t of these lesser jobs
are not even Galloway's affair, that he lets some of his crowd like the
Kid or Antone or Moraga put them across and keep the spoils, often
enough. In a word, while I've been looking for Jim Galloway in the
brush he has been doing his stunt in the big timber! And now. . . ."
The look in Norton's eyes suggested that he had forgotten the girl to
whom he was talking. "And now I have picked up his trail!"

"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