Show ott ALAN LE MAY f W N U I 1 rt V I 1 C E by ala SYNOPSIS kentucky jones veteran cowman attends the inquest in the d little ittle town of waterman into the death cath of john mason alason banker and financial maln mainstay stay of 0 tho the district which Is supposed to have been accidental jean daughter of campo ragland owner of the gar bar hook ranch abere where mason met death surreptitiously passes to him the bullet which had killed mason she having abstracted it from the evidence during the inquest kentucky goes to work nork on tho the bar hook ranch CHAPTER 11 II 2 inquest was over as aa kentucky kent T THE jones returned to kerry jerrys Is store ile he joined one of the big bf groups which talked it over on the sidewalk verdict come out same as expected pec ted oh sure bure accidental discharge of his own weapon the jury hold bold off more than a minute and a half say I 1 the sheriff wants t to 0 see you all right kentucky jones moved off down the street in unhurried long ion strides As he reached tile the sheriffs little frame office floyd hopper was in the act of leaving having just ejected with diplomacy more worried cattlemen than the little structure could comfortably hold for kentucky tuck 7 jones however hoever he be reopened his door come in here jones hopper jerked a ragged blind downward over the doors glass pane and flung himself into a chair see you got your inquest over the sheriff puffed out till his cheeks and blew an exhausted blast damnation I 1 can you beat this in the whole wolf bench country here was just one man that as good as held the rimrock cattle in the hollow of ills his hand and a rabbit jumps and 1 bes gone great guns kentucky any other nan man any other time kentucky jones ival waited ted studying him there Is a certain type of man who seems fated to pursue pub lie to office somehow perversely un nn fitted for anything an tiling else hopper was such a man ills straight clipped gray mustache hn big flat loose skinned jowls and full fleshed eyes somehow unmistakably adver tiled the public office holder not incompetent babut but definitely limited any other oilier man could have hare been spared better he raed even john bohn could have been spared any other time but with wolf bench cattle on the ragged edge of bank and the lowest beef pricer price since does clive alerson he steps into masons Afa sons shoes he does hi he know anything about cattle A little and maybe a little about abool banking ban IcIng cut but with mason dead all confidence has coll collapsed aped clive Is seared stiff ready to stampede some think already that hell break half the outfits on wolf bench and the hank bank too if he can save the outfits outfit a hes got his money in no man knows where his brand pets gets oft off nobody trusts his neighbor mabbe adjusts adjust kentucky of aw the sheriff burst out at him with something eo very like fury adjust adjust like a dogle calf to a this throws tile the whole d n range out of balance and you stand there and tell me ile he paused hopelessly out of words there you have it ile he lifted his hands and let them fall with a ture of morose futility this Is a good sample of the raw edge of temper the whole rimrock Is on I 1 call you up here to ask you a fa vor and in two minutes es were jump ing down each others throats all right sald said kentucky it if disorderly conduct was my field I 1 expect I 1 might be feeling bomea hot ants in the undershirt myself disorderly conduct Is right the sheriff said aid ilan see gee plen ty bowl now half the range Is sore at the other half already take the circle five and the lazy deuce or the three bar and the running 7 M tod today ay then them two owners met face to face and never spoke or take take bob elliots elliote Elli 83 and campo Ra glands bar alook 1 Ken kentucky prompted there you are maybe the arst vorst y ease case of all those outfits have a al 4 ways jangled and now look at III it elliot dont own a fifth of ills his 41 range tile rest Is leased indian aind ind now ellioth elliots Elli lease Is out 4 ahem hem leases cases have to be bid for and nd everybody ever body knows that theres pore than one big outfit will never t ailt that lease go cheap elliot de on mason to lot let him take the money for ills his hid bid now kow its nil all over the range already that tile the bank wont back him elliot cant get any quick price for all that landless stock hes through and what nhat about ragland Ila gland Ka Ra glands bar hook could probably stand through the storm it if it for the misfortune to elliot but ita lands open range Is the open range nearest dearest to elliot what if elliot turns and floods ills his cattle onto the bar hook graze 11 jones already knew that the par bar look hook was at least halt half on public domain by the bowmans cow mans code campo was entitled to the use of that range because he had developed water upon it but he had no legal hold upon the unfenced are you convinced in your own mind kentucky asked h him in that elliot will dare shove shore his herds onto the bar hook alook range 1 I know this said floyd hopper bea headily he aily fly somberly elliot dont need more than four or five riders to take care of his winter work yet hes bes laying on extra hands iles hes hired on at least sli six more men just in the last