Show V VALAN LE LEMAY MAY gyss WN U 5 F MV I 1 C E coV 6 al CHAPTER XII continued 15 come on in it if you want to dob bob kentucky said you might just as well sit elt in on this elliot accepted following ns its ke kentucky n led the way through the main living room to a i little room at one side bide this room was small and Us its gun racks and deer horns made it seen smaller as it if there were hardly roon room for the three men to find places here kentucky jones could not loot look at this trophy cluttered room which gave a curious effect of 0 being a cross section of campo Ra Ragi glands ands soul without thinking of that other contrasting room at the other end of the house which belonged to jeans mother so different must have been the people that made those rooms that the wonder was not that mrs ragland was now far away but that she had bad over ever been able to make herself a part of this household at all campo sat in a corner ills his heavy desk was pulled diagonally across in front of him as it if he were at bay there futilely barricaded barricades barrica ded pro from m beneath the sweeping dome of his forehead his eyes regarded them as as the eyes of a dog in firelight suddenly kentucky wondered if campos evident sense of standing stubbornly at bay had been caused more by himself and sheriff hopper than by the now far off woman who had made him fear a showdown upon masons death so fear it that he was held in a paralysis of indecision while jim humphreys was killed and lee bishop and the 83 88 herds poured over his range in the shadows of a recessed win dow seat jean ragland sat sheriff hopper said howdy campo howdy miss ragland campo flicked him a glance elance then dropped surly red eyes to his thick freckle blotched hands kentucky jones began the making of a cigarette seems like we been a little bit disorganized out here hopper he said the fact Is campo and I a seen eye to 10 eye on this in fill all things sheriff floyd hopper waited and bob elliot crossed his legs and laced his fingers together it seems said kentucky that campo became convinced that I 1 did away with old ironsides myself there was a sharp silence here during which kentucky jones finished and lighted his cigarette hopper turned a questioning questioning glance on campo yes ragland glanced at kentucky jones but did not speak known all along kentucky said that I 1 was out here at the bar hook just before snow flew on the day mason was killed hilled and ive admitted it assuming for a minute that I 1 could easily have got hold of the weapon that killed mason the next nest thing needed against me was my reason tor for this s act of unseemly violence campo found out where I 1 did have a good reason and naturally figured that hed come to the end of the trail you admit you had a reason for killing mason hopper said im not denying that I 1 had said kentucky come to find out that was one bile of the reasons that campo ragland wanted ted baylor brought out here ted Is one of the very few that know that mason turned me down on a renewal that id counted on and like to broke me youre broke jones close to it IL you sure are freehanded free handed about making a case against yourself fl I 1 campo was overlooking a couple of things said kentucky its true that you carl can show I 1 was broke by mason but what about all those other cowmen that mason had to close down on to those men masons decisions meant salvation or ruin exactly as to me ile he could not carry us all in digging up cp a reason tor for me to kill mason campo only dug up a motive that forty or fifty rl cowmen would own to 1 I see what youre driving at said hopper maybe mason did have such an enemy or six of them or fifty the fifty of them having no barbecue at the bar hook the day mason was killed so I 1 gathered kentucky admitted but bear in mind this it if any one ot of the fifty had bad been there he might have gun whipped mason theres been an awful lot of wearing of guns in the rimrock the past ten twelve months what with riders hoping for a chance to shoot a coyote or a rabbit with a 45 flugl cowlens Cow mens minds can work that way only about so long before something bolls over aud and busts yes hopper admitted 1 I was looking for it all right but when it come to killing mason ile he was a right ambitious victim kentucky agreed but there were big reasons for k killing filing him too when you build up pressure like that you can figure on an explosion eiDl oslon pat bat it was the gun smoke in fit the history and the pressure of the bad times that wiped out john mason and incidentally zack sanders and jim humphreys and lee bishop the sheriff put in partly true kentucky allowed the killing of humphreys and bishop sure do make up an angle of this thing it took two things to kill oil off humphreys and bishop the smoky feeling between the brands before masons death and masons death itself humphreys and bishop were killed in the weirdest weir dest d n one sided range struggle that has ever been seen on this or any other range the sheriff said slowly masons death comes first cut but dont you ever think elliot that ive forgotten the funny loot look of this so called range war rubbed out humphreys and bishop everybody knows youve swamped campos range and campos hardly raised his hand against it ill tell you plain