Page:A Child of the Jago - Arthur Morrison.djvu/66

 cellar and driving in bungs. Nobody better than Mother Gapp could quell an ordinary bar riot, even to knocking a man down with a pot, but she knew better than to attempt interference now. Nothing could have made her swoon but she sat limp and helpless, weeping and blaspheming.

The Ranns cleared off, every man with a bottle or so, and scattered, and this for awhile was their undoing. For the Learys rallied and hunted the Ranns in their turn; a crowd of eighty or a hundred sweeping the Jago from Honey Lane to Meakin Street. Then they swung back through Edge Lane to Old Jago Street and made for Jerry Gullen's—a house full of Ranns. Jerry Gullen, Bill Rann and the rest took refuge in the upper floors and barricaded the stairs. Below, the Learys broke windows and ravaged the rooms, smashing whatsoever of furniture was to be found. Above, Pip Walsh, who affected