Brusquely and almost rudely
Quisante brushed him, his gods, and his leader on one side, and raised
the standard of fierce and immediate battle. The majority was composite;
his quick eye saw the spot where a wedge might be inserted between the
two component parts and driven home till the gap yawned wide and scission
threatened. The fighting men needed only to be shown where to fight; they
followed enthusiastically the man who led them to the field. Leaders
shook grey heads, and leader-writers disclaimed a responsibility which
_prima facie_ had never rested on them; Quisante was told that he would
wreck the party for a quarter of a century to come. It would perhaps
have been possible to meet Constantine Blair's precedents with other
precedents, to quote newer gods against his established deities. That
was not "Sandro's way"; here again he was content to be an ancestor,
the originator of his methods, and the sufficient authority for them.
He was justified. The spirit of his fighting men ran high, and his
fighting men's wives grew gracious to him.
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