Show A ALAN LE LEMAY MAY WN U 5 SERVICE F ltv I 1 CE A alt mart auy w SYNOPSIS kentucky jones veteran cowman attends the inquest in tile the little town of waterman into the death 0 of john ila mason son banker and financial mainstay of the district which Is supposed to have been accidental jean daughter ot of campo ragland Rac lind owner of the bar hook ranch where mason met death surreptitiously passes to him the bullet which had killed mason she having abstracted it from the evidence during the ln in kentucky goes to work on the car bar hook ranch the verdict Is accidental death bob elliot owner of the SS ranch adjoining fig the bar hook apparently saw jean jea n pass the bullet to jones and starts an altercation jones knocks him out CHAPTER III 3 C AMPO aliro RAGLAND struck a match and aad as the light of three or four lamps filled the room the faces of the riders likewise lightened from waterman kentucky jones had pushed ills his horse steadily and as ag darkness closed down he had overtaken the dar bar hook people the kitchen wing in which they now gathered was built of big square hewn logs but the interior v as neat jean ragland hagland said theres no fire mado made and kentucky noticed the odd way in which they fell silent for a moment as it if it was a strange and uncommon thing that a fire should not spring into being abeln and set coffee on itself at a deserted ranch you see campo ragland said to kentucky we generally have a cook around here lately its been a lame boy named zack sanders used to be a rider but his horse tell fell on him and turned him into a cook cut but this boy Is kind of gone missing on us it seems been missing long last week he be was supposed to take two days off and he rode over to see a girl he has over here thirty forty mile ragland said 1 I notice it so much saturday when he be come in that being the day that this this acal dent happened to mason but lu in waterman today his girl said he be left there saturday sunup sun up four days gone neil hell probably show up lee bishop grunted oh I 1 suppose so campo easland raland jerked himself into activity again and began throwing wood into the great stove in a little while the big stove began to fill the room with a lazy warmth and the hot smoky smell of frying beef and potatoes began to thaw the riders out with the heartening warmth the mood of the ear dar nook hook changed so that for a little while it could have been any ranch house anywhere except that the presence of 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 for the bar hook without feeling that he was in some part riding for this girl looking at her now kentucky jones would not have gueiser that she had today testified concerning a death that had occurred within fifty yards yard of this door and that in the midst of those proceed proceedings lif S she had felt impelled to thieve the heart out of 0 the evidence of that death lie he had come here to find out the exact nature of the shadow which had fastened itself on the bar hook and upon jean ragland as a part of the bar nook hook and accordingly he turned now to studying the others as they ate lee bishop the stolid square set foreman undoubtedly would stand steady as a rock in a pinch the other two cowboys kentucky jones classified as a couple of kids jim humphreys though only five years lounger than bishop would perhaps always be a kid and billy petersen was mas the youngster ster essential to every outfit who would be given the undesirable jobs of horse wrangling and night herd and errands which were a nuisance campo ragland remained silent throughout the meal and for the moment kentucky could make out no more about him than he already knew which was little enough sure miss zack baek sanders around here campo said at last getting up well set out what vell need handy to breakfast I 1 guess dad said jean ill take care fit all that you get along to bed her father ther told her gruffly 1 I want you 0 ato o get some sleep jean obediently picked up a lamp lamp kentucky jones moved efficiently about making ready for morning out in lonely camps upon the range these men would have got their own breakfasts effortless without thought but here where a cool cook was supposed to be a breakfast loomed as an ordeal untold 1 I wish I 1 knew campo began lie he was ladling fresh coffee coatee in into to a big pot with an enormous spoon 1 1 I wish i ish I 1 knew suddenly he stop stopped p oil and stood staring e while from the poised spoon a thin trickle of dry coffee dribbled to the floor jean rag gland 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 showed that her features were drawn by a hard and unaccustomed emotion it took a moment or two for kentucky jones to realize that what lie he 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 jean jean rag Ra lands glands voice could hardly be heard some ones been through the house lieen deen through the house ransacked it through