And so there was quiet for a
while--old Judd making ready for the day when Rufe should be
brought back, and trying to find out who it was that had slain his
brother Dave. The Falins denied the deed, but old Judd never
questioned that one of them was the murderer, and he came out
openly now and made no secret of the fact that he meant to have
revenge. And so the two factions went armed, watchful and wary--
especially the Falins, who were lying low and waiting to fulfil a
deadly purpose of their own. They well knew that old Judd would
not open hostilities on them until Rufe Tolliver was dead or at
liberty. They knew that the old man meant to try to rescue Rufe
when he was brought back to jail or taken from it to the scaffold,
and when either day came they themselves would take a hand, thus
giving the Tollivers at one and the same time two sets of foes.
And so through the golden September days the two clans waited, and
June Tolliver went with dull determination back to her old life,
for Uncle Billy's sister had left the house in fear and she could
get no help--milking cows at cold dawns, helping in the kitchen,
spinning flax and wool, and weaving them into rough garments for
her father and step-mother and Bub, and in time, she thought
grimly--for herself: for not another cent for her maintenance
could now come from John Hale, even though he claimed it was hers-
-even though it was in truth her own.
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