"Yes, I know your hobby——"

"The big tragic truth, that the physical contact of the black race with the white is a menace to our life"—his voice had dropped to a passionate whisper as if he were talking to himself.

A laugh from Tom roused him to the consciousness of time and place:

"But that isn't a speech you meant for me, Dad!"

The father caught his bantering tone with a light reply:

"No."

And then his tall form confronted the boy with a look of deep seriousness:

"To-morrow I enter on the last phase of this campaign. At any moment a fool or a madman may blow my brains out."

Tom gave a start:

"Dad——"