"Lucky!" The other man snorted. "I wish Ernol could hear you say that! He'd have a fit!"
Reblong was not at all disturbed. "By the way, what's become of the chap? I haven't seen him around for weeks?"
"Don't know, exactly," with some uneasiness. "He went back to
Calastia, and that's the last I heard of him."
"Calastia? I saw an item in the paper last night, to the effect that
Calastia was under quarantine. All news cut off."
The man instantly smelled a mouse. "Quarantine! Why should that cause the news to be cut off? There's something more than quarantine the matter, Reblong!" He began to pace the room excitedly. "I say it again, we're fools to believe everything the commission tells us. I think they've been hoodwinking us about long enough!"
Reblong suppressed a yawn. "I don't care if they do, old man. I'm willing to leave it up to them to run the government."
"And that's exactly what's the matter!" cried the other. "You and every other chap except those Ernol has taught, thinks that the commission is God-given and can do no wrong!"
"Yes?" politely. "Maybe so; only, you can't blame us for thinking pretty highly of a government that has done this." Reblong checked the items off on his fingers, meanwhile eying his companion steadily: "It has done away with the liquor traffic; it has fully protected women in industry; it has put an end to child labor; it has abolished poverty; it has abolished war; and"—with considerable emphasis for so quiet a man—"it has provided you and me and everybody else with a mighty fine education, free of charge!"
Reblong's manner, by its very emphasis, had the effect of making the other man suddenly quite cool. "Correct; I admit them all. And at the same time I want to show you that the commission has accomplished all this, not primarily for our benefit, but in the interests of the owners.
"They gave us prohibition because drinking was bad for business; no other reason, Reblong! And that's why the women are protected, too; a protected, contented woman brings in better dividends to the owners than one who is worked to death.