Several further attempts were made to get arms and
provisions from Richard; and each time an angry scene ensued. Close up
beside the thin partition, her hands locked under her cooking-apron,
Polly sat and trembled for her husband. He had already got himself
talked about by refusing to back a Reform League; and now she heard him
openly declare to some one that he disapproved of the terms of this
League, from A to Z. Oh dear! If only he wouldn't. But she was careful
not to add to his worries by speaking of her fears. As it was, he came
to tea with a moody face.
The behaviour of the foraging parties growing more and more threatening,
Mahony thought it prudent to follow the general example and put up his
shutters. Wildly conflicting rumours were in the air. One report said a
contingent of Creswick dare-devils had arrived to join forces with the
insurgents; another that the Creswickers, disgusted at finding neither
firearms nor quarters provided for them, had straightway turned and
marched the twelve miles home again. For a time it was asserted that
Lalor, the Irish leader, had been bought over by the government; then,
just as definitely, that his influence alone held the rebel faction
together. Towards evening Long Jim was dispatched to find out how
matters really stood. He brought back word that the diggers had
entrenched themselves on a piece of rising ground near the Eureka lead,
behind a flimsy barricade of logs, slabs, ropes and overturned carts.
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