"Stop!" she shrieked. "He isn't here. He's--he's gone!" For a
moment a sudden sickness smote Hale's face, then Devil Judd's ruse
flashed to him and, wheeling, he sprang to the ground.
"Quick!" he shouted, with a sweep of his hand right and left. "Up
those hollows! Lead those horses up to the Pine and wait. Quick!"
Already the men were running as he directed and Hale, followed by
Bob and the Falin, rushed around the corner of the house. Old
Judd's nostrils were quivering, and with his pistols dangling in
his hands he walked to the gate, listening to the sounds of the
pursuit.
"They'll never ketch him," he said, coming back, and then he
dropped into a chair and sat in silence a long time. June
reappeared, her face still white and her temples throbbing, for
the sun was rising on days of darkness for her. Devil Judd did not
even look at her.
"I reckon you ain't goin' to marry John Hale."
"No, Dad," said June.
XXV
Thus Fate did not wait until Election Day for the thing Hale most
dreaded--a clash that would involve the guard in the Tolliver-
Falin troubles over the hills. There had been simply a preliminary
political gathering at the Gap the day before, but it had been a
crucial day for the guard from a cloudy sunrise to a tragic
sunset.
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