Part 29 (2/2)

Bob gave an order and one of his men took the bicycle and rode off in the direction of the meeting. A few minutes later one of the club waiters brought the telegram to me. It was from Lady Moyne.

”Saw the Prime Minister this morning. He is taking all possible measures to avoid bloodshed. Has telegraphed instructions to the military authorities. Tell Moyne. Am sending duplicate message to him.

Want to make sure of reaching him.”

I glanced at my watch. It was five minutes past one; evidently too late to tell Moyne anything. Whatever was happening at the scene of the meeting had begun to happen at one o'clock. I waited.

Ten minutes later a motor car, driven at a furious pace, dashed round the corner at the far end of the street, and sped towards us. A single pa.s.senger sat beside the driver. I recognized him at once. It was c.l.i.thering. Halfway down the street he suddenly caught sight of Bob's volunteers. He clutched the driver by the arm. The car stopped abruptly, backed, turned round and sped back again. I lost sight of it as it swept round the corner.

Then followed another period of waiting in tense silence. The men beneath me--there must have been about five hundred of them--did not speak. They scarcely moved. Bob and Crossan stood in front of them, rigid, silent.

Bob's scout, the man who had mounted the telegraph boy's red bicycle, appeared in front of the Town Hall and came tearing along the street.

He sprang to the ground in front of Bob and Crossan and spoke to them eagerly. They turned almost at once and gave an order. Their men lay down. I heard the rattle of their rifles on the pavement. I could see their hands fiddling with the sights, slipping along the barrels and stocks, opening and snapping shut the magazines. The men were nervous, but, except for the movements of their hands, they showed no signs of great excitement. One man, near the end of the line, deliberately unb.u.t.toned his collar and threw it away. Another took off his coat, folded it up carefully, and laid it on the ground behind him. It struck me that it was his vest coat, a Sunday garment which he was unwilling to soil. Bob walked slowly along the line, speaking in low tones to the men. Crossan stood rigidly still a few paces in front of the line, watching the far end of the street.

Another cyclist appeared and rode towards us. One of the men fired his rifle. Crossan turned round, walked back to the man, and struck him on the head. Then he wrenched the rifle from his hands, threw it into the street, and kicked the man savagely. The man made no resistance. He got up and slowly left the ranks, walking away shamefacedly with hanging head. I do not think that Crossan had spoken to him, nor did he speak to any one else. His action explained itself. He turned his back on the men and once again stared down the empty street.

Discipline was evidently to be strictly preserved in the ranks of the volunteers. There was to be no shooting until the order was given.

When Crossan's proceedings ceased to be interesting I looked round to see what had become of the cyclist. I caught sight of him in the custody of two volunteers. He was shoved through the door of the club.

I could only see the top of his head, and so failed to recognize him until he entered the room and came over to me.

”Bland,” I said. ”How did you get here?”

”I spotted this window,” said Bland, ”as I rode along, and I asked them to put me in here. Is it a club?”

”Yes,” I said. ”What happened at the meeting?”

”Get me a whisky and soda,” said Bland, ”if you're a member.”

I rang the bell.

”What happened?” I said. ”Did they hold the meeting?”

”They were holding it,” said Bland, ”when I left. But it wasn't much of a meeting.”

I ordered a whisky and soda from a terrified waiter.

”What about the police?” I asked.

”They ran over the police,” said Bland. ”I don't think they killed many. There wasn't any shooting. The whole thing was done with a rush.

d.a.m.ned well done. You couldn't call it a charge. The police were drawn up in the middle of an open s.p.a.ce where four or five roads met. The men kind of flowed over them. When the place was clear again, there weren't any police. That's all. Ah! here's the whisky!”

He was evidently thirsty for he drank the whole tumbler-full at a draught.

”What about Moyne?” I said. ”What did he do?”

”Oh! He stood up on the back seat of a carriage and began to make a speech. But that didn't matter.”

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