Show V ia 04 04 ALAN LE LEMAY MAY W WN pa U T 5 SERVICE L MV I 1 C I 1 as bv v alan lehia ai SYNOPSIS kentucky jones veteran cowman attends attend the th inquest in the little town of waterman into the th death of john afa miton on banker and financial maina mainstay tnY of th district jean daughter of campo ragland owner of the astr hook ranch where hr wason aggon met death to Kentuck ys mystification surreptitiously to him blin the bullet which had killed mason kentucky goes to work on the bar hook ranch the th verdict la Is acel accidental dental deam sheriff hopper Is ie dissatisfied CHAPTER III 3 campo ragland hagland struck a 11 match and as the light of three or four lamps filled the room the fares faces of the lie riders likewise tightened lightened from waterman kentucky jones had pushed tits his horse beadily tea dily and as darkness closed down be had bad overtaken the par hook people with them he had ridden tile the long par bar hook horse trail across the bench until they came out at last upon long rolling reaches and the rambling buildings of the bar hook loomed before them dark and shapeless the kitchen wing in which mitch they now lathered gathered was built of big square hewn logs loga but the interior was neat neal jean ragland said theres no fire bre made and kentucky noticed the odd way in which they nil all fell silent tor for a moment as it if it was a strange and uncommon common tin thin thing that a ire fire should not cot spring into being and set coffee on itself at a deserted ranch you toil see eee campo ragland said to kentucky we generally have bare a cook around here lately its been a lame boy named zack sanders used to be a rider but his horse fell on him find and turned him into a cook but this boy Is kind of gone missing on us it seems been missing long langl last week he was supposed to take two days off and he rode over to see a girl he be has over here thirty forty mile ragland said 1 I notice it so 0 o much saturday when he come la in that being the day that this this accident happened to mason but in waterman today his girl said he left there saturday sunup sun up four days gone hell probably show up lee bishop grunted oh I 1 suppose so campo ragland jerked himself into activity again and began throwing wood into the great stove the way things have been going around here it gets a teller fetter nervous I 1 guess in ID a little while the big stove began to fill the room with a lazy warmth and nd the hot smoky swell smell of frying beef and potatoes began to thaw the riders out gut with the heartening warmth the mood of the bar hook changed so eo that for a little while it could have been any ranch house anywhere er x capt that the presence of 0 jean ragland made a difference here that girl could subtly change the time and place making it different from any other ranch house and any other night perhaps no cowboy ever rode tor for the bar alook without feeling that he be was in some ome part riding tor for this girl looking at her now kentucky jones would not have guessed that she had bad today testified concerning a death that had occurred within fifty yards of this door nod and that in the midst of those proceedings she had bad felt elt impelled to thieve the heart out of the evidence of that death ile he had come here to find out the exact nature of the shadow which had bad fastened itself on the bar hook and upon jean ragland as a part of the bar book and accordingly he be turned now to studying the others as they ate lee bishop the solid square set foreman undoubtedly would stand steady as a rock in a pinch evidently be was a man born bom at a branding and raised in the saddle tor for he be would hardly have attained a foremanship at thirty bad he been handicapped in experience the other two cowboys kentucky jones classified as 03 a couple of kids jim humphreys though only five years yeara younger than bishop would perhaps always be a kid and billy petersen was waa the he youngster essential to every outfit who would woold be given the unde jobs of horse wrangling and night herd and errands which were a nuisance campo ragland remained silent throughout the meal and for the moment too kentucky could make out ou nu more about him than he already know which was little enough sure miss zak sanders around arlund here campo said gald at last getting up well set out what well need bondy to breakfast I 1 guess tad iad said jean ill take care are of all hiag you get along to bed her father told her gruffly 1 I want you to get some sleep jean obediently picked uj u a lamp kentucky jones moved efficiently abo abt it making ready for morning out in lonely camps upun upon the range these men i would kulil olive got their own break cants without thou thought hubut but here where a cook was supposed to be a breakfast loomed as an ordeal untold 1 I wish I 1 knew campo began he ans d Is ladling fresh coffee into a ble big pot an enormous spoon 1 I wish I 1 knew suddenly he stopped and stood staring abile from the poised spoon a thin trickle of dry coffee drib bled to the floor jenn jelin btag lia gland land had returned and was standing in the broad doorway she still carried the lamp and its sharp near light illumining Illum ining her face remorselessly shored that her features were dran by a hard and unaccustomed emotion it