Carbon County news., 1937-10-22
ny
ALAN

Coffee retorted. Rock quit cold
wouldn't work no more. But tool
and unraveled the other trail by
hand" He stepped out onto the gal
1ery and came back with the saddle
which he now threw down among
them in a tangle Of broken strap
page. There" he said casually,
''is the death saddle you was in.
quiring after"
Billy Wheeler heard Marian's
breath jerk through her teeth. Ir
the failing light her eyes looked sur.
prisingly dark.
"Good Lord!" said Dunn. How'd
you lay hands on that?"
''Why, followed the trail Of the
dead mans horse, until I come to
the place he rolled loose from it.
How'd you suppose?"
Horse Dunn had dropped to his
knees beside the saddle. None OF
them had realized how deep the
room was in twilight until it was
frightened by the flare of the match
he struck. For a long moment
Horse Dunn studied the old worn
leather, until the flame burned to
his finger tips and went out. He
stood up slowly. ''You know that
saddle?"
''No," said Wheeler. ''Do you?"
Behind Horse Dunn's shaggy face
the muscles were stiffening slowly,
so that although his features re-
manned in some sense mask, his
eyes presently began to gleam with
the white heat of the anger which
he could not repress. eyes," he
said.
Yet he did not Immediately an
swer their unspoken question. He
turned to the window again, and for
little while stood looking out as if
he could not yet trust himself to
speak. Out behind the barns, Cof-
fees FIVE other hounds were churn-
ing the quiet twilight with mourn
full belIowings, and for little while
they all seemed to be listening to
that. Then Marian got up and went
quietly from the room, and for once
her uncle seemed glad to have her
60. g. ::4@$
s.Here they're setting out to put
the hooks to me-" Horse Dunn said
at last hunting q strangle holt on
my brand. And it's a shameful
thing that this should come onto us
because somebody rubbed out may
be the: most wortlsless-echaracter
that ever rode the Red Hills range. "
''You know the narne?" said Old
Man Coffee. @-sI @%5
Whats his name matter?" Horse
Dunn exploded. Ellis name was Lon
Magoon--and what of it? "A cow
thief-in a small, cheap way. He'd
60 around on different ranges, and
he'd steal a beef here, and another
there; skin 'em and sell 'em to
some butcher hundred miles away
for half price,"
:. Horse" said Coffee, ''who would
have killed this MANI"
'tAnybody!" Horse Dunn roared.
"Any cownan with enough CUTS to
rub out a cow thief! / ought to've
killed him myself last time I caught
him with the carcass Of d "a cow!"
''Did you know he was operating
on this ranger"
whats the difference If / did or
not? We know it now. Billy, you
take that saddle, and kick it under
my bunk"
''You better turn it in to the sher-
if, Horse" Coffee said. you'll be
suppressing evidence if you keep it
here"
Damned if I will" Horse Dunn
said. "All they want is to hang
this thing on the 94-on me. You
think / called you in to help 'em?
No, by God!"
Tulare Callahan was small man,
very wiry, with a cheerfuIly hard
face. He had relieved Steve Hur-
ley, who for three days had kept
an eye on the state Of affairs at the
county seat of Inspiration. and he
now came roaring into the "a lay
out in Horse Dunn's heavy old tour
ing car. He was grinning with the
delight Of an action-hungry man
who smells smoke at last.