As the committee and the speakers were leaving the hall, the vicar kept Thomas Bradly back, and said to him: "This is wonderful indeed; it is the Lord's doing, and is marvellous in our eyes. Now you must keep your eye, Thomas, on Foster; I think you will get at him at first better than I should be likely to do. You will be able to see just how the land lies, and I shall be ready to come in at any time; only with such a man we must use discretion, knowing what his antecedents have been." "Ay, surely," replied the other; "I'll not let him go, sir, now that we've got hold of him--you may depend upon it. Oh! This is indeed what I never could have dreamt of. Well, we've had a grand night; and it's a sign, I believe, as we're going to have some rare bright sunshine on our temperance work." "I trust and believe so, indeed," rejoined Mr Maltby, and they parted. That meeting was never forgotten in Crossbourne, but was always spoken of as emphatically _the_ great Crossbourne Temperance Meeting. CHAPTER TEN. LIGHT IN THE DARK DWELLING. The day that followed the great temperance meeting was one full of excitement to the operatives of Crossbourne. Every mill and workshop resounded with the eager hum of conversation and conjecture touching the marvellous occurrence of the previous evening--the speech and conduct of William Foster. Of course a variety of distorted versions of the matter flew abroad, and were caught and carried home into the country by some who lived at a distance from the town. Among these versions was a strongly affirmed and as strongly believed account of the last night's occurrences, which set forth how William Foster, with a picked party of his friends, had forced their way to the top of the hall, and were in the act of mounting the platform for the purpose of turning the vicar out of the chair, when a voice of unearthly loudness was heard to shout, "Forbear!"--upon which the meeting broke up in wild confusion, leaving Foster prostrated on the ground by some invisible and mysterious power, where he lay till brought back to consciousness by the joint efforts of Mr Maltby and Thomas Bradly; after which, at their earnest suggestion, he there and then signed the pledge.