The lines at first danced before him, but he understood at last that these gentlemen desired a skirmish; certainly they did not order him to make things worse, but they allowed it to be seen that disturbances would hasten the conclusion of the strike by provoking energetic repression.
Pourtant, il finit par comprendre que ces messieurs souhaitaient quelque bagarre: certes, ils ne lui commandaient pas d'empirer les choses; mais ils laissaient percer que des troubles hâteraient le dénouement de la greve, en provoquant une répression énergique.