“Keep back there! Keep back there, you!”
“Go to hell, will you?” shouted Harran on the instant. “You're on my land.”
“Oh, come back here, Harran,” called Osterman. “That ain't going to do any good.”
“There—listen,” suddenly exclaimed Harran. “The Governor is calling us. Come on; I'm going.”
Osterman got out of the ditch and came forward, catching Harran by the arm and pulling him back.
“He didn't call. Don't get excited. You'll ruin everything. Get back into the ditch again.”
But Cutter, Phelps, and the old man Dabney, misunderstanding what was happening, and seeing Osterman leave the ditch, had followed his example. All the Leaguers were now out of the ditch, and a little way down the road, Hooven, Osterman, Annixter, and Harran in front, Dabney, Phelps, and Cutter coming up from behind.
“Keep back, you,” cried the deputy again.
In the group around S. Behrman's buggy, Gethings and Delaney were yet quarrelling, and the angry debate between Magnus, Garnett, and the marshal still continued.
Till this moment, the real estate broker, Christian, had taken no part in the argument, but had kept himself in the rear of the buggy. Now, however, he pushed forward. There was but little room for him to pass, and, as he rode by the buggy, his horse scraped his flank against the hub of the wheel. The animal recoiled sharply, and, striking against Garnett, threw him to the ground. Delaney's horse stood between the buggy and the Leaguers gathered on the road in front of the ditch; the incident, indistinctly seen by them, was misinterpreted.