meanwhile the vast mob of london's workers was steadily pressing north. there were hundreds of carts without wheels, which necessarily hampered the rate of progression, but would save time in the long run, for there were any number up to a dozen with each conveyance, seeing that various neighbours were working upon the co-operation system.
gradually the force began to break and turn in certain directions. it became like an army marching upon given points by a score or more of avenues. it was pretty well known that there were a couple of hundred men amongst the multitude who knew exactly where to go and who had instructions as to certain grimy goals.
they were breaking away in all directions now, quiet, steady, and determined, covering a wide area from caledonian road to euston, and from finsbury park to king's cross. they were so quiet and orderly that only the crunch of the snow and the sound of heavy breathing could be heard.
near euston station the first sign of resistance was encountered. a force of eighty police barred the way. the mob closed in. there was no hot blood, no more than grim determination with a dash of sardonic humour in it. a head or two was broken by the thrashing staves, but the odds were too great. in five minutes the whole posse of constables was disarmed, made secure by their own handcuffs and taken along as honoured prisoners of war. perhaps their sympathies were with the mob, for they made nothing like so fine a fight of it as is usually the case.
up by king's cross station a still larger force of police had massed, and here there was some considerable amount of bloodshed. but there were thousands of men within easy distance of the fray, and the white silence of the place became black with swaying figures and the noise of turmoil carried far. finally the police were beaten back, squeezed in between two vastly superior forces and surrendered at discretion.
the victory was easier than it seemed, for obviously the constables had no heart for the work before them. not a few of them were thinking of their own firesides, and that they would be better off in the ranks of their antagonists.
meanwhile, many of the local municipalities were being urged to call out the military. with one accord they declined to do anything of the kind. it was the psychological moment when one touch of nature makes the whole world akin. in the house of commons, to the agonised appeal of hayes and his partner, the secretary for war coldly preferred to be unable to interfere unless the mayor of this or that borough applied for assistance after reading the riot act. the matter was in the hands of the police, who would know how to act upon an emergency.
hustled and bustled and pushed good-naturedly, fisher and his colleague found themselves at length beyond a pair of huge gates that opened into a yard just beyond euston station. there was a large square area and beyond three small mountains of coal, all carefully stacked in the usual way. before the welcome sight the stolid demeanour of the two thousand men who had raided the yard fairly broke down. they threw up their hands and laughed and cheered. they stormed the office of the big coal company, who were ostensible owners of all that black wealth, and dragged the clerks into the yard. from behind came the crash and rattle of the wheel-less carts as they were dragged forward.
"no cause to be frightened," the man in command explained. "we're here to buy that coal, one or two or three hundredweight each, as the case may be, and you can have your money in cash or vouchers, as you please. but we're going to have the stuff and don't you forget it. you just stand by the gates and check us out. you'll have to guess a bit, but that won't be any loss to you. and the price is eighteen pence a hundredweight."
the three clerks grinned uneasily. at the same moment the same strange scene was being enacted in over a hundred other coal-yards. three or four hundred men were already swarming over the big mound, there was a crash and a rattle as the huge blocks fell, the air was filled with a grimy, gritty black powder, every face was soon black with it.
very soon there was a steady stream away from the radius of the coal stacks. a big stream of coal carts went crunching over the hard, frozen snow pulled by one or two or three men according to the load, or how many had co-operated, and as they went along they sang and shouted in their victory. it was disorderly, it was wrong, it was a direct violation of the law, but man makes laws for man.
gough and fisher, passing down parallel with euston road, presently found themselves suddenly in the thick of an excited mob. the doors of a wharf had been smashed in, but in the centre of the yard stood a resolute knot of men who had affixed a hose pipe to one of the water mains and defied the marauders with vigorous invective. just for a moment there was a pause. the idea of being drenched from head to foot with a thermometer verging upon zero was appalling. these men would have faced fire, but the other death, for death it would mean, was terrible.
in the centre of the yard stood a resolute knot of men who had affixed a hose pipe to one of the water mains and defied the marauders with vigorous invective.
"does that chap want to get murdered?" fisher exclaimed. "if he does that, they will tear him to pieces. i say, sir, are you mad?"
he pressed forward impulsively. mistaking his intention, the man with the hosepipe turned on the cock vigorously. a howl of rage followed. but the dramatic touch was absent, not one spot of water came. a sudden yell of laughter arose in time to save the life of the amateur fireman.
"the water is frozen in the mains," a voice cried.
it was even as the voice said. in a flash everything became commonplace again. fisher was very grave as he walked away.
"this is a calamity in itself," he said. "the water frozen in the mains! by this time to-morrow there won't be a single drop available."
