrible warning to those who still hope to thwart the will of the people." Herr Hochwald shrugged easily, "You may verify my statements if you please. They are on record. Monsieur Rodzianko can give them to you. As to my loyalty to the cause of Internationalism, I have three times been nominated as Councilor of Nemi and have always served it faithfully and you, my brothers, in a common cause. Therefore---" He turned with a frown at Herr Liederman and raised his voice a note--"Therefore what I say to you must be the truth. Would I come here into your midst a guilty man, to have myself torn to pieces?"
A brief murmur of approbation and cries of "Speak then!"
"I will," he continued in a louder tone. "Herr Liederman has testified that I went to the vault at Nemi and interrupted Herr Rowland and Fräulein Korasov while they were removing the twenty-five millions of francs. He speaks the truth. I did so. Why? Because I suspected this Herr Rowland, an adventurer, a pig of a Yankee, an escaped prisoner from a German camp. You may verify that too, at military headquarters. We do not love the Yankees in Germany, or in Russia, for money alone is their God, their fetich, and they have entered this war to prolong it that their own capitalists may reap the harvest of our suffering."
Louder cries of approval from those nearest him.
"Wait, my brothers. I am not finished yet. Herr Liederman has said that Herr Rowland suspected his associates of the Council of Nemi--Herr Liederman of Stuttgart, Madame Rochal, your own representative--myself! Herr Liederman has been easily deceived by this plausible American. He meant to take this money away from Europe. Your money, my brothers, back to New York and spend it for his own uses. And Fräulein Korasov----"
He paused for a moment and lowered his voice slightly.
"Fräulein Korasov was also deceived." He shrugged again and faced his audience, leaning forward, one fist extended. "I did what you would do, my brothers, at the risk of my life. I overpowered this renegade soldier, and imprisoning Fräulein Korasov, brought the money here to Munich to you that you might keep it safely and dispose of it in all honesty in the purpose to which it has been dedicated. Did I do well or no?"