E elliot allot if it turns out that bishop and humphreys were killed in the kind of shenanigan it looks like ill cob bob elliot reddened 1 I come here to talk about range rights he said but if you want a showdown on that im ready any time As long as theres been cattle on the rim or on the cake bake pan either no brand has ever leaned any harder against another brand than the car bar hook has borne down on the 83 88 it if campos pulled in his horns maybe its because he be knows that the rights of 0 the SS are going to be backed up for a cl change iange campo Ila ragland gland spoke for the first time rights he said bitterly R rights W sheriff floyd hopper said angrily youre a funny one elliot to bring in talk about rights I 1 you said yourself elliot answered the bar hook lias has folded up they all turned their eyes to campo ragland pd but the boss of the bar hook was rolling a cigarette with slow meticulous care and he did not contribute any observations sheriff floyd hopper swung restively in his seat 1 I cant understand lt it he said 1 I cant understand it understand it now said kentucky jones 1 I can tell you exactly why elliot has thought he could shove his beef all over bar hook range in full peace and comfort bob elliot said 1 it I the idea Is to sit here half the let him alone bob hopper snapped kentucky jones looked elliot over with a cool unfriendly eye ill tell you another little thing that happened the day mason was killed he said cob bob elliot and campo aag gland were riding the bake pan ilan range and it happened that they met on that ride alde where did you get this hopper put in partly K kentucky said from elliot himself elliot said ill be d d lf it will you be still said sheriff hopper what then jones elliot was armed campo ragland was not it seems to be a kind of custom with the SS to take advantage of a situation like that as lee bishop and I 1 found out one day in a little conversation we had ith bill mccord naturally I 1 there when ragland and elliot met but I 1 can tell you that what happened was this elliot billot gave ragland such a deussing cussing out as you expect any man to stand for or put up with Is that right campo the sheriff demanded campo ragland gave a grunt which might have been an affirmative it did not appear to be a denial campo ragland said kentucky jones told cob bob elliot that he be would kill him before the day was out lies hes guessing now said bob elliot yes guessing conceded kentucky jones campo ragland said unexpectedly expectedly yes by G d but hes guessing right kentucky jones nodded sure im guessing right up here in the frying pau country theres an old lion hunter called old man alan coffee and he says to h I 1 with old man alan coffee said the sheriff what happened then just at the moment said kentucky jones 1 I cant tell you exactly what happened then but I 1 can tell you something different of a very curious our Inte interest resL on the wall of this house used to be a chromo an eul enlarged arged snapshot of a man sitting on a horse look across the room at that little littie picture and say to yourself why campo has bull hung up a lens study of bob elliou elliot then maybe look closer and see it cob bob elliot at all but a representation ol of john mason sheriff hopper said you mean youre saying bob elliot knew that sometimes sit ting his bis horse in a certain way and at al a certain distance he and john mason looked strangely alike and campo had promised to kill elliot that day elliot knew that campo did not lure fare to take lake a chance on what nhat a jury might make out or of that hint youre suggesting that campo ragland killed mason by mistake taking him for elliot im suggesting that it could be made inide to look that way nay and that elliot was able to hold that over campo and that was why elliot dared swamp har bar hook range you mean that he be ran a bluff that he could bring ragland to trial for the murder of 0 mason you can call it a bluff said kentucky jones looking at rob cob elliot or you could call it a kind ot of silent blackmail if you want w tint hob bob elliot jerked forward in his chair as if lie be would come to his it is feet why d n your eyes lie he said it if you think im going to sit here and take sit there kentucky jones said coolly coolly and take it and ana like it take it because youre yellow clear down to the roots and you forgotten the night I 1 knocked you kicking and squalling equalling squal ling in the sheriffs office at waterman hob bob elliots elliote Elli face went white and his ees took on a squinting slant ills lower lip dropped loose away from ills his teeth why you yellow kentucky repeated clear down to the roots an inarticulate blasphemy strangled in elliots elliote Elli throat sheriff floyd hopper made a clutch at elliots elliote Elli belt but missed his hl hold as elliot sprang at kentucky jones like a quieted horse kentucky hunched low then straightened out the whole length of his bod body y behind his left hand there was a rin ringing 9 crack as it if a bone had broken and an instants confused tangle then bob elliot was bang on his back breathing hoarsely staring at the ceiling with blank oies and kentucky jones stood over him blin nursing his left hand in his right hopper said in a low exasperated there was a ringing crack voice you