But, as they still wished to place the Municipal Council, as far as possible, at the head of their movement, they carried their arms to the Broletto, where they demanded to be enrolled in the new Civic Guard. In the meantime, Torresani had refused to act without Radetzky's authority, and Radetzky was furious at the news of O'Donnell's concessions. Hearing that one of his officers, who was ill in bed, had offered to give his sanction to these concessions, the savage General threatened to have him dragged from his bed and shot, if he did not at once recall the order; and troops were despatched to the Broletto to suppress the movement. Casati, indeed, had fled from the scene of action, and taken refuge in a private house; but the people, who had brought the arms to the Broletto, closed the gates against Radetzky's force; and, though they had only fifty guns with them, they prepared to defy the Austrian cannon, backed by more than 2,000 soldiers. The proposal to capitulate was rejected with scorn; and, from seven to nine p.m., this little band, many of them boys, defended the Municipal Council Hall. But it was impossible to conquer against such odds; and at last the Austrian soldiers broke in, attacked all whom they found there, whether armed or unarmed; hurled down into the streets some boys whom they found on the roofs, hung one little child, and marched off the rest of their prisoners to the castle, to be tortured by Radetzky. But, as they were actually on their way to the castle, the victorious soldiers met some of their comrades who were flying before the citizens. Augusto Anfossi had been, in the meantime, reducing into order the gallant, but undisciplined defenders of their country; and, before the morning of the 19th, stones and wood had been put together and fastened with iron; and thus secure barricades had risen in many of the streets. Amongst other interesting materials for the barricades may be mentioned O'Donnell's carriage, which had been seized for this purpose. Radetzky, startled at the vigour of the opposition, wrote to Ficquelmont that "the nature of this people is changed as if by magic; fanaticism has infected every age, every class, and both sexes." In his alarm he offered to grant the demand which had been made in the morning, that the police should be placed under the command of the Municipal Council. Casati would, even then, have accepted this as a settlement of the struggle; but he was now quite powerless. For, while he was signing decrees, and appointing as head of the police a man who was still prisoner to the Austrians, the bells throughout Milan were ringing for a storm.