
mild. We can talk as we stroll along."
The pair headed from the direction of the avenue. Side by side, they followed the route that Rochelle
indicated. The embassy attendant watched them as they moved along the street. His gaze centered upon
the man whom the senator had addressed as Rochelle.
Coming down the embassy steps, Rochelle's manner of locomotion had seemed quite normal. Upon the
sidewalk, however, the man who carried the cane formed an odd and conspicuous figure. Every stride
caused his body to incline heavily to the right, where its sagging stopped by Rochelle's pressure on the
strong walking stick.
Then came a momentary stop. Rochelle's right leg, swinging forward, resumed its pace. His whole body
seemed to twist with the effort. The halting limp continued with regular precision; yet despite it, Rochelle
kept pace with the man beside him.
The man with the limp!
The embassy attendant knew him by sight. He was Darvin Rochelle, founder of the International Peace
Alliance. His halting, sagging figure could be seen at all the important functions which took place at
foreign embassies, for Darvin Rochelle was noted as a student of international problems.
TURNING a corner, Darvin Rochelle and his companion arrived upon a well-lighted street. Their faces
showed plainly beneath the shadowy crisscross of broad-branched trees.
The tall, gray-haired senator was listening with dignified pleasure to the words which his limping
companion uttered. Darvin Rochelle, his firm face gleaming with the fire of enthusiasm, was talking in
modulated tones that carried real conviction.
"World peace!" Rochelle's declaration came with emphasis. "It is not a dream, senator! It is reality. Look
at the world today. Do you see war? Only in scattered portions of the globe. Peace is the predominating
desire of our present era."
"Perhaps," maintained the senator dryly. "Yet the world has not changed. Nations - races - all have
differences. War, despite its futility, seems to be the only choice when difficulties must be settled."
"Agreed," stated Rochelle, turning his head as he limped. "Next, you will point out to me the failure that
seems to have gripped the League of Nations. I shall agree with you there. Nevertheless, world peace
can be maintained. To further it is the work that I have chosen."
"Commendable," remarked the senator. "Let us hope, Rochelle, that your plans will succeed. From what
you have told me, I realize fully that your work is worthy of support. The International Peace Alliance is
unquestionably a new idea."
"Yet a simple one, senator. It seeks to produce international understanding. That is all. We have
representatives in every country. All are pledged to throw their influence into the scale that will bring the
balance in favor of worldwide peace. They are workers in a common cause.
"There are barriers between countries. Such barriers were natural once, but today, with international
communication a matter of great ease, the barriers are falling. The International Peace Alliance has
stimulated trade relations between different countries. That, more than any propaganda, is the first step to
permanent peace."
"Certainly," rejoined the gray-haired senator. "When nations depend upon one another commercially,
their trend will be away from warfare. Yet international trade is handicapped -"