Then he sat down, drank some water, and pressed his hands to his head. The strain had been terrific. He was convulsed by his own emotions; every pulse in his body was throbbing, every nerve quivering; he streamed with perspiration and almost gasped for breath. For five minutes everyone shouted wildly; the delegates on the platform mounted their chairs and waved their arms. At his suggestion the great crowd would have sallied into the streets and marched on the palace; and it would have taken many bullets from the soldiers that Sorrento had so carefully posted to bring them back to the realisation of the squalid materialities of life.
The resolutions which Moret and Godoy proposed were carried by acclamation. Savrola turned to the former. "Well, Louis, I was right. How did it sound? I liked the last words. It is the best speech I have ever made."
Moret looked at him as at a god. "Splendid!" he said. "You have saved everything."
And now the meeting began to break up. Savrola walked to a side-door, and in a small waiting-room received the congratulations of all his principal supporters and friends. Lucile was hurried along in the press. Presently there was a block. Two men, of foreign aspect, stood in front of her, speaking in low tones.
"Brave words, Karl," said one.
"Ah," said the other, "we must have deeds. He is a good tool to work with at present; the time will come when we shall need something sharper."
"He has great power."
"Yes, but he is not of us. He has no sympathy with the cause. What does he care about a community of goods?"
"For my part," said the first man with an ugly laugh, "I have always been more attracted by the idea of a community of wives."
"Well, that too is part of the great scheme of society."