And now from a score of cities came the Pinkerton myrmidons to the headquarters at Chicago, few among them knowing or caring on what mission they were bound, as long as they got their daily rations and their daily pay, but all comprehending that blind obedience was the watchword. Captain F. H. Heinde had been detailed to take charge of the expedition, and under his guidance the men proceeded from Chicago to Youngstown, and thence to Bellevue, on the Fort Wayne railroad, opposite the Davis Island dam, arriving at this point at 10:30 o'clock on the evening of July 5. Early in the day, Mr. Frick had issued final orders to Captain Rodgers, directing him to tow his two barges down the Ohio River to the dam in time to meet the battalion of Pinkerton guards. Captain Rodgers duly carried out his orders. With the boats Little Bill and Tide, each having a barge in tow, he arrived at the dam at 10 P. M. There he was met by Colonel Joseph H. Gray, Sheriff McCleary's chief deputy, who had been dispatched by the sheriff to "keep the peace," if his own testimony and that of the sheriff are to be accepted, whereas, according to Mr. Frick's story, his real mission was to deputize the Pinkerton guards and thus render the county liable for the acts of these strangers. At 10:30 P. M., the trainload of guards arrived; the men embarked in the barges; the Little Bill and the Tide puffed away as cheerfully as if they were towing a pleasure party, and in the stillness of the beautiful July night the expedition moved slowly in the direction of Homestead. CHAPTER V. [Illustration: THE FIRST SHOT] ON BOARD THE BARGES--FLOATING BARRACKS EQUIPPED FOR BLOODY WARFARE--UP THE MONONGAHELA AT MIDNIGHT--HOMESTEAD GETS WARNING--DEFENDERS AT THE MILL LANDING--FRICK'S ARMY REPULSED WITH HEAVY LOSS--HUGH O'DONNEL TAKES COMMAND OF THE WORKMEN--SHERIFF McCLEARY'S APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR--FRICK REFUSES TO INTERFERE.