DEFEAT OF THE STRIKERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2360, 18 May 1899, Page 58

DEFEAT OF THE STRIKERS.

(Extract from "The Storming of Greyhouse," by R. S. Warren Bell in The Captain.)

The mob must have been a thousand strong, but so gallant was the defence of the Greys that it looked as if the men from Petershall would not effect an entrance by tho over-the-wall method. The Greys thwacked hard and accurately, and many broken heads and hands must have gone back to Petershall that night. The strikers, however, surged most thickly round the gates, guessing that this was the weakest point in the defences. Here half a elozen of the masters, helped by several of the Sixth, had posted themselves, and the^ fight' may be said to have been hand-to-hand as far as a fight of that sort could be carried on through gate bars. "It'll give way soon, lods! " yelled a man in front, who Vras hacking at one of the hinges with a crowbar, " and then we'll have 'em ! "

" And make 'em pay for this ! " was the say,age addition of another, whose head was bound up in a -jjed- handkerchief. "With a. will, lads, with a will; we'll have 'em soon ! " growled the mob outside. " Greys ! Greys ! Greyhouse for ever ! Keep 'em out, Greyhouse! Nevei say die, Grej'house! Greys! Greys! Such were the cries that came from all over the field while tie fight raged. '. * . .

Of a sudden, to- the wonder and dismay of all whe perceivei it 7 the Captain of Greyhouse and half of the biggest fellows stai'ted running at top speed towards the school buildings. The strikers saw them, too, and raised a hoarse chorus of triumph. '" They're frighted ! Coom on, „ lods ! Down wi' this gate, and we'll dance on they — sure ! " But the rest of the Greys, though they felt a bit damped by their leader's disappearance, didn't intend to let their assailants in. Still they guarded the walls, hammering intruding' hands and heads and legs with increased vigour, and sustaining many wcunds from stones end sticks in their turn. ' But the old gate was shaking ; the strikers were plunging themselves against it in masses. . l

" It's givin' ! it's givin' ! " was the yell, as a huge slab of mortal- fell away from the top hinge of ' the right gate. The mob bayed like wolves, and their eyes gleamed with the hope that soon they would be fighting at close quarters ' with their boyish opponents. But at thiy juncture the Ijttle. fellows in the rear raised a loM cry. -Oh, most happy inspiration ! The Captain "and his 'companions were tugging the school' fire engine down to the gates ; and,' t Jove ! another fine i3.ea — all tlie fellows ,wJio had run off' had hastily donned fencing- j jackets and helmets, winch, as you know, ■ are made of wicker and padded with lea-, ther. They had often practised 'out in the front here, where was situated a fireplug in connection with Petershall reservoir. The hose was attached, a score of chaps started pumping,, the Captain ttfOk command of the muzzle, and brought ifc to bear full iipon the crowd at the gates. • Swish — swelsh ! The great stream of water was drenching and bathing them. But the bars of the gates lessened its force. " A leg up, some of you ! " cried the Captain, running tothe wajl and beginning to scramble up. -J^^J helped him, and hi a trice he was sitCT§|* astride the wall, boinbaiding the mob with the water which spouted furiously from the muzzle — thanks , to the energy of the pumpers. I defy .any man to stand up against the volume of water which a good fire-hose throws. The strikers round the gate skedaddled pell-mell to escape this formidable onslaught, and no man in the front of the mob could feel secure, for the Captain dodged the muzzle about most impartially, and let them all have a taste of it. But, alat> ! Gazing on the retreating figures, he forgot the space immediately beneath him. Even as his fellow Greys were cheering and clapping him on, they saw him drop the hose and clutch desperately at the coping of the wall. It was loose, and gave way beneath his desperate strength. He grabbed again — a score of Greys rushed forward — bul, those on the other side were too powerlul and too quick, and before he could be rendered any assistance he had been twitched over the wall into the road — one boy alone amongst a thousand savages. 1 For a moment the Greys were tongue-tied and limb-tied ; the catastrophe had unnerved them. . Their Captain was gone ! But another leader was at hand. A master who had ofily joined the staff that term — fresh from Oxford— romped up to the spot where the Captain had been pulled over. "To the rescue — come, Greys ! " He was a famous footer man — an International. To get over that wall was the work of a moment with him. As the others surged after him, he dropped into the road and dashed head-first into the crowd, rushing straight for that spot where the fencinghelmet was swaying and reeling ainid&t ov ci whelming odds. Had it not been for that helmet and jacket the Captain's life would not have been worth five minutes' purchase. Over they went, not stopping to count the cost. Over — over — over ! Their blood was up ; they meant to save the Captain. "Come on, Greys! To the rescue, Greys ! Greyhouse for ever ! Follow up, Greys ! " and the cry was echoed back and back. Greyhouse knew how to cheer ! Thus they made that mad and desperate charge against an overpowering host. It was, perhaps, the most anxious moment the head master of Greyhouse had ever experienced. . . . The flower of his floek — the Captain of his school — was fighting for his life amid that maddened mob— a mob ready to go to any lengths.

