ItwasnotuntilJanuary,1917,thatwelefttherefuge。Allhadbeenarranged。Wetookourplaceatonceasagents—provocateursintheschemeoftheIronHeel。IwassupposedtobeErnest\'ssister。Byoligarchsandcomradesontheinsidewhowerehighinauthority,placehadbeenmadeforus,wewereinpossessionofallnecessarydocuments,andourpastswereaccountedfor。Withhelpontheinside,thiswasnotdifficult,forinthatshadow—worldofsecretserviceidentitywasnebulous。Likeghoststheagentscameandwent,obeyingcommands,fulfillingduties,followingclews,makingtheirreportsoftentoofficerstheyneversaworcooperatingwithotheragentstheyhadneverseenbeforeandwouldneverseeagain。
CHAPTERTWENTY—TWO。
TheChicagoCommune。
ASAGENTS—PROVOCATEURS,notalonewereweabletotravelagreatdeal,butourveryworkthrewusincontactwiththeproletariatandwithourcomrades,therevolutionists。Thuswewereinbothcampsatthesametime,ostensiblyservingtheIronHeelandsecretlyworkingwithallourmightfortheCause。ThereweremanyofusinthevarioussecretservicesoftheOligarchy,anddespitetheshakings—upandreorganizationsthesecretserviceshaveundergone,theyhaveneverbeenabletoweedallofusout。
ErnesthadlargelyplannedtheFirstRevolt,andthedatesethadbeensomewhereearlyinthespringof1918。Inthefallof1917wewerenotready;muchremainedtobedone,andwhentheRevoltwasprecipitated,ofcourseitwasdoomedtofailure。Theplotofnecessitywasfrightfullyintricate,andanythingprematurewassuretodestroyit。ThistheIronHeelforesawandlaiditsschemesaccordingly。