Fred, his duties early completed,
sleeping placidly and well. With two exceptions, all the companies of
his regiment were made up of men who lived in the heart of the city. The
two junior companies, "L" and "M," had been raised in the western
suburb, and as many as a dozen young fellows living almost as far west
as the great freight-yards were members of these. According to the
system adopted in some of the Eastern States, each company was divided
into squads, so that in the event of sudden need for their services the
summons could be quickly made. Every man's residence and place of work
or business were duly recorded. Each Lieutenant had two sergeants to aid
him, each sergeant, two corporals; and immediately on receipt of
notification, it was the business of each corporal to bustle around and
convey the order to the seven men comprising his squad. By ten o'clock
on the previous evening Fred Wallace had seen and notified every one of
his party, and then, returning home, had gone straightway to bed. "There
won't be much sleep after we're called out," said he, "so now is my
time."

It would have been well for all his comrades had they followed his
example, but one or two of the weak-headed among them could not resist
the temptation of going to the freight-yards to see how matters were
progressing, and there, boy like, telling their acquaintances among the
silent, gloomy knots of striking railway men, that they too, "the
Guards," were ordered out. It was not strictly true, but young men and
many old ones rejoice in making a statement as sensational as possible.
It would not surprise or excite a striker to say "we've received orders
to be in readiness." It did excite them not a little when Billy Foster
told them in so many words, "Say, we've got our orders, and you
fellows'll have to look out."

"There need be no resort to violence," said the leaders. "We can win at
a walk. The managers have simply got to come down as soon as they see
we're in earnest." And at ten o'clock at night the striking switchmen,
many of them ill at ease, had been waiting to see the prophesied "come
down" which was to be the immediate result of the tie-up. What the
leaders failed to mention to their followers as worthy of consideration
was that superintendents, yard-masters, conductors, engineers, brakemen,
and firemen, one and all had risen from the bottom, and could throw
switches just as well as those employed for no other purpose. It was
incon