Chapter 47 continues
The story so far: Another casualty of the strike is prepared for burial.
Katka and Old Joe left for the hospital after Andy's body was gone. They were told that Lily and the baby had been treated and transferred to the women's cell at the city jail. "I wouldn't go nowhere near there, if I was you, Katka," a nurse told her. "Word is, they're arresting every miner they see. We treated more wounds in this one night than in all of the strike. They pulling out all the stops, I say, Katka. All of 'em. Go on home. The doc gave Lily a real strong sedative before they took her away. She'll be good at least until the morning."
Katka and Old Joe went back home. They waited for a sign. Surely, someone would come and tell them what to do. Paul would come, throw rocks at Katka's window and tell her everyone had been let go. Or Mrs. Sherek would come by in her buggy, bringing Lily and the baby home to safety. But none of that happened.
Although the bullet that killed Moose had obviously come from one of the deputies' guns, Deputies Sandinski and Logan told the sheriff that they weren't sure who had killed Moose. It might have been Anton. But perhaps it was Samo or Dusca. "Happened real fast," Sandinski had said. Sheriff Turner determined that Anton Kovich and those present at his tavern were not the only ones responsible for Deputy Moose Jackson's death. At 3 a.m., Turner and his men found IWW leaders Sam Scarlett, Carlo Tresca, Frank Little and Arthur Boose. They were dragged from their hotel, shackled and put in the Virginia jail, twelve miles from Biwabik. None of the three men was within twelve miles of the Kovich home when Moose Jackson was killed. They were arrested for "murder due to their speeches." During the next two days, mass arrests followed. Local and international strike leaders were rounded up and thrown in jails across the Range. One of them was Paul Schmidt.
Tomorrow: Chapter 48 begins.