and through I 1 her father let tile the big spoon splash into the coffee pot jean turned throwing the light into the room beyond and tor for a moment father and daughter stood together in tile the doorway staring at what the others could riot not see then slowly with a curious uncertainty campo ragland moved out of their sight jean followed him with the lamp Nen kentucky tucky jones with the others went to the door through 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 0 the native rock and near tills this campo stood holding up a second lamp they heard him say youre right theres no question about it jim humphreys said Is there anything we can ragland shot them a quick glance as it momentarily be bad fo forgotten rotten that he be was not alone its nothing much I 1 guess he be said in a rocky voice tills 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 ile he saw ragland lia gland pass on into the next room jean moed 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 bung 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 jean ragland set her lamp down stepped forward and j erkel 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 afternoon at the inquest she had pressed into his keeping the bullet she had taken from tho the evidence but now he knew that she had not elected him as her ally nor wanted more than momentary aid her fathers fat tiers step sounded close at hand beyond the other door jean dropped the picture frame behind a wooden chest that stood against the wall and picked up her lamp again as her father reentered entered re they went back into the kitchen campo ragland kagland paused in the main room a moment to exchange the briefest sort of word with jean put but his announcement was to all of them at once ransacked th tills 13 dump he told them slowly some body blodys ransacked it good theres a rifle ride gone we can spare a rifle I 1 guess jean sat said sharply except for a certain sober soberness DeSS kentucky was unable to make out in jeans face any sign of the cold still terror he be had seen in it a little while before put but he saw now that a change had come over campo ragland campos face was stiffly expressionless but the yes eyes were those of a man lost in uncertainty kentucky jones knew campo to be typical of tile the wolf deficit benali breed of owners a mak mac a as dit durable rable as the hide of his own range bred ponies behind his genial facade campo had always been completely sure of himself cut but now chile litle the outer aspect of the man was still little abang changed ed jones saw that the inner confidence was gone its as it if the qualities which had made him the fit boss of a hard bard held beld and forever re distant range rane were cut through at the root we may as well get some shut eye je I 1 guess campo said one of you yon fellers better turn out in the morning and load the stove store im a pot buster kentucky offered leave breakfast to me all right ll 11 well turn into bunk then i 9 alone in the alie little leanto lean to room oft off the kitchen where zack had lived kentucky jones sat for a little it while on the bunk and smoked a fin final it cigarette it was time to take stock of what he knew he did not conceal from himself that his interest in the murder of mason turned upon the involvement of jean the foundation of the thing was of course tile the fact that john mason was dead shot from the saddle within fifty yards of vas lands door as lie he arched from the 88 on bob elliots elliote Elli pinto horse jean ragland had stolen from tile the evidence the lie bullet that had bild killed mason ind and the sheriff probably had the mate to that bullet upon this foundation now rested a miscellany of puzzling and unrelated detail A bar hook rider had tied lied about his whereabouts at the hour four of masons A death A lame cowboy cook was missing from the liar bar hook somebody had ransacked the bar hook ranch aliouse taking away a rifle and a picture out of the frame jean thought little of the disappearance of the much of the empty frame unquestionably he needed needed more of the missing fragments before he could piece that picture together in the meantime the range rane was thrown out of balance by the death of the cow financier bob elliot facing ruin could save himself only by forcing ragland over the edge in his place in one stride kentucky jones had bad stopped stepped into a situation on of greater pressure than an any y he be had bad before encountered in an act acthen lie life for what seemed a iong ion time he lay jay awake while his mind quartered the case like a lion hon hound failed of the scent presently he be became aware that there was something thin he had bad left undone without striking a light he opened a seam in the lining of ills his coat and extracted the bullet which jean ragland had bad pressed into his hand band that afternoon lie be opened the window and found that the snow was