Already the foremost men among the rebels had all but reached the terrace, and so were drawing very near the house itself; already here and there clenched fists could be seen, armed with stones and ready to hurl them at the windows. There was a confused rumour of shouts, threats and cries of all descriptions; every minute the clamour waxed louder and louder, until now and again it would rise for a second to a howl which was almost unearthly.
Suddenly there came a deep breathless silence. The uproar ceased abruptly, as though by an order from on high; the agitated groups paused in their restless movement, the great masses fell back, as if they had all at once encountered an obstacle, and all eyes, all faces, were turned in one direction. The hall-door had been opened, and the young master stepped out on to the terrace.
The lull lasted a few seconds, then the momentary surprise gave place to a fresh and more terrible outburst of fury which no longer lacked an aim. Those fierce yells, those faces distorted by passion, those threatening upraised arms, were all directed against one man; but that man was their master, the proprietor of the works, and that which the father, with all his industrial genius, his tenacity of purpose and arbitrary will, had failed to acquire during twenty years and more, the son had won for himself in a few weeks: the authority of his own personal influence; it worked even now when all the customary restraints of order were loosed.
He let the storm take its course. With his slight figure well erect, his steady eyes fixed on the multitude before him, every individual of which was superior to himself in strength, he stood facing them, alone and unarmed, with no protection save that which his authority gave him, waiting, as though the breakers of revolution, beating idly against him, must spend themselves in vain.
And they spent themselves. The general clamour gradually subsided into distinct and separate cries, then into a sullen murmur. At last even this was hushed, and Berkow's voice was raised, unintelligible at first through the movement surging round him, interrupted often by the tumult, which at intervals would break out afresh, then sink powerless again, until finally it died out altogether. Then the master's voice was heard, loud, clear and distinct, reaching the ears even of those who were farthest from him.
"Thank God!" muttered Schäffer, passing his handkerchief across his brow, "he has got them in hand now; they may be restive and struggle, but they will obey. See, my lady, how they are quieting down, how they recoil before him. They are actually retreating from the terrace and letting the stones drop from their hands. If Providence will only keep Hartmann out of the way, the danger is over."
He little knew with what intensity Eugénie reechoed the wish in her own mind. Up to this time she had sought in vain for that one dreaded figure; so long as it was not visible her courage did not fail her, so long she believed Arthur might yet be safe; but now security and hope were over. Whether the sudden lull in the uproar he had busied himself to raise had summoned the missing man to the spot, or whether a suspicion of what was taking place drew him thither at that critical moment, Ulric Hartmann, risen, as it were, from the ground, appeared suddenly at the park entrance behind them. One look sufficed to show him how matters stood.
"Cowards that you are!" he thundered to his comrades, as, followed by Lawrence and Deputy Wilms, he forced his way through the dense masses. "I thought as much almost, I thought you would be getting yourselves caught in his nets again while we were seeking information as to what they had done with the prisoners. We know now where they are, there at the balcony to the right, on the ground-floor, just at the back of the dining-room; that is where the attack must be made. Break in the plate-glass, it will save forcing open the door."
No one obeyed the injunction as yet, but it had its effect. Nothing is more vacillating, more unstable of purpose, than an excited crowd, accustomed to bow to the will of one resolute man.
In all the previous clamour and disturbance there had been an absence of any fixed plan, an indecision which had kept the rebels from any positive action; the eye, the arm, of the leader had been wanting. He was there now, and, as he grasped the reins, he gave them an aim and sure direction. They knew now where the prisoners were lodged, and knew how to get to them, and thus the danger, which had so nearly been conjured, was kindled afresh.