The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-08-30
CHAPTER XIII

whats happened hereT
The debris had been cleared away,
by now. Elliot, n6t as seriously hit as,
under the circumstances, he might him.
self have wished, was officially in Gus
tody, as was Bill McCord; and Floyd
Hopper was four miles up in the air.
"You don't need to watch Bill Nc
Cord so close" Kentucky said; hes
ready to tell you enough to convict
Elliot before any Wolf Bench jury,
without any more trouble. Your case
was clinched the minute you found out
that Sanders was killed with the gun
| that was found in his hand. It's been
! plain all along that Sanders was killed
because he witnessed the killing Of Ma
son; and you've heard McCord identity
the gun that killed Sanders"
"But look here" Hopper insisted. up
to the time that you got Elliot and
McCord all crossed up, you hadn't even
talked to Ted Baylor"
Il didn't have time to get hold OF
him." Kentucky explained, "in the lit
tie time after l found out from St.
Marie that the gun had passed through
Baylor's hands. But then that wasn't
necessary, hardly. Elliot had to have
| full information before he dared to
flood the Bar Hook range. And he
couldn't have got all those cattle on
the move as quick as he did unless he
had started working them the next
morning after Mason was killed. He
could hardly have got such informa-
| ton so quick-unless he had killed Ma
son himself"
| "But you didn't know how many
hands that gun passed through besides
Ted Baylor's. Ted Baylor might have
passed it on to almost anybody. You
couldn't count on him to name the gun
as Elliot's gum"
| "Sure not. But that didn't matter.
It's McCord's Identification that counts.
OF course, it might have been that the
gun had wound up at the Bar Hook,
and that Elliot walked in and borrowed
| it, the same as he did Campo's rife. In
that case, of course, there wouldn't
have been any tangible evidence
against Elliot, and we'd have lost out
all around. But figured that the killer
would have shot quick with his own
| gun, In Zack's case; and then showed
the same gun into Zack's hand. He
would have been in a hurry to get out
of there about then"
"But how did you know that the gun
in Sanders hand wasn't lacks own
gun? Now there-that was the turning
point of the whole thing"
"You didn't see that that wasn't
lacks gum"
Can l know every gun in the rim
rock? How could any man guess 1t
wasn't his?"
"You mean you thought lack rode
all over Wolf Bench carrying that gun
in his hand?"
an his hand? What you driving at?"
"He would have had to carry 1t In
his hand. Sanders had no gun belt"
Kentucky reminded him-"he wasn't
even wearing boots. And there wasn't
single pocket in his clothes that that
gun would go inv'
Within an hour after the showdown
which had thrown Elliot into the sher-
ifs hands, Hopper had forgotten his
qualification over the solution in his
alarm over the storm which he was
sure would follow. Tomorrow word of
the charge against Elliot would have
swept the rimrock. Already Floyd Hop
per could see himself facing the mob
which he now supposed would wish to
take the law into their own hands
mobs made difficult by the unnoisy but
peculiarly efficient purposefulness Of
cowmen who have made up their
minds. If the sheriff knew his brush
poppers-and he thought he did-un-
pleasantness was going to come down
on him In sheets; and he was already
more interested In plans to smuggle
Elliot to some far safe confinement
than he was in what had already been
accomplished.
With only few hours margin for
the completion Of preventive measures
the sheriff barged off to Waterman.
With him went his brother, Doc Hop
per, who had been rushed out mean
time to administer first aid; and Bill
McCord.
Late afternoon found the Bar Hook
locked In that FESTIVE, exhausted quiet
which follows any kind of explosion.
Somewhere In the house Willie Helmar
sat watchfully beside the wounded FL
lot, who propped himself up In bed
and smoked Unfortunately, saying moth
ing at all Ted Baylor had left, and
Campo had drawn off by himself and
into himself. In what mood no one
knew.
Kentucky Jones sat alone In the big
kitchen. He wanted to talk to Jean
knew that he, must talk to Jean; and
he dreaded 1t, for he had no remotest
notion Of what he would be able to say.
Now that the war Of the SO upon Bar
Hook was killed at the source, and the
death of Mason no longer was a mys-
terry which hung over Campo Ragland,
Kentucky Jones found himself compre-
bending. as II for the first time, the