couple of days since the death of masor mason you know how it looks to roe me like h hes es not waiting for the day hell have to move like hes not even going to wait tile the winter out before he starts filtering into the bar alook range in ila that case said kentucky bob elliot Is sure a nian man who en ea jos to grab a bear by the tall and go round and round campo ragland kagland will fight like a in defense of its first born the sheriff grunted suddenly a new grievance seemed to occur to him and the explosiveness came back into his voice a gain again id give a hundred dollars to lay my hands on the son of a gun who swiped that bullet out of the inquest right out from froal under my d n nose by G G d 1 do em no good he declared it as it if we ne have the ile he stopped the other bullet kentucky asked the sheriff seemed to go relaxed and cold all of an instant ile he studied kentucky with a questioning eye why did you say that he said at last well kentucky apologized you were just remarking you had bad something on hand that bould take the missing bullets place the sheriffs steady stare did not drift from Kentuck ys face we took a mold be said at last we took a mold of this bullet gone that was a smart thing to do said kentucky 1 I expect said the sheriff ile he dropped his bis eyes and his bands fidgeted fide fida eted alth ath the miscellany on his desk just the same h he said returning his eyes to Kentuck ys face in a cold and smoky gaze that was a very strange question mister for you to ask I 1 had a hound bound dog once that got in trouble that way trouble sheriff by sight running they looked at each other two men who had bad said more than rested upon the surface of their words one of them unwillingly kentucky jones began rolling a leisurely cigarette and he grinned the slow infectious grin that could make a dog follow him or a woman remember him film or could make a man forget he had meant to paste him a couple sheriff hopper stirred restively and dropped his eyes 1 I was just thinking of something the sheriff said 1 I was hoping id find you kind of at loose ends around here like as it if you might be able to take and do something different from what you figured to do As for the sheriff fidgeted theres an end hanging loose in this mason case he admitted finally so I 1 thought it was all decided that mason committed suicide by mistake hopper made an annoyed gesture the case Is closed john mason alason died of the accidental discharge or of ills his own gun established but it just happens that theres a man has come in with a perjury ile he paused yes said kentucky jones after a moment to what effect well we questioned him about masons death and later I 1 found out he be where he said bald he was wa s you sure you yon want to tell me this im not telling you anything that ties you yon to anything yet now this feller maybe he was in sight when mason was killed hilled or maybe in earshot anyway he lied about warre he was tried to male make a fool out of ns as by G d and I 1 menu mena to hook book him for or it hardly seems important kentucky said speculatively it if theres no do question about how mason died it that said the sheriff g gloomily theres sonic some awful bad times ahead of us here kentucky and we got to show that the law has teeth in it while title we still can now if you dont mind taking the time theres a thins thing you could do for me that would be an almighty favor come to cases said kentucky this man im telling you about Is out at the car bar nook hook now I 1 realize youre a cattle trader but oftentimes a feller like you will take a riding job to fill in with over the winter or something especially in times like this now if go to campo Raglan inLand dand get a job you can find out about this feller for me in a way that I 1 myself nor the deputies neither you want me to hire on at the bar hook and root this fetter feller out tor for you Is that icv it the idea Xen kentucky tucky jones was looking out the window down the snowy street half a block down in front of the hotel jean Ra glands pony stood lie had seen the girl but half a dozen times in his life yet she had singled him out today to aid her in a thing which he did not fully understand she had been surrounded by friends by men she had known all her tire life even her own father had been there yet for some obscure reason she had turned to him jean ragland sat her pony with the easy lax las grace of young muscles raised in the saddle now that she was in her own element again she no longer looked frail and small as she had in the crush of the inquest but competent and at home on her horse as he be had bad known her before As slie she passed she looked itral straight bt at the window where he stood and kentzel Ken kentucky tuel y believed that she saw him there but she gave gare no sign ue lie turned back to tile the sheriff floyd hopper smoked morosely in the shadows brought by the closing of the early kiisk if you want to go out to the par car nook for me I 1 can make it worth your while what we got to do Is 1 I touch it said kentucky with a ten foot pole floyd hopper flopper stared at him irritably just because youre gone on campo Ra glands girl have bare anything to do with the job this Is for the protection of the bar hook people as much as anything else