“Uh-huh. Guess I’ll call up the Opaco operator and see what she’s got to say about this here Brown call.”
The sheriff returned presently from the telephone.
“She says the call was from Harry Brown, bookkeeper for Mangan-Hatton. It was charged to Squawtooth Ranch.”
“Mr. Brown’s the bookkeeper at Mangan-Hatton’s,” Mrs. Ehrhart told him. “But he wasn’t here yesterday. If he was, he come right in and phoned, and I didn’t see him. He phones every day or so, but he always knocks and comes and pays me for the call.”
“Uh-huh—I see. Any strangers here?”
“Only the two men with Mr. Demarest and Mr. Spruce.”
“What’d they look like, ma’am?”
“Well, one of ’em was Mr. Demarest’s driver. He was——”
“The other un, please, ma’am?”
“A slim, black-lookin’ fella with a little pointed black mustache. He——”