In the afternoon Max returned, bringing with him Carl Jansen and all his family.  A dozen men also came, bearing great boxes.  They were old and trusted servants of his father’s family; and the boxes contained magazine rifles and pistols and fixed ammunition, together with hand-grenades.  These were taken out, and we were all armed.  Even the women had pistols, and knives strapped to their girdles.  The men went out and again returned, bearing quantities of food, sufficient to last us during a siege, and also during our flight to my home.  Water was also collected in kegs and barrels, for the supply might be cut of.  Then Max came, and under his orders, as soon as night fell, the lower windows, the cellar openings and the front door were covered with sheathings of thick oak plank, of three thicknesses, strongly nailed; then the second story windows were similarly protected, loopholes being first bored, through which our rifles could be thrust, if necessary.  Then the upper windows were also covered in the same way.  The back door was left free for ingress and egress through the yard and back street, but powerful bars were arranged across it, and the oak plank left ready to board it up when required.  The hand-grenades—­there were a pile of them—­were carried up to the flat roof.  Then one of the men went out and painted red crosses on the doors and windows.

We ate our supper in silence.  A feeling of awe was upon all of us.  Every one was told to pack up his goods and valuables and be ready for instant flight when the word was given; and to each one were assigned the articles he or she was to carry.

About ten o’clock Max returned and told us all to come up to the roof.  The house stood, as I have already said, upon a corner; it was in the older part of the city, and not far from where the first great battle would be fought.  Max whispered to me that the blow would be struck at six o’clock in Europe and at twelve o’clock at night in America.  The fighting therefore had already begun in the Old World.  He further explained to me something of the plan of battle.  The Brotherhood at twelve would barricade a group of streets in which were the Sub-Treasury of the United States, and all the principal banks, to wit:  Cedar, Pine, Wall, Nassau, William, Pearl and Water Streets.  Two hundred thousand men would be assembled to guard these barricades.  They would then burst open the great moneyed institutions and blow up the safes with giant powder and Hecla powder.  At daybreak one of Quincy’s air-ships would come and receive fifty millions of the spoils in gold, as their share of the plunder, and the price of their support.  As soon as this was delivered, and carried to their armory, the whole fleet of air-vessels would come up and attack the troops of the Oligarchy.  If, however, General Quincy should violate his agreement, and betray them, they had provided a large number of great cannon, mounted on high wheels, so that they could be fired vertically, and these were to be loaded with bombs of the most powerful explosives known to science, and so constructed with fulminating caps that, if they struck the air-ship at any point, they would explode and either destroy it or so disarrange its machinery as to render it useless.  Thus they were provided, he thought, for every emergency.