Women, carrying babies, mingled with the angry, unruly, drink-maddened throng, urging, aye, even commanding more devastation, more wrecking of property. As the snail moving train of army equipment was pulled along the siding, coupling pins were drawn by the lawless, and as one car was recoupled another was detached. Soldiers, in United States uniform, endured insults of every nature.
A woman, acting as bodyguard to a crowd of jeering, taunting idlers, stepped up to a guard and spat in his face, then slapped him and in vulgar language derided him for wearing the uniform of liberty. The soldier was powerless to resent the affront, and this emboldened the vindictive throng to acts of greater violence. Turning to Chiquita, Jack said, with shamefaced candor, "Never did I expect to see my country's flag humiliated in such a manner."
The officer of the day approached. It was the seeming signal for an outbreak; a hundred throats responded to the one voiced cry, "The torch!" "Burn the train!" "Burn the Yards!" The woman pushed the man in front of her along the railroad track to within a few feet of the officers. The crowd behind drew closer, their jeers dropped to sullen, discontented murmurings. The officer held up his hand.
"Halt! Disperse!"
He waved his hand for the mob to go back, but they made no movement. The woman cried out, "You have no business to stop us;" the man in front made a rough remark and roared to his followers, "Come on, we'll show 'em." The officer backed away, calling to a guard to take a position on a near-by fence. "Load with ball, make ready, aim," pointing his sword at the oncoming law-breaking, infuriated ruffian who had stopped a sword's length away. The striker heard the words of the officer.
"When I count three I shall give the command, 'Fire!' if you and your mob have not obeyed my order to disperse. One—two"—
The man looked at the soldier, at the carbine and the cold gray eye that followed along the barrel as the muzzle sought the breast of the leader, he measured the distance, he heard the word "two," then with despairing yell turned and fled.
The success of the mob at another place met with cheers and shouts of approval as an engineer was borne from the cab of his engine to a saloon across the way, a new recruit to the army of disorganized, rebellious workmen, fed by the ever ready impromptu orator seeking opportunity to air his views—a near friend and close imitator of the agitator commissioned "walking delegate."
"Jack," said Chiquita, "are these scenes, these property-destroying conflicts between employer and employe necessary for the advancement of civilization and fulfillment of that commandment that 'Ye love one another?'"