All the while, down the dusty July road, Major Grinnell, of the State Guards, had double-quicked his men. They reached the railroad spur just out of sight of the shack village. Here he divided his force. The company automobiles, equipped with searchlights and machine guns, had gone by the county road to the eastern end of the colony, behind the sand ridge, to cut off possible retreat. The motley mass of deputies, mine guards and special police cut in after them, to work back with the machines. The militia marched above the camp, close to the store held by Huggins. After a fifteen minutes' wait, they proceeded in open formation, converging toward the common. The strikers, stunned by the brutal killing of McGuire, swirled together beyond the well, hidden by the jerry-built shacks. "We gotter rush 'em," "Micky" Ray insisted, weaving in and out of the perturbed herd, followed by several adherents as violent. "Damn it, why doncher rush 'em, before they sneak out?" McGue confronted him again. "Still at it, you fool? They'd shoot us down like dogs----" "They'll shoot us anyway. 'Fraid of 'em, are you, Johnny?" another taunted. "We gotter rush 'em. Get your guns ready," commanded Ray. "All that aren't afraid, line up behind Bill there." He turned his back to round up others. The line doubled on him, an excited commotion shaking it. He tried to break his way clear, to understand what they were saying. "What the----" "Aincher heard her?" "Nellie seed 'em!" "All the soldiers is come! They're right behind the store!" "They're everywhere!" "You see?" stormed McGue, shoving Ray to the side. "Everybody below the common." They made the change. The militia assembled before the storehouse, extended their wings, beat down the open space and the lanes parallel with it. Undetermined, the strikers waited, poorly armed, but sheltered behind friendly walls. Huggins' big voice came faintly. "Lay down your guns," he shouted. "The first man who shoots, we'll fire. Do you surrender?" There was no answer. "We'd better," insisted McGue, perspiring from heat and excitement. "They ain't got anything on us. You can't fight rifles with bare hands." "Hell, no! You saw what they did to Ed McGuire. Let's kill the uglies----" "Kill 'em!" Ray adopted a new slogan. "Kill 'em! Kill 'em, I says." They wavered. The blistering sun beat fiercely on the metallic barrels of the menacing rifles. A dreadful tumult of shots, shouts, indescribable noises, broke out in the rear. The shuddering sound of machine guns pelted whistling hail through the sparse tree leaves above. Out of the blind turmoil came running figures, blaspheming in horrible rage. "They're there too!" "It's another regiment!" "They're killing everybody!" The noise grew louder. Major Grinnell halted at the head of his men. McGue, surrounded by a cowed hundred of the strikers, walked quietly out. "Do you want to arrest us?"