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“You need a room?” he said in a heavily accented voice

Loreda paused Could she be arrested for just showing up? Or was thisfarmers, here to identify rabble-rousers? Or was he a friend of Jack’s, here to ?

“I’,” she said

“Downstairs”

Loreda moved toward the stairs Nervous, suddenly Excited Scared

She touched the smooth wooden banister as she made her way down the narrow stairs, past a broom closet and laundry room

She heard voices, followed the sound to a room in the back, its door open to reveal a crowd inside

People stood shoulder to shoulder Men, women, and a few kids Bobby Rand waved at her

Jack stood in the front of the rooh he was dressed like rants around him, in faded, stained overalls and a frayed denim shirt beneath a dusty brown suit coat, there was vibrancy to him, an aliveness that was like no one she’d ever ht to irl could count on

“… one hundred and fifty strikers were herded into cages,” he was saying in a passionate voice “Cages In A farilantes put your fellow Aes to break a strike of workers who just wanted an even shake Two years ago, a bunch of Tulare far to strike organizers Two people were killed”

“Why are you tellin’ us this?” sonized him from the squatters’ camp they’d lived in A man with six kids and a ho had died of typhoid “You trying to scare us off?”

“I’ainst the big farot And, folks, as you know, they’ve got it all: overnment” He picked up a newspaper, held it out for everyone to see The headline read: “Workers Alliance Un-A faret poorer,” Jack said

“Yeah!” Jeb said

“What’s un-Arowers are greedy”

“Yeah!” the crowd yelled back