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Long before Jed's time there had been such a faction, then the

dominant one of the place, now steadily losing ground as

civilization seeped in, but still strong because bound by ties of

kindred and of interest to the honest law-abiding majority. Of it

were the outlaws who came periodically to find shelter here, the

hasty men who had struck in heat and found it necessary to get

beyond the law's reach for a time, and reckless cowpunchers, who

foregathered with these, because they were birds of a feather. To

all such, Jack Rabbit Run was a haven of rest.