protection or no protection kentucky jones said shortly 1 I wont touch it As far as campo Ra glands girl Is 13 concerned ill tell you straight and plain that if mason been killed within fifty yards of her door I 1 be here now 1 I guessed that said the sheriff you yoo guessed it find and now you know it and beyond that to h 1 with youl you floyd hopper made a disgusted gesture all right I 1 dont blame you much its pretty near too much to ask a man to step square into the makings of a range war none of your own I 1 guess youre smart enough to stay out of it all rl right hl I 1 wish I 1 was im not out of it said kentucky jones the other looked at him startled 1 hopper said kentucky jones bo how long have you known that john mason was murdered it took a moment or two for the sheriff to convince himself that be had correctly heard beard but when it bad soaked in he came to his feet with a jerk ills eyes flared nar romy but his big face was grim and tight you accusing me of lying at the inquest yes kentucky jones said floyd ll hoppers leathery face turned a deep maroon and in the shadows its his eyes seemed like points of light then he said its because you know a whole b I 1 of a lot that I 1 dont kentucky jones grinned faintly relit delit ills his cigarette and shook his head the sheriffs voice was heavy and intent come coine out with if 14 jones your play here im going to try to get me the man that killed mason ll ason 11 they stared at each other jones said the sheriff lots lets get this straight here are you ing with me or not not kentucky answered the dark color of the sherlf sheriffs rs face which had faded slightly now deepened again you look here jones if the time ever comes when it can be shown that mason was in murdered U edere d a and n d the mno man who murdered jim him i can be turned up maybe that time said kentucky Is coming quicker than you think when it does come ill make my play and ill make it stick in the meant meantime line think twice iou before you buck me you can make plenty trouble if you want ive got no doubt of that put but its you yon burn it if you do 1 I reassure yourself kentucky tuckY told him if I 1 cant make a play ill make no play nt at all 1 I dont know said the sheriff but what hat go a little farther than that it if you know good tor for you the sherl sherles Drs voice was low but ills words had more force than if tie he had thundered 1 I mean sit out or of this aito altogether ealier et lier 1 I told you what im going to do 1 kentucky said shortly ile ho was in a hurry burry now to bo be on its ills way lie wanted to lilt hit the car bar ilovic road before the final closing of the ho the sheriff shouted at him you infernal tile tiie door came open shuddering as it broke clear from the lee ice that had formed at the sit sill tho the man who stamped the snow off his boots upon the threshold was straight backed nud and lean dered his age was aas indeterminate ile he might have been forty or lip he might have hare been much more ile he had bad a clean cut knife carved face set with blue eyes as clear and penetrating as sharp bits of 0 I 1 ice ce and lie radiated a driving thrusting energy so definite as to convey an almost physical sense ot of impact floyd hopper sa said I 1 d without warmth ll hello ello elliot and kentucky jones said bowdy cob bob kentucky jones had always been on good terms with cob bob elliot before but now elliot looked over the other with a coolly noncommittal eye 1 I heard beard cob bob elliot said you got yourself a job today so ear bar hook yes the boss ot of the SS looked ken tucky tacky over again slowly with a certain bleak irony then abruptly lie he turned away breaking into the painful sounding which passed with him for laughter it consisted of a shaking of shoulders and a series of coughing sounds accompanied by a general pained cracked cracke dup up look but no expression of enjoyment while this went on he always turned away from its ills companions as if the no unaccustomed accustomed onslaw onslaught 0 it in truth seized him against ills his will the paroN died away and with a face like that cob bob elliot was able to say at last oil oh naturally I 1 oh ot of course I 1 ive found it a useful face for fighting a wolf kentucky agreed equably still I 1 dont see just the brand said cob bob elliot that always goes loco over the n nearest gimlet he headed abed girl there was quiet while a man could count fifteen im going to finish rolling this cigarette said kentucky jones and im going to roll it right then im going to see if I 1 still feel the same way about that last and it if I 1 do rin im go going ing to smash your teeth down your throat maybe you are sat said d cob bob elliot without emotion floyd I 1 hear somebody rustled the bullet that killed john mason uh huh bull said hopper II opper im not sure that I 1 saw that done floyd said sat elliot disregarding kentucky now dow but I 1 think mabe that I 1 did and I 1 think so more and more sheriff rloyd floyd hopper came awake who was it 1 I dont want to name a name said cob bob elliot unless we can make a test teat to see if im right it if im right the party that took the bullet passed it on to another Z r V 0 elliots elliote Elli head snapped back ping snatch at the gun at hla his right thigh as kentucky struck again this time |