e Opera
House was half a block away; then, the returning billow beat back again
and swung him along, gasping, staggering, clutching, till he was landed
once more in the vortex of frantic action in front of the foyer. Here
the waves were shorter, quicker, the crushing pressure on all sides of
his body left him without strength to utter the cry that rose to his
lips; then, suddenly the whole mass of struggling, stamping,
fighting, writhing men about him seemed, as it were, to rise, to lift,
multitudinous, swelling, gigantic. A mighty rush dashed Presley forward
in its leap. There was a moment's whirl of confused sights, congested
faces, opened mouths, bloodshot eyes, clutching hands; a moment's
outburst of furious sound, shouts, cheers, oaths; a moment's jam wherein
Presley veritably believed his ribs must snap like pipestems and he
was carried, dazed, breathless, helpless, an atom on the crest of
a storm-driven wave, up the steps of the Opera House, on into the
vestibule, through the doors, and at last into the auditorium of the
house itself.

There was a mad rush for places; men disdaining the aisle, stepped
from one orchestra chair to another, striding over the backs of seats,
leaving the print of dusty feet upon the red plush cushions. In a
twinkling the house was filled from stage to topmost gallery. The
aisles were packed solid, even on the edge of the stage itself men were
sitting, a black fringe on either side of the footlights.

The curtain was up, disclosing a half-set scene,--the flats, leaning at
perilous angles,--that represented some sort of terrace, the pavement,
alternate squares of black and white marble, while red, white, and
yellow flowers were represented as growing from urns and vases. A long,
double row of chairs stretched across the scene from wing to wing,
flanking a table covered with a red cloth, on which was set a pitcher of
water and a speaker's gavel.

Promptly these chairs were filled up with members of the League,
the audience cheering as certain well-known figures made their
appearance--Garnett of the Ruby ranch, Gethings of the San Pablo, Keast
of the ranch of the same name, Chattern of the Bonanza, elderly men,
bearded, slow of speech, deliberate.

Garnett opened the meeting; his speech was plain, straightforward,
matter-of-fact. He simply told what had happened. He announced that
certain resolutions were to be drawn up. He introduced the next speaker.

This one pleaded for moderati