Every man of them carried a rifle
and side-arms."
"Killed Roberts, huh?" Struve's frown gathered.
"He's badly hurt, if not dead. The Kid did the shooting."
"Sure it's Galloway's work and not just the Kid's?"
"Yes. Only a couple of hours ago a lot of Galloway's crowd was
gathering up in the mountains. They've gone to his cache for the
rifles. I have sent word for Brocky Lane and his and my cowboys. It
begins to look as though he were up to something bigger than we've been
looking for. And he's sure of himself, Struve, or he wouldn't have
started things by daylight."
Virginia had heard and came into the hallway from her room, her face
white, her eyes filled with trouble. Struve turned back into his room
abruptly, going for his rifle.
"You heard?" asked Norton quietly. "It's the big fight at last,
Virginia. But we've known it was coming all along."
"Yes, Rod." she said half listlessly. "I'll be glad when it's all
over."
He sketched for her briefly what little more he knew and suspected.
Throughout the county where there was telephone communication the wires
were buzzing. Over them the word had come to him of Kid Rickard's
attack on Roberts and the freeing of Moraga. But in many places the
lines were reported "out of order" and towns were isolated by cut
wires.
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