en them, and prevent a
pitched battle, and, possibly, bloodshed. I was sure that at Viking the
river-drivers had laid their plans so secretly that the news of them
would scarcely reach the ears of the manager of the mill, and that,
therefore, his influence, as Mr. Devlin's, would not be available.

Remained only myself--as I first thought. I was unknown to a great
number of the men of both villages, and familiar with but very
few--chiefly those with whom I had a gossiping acquaintance. Yet,
somehow, I felt that if I could but get a half-dozen men to take a firm
stand with me, I might hold the rioters in check.

As I ran by the side of the excitable fishers, I urged upon one or
two of them the wisdom and duty of preventing a conflict. Their reply
was--and it was very convincing--that they were not forcing a struggle,
but were being attacked, and in the case would fight. My hasty
persuasion produced but little result. But I kept thinking hard.
Suddenly it came to me that I could place my hand upon a man whose
instincts in the matter would be the same as mine; who had authority;
knew the world; had been in dangerous positions in his lifetime; and
owed me something. I was sure that I could depend upon him: the more so
that once frail of body he had developed into a strong, well-controlled
man.

Even as I thought of him, I was within a few rods of the house where he
was. I looked, and saw him standing in the doorway. I ran and called
to him. He instantly joined me, and we ran on together: the fishermen
shouting loudly as they watched the river-drivers come armed down the
hill-slope into the village.

I hastily explained the situation to my friend, and told him what we
must do. A word or two assured me of all I wished to know. We reached
the scene of the disorder. The fishermen were bunched together,
the river on the one side, the houses and hills on the other. The
river-drivers had halted not many yards away, cool, determined and
quiet, save for a little muttering. In their red shirts, top boots,
many of them with long black hair and brass earrings, they looked a most
formidable crowd. They had evidently taken the matter seriously, and
were come with the intention of carrying their point, whatever it might
be. Just as we reached the space between the two parties, the massive
leader of the river-drivers stepped forward, and in a rough but
collected voice said that they had come determined to fight, if fighting
were neces