Indeed,
as the excitement of the boom had died down, the members of that
force, as a vent for their energies, went with more enthusiasm
than ever into their work. Local lawlessness had been subdued by
this time, the Guard had been extending its work into the hills,
and it was only a question of time until it must take a part in
the Falin-Tolliver troubles. Indeed, that time, Hale believed, was
not far away, for Election Day was at hand, and always on that day
the feudists came to the Gap in a search for trouble. Meanwhile,
not long afterward, there was a pitched battle between the
factions at the county seat, and several of each would fight no
more. Next day a Falin whistled a bullet through Devil Judd's
beard from ambush, and it was at such a crisis of all the warring
elements in her mountain life that June's school-days were coming
to a close. Hale had had a frank talk with old Judd and the old
man agreed that the two had best be married at once and live at
the Gap until things were quieter in the mountains, though the old
man still clung to his resolution to go West for good when he was
done with the Falins.
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