Chapter 19.15 - Shirley

They heard the rebel leader cry, To the back, lads. They heard a voice retort, Come round. We will meet you. To the Counting House, was the order again. Welcome. We shall have you there, was the response. And accordingly, the fiercest blaze that had yet glowed, the loudest rattle that had yet been heard, burst from the Counting House front when the mass of rioters rushed up to it. The voice that had spoken was Moore's own voice. They could tell by its tones that his soul was now warm with the conflict. They could guess that the fighting animal was aroused in every one of those men, there struggling together, and was for the time quite paramount above the rational human being. Both the girls felt their faces glow and their pulses throb. Both knew they would do no good by rushing down into the melee. They desired neither to deal nor to receive blows. But they could not have run away. Caroline no more than Shirley. They could not have fainted. They could not have taken their eyes from the dim, terrible scene, from the massive cloud of smoke, the musket lightning, for the world. How and when would it end? Was the demand throbbing in their throbbing pulses? Would a juncture arise in which they could be useful? Was what they waited to see? For though Shirley put off their too-late arrival with a jest, and was ever ready to satirize her own or any other person's enthusiasm, she would have given a farm of her best land for a chance of rendering good service. The chance was not vouchsafed her. The looked-forward juncture never came. It was not likely. Moore had expected this attack for days, perhaps weeks. He was prepared for it at every point. He had fortified and garrisoned his mill, which in itself was a strong building. He was a cool, brave man. He stood to the defense with unflinching firmness. Those who were with him caught his spirit and copied his demeanor.