took a moment or two for kentucky jones to realize that what lie saw in the girls face was fear for a moment no one spoke then ragland said very low his coffee spoon still motionless what Is it tenn lean jean rag Ra glands voice could hardly be heard So been through the house reen been through the house ransacked it through and through her father let the lit big spoon splash into the coffee pot jean turned throwing the light into the room beyond and nn 1 for a momena father and daughter stood together in the doorway staring it at what the others could not see theo then slowly with a curious uncertainty campo ragland moved out of their sight jean followed him with the lamp kentucky jones with the others went to the door through ii which campo had disappeared the room was long and broad in one end a huge fireplace with a six foot opening was built of rugged chunks of the native rock and near this campo stood holding up a second lamp they heard him say gay youre right theres no question about it jim humphreys said Is 13 there anything we can ragland shot them a quick glance as 83 if momentarily he be had bad forgotten that he was not alone its nothing much I 1 guess he said tn in a rocky voice this dump has been searched all right all walt wait back you jim humphreys and billy petersen returned to the kitchen at the doorway kentucky jones turned and stood for a moment in a final survey of the main room he saw ragland pass on into the next room jean moved to follow him then suddenly the girl stopped and stood rigid following her eye kentucky jones saw at once what she was looking at on the wall hung a cheap picture frame perhaps ten inches in its longer dimension made of narrow dark wood and it was distinguished from other picture frames by the fact that there was no picture in it it through its glass could be seen the torn manilla paper which had backed the frame and a section of the wall jean ragland set her lamp d down own stepped forward and jerked the empty frame from the wall for a moment she stood irresolute glancing quickly about her do you want me to wrangle that for you too said kentucky from the doorway for an instant she stared at him her eyes wide and hostile it was surprising to him a little that a afternoon after fter at the inquest she had pressed into his keeping the bullet she had taken from the evidence but now he knew that she had not elected him as her ally nor wanted more than momentary aid her fathers step sounded close at liand hand beyond the other door jean dropped the picture frame behind a wooden chest cheat that stood against tile the wall and picked up per her lamp a again ain as her father reentered entered re they went back laro into the kitchen campo ragland paused in the main room a moment to exchange the briefest sort of word with jean but his announcement was to all of them at once ransacked this dump lie he told them slowly ransacked ransack ea it good theres a rifle gone lee said Is that all they pried open the cash box but take ani thing so far as I 1 know it beats me wo W can spare a rifle I 1 guess jean said sharply except for a certain soberness kentucky was unable to make out in jeans face any sign of the cot cold still terror he had bad seen in it a little while before rut put hp he saw now that a change had come over gampo ragland Can ipos face was stiffly expressionless onless but the eyes were choie tho of a man lost lu in uncertainty kentucky jones knew campo to be typical III of the wolf rench breed of on owners ers a man its as durable as the illde hide of Ms his own osan range bred ponies behind his bis genial facade campo had always alays been completely sure of himself but now while the outer aspect of the man wn 1 still little changed jones saw that dial the inner confidence aits nits nii gone cc as if the qualities which find ninde film the fit boss of a hard annl beld und and former re si sostant range were ere cut through tit lit the roat root we ve inny as well c 11 some ne abut eye cye I 1 guess campy campo sald said one of you fetters fellers bettor better turn out in tile morning and loud load the stoe im a pot buster kentucky offered leave at to me all right wel wei turn into bunk then alone in the little lean to room olt off the kitchen where zack had lived kentucky jones sat for a little while on tile the bunk and smoked a final cigarette garete cl it nas time to take stock of what n aliat liat lie he knew ile he did not conceal from him himself elf that bis big interest in tile the murder of 0 mason turned upon the involvement of jean I 1 the lie foundation of the hie thin was of at course the fact that john mason was dead shot from the sad saddle ile within fiely yards of glands ra ria lands door as he arrived from the won sa on bob Elli elliote elliots pinto horse jean ragland had stolen from the the bullet that had find tilled mason find the sheriff probably had the mate to that bullet upon this foundation foun datIn now rested a miscellany of puzzling and unrelated detail A par bar hook rider luid bud lied about hla his whereabouts at the hour of masons death A lame cowboy cook was miss ing from the par bar look hook somebody had ransacked the bar look hook ranch house taking away a rifle and a picture out of tile he frame fraine jean thought little of lie ile disappearance of the