The four walls now formed a huge square, and as soldiers "dress" the line and close up in a drill yard, so at a given signal--a shrill whistle twice repeated--the four sides edged closer and closer together, till, if I may use such a term, they touched elbows. Then came a second signal--the same whistle three times repeated--and now there were the clink and rattle of bolts and chains. The four walls were locked impregnably together, thus forming a fort, facing London on every side. No sooner was the locking accomplished than, upon the walls of the fort, hundreds of policemen swarmed to complete the closing up of the streets. At a word of command from above, iron barriers shot out to the required lengths from the four corners of the fort below, and when it was impossible to adjust these barriers with sufficient nicety, absolutely to close every opening, huge sacks of sand were hurled from the walls, so that in less than five minutes the army of rioters was divided up into four separate wings, each for the moment effectually cut off from holding any communication with any of the others. The great body of the rebel army and the riflemen were, however, now west of Ludgate Circus, and passing up Fleet Street and the Strand; so that the closing of the ways seemed for a few minutes to have come too late. But the authorities who had anticipated this outbreak, and prepared for it by constructing these street-barricading forts, knew what they were about. From mouth to mouth of the rebels, passing up Fleet Street, Strandwards, the word was repeated that similar forts now blocked advance at Charing Cross. Panic-stricken, the mob surged down the side streets to the Embankment, only to find that similar barriers had been erected at either end. Then the forts at every point opened fire, and with terrible results. The scenes that followed I do not wish further to describe, except to say that, for the present at least, the rout of the leaderless rebels was complete, and only a shattered section escaped to press on to Buckingham Palace, the point to which all contingents of that great army had been instructed to converge. CHAPTER XXXVI. PRINCE DUMPLING. At Charing Cross, soon after the defeat and dispersion of the rebels, I had caught sight of a face which set my heart beating wildly--the proud, pale face of Kate, who was sitting at the window of a hotel. Sending up my name, I was at once admitted, Kate clinging to me, and crying over me, as if I were a soldier returned from the wars. "I won't leave you again, darling," I said, "no matter what you or your aunt may command or urge. How is that kindest of friends of mine?"