One of his masters and a. score of fellowa had gone, to the rescue. The gates could not hold out much longer ; they were ancient gates, put upljefore Greyhouse was a school even, and the put upon them was fearful. He must act promptly and with judgment. The safety of hun-, -dreds of boys, -el iiis «wn family, and of the women servants, fearfully watching the fight from afar,- depended upon him! He was the Wellington of ilris -miniature Waterloo ! He made up his mind in two seconds. His great voice roared out, and could be heard even above the din and tumult of the conflict.

"Greyhouse! Battalion! Form intoha^f companies — fix bayonets ! Steady a moment ! "

The cadets fell in and obeyed the word of command as coolly as if they had. been on parade. The gates were swaying ; the I mortar had given way ; the strikers -were j surging against it in a still more compact mass. Their weight had told, " Steady, Greys ! ' rang out the Head's voice again. " Stand away Irom "the gates ! " • 'Now a tremendous cheer came from the strikers, and was answered staunchly by the Greys. The mob charged at the gates i again and yet Again. Then with — as it J seemed— 3. dying groan the enormous hinges came away .from their three-hundred-year-old beds, • and .the" gatesr— the "pride of Greyhouse^ — fell with a crash! " Battalion !' 'Porward ! " ]V ' As steadily as trained soldiers the Groys advanced ; the line of glittering steel completely filled the yawning space lately 'occupied by the gates. The_ strikers drawback a little, and many of them- sea/led a ' bank on the 6ther_ side the road. Still, they kept up a hail of sticks and stones. The Greys were bleeding, but they stood ut» gamely. "Halt!". The front rank pulled up between the shattered pillars. IJehind it the sloping bayonets glistened in the sun, and looked business-like. The leader of the mob was on the bank. "Coom on, lods! Doan't 'cc be frighted by a pack o* babies playin' at soljefs ! Qoom on!" _ • ; So saying, he picked up a half-brick and i flung it} at the front rank. It struck a j Grey, who reeled back. He- was passed i chrough to the rear, his place being quickly filled., The leader rushed forward brandishing his cudgel. Now the Head's voice rang out again: 1 '•Battalion! Charge!!!" Though his yoice was so clear, I)r Gra-' ham was trembling. On the next few moments depended the issue of this conflict. Could the boys hold their own? Would ,the strikers stand 01 fly? It the latter kept their ground their numbers could not but give them the victory." They were, ten to one. The' captains of the ' half-companies took irp the word. 1 . " Right half company — right wheel ! Charge !" " Left half company-r-left ' wheel I Charge!" , The Greys set their teeth. The sun ! danced on the, steady line of steel. They ■ advanced at the double, wheeling to the right and to the left, and charged full tilt at the mob. • '■ Greyhousei Greys for ever ! Greys ! " The old cry rang out ; they dashed forward. New,' Greys — steady, and the-day is your? ! The strikers wavered — broke— fled — still ths steel lines followed, and behind them the whole host of Greys, uttering ringing shouts of victory. The strikers tore away; — anywhere to escape that cold, glittering steel ! Greyhouse was saved !

—At a London police court the wife of a carpenter was sent to gaol for neglecting her children. The husband stated in evidence that after he had destroyed his wife's clothing to prevent her going to obtain drink, she visited a public house with only a table cloth wrapped round her.