And at that the Mahatma showed a new phase of his extraordinary character.
I was well weary by that time of being mauled by women.

Suddenly the Mahatma seized my arm, and gave tongue in a resounding, strange, metallic voice such as I never heard before.

It brought the whole surging assembly to rigid attention.

It was a note of command, alarm, announcement, challenge, and it carried in its sharp reverberations something of the solemnity of an opening salvo of big guns.

You could have heard a pin drop.
"I go.