"We will carry the wounded," says the sheriff. "They might get through to Harleigh and Latimer."
"We will round up the six who escaped," Captain Grout assures the sheriff. He then details ten men to run down the miners who have eluded capture.
This is an easy matter, as the footprints of the miners are perfectly distinct in the soft snow. On the six trails the men set off, as a pack of hounds on the scent of game.
This man-hunt results in an addition of six to the list of the slain.
Gorman Purdy's orders have been carried out.
His police have been sworn in as deputies; they have met the miners and have "fired first."
The sanctity of the law enveloped their act. They shot as Deputies.
They dispersed a band of miners who were on the highway, armed, according to the sheriff's version, "with sticks," and bent on creating trouble in Harleigh.
Did it matter that the "sticks" were flag staffs on which were displayed the White Flag of truce, and the Emblem of Liberty?