A hundred men who had already committed themselves to Thatcher sought to rescue their new leader; they rose upon chairs and demanded to be heard.

"Stop, Look, Listen" had suggested the idea of a locomotive bearing down upon a dangerous crossing, and Bassett's men began to whistle.

The whistling increased in volume until it drowned the shouts, the cheers, and the laughter.

Ladies in the galleries stopped their ears while the whistling convention earned its name.

It now occurred to the chairman, who had wasted no energy in futile efforts to stay the storm, that he had a duty to perform.