Betty Winter paused on the top step of the Capitol and gazed over the great silent crowd with a shiver.
"The silence—yes," Ned Vaughan answered slowly. "I wondered if you had felt it, too."
"It's more like a funeral than an Inauguration."
The young reporter smiled:
"If you believe General Scott there may be several funerals in Washington before the day's work is done."
"And you don't believe him?" the girl asked seriously.
"Nonsense! All this feverish preparation for violence——"
Betty laughed:
"I'm afraid you're not a good judge of the needs of the incoming administration. As an avowed Secessionist—you're hardly in their confidence."
"Thank God, I'm not."