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“Thatwouldbeenough，“saidtheChief。“Ihatetheideaofsmashingthroughthatcrowd。Yousee，someofthoseboyswentthroughhellwithmeandIhatetohurtthem。“
“Whynottryaruse？“suggestedMaitland。“Divideyourparty。Youtakefiveorsixcarswithconstablesupthehilltothatcrowdthere。Letmetakethestrikebreakersandtherestofthecarsandmakeadashtotheright。It’salongerwayroundbutwiththestreetsclear，wecanarriveatHeadquartersinaveryfewminutes。“
TheChiefconsideredtheplanforafewminutesinsilence。
“It’sagoodplan，Maitland，“hesaidatlength。“It’sagoodplan。Andwe’llputitthrough。I’llmakethefeintontheleft；
yourunthemthroughontheright。Ibelievewecanpullitoff。
Givemeafewminutestoengagetheirattentionbeforeyousetout。“
Everythingcameoffaccordingtoplan。AstheChief’sdetachmentofcarsapproachedthesolidmassofstrikers，theyslowlygavebackbeforethem。
“Clearthewaythere！“saidtheChief。“Wearegoingthrough！“
Stepbystepthecrowdgaveway，pressedbytheapproachingcars。
Suddenly，atawordofcommand，themassopenedranksandtheChiefsawbeforehimabarrieracrossthestreet，constructedoffencingtornfromneighbouringgardens，anupturneddeliverywagon，averyuglyandverysavage-lookingfieldharrowcommandeeredfromaneighbouringmarketgarden，withwicked-looking，protrudingteethandotherdebrisofvariedmaterial，butallhelpingtoproduceamosteffectivebarricade。SilentlytheChiefstoodforafewmoments，gazingattheobstruction。Acurious，ominousgrowloflaughterranthroughthemob。Thencameasharpwordofcommand:
“Unload！“
Aswithonemovementhispartyofconstableswereonthegroundandlinedupinfrontoftheircars，withtheirclubsandaxehandlesreadyforservice。Stillthemobwaitedinominoussilence。TheChiefdrewhisgunandsaidinaloud，clearvoice:
“Iamgoingtoclearawaythisbarricade。ThefirstmanthatofferstopreventmeIshallshootonthespot。“
“Iwouldn’tdothat，Chief，“saidavoicequietlyfromtherear。
“Thereareothers，youknow。Listen。“
Threeshotsrangoutinrapidsuccession，andagainsilencefell。
Meantimefromthecornerofthebarricadeamanhadbeenpeeringintothecars。
“Boys！“heshouted。“Theyain’tthere！Thereain’tnoscabs。“
TheChieflaughedquietly。
“Whosaidtherewere？“heasked。
“Sold，bythunder！“saidtheman。Thenheyelled:“We’llget’emyet。Comeon，boys，tothemainstreet。“
Likeadeer，hedoubleddownasidestreet，followedbythecrowd，yelling，cursing，swearingdeepoaths。
“Let’emgo，“saidtheChief。“Maitland’sgotthroughbythistime。“Ashespoke，twoshotsrangout，followedbythecrashofglass，andtheheadlightsofthefirstcarwentblack。
“Justaswellyoudidn’tgetthrough，Chief，“saidthevoiceofthepreviousspeaker。“Might’vegothurt，eh？“
“Giveittohim，Chief，“saidRupertsavagely。
“Nouse，“saidtheChief。“Lethimgo。“
Meanwhile，Maitland，withlittleornoopposition，hadgothiscarsthroughthecrowd，whichasamatteroffactwereunawareoftheidentityofthepartyuntilaftertheyhadbrokenthrough。
Theirwayledbyacircuitousroutethroughquietbackstreets，approachingPoliceHeadquartersfromtherear。Aten-minuterunbroughtthemtoashortsidestreetwhichledpasttheMaitlandMills，attheentrancetowhichtheysawundertheglareofthearclightsoverthegatewayacrowdblockingtheirway。
“Now，whatinthunderisthis？Holdupaminute，“saidMaitlandtohisdriver。“Letmetakealook。“Heranforwardtothemainentrance。Therehefoundthegateway，whichstoodalittleabovethestreetlevel，blockedbyanumberofhisownmen，someofwhomherecognisedasmembersofhishockeyteam，andamongthem，McNish。OutinthestreetamongthecrowdstoodSimmons，standingonabarrel，lashinghimselfintoafrenzyanddemandingblood，fire，revolution，andwhatnot。
“McNish，youhere？“
