‘Nelson, you and Shaw get a couple of our men and attend to the saloon. Slavin and the whole gang are up at the Black Rock, so you won’t have much trouble; but come to us as soon as you can.’
And so we went our ways.
Then followed a scene the like of which I can never hope to see again, and it was worth a man’s seeing. But there were times that night when I wished I had not agreed to follow Graeme in his plot. As we went up to the hotel, I asked Graeme, ‘What about the law of this?’
‘Law!’ he replied indignantly. ‘They haven’t troubled much about law in the whisky business here. They get a keg of high wines and some drugs and begin operations. No!’ he went on; ‘if we can get the crowd out, and ourselves in, we’ll make them break the law in getting us out. The law won’t trouble us over smuggled whisky. It will be a great lark, and they won’t crow too loud over the League.’
I did not like the undertaking at first; but as I thought of the whole wretched illegal business flourishing upon the weakness of the men in the mines and camps, whom I had learned to regard as brothers, and especially as I thought of the cowards that did for Nixon, I let my scruples go, and determined, with Abe, ‘to get back at ‘em.’
We had no difficulty getting them out. Abe began to yell. Some men rushed out to learn the cause. He seized the foremost man, making a hideous uproar all the while, and in three minutes had every man out of the hotel and a lively row going on.
In two minutes more Graeme and I had the door to the ball-room locked and barricaded with empty casks. We then closed the door of the bar-room leading to the outside. The bar-room was a strongly built log-shack, with a heavy door secured, after the manner of the early cabins, with two strong oak bars, so that we felt safe from attack from that quarter.
The ball-room we could not hold long, for the door was slight and entrance was possible through the windows. But as only a few casks of liquor were left there, our main work would be in the bar, so that the fight would be to hold the passage-way. This we barricaded with casks and tables. But by this time the crowd had begun to realise what had happened, and were wildly yelling at door and windows. With an axe which Graeme had brought with him the casks were soon stove in, and left to empty themselves.
As I was about to empty the last cask, Graeme stopped me, saying, ‘Let that stand here. It will help us.’ And so it did. ‘Now skip for the barricade,’ yelled Graeme, as a man came crashing through the window. Before he could regain his feet, however, Graeme had seized him and flung him out upon the heads of the crowd outside. But through the other windows men were coming in, and Graeme rushed for the barricade, followed by two of the enemy, the foremost of whom I received at the top and hurled back upon the others.
‘Now, be quick!’ said Graeme; ‘I’ll hold this. Don’t break any bottles on the floor—throw them out there,’ pointing to a little window high up in the wall.