fle Was Supposed to Have Been Found

Eugene Barnett was said to have left his rifle under this sign-board as he
fled from the scene of the shooting. It would have been much easier to
hide a gun in the tall brush in the foreground. In reality Barnett did not
have a rifle on November 11th and was never within a mile of this place.
Prosecutor Cunningham said he had "been looking all over for that rifle"
when it was turned over to him by a stool pigeon. Strangely enough
Cunningham knew the number of the gun before he placed hands on it.]

Smith was feathering a nest for himself--feathering it with steel and
stone and a possible coil of hempen rope. The shadow of the prison bars
was falling blacker on his red head with every passing moment. His
fearless championing of the cause of the "under dog" had won him the
implacable hatred of his own class. To them his acts of kindness and
humanity were nothing less than treason. Smith had been ungrateful to the
clique that had offered him every inducement to "come in with us". A
lawyer with a heart is as dangerous as a working man with his brains.
Elmer Smith would be punished all right; it would just be a matter of
time.

The indifference of the County and State authorities regarding the
kidnapping of blind Tom gave the terrorists renewed confidence in the
efficacy and "legality" of their methods. Also it gave them a hint as to
the form their future depredations were to take. And so, with the implied
approval of everyone worth considering, they went about their plotting
with still greater determination and a soothing sense of security.

The Conspiracy Develops

The cessation of hostilities in Europe deprived the gangsters of the cloak
of "patriotism" as a cover for their crimes. But this cloak was too
convenient to be discarded so easily. "Let the man in uniform do it" was
an axiom that had been proved both profitable and safe. Then came the
organization of the local post of the American Legion and the now famous
Citizen's Protective League--of which more afterwards.

With the signing of the Armistice, and the consequent almost imperceptible
lifting of the White Terror that dominated the country, the organization
of the loggers began daily to gather strength. The Chamber of Commerce
began to growl menacingly, the Employers' Association to threaten and the
lumber trust papers to incite open violence. And the American Legion began
to function as a "cats paw" for the men