antomime
secured a hearing again.

'But wait a bit, maties; I haven't done yet. He pitches over the pore
girl, but he does worse afterwards. He sets a tale a-goin' as she'd
disgraced herself, as she wasn't fit to be a honest man's wife. An' it
was all a damned lie, as lots of us knows. Now what d'ye think o' that!
This is a friend o' the People, this is! This is the man as 'as your
interests at 'art, mates! If he'll do a thing like that, won't he rob
you of your savin's?'

As soon as he knew what the man was about to speak of, Mutimer felt
the blood rush back upon his heart. It was as when a criminal hears
delivered against him a damning item of evidence. He knew that he was
pale, that every feature declared his consciousness of guilt. In vain he
tried to face the mob and smile contemptuously. His eyes fell; he stood
without the power of speech.

The yell was repeated, and prolonged, owing to another cause than the
accusation just heard. When the accuser was borne forwards to the cart,
a rumour spread among those more remote that an attack was being made on
Mutimer and his friends. The rumour reached that part of the Green where
Redgrave was then haranguing. At once the listeners faced about in the
direction of the supposed conflict. Redgrave himself leaped down, and
called upon all supporters of Mutimer to follow him. It was the crash
between two crowds which led to the prolonging of the yell.

The meeting was over, the riot had begun.

Picture them, the indignant champions of honesty, the avengers of virtue
defamed! Demos was roused, was tired of listening to mere articulate
speech; it was time for a good wild-beast roar, for a taste of
bloodshed. Scarcely a face in all the mob but distorted itself to
express as much savagery as can be got out of the human countenance.
Mutimer, seeing what had come, sprang down from the cart. He was at once
carried yards away in an irresistible rush. Impossible for him and
his friends to endeavour to hold their ground: they were too vastly
outnumbered; the most they could do was to hold together and use every
opportunity of retreat, standing in the meanwhile on the defensive.
There was no adequate body of police on the Green; the riot would take
its course unimpeded by the hired servants of the capitalist State.
Redgrave little by little fought his way to within sight of Mutimer; he
brought with him a small but determined contingent. On all sides was the
thud of blows, the indig