The night passed without the occurrence of any overt act. The morning of the third had but fairly opened when new delegations commenced coming in, and Marshals Walker and Johnson begun the work of forming the line. Impromptu flags were prepared, the drums beat, and the uncouth assemblage was soon ready to march. Fenton Cooney was deputed to take charge of the rear and form the stragglers. One Fitzpatrick, a boss at Heckler’s, assisted. Nine o’clock came, and as the crowd was about to move the Sheriff of Schuylkill County rode up, accompanied by a Superintendent of the Coal and Iron Company. The former inquired as to the cause of the assemblage. “Only a bit of a parade,” was the plausible response, and the two men, apparently satisfied, rode away. The intention of the men was to have an imposing procession, ending at Mahanoy City, and, meantime, to force the miners, at every colliery in their way, to quit work and join, or go to their homes. They were determined to stop operations, if they had to kill the workmen. But the Sheriff was not informed of this portion of the programme. When the mob reached West Shenandoah Colliery it mustered, despite the disaffection of a few, some seven hundred strong, all firmly resolved that mining should not proceed in the Mahanoy valley. They marched away at a brisk pace, and thought themselves invincible. But at the road skirting the works mentioned was revealed a sight for which they were all unprepared. The blackened walls of the breaker stood out boldly in relief against the blue sky; the sun shone upon twenty armed men, ranged in a compact line, surrounding and cutting off approach to the mouth of the slope and the engine house, with arms, bright and gleaming, forming an inclosure of human bodies. Their repeating rifles were threatening. That obstacle did not seem so easy to surmount, and the mob stood at the foot of the hill, wavered, and presently the Grand Marshal ordered a pause. Part of his force had crossed the Reading Railway track, just before it passes under the Lehigh bridge, and there they waited, undecided what course to pursue. It was a trying moment for the police, under Linden, Heisler being unavoidably absent in the city. “Are you going to send the men from the slope, and stop the works?” asked Walker, in a loud voice. “Go on about your business!” answered Linden, resting one hand on his piece. “The men in the mine are under the protection of the law! They will stay where they are, and you must not molest them!” “Forward!” commanded Walker. But his tone lacked confidence. [Illustration: “_‘Halt!’ Shouted Linden._”] “Halt!” shouted Linden. But few obeyed Walker’s call—and they stepped back hastily, as though they had blundered, when, at a signal from Linden, a score of Winchester rifles promptly came to the shoulders of as many hardy and resolute men, ready for the expected order to “fire.”