drifted here against the log wall kentucky jones hesitated a moment more then flicked the bullet that had killed john mason out into the drifted snow 0 0 0 a 0 campo ragland had contracted to ship five fire carloads of two year old steers to a southern feeder but although the cars were already waiting on the waterman siding the gather and cut for the shipment still lacked many head the two other bar nook hook cowboys harry wilson and joe st marle had come in from waterman during the night and with tills full force campo him self jumped into the job of finishing the work in a day after breakfast Xen kentucky tucky 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 jumpy southwest ile he was lying face down with his head this way and I 1 but I 1 guess you heard all that it worked out so I 1 missed part of 0 f the inquest kentucky said did it come out why mason was riding from the 88 to tire the bar hook seem kind of funny the way things stand between the two brands yeah teah that was all ail thras thrashed out said lee bishop old fron ironsides sides was always a great hand to keep in touch with all corners of wolf bench and he was jut making one of his regular circuits of the range 1 I heard he was riding one of elliots elliote Elli plu plugs S yeah ills way of doing was to borrow some horse that could be counted on to go home by itself and at the next outfit borrow nn fin other such a horse and so on tills this time he was riding an 88 horse yes tea I 1 got that kentucky said one of bob ellets top horses borses a big pinto with white forelegs fore legs so they said we got to get going kentucky you and me arent working with campo today theres a little job over here we got to wrangle separate rope you a low grade horse for a ion long time they rode in silence bishop had given no hint as to the nature of their errand as yet 1 I dont know exactly what were up against here the foreman said at last aart 1 I said paid much to the old man yet I 1 think well be able to tell just about how its going to work out when we get up here four five miles its ita made a beginning I 1 think what has said kentucky pretty soon sep see I 1 wish to god oil jean was out of here thores theres no better cattle woman anywhere than jean but tills this might riot not bo be a goof good place for her ber pretty quick here become of tier her mo mother theril kentucky asked him ashes putting in the winter out om on the coast 1 I reckon ashes got judgment said kentucky the foreman fore inin shrugged moodily ly you can call it judgment judgie t it looks look more like a run out to me lit HE checked himself already sorry toi for what he had said lie ile tried to apol 0 oelze ize and made it worse there anybody means any better than mrs ragland does doeg its ills just that thai somehow she taku to cattle I 1 guess looks like jean would have hare gone with her jean takes after her father lee bishop said ehla busted up coun conn try Is bred into her blood and bone ashes a true ragland hagland theres been a ragland running cattle on wolf bench since the first longbord long bord horo showed and how long has fins there been an elliot well theres always been an elliot too though und bob elliot took it over from his old man the SS was waa just a kind of chicken chi acken yard outfit its bob ambitious kentucky jones decided to try one of his shots in the dark lee he said ca casually dually have you yon let anyone in on the fact that mason was not killed at the time he was supposed to be lee bishop turned to face kentucky jones slowly hows that ho he said without expression let it go said jones I 1 lip from rom the way you talked at the inq inquest nest it seemed to me like you join in with the others in figuring that mason was killed before the snow begun begum 1 I said lee bishop res responded bonded combatively that there no snow under under him I 1 you mean you grant that he was dead before snow flew the foreman did not answer for almost a hundred paces then he burst out with a sudden unaccustomed display of black temper rin im tired of these here everlasting everl astin questions question sl I 1 dont want to hash hash this thing over no more you hear me they came out now upon a high point or of the rim at a glance the vast flats seemed utterly devoid of 0 life cowlens Cow mens eyes however could pick out here and there among the dark dots of 0 sag sage ge and cat claw other dots that were cattle but what interested the riders on the rim was something else a greater concentration of 0 cattle a long dark irregular string of them lying on the face of the desert like a blacksnake whip uli uh huh said lee bishop there you have it how many head would iou you count that drive maybe twelve hundred said kentucky sa stock sure SS you know now 11 sure 88 wily why dob cob elliot put on six more lands hands already then this thing bad come legally the public domain was open to ill all wh whatever ateer tradition or moral |