"My informant said that the rifle clubs are ordered to assemble at eleven o’clock." He looked out of the window into the darkness; then he turned to me again. "It will never do to let those men come together with arms in their hands. That would mean bloodshed--terrible bloodshed. I am using every effort to prevent an appeal to arms. I have refused to call for the militia. The National Guard is under arms, but I have a promise from Bryant that he will not ask for it until I give the word. I have refused an offer of Federal troops from the Presidio. I have a note from the admiral that the marines and sailors at Mare Island have been put under arms, and that the Pensacola is ready to take a position that will command the city. But I have refused to permit them to be summoned. I shall never summon them except as a last resort. It is an awful thing to have men shot down, and the memory of such an affair would be a lasting stain on the city." "It would be sad to have innocent men killed," I said; "but I shouldn’t weep over the loss of some of those demons I saw raiding wash-houses and trying to kill Wharton Kendrick. The world would be better off without them." "Do not judge them too hastily," said Coleman quickly. "Civilization is at best only skin-deep. Scratch the civilized man, and you find the wild beast. It takes a little deeper scratch to find it in some men than in others; but it is there. You and I think ourselves well-balanced, Hampden, yet I have seen men of our nature turn into ferocious beasts. I pray God I may never see the like again. These men you saw in the shape of demons the other night may be good citizens in quiet times. Thank God, young man, for government. It is the blessing of organized society--of organized government--that keeps the wild beast behind bars." He spoke with feeling, yet with the philosophic calm of the lecturer on law, and he impressed me profoundly with his momentary unveiling of a broad and tolerant mind. Then he became the man of affairs again. "Do you know where to find the headquarters of the Council?" he asked. "Yes." "Do you know these men by sight?" "I believe I can recognize eight of the nine." "Well, then, I shall have to ask you to go down to the Council’s headquarters at once, and arrest the leaders of the movement. You will have the honor of ending the uprising before it has begun." *CHAPTER XXVIII* *WITH THE PICK-HANDLE BRIGADE* If I had stopped to consider how fully the safety of Wharton Kendrick--to say nothing of his niece--depended upon me, I should perhaps have found courage to decline the dangerous mission. But William T. Coleman’s commanding eye was upon me; and after a gulp to moisten my dry throat, I replied with an attempt to put a cheerful spirit into my voice: "Very well; but I’d like to take a man or two along--merely as a guaranty to the Council that I’m not joking." Coleman smiled.