The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-12-09
CHAPTER XIV

wheeler drove Horse Dunn tour
ing car into the little cow town. Old
Man Coffee was In the back seat,
this time without any of his dogs.
Marian, who had been doing
against Billy's shoulder, sat up and
looked at the vacant street with a
detached curiosity. It seemed
strange to see the street so empty
and silent, where last they had seen
it full Of knotted groups of men. No
stealthy movement IN doorways this
time, no eyes covertly watching
them from under ten-gallon hats
nothing but clean horizontal sunlight
on quiet dust, as if nothing lived in
this place at all
Marian said, "You still don't
10 do?"
1t isn't that I don't want to tell
you. It's just that it's-it's got to
come to you in another way"
This is a dramatic thing-rather
terrible thing Marian said, this
coming to the end of a killers
trail"
Don't look at it that way. I
want you to think of this thing with
all the inpartiality you can. You
know now that our western code is
a different code Not the six-gun
code of the old days, nor the wild
kind of thing some people have tried
to make out it Is, such as never ex-
listed here or any place else. But
just a kind OF way of going about
things that is bred into dry country
men-the way of each man making
his own right and wrong, each man
looking only to himself for approval
In the end. Maybe-you're only GO
ing to learn the story of kind Of
a kind of private execution; maybe
by a man who believed with all his
heart that he was in the right"
She looked at him wonderingly for
a minute; she had never heard him
talk IN that way before. Billy,
Billy, don't you trust me to face out
anything, even yet? Don't you think
I have any courage at ALP"
4 trust your courage more than
I've ever trusted anything in my
life. Or you wouldn't be here now"
Wheeler drove through the town
and turned up a side street to the
house where Sheriff Walt Amos
lived. Leaving Marian and Old Man
Coffee In the car he walked around
the little house TO the back door;
there was smell of breakfast cook
ing here, and Walt Amos himself
was souzling water over his face
~ i
pump. The young sheriff straight
ened up and stared at Wheeler for
a long moment through dripping wa
ter. Hardly expected to see you
here"
I've come to make a deal with
you," Wheeler said.
Don't hardly seem there's any
deal to be made between you and
me. Horse Dunn isn't going out on
bail Get il out of your head"
Amos began to dry his face and
hair.
This is something else" Wheel
er said. You've wanted me out of
this picture. You've wanted me out
of It from the start. You know why,
and there's no need for us to go into
why"
81 got enough troubles on this
range" Amos said, without outside
capital pitching in to make things
worse for the common run of cow
men"
I'm short, you and your gang has
been afraid I'd help Dunn save the
"a. You tried to railroad me, here
IN Judge Shafer's court-but you
didn't get away with it. Maybe
you've got other things in mind to
try, to get me out of the way of
your plans. ! don't know anything
about that"
People from outside, that figure
to throw In against the best inter-
ests of this range" Amos began.
"All right. Now you've got a
chance to get rid of me- You give
me what I want and I'll promise
you I'll be out of this killing case
within "a hours
You haven't got any official
standing In this case to begin with"
Amos pointed out.
You'd like to see me drag my
freight, just the samel And here's
how you can get it done"
'sWen?"
"Old Man Coffee and Horse
Dunn's niece are here with me. Give
us an hour to talk to Horse Dunn
alone. That's the proposition and
all of the proposition"
"And if do that you'll pull out
of here?"
Within "a hours. I'll stay out
until the killing case against Horse
Dunn IS cleared up, one way or
another. After that maybe III come
back to the "a and maybe III help
it with its finance; / don't say one
way or the other. But if you want
me out of it for the time being.
here's your chance"
There's hook In this some
place." Amos said. But I'll take a
chance. Horse Dunn's in the jai.
where he belongs. III take you there
and I'll give you an hour
The Inspiration jail was tiny, but
it was perhaps the most modern
thing in the town. 1t sat by itself
on rise of ground 200 yards be-
hind Walt Amos house, which was
the nearest dwelling.
In structure it was a 20-foot
square cube of concrete, with tiny
air holes near the roof, and an iron
door. Within was an inner cage of
steel bars, separated from the
outer shell, all the way around, by
corridor four feet wide The place
had no great capacity, but it would
have been double job for a good
cracksman to make his way out.
Old Man Coffee was reluctant to