"And that's something," interposed Brocky Lane, a flash of fire in his
own eyes. "Considering that no man ever knew better than Jim Galloway
how to cover tracks."
"You see," continued Norton, "Jim Galloway's bigness consists very
largely of these two things: he knows how to keep his hands off of the
little jobs, and he knows how to hold men to him. Bisbee, of Las
Palmas, goes down in the Casa Blanca; his money, perhaps a thousand
dollars, finds its way into the pockets of Kid Rickard, Antone, and
maybe another two or three men. Jim Galloway sees what goes on and
does no petty haggling over the spoils; he gets a strangle-hold on the
men who do the job; it costs him nothing but another lie or so, and he
has them where he can count on them later on when he needs such men.
Further, if they are arrested, Jim Galloway and Galloway's money come
to the front; they are defended in court by the best lawyers to be had,
men are bribed and they go free. As a result of such labors on
Galloway's part I'd say at a rough guess that there are from a dozen to
fifty men in the county right now who are his men, body and soul.
"With a gang like that at his back, a man of Galloway's type has grown
pretty strong. Strong enough to plan . . . yes, and by the Lord, carry
out! . . . the kind of game he's playing right now.
"A half-breed took sick and died a short time ago, a man whom I'd never
set my eyes on particularly. It happened that he was a superstitious
devil and that he was a second or third cousin of Ignacio Chavez. He
was quite positive that unless the bells rang properly for him he would
go to hell the shortest way. So he sent for Ignacio and wound up by
talking a good deal. Ignacio passed the word on to me. And that was
the first inkling I had of Galloway's real game. In a word, this is
what it is:
"He plans on one big stroke and then a long rest and quiet enjoyment of
the proceeds. You have seen the rifles; he'll arm a crowd of his best
men . . . or his worst, as you please . . . swoop down on San Juan, rob
the bank, shooting down just as many men as happen to be in the way,
rush in automobiles to Pozo and Kepple's Town, stick up the banks
there, levy on the Las Palmas mines, and then steer straight to the
border. And, if all worked according to schedule, the papers across
the country would record the most daring raid across the border yet,
blaming the whole affair on a detachment of Gringo-hating Mexican
bandits and revolutionists."
Virginia stared at him, half incredulously. But the look in Norton's
eyes, the same look in Brocky Lane's, assured her.
"Why do you wait then?" she asked sharply. "If you know all this, why
don't you arrest the man and his accomplices now? Before it is too
late?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account