[CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR]
SNOWBALL TESTIFIES
"My, my, are you getting all this down in shorthand?" Maw leaned over and whispered to Marge—being of course obliged to look up, as a child must do.
"No," Marge whispered back, "it's too tiresome. I'm only making a few notes of funny people here. The trial itself is commonplace; hopelessly commonplace. I never saw such a tame crowd—and to think it's right in the West!"
"Tame, did you say?" Bonnie, on the other side, had caught the word. "I wonder what you're used to, Marge." She glanced across to where Butch Cassidy stood leaning against the wall with his hat dangling from his left hand, his arms folded—with his right hand hidden, Bonnie observed—and she smiled to herself.
Those tame persons most concerned did not consider the trial a commonplace affair. Palmer's lawyer was earning his money, and Palmer had reached the point where he could lean back in his chair and look the jurymen in the eye—though a close observer would have noticed that he avoided the judge's cold gaze. It had been proven beyond a doubt that Palmer had no visible connection with the murder and robbery. The facts so far as known were in his favor, and his testimony, given calmly under the adroit questioning of his counsel, brought to the attention of the jury many points which, though ruled out after sputters of argument between the lawyers, nevertheless carried their weight, just as was intended. Melrose was a clever man.
For instance, Palmer was not stopped before he had stated that he knew nothing whatever of the bank money being hidden on the ledge in his pasture. He had chosen to use a certain secluded niche in the rocks as a natural safe, he said. He had never placed much confidence in Delkin's bank and did not like to keep his last cent there. Something might happen. He had stored away six thousand dollars in powder kegs, just in case of need. He had not visited the place for a month. No, he did not go often to see if his money was safe. Nothing could bother it unless some one stole it, and he had felt sure that no one knew of the hiding place.
Yes, he understood that the bank's money and papers had been found there. He could not account for that, except that Bat Johnson and Ed White had discovered the place and had hidden the money there because it was the safest spot they could find. Well, although he had trusted them, he guessed if they knew he had six thousand dollars hidden away in there his life wouldn't be any too safe. He had no theory, except that if they were in a hurry they could have overlooked his money sacks. He admitted that was unlikely, and repeated that he believed he would have been killed if he had gone there before they removed the money.
Yes, he had been told that the money—his money—was gone. He thought that those who took away the bank money should be held responsible for his six thousand dollars. They may not have taken it, but they certainly knew it was there, whereas he had no idea that the bank's money had been secreted on his ranch in the very place where he had stored money of his own.