A SOLEMN pause followed. And then Hierons, with rather an air of taking the bit between his teeth, went suddenly on:
“Fate has ordained that your husband shall do a thing which we, his friends and co-workers, humbly believe to be the will of God.”
“That may be your view,” said Helen. “It may be the view of your Society. But it is not my husband’s. And he is quite ready to give his own life rather than take, as he believes unlawfully, the life of another man.”
“To the Council yesterday,” said Hierons, “your husband made a similar statement. And, my dear Mrs. Endor,”—deep feeling suddenly fused the voice of her countryman—“I have to say this: We, the six members of the Council who were present, were most profoundly moved by the appeal your husband made to us. The strength of his position in England at this moment we fully recognize. Upheld by a recent victory against enormous odds, he believes that he is called to a great work for the state. He believes that as far as Britain is concerned it is now possible to rally public opinion to a perception of the awful danger that lurks in the unbridled power of certain inimical forces.”
“Has he not given proof already,” said Helen, “of what he can do? What other man in this country could have won the Blackhampton election in the face of the U. P.?”
Hierons deferred to the force of that argument. “Oh, yes,” he said, “the Council of Seven grants all that. It is the last to close its eyes to the hard fact. But the Society of the Friends of Peace, governed of necessity by a set of iron laws, has not the power to absolve any member from his vows.”
“Is there then no way out for my husband?” asked Helen.
“Apart from the death of Saul Hartz, I am afraid there is none. Once a decree has been promulgated by the Council, the Society is bound to stand or fall by it. But let me say this: The Council is so deeply engaged with the great question your husband has raised——”
“—That the remedy is at least as bad as the disease,” Helen interjected quickly.
“—Even if we don’t go with you quite so far as that, your husband’s words yesterday to the Council have already sunk deep. And I may say that it has appointed me to wait upon Mr. Endor in the course of to-morrow, so that, in its name, a certain proposal may be laid before him.”
A vivid light came into Helen’s eyes, as she asked what the proposal was.
“Let it first be made to your husband,” said Hierons, in a tone kind and gentle, “before I disclose it to you. He may or may not feel at liberty to accede to it. One hopes sincerely that he will. And in any event it may help to lessen his doubts, by convincing him of the absolute bona fides of those whom he now stigmatizes as visionaries and fanatics. In the meantime, my dear Mrs. Endor, keep up your heart.”