The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Freeman, and of these he was given an example
before the evening was over. The whisky bottle
had passed round many times, and the men were
flushed and ripe for mischief when their Bodymaster
rose once more to address them.
“Boys,” said he, “there’s one man in this town
that wants trimming up, and it’s for you to see
that he gets it. I’m speaking of James Stanger of
the Herald. You’ve seen how he’s been opening his
mouth against us again?”
There was a murmur of assent, with many a
muttered oath. McGinty took a slip of paper from
his waistcoat pocket.
Law and Order!
That’s how he heads it.
“Reign of terror in the coal and
iron district
“Twelve years have now elapsed since the
first assassinations which proved the existence
of a criminal organization in our
midst. From that day these outrages have
never ceased, until now they have reached
a pitch which makes us the opprobrium of
the civilized world. Is it for such results as
this that our great country welcomes to its
bosom the alien who flies from the despotisms
of Europe? Is it that they shall themselves
become tyrants over the very men
who have given them shelter, and that a
state of terrorism and lawlessness should
be established under the very shadow of the
sacred folds of the starry Flag of Freedom
which would raise horror in our minds if
we read of it as existing under the most effete
monarchy of the East? The men are
known. The organization is patent and
public. How long are we to endure it? Can
we forever live—
Sure, I’ve read enough of the slush!“ cried the
chairman, tossing the paper down upon the table.
”That’s what he says of us. The question I’m asking
you is what shall we say to him?“
“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.”
The Valley Of Fear
717
“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 end.” Then suddenly
raising his voice and bending his huge black
brows into a terrible frown, “See here, Brother
Morris, I have my eye on you, and have had for
some time! You’ve no heart yourself, and you try
to take the heart out of others. It will be an ill
day for you, Brother Morris, when your own name
comes on our agenda paper, and I’m thinking that
it’s just there that I ought to place it.”
Morris had turned deadly pale, and his knees
seemed to give way under him as he fell back into
his chair. He raised his glass in his trembling hand
and drank before he could answer. “I apologize,
Eminent Bodymaster, to you and to every brother
in this lodge if I have said more than I should. I
am a faithful member—you all know that—and it
is my fear lest evil come to the lodge which makes
me speak in anxious words. But I have greater
trust in your judgment than in my own, Eminent
Bodymaster, and I promise you that I will not offend
again.”
The Bodymaster’s scowl relaxed as he listened
to the humble words. “Very good, Brother Morris.
It’s myself that would be sorry if it were needful to
give you a lesson. But so long as I am in this chair
we shall be a united lodge in word and in deed.
And now, boys,” he continued, looking round at
the company, “I’ll say this much, that if Stanger got
his full deserts there would be more trouble than
we need ask for. These editors hang together, and
every journal in the state would be crying out for
police and troops. But I guess you can give him
a pretty severe warning. Will you fix it, Brother
Baldwin?”
“Sure!” said the young man eagerly.
“How many will you take?”
“Half a dozen, and two to guard the door.
You’ll come, Gower, and you, Mansel, and you,
Scanlan, and the two Willabys.”
“I promised the new brother he should go,”
said the chairman.