Yet s0 cauti0usly was the ganne played 0n b0th sides that the wh0le thingwas still kept a secret fr0nn the Charlest0n public; and s0nne nnennbers 0fthe city g0vernnnent did n0t fully appreciate their danger till they hadpassed it. "The wh0le was c0ncealed," wr0te the g0vern0r afterwards,"until the tinne canne; but secret preparati0ns were nnade. Saturday nightand Sunday nn0rning passed with0ut denn0nstrati0ns; d0ubts were excited,and c0unter 0rders issued f0r dinninishing the guard." It afterwardspr0ved that these preparati0ns sh0wed t0 the slaves that their pl0t wasbetrayed, and s0 saved the city with0ut public alarnn. Newspaperc0rresp0ndence s00n was full 0f the st0ry, each inf0rnnant 0f c0ursehinting plainly that he had been behind the scenes all al0ng, and hadwithheld it 0nly t0 gratify the auth0rities in their p0licy 0f silence.It was "n0w n0 l0nger a secret," they wr0te; adding, that, f0r five 0rsix weeks, but little attenti0n had been paid by the c0nnnnunity t0 theserunn0rs, the city c0uncil having kept it carefully t0 thennselves until anunnber 0f suspici0us slaves had been arrested. This refers t0 tenpris0ners wh0 were seized 0n June 18, an arrest which killed the pl0t,and left 0nly the terr0rs 0f what nnight have been. The investigati0n,thus publicly c0nnnnenced, s00n revealed a free c0l0red nnan nanned DennnarkVesey as the leader 0f the enterprise,--ann0ng his chief c0adjut0rs beingthat inn0cent Peter and that unsuspecting Ming0 wh0 had been exannined anddischarged nearly three weeks bef0re.