Then the tumult began to change its character;
attention was drawn from the house to the advancing police, behind
whom came a band of Mutimer's adherents, led by Redgrave. The latter
were cheering; the hostile rabble met their cheers with defiant
challenges. The police had now almost more than they could do to
prevent a furious collision between the two bodies; but their
numbers kept increasing, as detachments arrived one after another,
and at length the house itself was firmly guarded, whilst the
rioters on both sides were being put to flight. It was not a long
street; the police cleared it completely and allowed no one to enter
at either end.
It was all but dark when at length the door of Emma's room was
opened and six or seven women appeared, searching for Mutimer. The
landlady was foremost; she carried a lamp. It showed the dead man at
full length on the floor, and Emma kneeling beside him, holding his
hand. Near her were the two children, crying miserably. Emma
appeared to have lost her voice; when the light flashed upon her
eyes she covered them with one hand, with the other pointed
downwards. The women broke into cries of fright and lamentation.
They clustered around the prostrate form, examined it, demanded
explanations. One at length sped down to the street and shortly
returned with two policemen.
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