The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-08-15
CHAPTER XIII

/
whats happened here?'
The debris had been cleared away,
| by now. Elliot, not 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; he's
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 identify
| 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 / 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 1t on to almost anybody. You
| couldn't CONT on him to name the gun
as Ellot's gun"
| Sure not. But that didn't matter.
| It's McCords Identification that counts.
OF course, 1t might have been that the
| gun had wound up at the Bar Hook,
and that Elliot walked In and borrowed
| 1t. the same as he did Campo's rifle. 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 lacks case; and then showed
the same gun into lacks hand. He
would have been in 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 gun?"
Can | 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?"
I'm 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
a single pocket in his clothes that that
| gun would go In"
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 rlmrock. 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 purposefuness OF
| cowmen who have made up their
minds. If the sheriff knew his brush
poppers-and he thought he dd--un.
i peasantness was going to come down
on him In sheets, and he was already
more interested In plans to smnggle
/ Elliot to some far safe confinement
than he was In whatqhad 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 aidSsand 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 Ell
Hot, 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
knew that he must talk to Jean; and
he dreaded It, for he had no remotesi
notion of what he would be able to say
Now that the war of the SO upon Bar
Hook -Mas killed At the source. and The
death Of Mason no longer was mys
terry which hung over Campo Ragland
Kentucky Jones found himself compre
hendlng. as If for the first time. thu
full weight of the burden which JeaI
| had chosen m Ipur alone