The storm was still raging.

They themselves had perchance been sobered by the experiences of the evening.

They had gone in fifteen, they were returning twelve.

And, after all, what had they accomplished?
What could they a mere handful do to abolish slavery entrenched as it was in Church and State?
It is possible that some such dim discouragement, some such vague misgiving of the futility of the evening's labor, was in the hearts of those wearied men, and that their leader divined as much, for the spirit of prophecy fell upon Garrison just as they "were stepping out into the storm and darkness." "We have met to-night," he said, "in this obscure school-house; our numbers are few and our influence limited; but, mark my prediction, Faneuil Hall shall erelong echo with the principles we have set forth.

We shall shake the nation by their mighty power." Then the little band dispersed "into the storm and darkness," carrying with them these words charged with hope and courage.
The fruitful seed of organized agitation Garrison had securely planted in soil fertile and ready for its reception.