“This ain’t any old sake’s sake,” was her answer. “It’s just fair play an’ justice.”
“Ah! That’s different. Fair play and justice are complicated things to meddle with.” The governor shook his head.
“You bet I’m learnin’ that,” was Mrs. Hallard’s reply. “But they ain’t nothin’ much complicated about this business. It oughter be plain cuttin’ out an’ ridin’ off.”
“Were n’t you District Attorney when Dan Lundy was killed, Dave?” she asked, suddenly.
The governor started, glancing quickly at his interrogator. Then he was silent for a moment, staring thoughtfully at a map of Arizona on the wall back of Mrs. Hallard’s chair.
“Lord; that’s what I was!” he finally said with a sigh. “I don’t like to talk about it,” he added.
“Why not?”
“From your bringing the matter up I guess you know why not,” Marden frowned, as over some painful memory. “I reckon you’ve got some idea how it was,” he continued. “I did my duty as I saw it; but we bagged the wrong man, and I’ve never been able to feel happy about it.”
“Then it was true about Jim Texas confessin’?”
“Yes. He confessed when he was dying, but it didn’t do the other poor fellow any good. He was dead already.” The governor sighed again.... “I told you justice and fair play were ticklish things to handle,” he said.