After leaving the office where they had made their report to their employers, Rube Maloney and his two friends visited all the saloons. There they found sympathetic and admiring audiences. They reviled1 the committee collectively and singly; bragged2 that they would shoot Coleman, Truett, Durkee, and some others at sight; flourished weapons, and otherwise became so publicly and noisily obstreperous3 that the committee decided4 they needed a lesson. Accordingly they instructed Sterling5 Hopkins, with four others, to rearrest the lot and bring them in. Hopkins was a bulldog, pertinacious6, rough, a faithful creature.
News of these orders ran ahead of their performance. Rube and his satellites dropped everything and fled to their masters like threatened dogs. Their masters, who included Terry, Bowie, Major Marmaduke Miles, and a few others, happened to be discussing the situation in the office of Richard Ashe, a Texan, and an active member of "the chivalry7." The three redoubtables burst in on this gathering8, wild-eyed, scared, with, the statement that a thousand stranglers were at their heels.
"Better hide 'em," suggested Bowie.
But hot-headed Terry, seconded by equally hot-headed Ashe, would have none of this.
"By gad9, let them try it!" cried the judge. "I've been aching for this chance!"
Therefore when Hopkins, having left his small _posse_ at the foot of the stairs, knocked and entered, he was faced by the muzzles11 of half a dozen pistols, and profanely12 told to get out of there. He was no fool, so he obeyed. If Terry had possessed13 the sense of a rooster, or a single quality of leadership, he would have seen that this was not the moment to precipitate14 a crisis. The forces of his own party were neither armed nor ready. But here, as in all other important actions of his career, he was governed by the haughty15 and headstrong passions of the moment--as when later he justified16 himself in attempting to shoot down an old and unarmed man. Hopkins left his men at the foot of the stairs, borrowed a horse from Dr. Beverly Cole, who was passing, and galloped17 to headquarters. There he was instructed to return, to keep watch, that reinforcements would follow. He arrived at the building in which Ashe's office was located, in time to see Maloney, Terry, Ashe, McNabb, Bowie, and Rowe all armed with shotguns, just turning the far corner. He dismounted and called on his men to follow. The little _posse_ dogged the judge's party for some distance. For a time no attention was paid to them, but as they pressed closer Terry, Ashe, and Maloney whirled and presented their shotguns. The movement was probably intended only as a threat; but Hopkins, always bold to the point of rashness, made a sudden rush at Maloney. Judge Terry thrust his gun at the Vigilante officer who seized it by the barrel. At the same instant Ashe pressed the muzzle10 of his weapon against one Bovee's breast, but hesitated to pull the trigger. It was getting to be unhealthy to shoot men in the open street.
"Are you a friend?" he faltered18.
"Yes," replied Bovee, and by a rapid motion struck the barrel aside.
Another of the Vigilantes named Barry covered Rowe with a pistol. Rowe's "chivalry" oozed19. He dropped his gun and fled toward the armoury. The others struggled for possession of weapons, but nobody fired. Suddenly Terry whipped out a knife and plunged20 it into Hopkins's neck. Hopkins relaxed his hold on Terry's shotgun and staggered back.
"I am stabbed! Take them, Vigilantes!" he cried.
He sank to the pavement. Terry and his friends dropped everything and ran toward the armoury. Of the Vigilante _posse_ only Bovee and Barry remained, but these two pursued the fleeing Law and Order men to the very portals of the armoury itself. When the door was slammed in their faces, they took up their stand outside, they two holding within several hundred men! At the end of ten minutes a pompous21, portly individual came up under full sail, cast a detached and haughty glance at the two quiet men lounging unwarrantedly in his path, and attempted to pass inside.
"You cannot enter here," said Bovee grimly, as they barred his way.
The pompous man turned purple.
"Do you know who I am?" he demanded.
"I don't give a damn who you are," replied Bovee, still quietly.
"I am Major-General Volney E. Howard!"
"You cannot enter here," repeated Bovee, and this time he said it in a tone of voice that sent the major-general scurrying22 away.
After a short interval23 another man dashed up very much in a hurry. Mistaking Bovee and Barry for sentinels, he cried as he ran up:
"I am a lieutenant24 in Calhoun Bennett's company, and I have been sent here to--"
"I am a member of the Committee of Vigilance," interrupted Barry, "and you cannot enter."
"What!" cried the officer, in astonishment25. "Have the Vigilance Committee possession of this building?"
"They have," was the reply of the dauntless two.
The lieutenant rolled up his eyes and darted26 away faster than he had come. A few moments later, doubtless to the vast relief of the "outside garrison27" of the armoury within which five or six hundred men were held close by this magnificent bluff28, the great Vigilante bell boomed out: _one, two, three_, rest; then _one, two, three_, rest; and repeat.