baited him into that Jo jones boiles iles 1 I was counting on his temper kentucky said lord I 1 thought it would never break hoppers voice rose ang angrily rily it if you got me out here to malce make fools of us all shut up kentucky snapped at him weve got work to do I 1 11 youve talked all around and about and oer the bush hopper said bitterly and you end up with nith more to the point than a cheap brawl youve wasted enough words to not one single word kentucky contradicted him film 1 I had to go all over that so that you would understand what Is going to happen what I 1 hope Is going to happen now campol campo 1 hold this range hog here when he comes to put a gun on him it if you need to all right jones caught hoppers aim and dragged the sheriff after him to the door what are you going to do youve got the case worse scattered out now than then well try to tie it together again heres where we tackle bill mccord its the turn its the break iou hear me ive got to run a bluff are you backlog backing me or not IM backing you give me the gun that killed sanders floyd hopper obeyed and kentucky jones stuck it if in ills his waistband come on three pairs of ees turned upon kentucky jones and floyd hopper as they came into the kitchen in the room from which they had come all tour four men had been armed and so accustomed cus clis tomed had bad they become to the sagging gun belts as standard equipment in the last few days that hat here it was nas ted bailor and bill mccord who were unarmed who looked unusual and suspicious now floyd hopper was flushed and sharp eyed but though it was to hopper the eyes of the three waiting tig men turned it was kentucky jones who spoke his face as unpleasantly cold cald and ugly as lee ice on broken rock ile he showed bill mccord the gun that had killed sanders the gun that had been in sanders hand as lee bishop found him dead 1 I d dont nt suppose lie said to mccord you ever saw this gun before bill mccord seemed to consider for a long moment maybe I 1 have he said at last and maybe I 1 would you care to say where it was when hen you saw it last A humorless glin tN twisted isted one side ot of mccordn mccords Uc Mc Cords face ace you go to h L I 1 tie he answered kentucky jones eyed him sorrowfully la is that final he said you bet your life its ita final I 1 tin im sorry for this kentucky pat gald 1 I scar to heaven I 1 believe theres going to be an injustice done ir I was afraid of 0 this but tills this mccord Is a man who iio menna means what lie he says floyd it if lie he wont talk lie he wont talk I 1 guess theres nothing to do but follow up UP what hat elliot says dont it look that way to you floyd hopper had no more idea of what jones was N as talking about than did mccord but lie he was a poker pl player ayer and a good one and lie he had been in office for a long time it sure looks that way he said kentucky jones said youre under arrest mccord for a moment no one spoke A hard gleam came into bill mccords accords Mc Cords eyes who says sol so he demanded once more the sheriff comple completely tel y in the dark as he was backed Kentuck ys play gamely 1 I say so lie he told mccord personally said kentucky 1 I dont think youre guilty bill I 1 ill admit I 1 was kind of hoping that we had closed in on alg bigger cr game still I 1 suppose we ought to be glad that we can hang this th Is on antibody at all I 1 guess we better tell you that anything you say will be used against you mccord bill mccord spat into the wood box what am I 1 charged with he demanded the murder of lee bishop said bald kentucky mccords accords Mc Cords face hardened but hs he went back to the making of his cigarette in the first place he said 1 I anywhere near it and in the second place it no murder lee bishop was killed in a fair standup stand up fight that lie Is plumb useless said kentucky contemptuously because I 1 was with lee bishop when lie he was killed bishop was knocked out of the saddle with a rifle shot by a man hidden bidden in the rocks three hundred yards away and the slug that killed him was poured into him after he was down and helpless and I 1 was carrying him to cover and my story Is broel b by y the nature of bishops wounds fair fight h 11 murder you hear me mccord stared at jones his face immobile at last he shook his head puzzled 1 I take all that to be freehand lying it if you was with nith bishop know that I 1 there lie ile was shot from cover I 1 told you kentucky said 1 I see his killer I 1 could never have named you as the man if bob elliot lost his guts elliot him lose his guts mccord repeated incredulously a hot one kentucky jones shrugged 1 I heard different he said significantly mccord it if youve got anything to say for yourself you sure better talk I 1 tell you elliots elliote Elli gone out from under you you fool bill mccord stared a asala aln hesitated then he laughed shortly a lie lie he decided a lie from the ground up cupl I 1 neither me nor elliot had anything to do with any of this so be it said kentucky floyd bring in elliot or here ill bring him myself ile he hashed a malignant grin at mccord and went out behind him hopper said to his deputy watch this guy willie Wll lle ile he followed low ed kentucky jones kentucky and the sheriff paused for a whispered conference beyond the door d by G d |