“We’ve got to!” Arthur told her, setting his chin firmly.  “We’ve simply got to.”

The gray-haired president of the bank was waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

“My name is Van Deventer,” he said, shaking hands with Arthur, who gave his own name.

“Where shall our emergency council sit?” he asked.

“The bank has a board room right over the safety vault.  I dare say we can accommodate everybody there—­everybody in the council, anyway.”

Arthur followed into the board-room, and the others trooped in after him.

“I’m just assuming temporary leadership,” Arthur explained, “because it’s imperative some things be done at once.  Later on we can talk about electing officials to direct our activities.  Right now we need food.  How many of you can shoot?”

About a quarter of the hands were raised.  Estelle’s was among the number.

“And how many are fishermen?”

A few more went up.

“What do the rest of you do?”

There was a chorus of “gardener,” “I have a garden in my yard,” “I grow peaches in New Jersey,” and three men confessed that they raised chickens as a hobby.

“We’ll want you gardeners in a little while.  Don’t go yet.  But the most important are huntsmen and fishermen.  Have any of you weapons in your offices?”

A number had revolvers, but only one man had a shotgun and shells.

“I was going on my vacation this afternoon straight from the office,” he explained, “and have all my vacation tackle.”

“Good man!” Arthur exclaimed.  “You’ll go after the heavy game.”

“With a shotgun?” the sportsman asked, aghast.

“If you get close to them a shotgun will do as well as anything, and we can’t waste a shell on every bird or rabbit.  Those shells of yours are precious.  You other fellows will have to turn fishermen for a while.  Your pistols are no good for hunting.”

“The watchmen at the bank have riot guns,” said Van Deventer, “and there are one or two repeating-rifles there.  I don’t know about ammunition.”

“Good!  I don’t mean about the ammunition, but about the guns.  We’ll hope for the ammunition.  You fishermen get to work to improvise tackle out of anything you can get hold of.  Will you do that?”

A series of nods answered his question.

“Now for the gardeners.  You people will have to roam through the woods in company with the hunters and locate anything in the way of edibles that grows.  Do all of you know what wild plants look like?  I mean wild fruits and vegetables that are good to eat.”

A few of them nodded, but the majority looked dubious.  The consensus of opinion seemed to be that they would try.  Arthur seemed a little discouraged.

“I guess you’re the man to tell about the restaurant,” Van Deventer said quietly.  “And as this is the food commission, or something of that sort, everybody here will be better for hearing it.  Anyway, everybody will have to know it before night.  I took over the restaurant as you suggested, and posted some of the men from the bank that I knew I could trust about the doors.  But there was hardly any use in doing it.”