June did
not come home for the summer, and Hale did not encourage her to
come--she visited some of her school-mates in the North and took a
trip West to see her father who had gone out there again and
bought a farm. In the early autumn, Devil Judd came back to the
mountains and announced his intention to leave them for good. But
that autumn, the effects of the dead boom became perceptible in
the hills. There were no more coal lands bought, logging ceased,
the factions were idle once more, moonshine stills flourished,
quarrelling started, and at the county seat, one Court day, Devil
Judd whipped three Falins with his bare fists. In the early spring
a Tolliver was shot from ambush and old Judd was so furious at the
outrage that he openly announced that he would stay at home until
he had settled the old scores for good. So that, as the summer
came on, matters between the Falins and the Tollivers were worse
than they had been for years and everybody knew that, with old
Judd at the head of his clan again, the fight would be fought to
the finish. At the Gap, one institution only had suffered in
spirit not at all and that was the Volunteer Police Guard.
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