Page:The Valley of Fear.pdf/233

Rh “Kill him!” cried a dozen fierce voices.

“I protest against that,” said Brother Morris, the man of the good brow and shaved face. “I tell you, Brethren, that our hand is too heavy in this valley, and that there will come a point where in self-defense every man will unite to crush us out. James Stanger is an old man. He is respected in the township and the district. His paper stands for all that is solid in the valley. If that man is struck down, there will be a stir through this State that will only end with our destruction.”

“And how would they bring about our destruction, Mr. Standback!” cried McGinty. “Is it by the police? Sure, half of them are in our pay and half of them afraid of us. Or is it by the law courts and the Judge? Haven’t we tried that before now, and what ever came of it?”

“There is a Judge Lynch that might try the case,” said Brother Morris.

A general shout of anger greeted the suggestion.

“I have but to raise my finger,” cried McGinty, “and I could put two hundred men into this town that would clear it out from end to [231]