The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-07-04
By ALAN LIE MAY
Copyright by Alan LeMay
WNu Service.

Floyd, Kentucky! Jean. you stay in
here, you hear me?'
| Campo Ragland, unarmed, led the
way to the corral where Joe st. Marie
was most likely to have left his horse.
The horse was there, head to the bars,
waiting for the feed that had not yet
come; but Joe st. Marie was not in
sight.
| Campo's voice raised in a hoarse
shout, an abrupt strange sound in all
that silence of snow and rock and stars.
"You, Joe! st. Marie! Where you at?
Sing out, mani"
The silence held for a moment more,
sheriff, when Joe st. Marie spoke in
an odd muffled voice, unexpectedly
nearby. "Yes, sir-here I am"
He came toward them now, slowly.
from around the corner Of the stable,
and Lee Bishop let drop the rifle he
had snarched up.
"Who fredw
"Why-I did" The accent of Joe st.
Marie's speech was no different from
that of any other cowboy, except for a
| certain deep thickness of the tone
itself. Now his voice was still deep,
| but it had taken on fiat quality; and
| though the voice itself did not shake,
it somehow conveyed the impression
that the man behind it was more than
| shaken. Il thought seen a wolf"
Wolf! wolf up here by the
house?"
go on in," Lee Bishop said dis
/ gustedly. 'I'll see your horse gets
| fed" This offer St. Marie did not
accept; but Lee Bishop stayed behind
while the others went in.
Il thought 1 told you to stay in
here" Campo said to his daughter,
lighting lamp.
| The sheriff's temper seemed to have
come to the end of its string, and there
busted itself like roped steer. I'm
sick and tired of this" he told them.
There's something almighty funny
going on here, and / mean to know
what it is"
| Campo Ragland planted himself on
widespread legs, back to the stove.
when you find out" he said sourly,
''let me know"
"Tve warned you about holding out
on me-" the sheriff said to Ragland.
But now l warn you again. l mean
to get the man that killed Mason. /
mean to get him, you hear me?"
Campo Ragland said with sudden
passion, God knows I'll help you every
way can. I'd tell you, if / knew any
| thing"
IF you knew anythingp said Hop
| per bitterly. There isn't q man on
your place tonight who doesn't know
more about this business than he
means to tell"
That's all foolishness," said Campo
Ragland. you've gone up in the air
because a quarter-blood cowboy looks
like he might be coming down with
fever. AS for holding stuff back from
! you-rake us one by one if you want.
| Start with me. Or start with Kentucky
Jones, who didn't even work for the
Bar Hook at the time this happened.
| Or take"
"You want me to start with Ken
| lucky Jones?" said the sheriff. "May-
| be you'd like to hear me ask a ques-
ton or two of this Kentucky Jones?"
ASK who and what you like" said
Ragland
Hopper swung his red-eyed stare to
| Kentucky.e "Be careful how you an
swer me, Jones; try to remember what
your boss sometimes forgets-that
| maybe / know the answer before you
| speak. Where were you at one o'clock
last Saturday-the day that Mason and
| lack Sanders died"
Kentucky Jones took his time about
answering. "At noon last Saturday."
he said at last, Il was here at the
Bar Hook"
Sheriff Hopper grinned, but not
| pleasantly, at Campo Ragland. There
you are" he said.
Campo said slowly. "You never told
me that, Kentucky
mo? l drove out to say Adios;
was going away"
Hopper spoke to Ragland. There's
| your man that couldn't possibly know
anything about this" he said ironically.
"But If you think that's all / know
| about Kentucky Jones, you're fool.
/ can go to court with my case against
him tomorrow, if need be-" His tone
was that of contemptuous statement
/ rather than threat. "And / can put
him where he'll have to fight HI for
leather, as he never fought in his life,
before he ever gets clear"
| Ragland said, IF you think being
here around that time is case. you
don't know much about"
| Opportunity" said the sheriff. "Op-
| portunity-and motive. just those two
things can make it tough for any man.
Yet I'm not right sure that that's all
/ can bring against him, from what
l know right now"
| "MotiveT echoed Ragland, startled.
Here Lee Bishop and Joe st. Marie
returned to the room.
! They saw now that the normal dark
color of st. Marie's face had returned,
| and with it had come back his look of
solid strength. Sheriff Floyd Hopper
looked at Ragland and indicated ST
Marie with jerk of his head. "Chills
and fever seem to have passed off," he
said.
/ Campo Ragland grunted.
Campo" said the sheriff, there's a
head going to fall-maybe more than
one head. Don't ever think that this
is going to blow over, and be lost sight
of in general dust. There's a man
going to be hooked hard and per-
manent before I'm through"
Floyd, what are you going to do?
| You mean you're taking Kentucky