“You haff heard with patience thiss so silly prattle of a rich young girl––” he began. “Now it is a poor man who speaks to you out of a heart full of bitterness against this law and order which you haff heard so highly praised.
“For this much-praised law and order it hass to-night assassinated free speech; it has arrested our comrades, Nathan Bromberg and Max Sondheim; it hass fill our hall with policemen. And I wonder if there iss, perhaps, a little too much law and order in the world, und iff vielleicht, there may be too many policemen as vell as capitalist-little-girls in thiss hall.
“Und, sometimes, too, I am wondering why iss it ve do not kill a few–––”
“That’ll do!” interrupted the sergeant of police, striding down the aisle. “Come on, now, Karl; you done it that time.”
An angry roar arose all around him; he nodded to his men:
“Run in any cut-ups,” he said briefly; climbed up to the rostrum, and laid his hand on Kastner’s arm.
At the same moment a stunning explosion shook the place and plunged it into darkness. Out of the smoke-choked blackness burst an uproar of shrieks and screams; plaster and glass fell everywhere; police whistles sounded; a frantic, struggling mass of humanity fought for escape.
As Jim reeled out into the lobby, he saw Palla leaning against the wall, with blood on her face.
Before the first of the trampling horde emerged he had caught her by the arm and had led her down the steps to the street.