rifle much of the empty frame unquestionably lie he needed more of the missing fragments before be could piece that picture together in the meantime the range was thrown out of balance by the dealt of the cow financier bob elliot facing ruin could save himself only by forcing ragland over the edge in his place piece in one stride kentucky jones had stepped into a situation of greater pressure than any be had before encountered in an active life for what seemed a long time he lay awake while his mind quartered the case like a lion hound tailed failed of the scent presently he become aware that there was something be had bad left undone without striking A 9 light he opened a seam scam in the lining of his coat and extracted the bullet which jean ragland had pressed into his hand that afternoon ile he opened the window and found that the snow was drifted here against the to log wall kentucky jones hesitated a moment more then nicked flicked the bullet that had killed john mason out into the drifted snow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 whatever else happened the work had to go on campo ragland had contracted to ship five carloads of two year old steers to a southern feeder but although the cars were already waiting altIng vi on the waterman siding the gather and cut for the shipment still lacked many head tho two other par bar hook cowboys harry wilson and joe st marle had come in from waterman during the night and with this full force campo himself jumped into the job of finishing the work in a day after breakfast kentucky jones made an opportunity to familiarize himself with the scene of masons death 1 I suppose he asked lee bishop the pump house yeah that stone dump the place where I 1 found mason Is about three horse borse jumps southwest ile he was lying face down with his head this way and I 1 but bur I 1 guess you heard all that it worked out so I 1 missed part of the inquest kentucky said did it come out why mason was riding from the 88 83 to the bar hook seems kind of funny fuddy the way things stand between the two brands yeah that was all thrashed out said lee bishop old ironsides was always a great hand to keep in touch with all corners or of wolf bench and he was just making one of his regular circuits of the range rang 1 I heard he was riding one of el ilits plugs yeah ills his way of doing was to borrow some horse that could be counted on to go home by itself and at the next outfit borrow berrow soother another such a horse and so on this time he was riding an 88 horse yes I 1 got that kentucky said 0 one ile of bob elliots elliote Elli top horses a big pinto with white forelegs fore legs so they said we got to get going kentuck you and me arent working with campo today theres a little job over here herece ie i e got to wrangle separate rope you a low grade horse they took the trail toward the rim before kentucky could talk to jean alone for a ion long time they rode in silence bishop had given no hint as to the nature of their errand as yet let 1 I dont know exactly what were up against here the foreman said at last 1 I said much to the old man ret fet I 1 think well be able to tell just about how its going to work out when we get up here tour four five mile its nude made a bp beginning inning I 1 think 11 what lias has said kentucky pretty soon see I 1 wish to god jean was out of here theres no better cattle woman anywhere than jean pill this might not be a good place for tier her pretty quick here become of her mother kentucky asked him film ashes putting pulling in the winter out on the const coast 1 I reckon ashes got judgment said kentucky the foreman shrub shrugged ed moodily lou can call it judgment it looks more like a run out to me he chec chead ced himself already sorry for what he be had said ile he tried to apologize and made it worse there anybody means any better than mrs ragland does its just that somehow ohp take to cattle I 1 guess looks ilke jean would have gone goi mili lah her jean takes hikes after her fattier father lee lea bishop said tills this bulted up tip country Is bred into tier her blood blond and bone ashes a true mt land theres been a rag ling land running cattle on wolf wok pencil bench since the first long longhorn horn showed een and ho boa ion long lias has there been OB as elliot well theres always been nn an rl fl lot too though until bob elliot took it over frore his old man the 88 was wai jum a kind of chicken yard outfit iti cob bob got cot ambitious kentucky jones decided to try one on of ills his shots in the dark lee h b said casually have you let anyone it 11 on the fact that list mason was not killed at the time lie was supposed to bo be lee bishop turned to face kentucky jones slowly hows that he said without expression let it go said jones from the way you talked at the inquest it seemed to me like you join in with the others in figuring that dint was killed before the snow begun 1 I said lee bishop responded combatively bat ively that there no snow under him I 1 you mean you grant that ile be was dead before snow flew the foreman did not answer answer for almost a hundred bundred paces then lie he burst out with a sudden unaccustomed display of black temper im tired of these here everlasting questions I 1 I 1 dont want to hash this thin thing over no more you hear me |