Immediately the streets were alive with men. Merchants left their customers, clerks their books, mechanics their tools. Dray-men stripped their horses of harness, abandoned their wagons30 where they stood, and rode away to their cavalry32. Clancey Dempster's office was only four blocks from headquarters. At the first stroke of the bell he leaped from his desk, ran down the stairs, and jumped into his buggy. Yet he could drive only three of the four blocks, so dense33 already was the crowd. He abandoned his rig in the middle of the street and forced his way through afoot. Two days later he recovered his rig. In the building he found the companies, silently, without confusion, falling into line.
"All right!" he called encouragingly. "Keep cool! Take your time about it!"
"Ah, Mr. Dempster," they replied, "we've waited long! This is the clean sweep!"
James Olney was lying in bed with a badly sprained34 ankle when the alarm bell began to toll35. He commandeered one boot from a fellow-boarder with extremely large feet, and hobbled to the street. There he seized by force of arms the passing delivery wagon31 of a kerosene36 dealer37, climbed to the seat, and lashed38 the astonished horse to a run. San Francisco streets ran to chuck holes and ruts in those days, and the vehicle lurched and banged with a grand rattle39 and scatteration of tins and measures. The terrified driver at last mustered40 courage to protest.
"You are spilling my kerosene!" he wailed41.
"Damn your kerosene, sir!" bellowed42 the general; then relenting: "I will pay you for your kerosene!"
Up to headquarters he sailed full tilt43, and how he got through the crowd without committing manslaughter no one tells. There he was greeted by wild cheering, and was at once lifted bodily to the back of a white horse, the conspicuous44 colour of which made it an excellent rallying point.
Within an incredibly brief space of time they were off for the armoury; the military companies marching like veterans; the artillery45 rumbling46 over the rude pavements; the cavalry jogging along to cover the rear. A huge roaring mob accompanied them, followed them, raced up the parallel streets to arrive before the armoury at the same moment as the first files.
The armoury square was found to be deserted47 except for the intrepid48 Barry and Bovee, who still marched back and forth49 before the closed door. No one had entered or left the building.
Inside the armoury the first spirit of bravado50 and fight-to-the-last-ditch had died to a sullen51 stubbornness. Nobody had much, to say. Terry was very contrite52 as well he might be. A judge of the Supreme53 Court, who had no business being in San Francisco at all, sworn to uphold the law, had stepped out from his jurisdiction54 to commit as lawless and idiotic55 a deed of passion as could have been imagined! Whatever chances the Law and Order party might have had, could they have mobilized their forces, were dissipated. Their troops were scattered56 in small units; their rank and file were heaven knew where; their enemies, fully57 organized, had been mustered by the alarm bell to full alertness and compactness. And Terry's was the hand that had struck that bell! For the only time in his recorded history David Terry's ungoverned spirit was humbled58. Until he found that nothing immediate29 was going to happen to him, and while under the silent but scathing59 disapprobation of his companions, he actually talked of resigning! Parenthetically, the fit did not last long, and he soon reared, his haughty crest60 as high as ever. But now, listening to the roar of the mob outside, peeping at the grim thousands of armed men deploying61 before the armoury, he regretted his deed.
"This is very unfortunate; very unfortunate!" he said, "But you shall not imperil your lives for me. It is I they want. I will surrender to them."
Instead of the prompt expostulation he expected, a dead silence greeted these words.
"There is nothing else to do," agreed Ashe at last.
An officer was sent to negotiate.
"We will deliver up the armoury if you will agree not to give us over to the mob," he told the committee.
"We hold, and intend to hold, the mob under absolute control. We have nothing in common with mobs," was Coleman's reply.
The doors were then thrown open, and a company of the Vigilante troops marched in. Within ten minutes, the streets were cleared. The six hundred prisoners, surrounded by a solid body of infantry62 with cavalry on the flanks, were marched to headquarters. The city was jubilant. This, at last, was the clean sweep! Men went about with shining faces, slapping each other on the back. And Coleman, the wise general, realizing that compromises were useless, peace impossible, came to a decision. Shortly from headquarters the entire Vigilante forces moved in four divisions toward the cardinal63 points of the compass. From them small squads64 were from time to time detached and sent out to right or left. The main divisions surrounded the remaining four big armouries; the smaller squads combed the city house by house for arms. In the early morning the armouries capitulated. By sun-up every weapon in the city had been taken to Fort Gunnybags.
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1
reviled
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| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bragged
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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obstreperous
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| adj.喧闹的，不守秩序的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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pertinacious
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| adj.顽固的 | |
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chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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gad
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| n.闲逛；v.闲逛 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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profanely
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| adv.渎神地，凡俗地 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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scurrying
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 ) | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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28
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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sprained
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| v.&n. 扭伤 | |
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toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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kerosene
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| n.(kerosine)煤油，火油 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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39
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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40
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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43
tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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44
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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45
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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46
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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47
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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48
intrepid
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| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
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49
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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50
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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51
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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52
contrite
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| adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的 | |
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53
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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54
jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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55
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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56
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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humbled
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| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
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59
scathing
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| adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词) | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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61
deploying
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| （尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用 | |
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62
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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63
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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squads
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| n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍 | |
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