The mood in the hall changed, and it changed drastically. When the burly man had been stepping on Silas' face, or bullying him, or taunting and insulting him, the crowd watched in silence. Sure there was some expression of distaste and disgust. Some even looked horrified as they watched. Others just watched indifferently. There were even a few who snickered and joked.
But the commonality between all of those people was that none of them felt compelled to act in any way. No matter what their reasons were, the way they fell in line meant that they knew exactly what they were supposed to do, or what they were going to do in that given situation. Maybe the big guy had a habit of open bullying.
