Steve Hoyle stepped quickly in front of his rival. The veins on his massive neck stood out like cords and his eyes shone ominously in the moonlight. The slender figure of John Graham instinctively stiffened at the threat of his movement as the two men faced each other.
“The Klan is now a thing of the past?” asked Steve.
“Yes.”
“As though it had never been?”
“As though it had never existed.”
“Then your authority is at an end?”
“As an officer of the Klan, yes. As a leader of men, no.”
“The officer only interests me—Boys!” Steve’s angry voice rang with defiance.
The men gathered closer.
“The Invisible Empire is no more. Its officers are as dead as the ashes of its ritual. Meet me here to-morrow night at eleven o’clock to organise a new order of patriots! Will you come?”