" She appeared to hesitate,
and then added with deliberate audacity, "but they think that you know
more about it than any one else."
He did not smile as he answered her. "Do they expect the men to strike?"
Though she made a graceful gesture of evasion, she met his question
frankly. "They expect them to, I gather--unless you prevent it."
A shade of irritation crossed his features. "How can I prevent it? They
have a right to stop work."
"They seem to think, the people I know, that it depends upon how safe
the leaders think it will be."
"How safe? I can't tie their hands, can I?"
"Of course I am only repeating what I hear." She gazed at him with
friendly eyes. "No one could know less about it than I do."
"People are saying, I suppose," he continued in a tone of exasperation,
"that these men had an understanding with me before I came into office.
They seem to think that I can make the strike a success by standing
aside and holding my hands. That, of course, is pure nonsense.
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