The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-07-11
CHAPTER vi

Had 1t stood alone, the shooting of
lack Sanders, a crippled ranch cook,
might have passed with little notice.
But the obvious-and at the same time
extremely elusive-connection between
the killing of Sanders and the death of
John Mason stirred new war talk
throughout the length of the rimrock.
Even while it was generally sup
posed that Mason had died by the
accidental discharge of his own gun,
the temper of the rimrock cattlemen
had been stormy and insecure. Now
suddenly they were asked to accept
the news that Mason's death had been
no accident; that the redoubtable Old
Ironsides had been murdered by par
ties unknown.
Twenty-four hours after Lee Bishop
discovered the body Of lack Sanders
under the snow, the whole rimrock
knew both the discovery and its mean
ing. Fully as many people swarmed
into Waterman for the inquest upon
the shooting Of lack Sanders as had
gathered for the Mason inquest. But
this time the people showed different
mood. The death of Mason had left
the cattle people irritable, but dazed
and uncertain. The proof of murder
turned them ugly. Sheriff Hopper had
expected this revelation to arouse a
certain amount of criticism and dis
pute; but he had nder-estimated the
difficulty of his position at least 70
per cent.
And there had sprung up among the
cattlemen themselves an even more I'M
Of Mason's murder had already made
the Bar Hook the focal point of the
general disaster. The incredibly
prompt and bold decisions of Bob FL
lots threatened SO now promised
to make the Bar Hook the focal point
against Bob Elliot, he was proving now
that he could make. decision that
popped like a blacksnake whip. The
SS's first drive of cattle was already
spread all over the middle of the Bar
Hook range, cutting heavily into the
lCCd lhdt Lie Ddk 11OOh dCiClOk uS
would need long before the spring.
Yet, now, of all times in his career,
| Campo Ragland chose this to go into
what appeared to be black and hope
| less funk.
The boss of the Bar Hook was habit
| ually red-eyed now, and the curve of
his forehead was no longer a bland
majestic sweep. He looked as If he
/ might at any moment spit red hot peb-
| bles. Campo's unaccountable vacilla-
ton was breaking the morale of his
| riders.
The day after the inquest Kentucky
Jones got back from the mornings
work before the rest. He found Jean
In the kitchen.
Her eye quickened instantly as Ken.
lucky Jones came in. Are the others
| back?" !.
mot yet"
"Come here" she commanded. 81
have to talk to you"
| "Just a second" He went to the
phone and belled the gunsmith at Wa.
herman.
Old Mark Ferris, Wolf Bench gun.
smith for more than twenty years
knew most of the guns in the Water.
man rimrock; and Kentucky had talked
to him the day before In an effort to
trace the ownership of the gun found
in lack Sanders hand. 1t had seemed
to him odd that lack, who owned nc
/ hol% n
gun; and he had been led to wonder II
lack could have been forewarned. and
had perhaps borrowed the weapon
If this were true, he wanted to know
whose gun lack had borrowed. There
fore he had set Ferris searching
through his records for the serial mum
Der OF the questioned gun, in the hope
that the OLD gunsmith could recall &c
whom the gun had been sold.