question
Chief Randolph came in shortly thereafter, looking tired but not unsatisfied. “I think we’ve lost some of the younger recruits for good—Dodson, Rawcliffe, and the Richardson boy are all gone—but most of the others stuck. And I’ve got some new ones. Joe Boxer … Stubby Norman … Aubrey Towle … his brother owns the bookstore, you know …”
Question 1: Why did the author use past tense in “but most of the others stuck” ?
Question 2: I’m just wondering if “but most of the others stick” is right because the former sentence “Dodson, Rawcliffe, and the Richardson boy are all gone” used present tense.