A meeting was at once held at which both sides were well represented, Mr. Hardy attending in the ranks of the non-unionists. The conference provoked a considerable amount of bad feeling, and was broken up in wild disorder by the strikers when they found they could not induce the new arrivals to join them. The presence of the police, however, prevented any serious fighting, only one man being badly injured. [Illustration: THE COACH ON WHICH MR. HARDY WAS RIDING WHEN HE WAS ATTACKED BY THE STRIKERS. _From a Photograph._] Mr. Hardy soon discovered that he was a marked man, as it was thought that he was either a detective or else an official of the non-unionist organization, and for the next few days it was only by seeking police protection that he avoided bodily harm at the hands of the mob. The whole place was in a suppressed state of excitement owing to the attitude of the strikers, who, it was evident, were liable to break out at any moment, and neither life nor property was regarded as safe. Several attempts were made to burn down the wool-sheds, but happily they were in every case discovered before serious damage was done. Under police supervision the new men started work, but it was at once apparent that they were, in most cases, absolutely unfitted for the work of sheep-shearing, and as the season was by now well advanced skilled labour was soon at a premium. The situation was critical, and at length the union men were approached and asked to resume work at their own terms. This offer they unanimously refused unless every “free” man was discharged. At length, having treated the strike from every possible point of view, Mr. Hardy decided to return to Sydney, and accordingly booked his place on the next mail-coach running to Forbes, as it was not possible to get a conveyance to Droubalgie on his way back. The strike was still at its height, and the route to Forbes and that town itself were strongly held by the unionists. Mr. Hardy was prepared for an exciting journey, as all coaches were subjected to the closest scrutiny, and he himself was suspected of non-unionist sympathies. When the Forbes coach drew up at Burrowang for the mails, and the coachman discovered that he was to have as a passenger Mr. Hardy, who had taken an active part in the strike, he was in an exceedingly perturbed state of mind. In spite of his fears, however, the start was made quietly enough. The day’s journey through bush and scrub proved uneventful, and towards evening the coach drew up at a small bush station, where a halt was made for the night.