"Nonsense? _Poltron_!" answered Blasius with contempt. "It take but a few barricade and two free t’ousand men to defend zem, and--_boum_! We have ze city. I was of ze Commune, and I tell you so. And instead of _Marchons_, you say Nonsense. Eh-h, cowarrd!" Enos jumped to his feet, his dark face flushing angrily. His fists were doubled, and if Blasius had been a younger man, I should have witnessed the beginning of civil war in the camp of the agitators. But Enos held his arm before the gray hairs of the ex-Communard, and before the quarrel could be warmed by further words, there was an interruption that turned all thoughts from private disputes. A man burst through the swinging doors of the saloon and ran down to our table. "Waldorf!" cried Parks. I looked with interest at this leader of the Council of Nine--a tall, large-faced man, whose square jaw, spare cheeks, and bulging brows gave promise of force. "It has come!" he cried. "What?" cried Parks, springing to his feet. "The word from the brethren?" "Just as good," said Waldorf, waving a newspaper excitedly before the group. "See this!" And as he unfolded the sheet we could see the printed announcement of an extra edition. Parks seized the paper, and cried out the headlines: "Riot and Bloodshed--Pittsburgh in Flames--Railroad Shops Wrecked by a Furious Mob--Troops Cooped up in the Roundhouse and Compelled to Surrender! Fighting in Baltimore. Mob Law Rules a Dozen Cities." The men about the table looked at one another in silence, and the pallor of fear or excitement spread upon their faces. "That’s the signal," said Waldorf. "I wish we were better prepared." "Prepare’!" cried Blasius scornfully. "We need no more. We have arrms. We can make ze barricade. We have leaders--plans. All we need is ze brave heart, and--_boum_!--we arre ze government!" "What are you going to do?" asked Kearney uneasily. I saw that he was not in the full confidence of the Council of Nine, and was disturbed at this glimpse of its plans. "Here’s what we are going to do," said Parks, who had resumed his seat and scribbled a few words on a sheet of paper. "This news settles the plans for to-morrow night’s meeting, and this is the way we’ll call it." And he read out his composition with fervor: NOTICE OF MEETING The working-men and women of San Francisco will meet en masse this (Monday) evening, at 7:30, on the City Hall lots, to express their sympathy and take other action in regard to their fellow workmen at Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Prominent speakers will address the meeting. By order of COMMITTEE. "Hm-m!" said Kearney, with no evidence of enthusiasm in his tone. "That’ll bring ’em out, I suppose."