“I don’t recollect him mentionin’ it,” Walters replied. “Why have you passed yourself off for Doc Martin, anyway?”
“Shucks!” Rock said. “Everybody just naturally insisted on taking me for Doc. Miss Parke knew my name. I explained myself to Charlie Shaw as soon as I had a chance. I didn’t care much, one way or the other. I didn’t know anybody in this neck of the woods, barring the Seventy Seven. I fooled Elmer Duffy purposely, the first time I saw him, because I was kinda interested in trying to find out who killed Doc Martin, seeing I looked so much like him and was taking his place as a TL rider. Are you satisfied, or is there still something you’d like to know about?”
“Yes, I can see there’s been a mistake,” Walters said in a different tone. “You can’t blame us. We got it straight that Martin was standing in with some pretty bald-faced stealing. We’ve cleaned out his partners. I guess this settles it as far as you’re concerned. I’ll have to take Elmer’s word for it. He ought to know you, seein’ you killed his brother.”
It seemed to Rock that Walters raised his voice a trifle, and that he managed to impart a sneer into those words. Every man could hear. It seemed to Rock like a deliberate taunt, a barb purposely planted to rankle in Duffy’s skin. For a second there was silence. Elmer Duffy’s Adam’s apple slid nervously up and down his lean throat. His face flushed. Rock read the signs for himself. A few spiteful reminders like that, and Duffy would feel that he had to go gunning for his brother’s slayer. Buck Walters broke that strained hush. He lifted his hat to Nona.
“I’m sorry if this has been disagreeable,” he said politely. “But those Burris thieves incriminated your man Martin. He has been in with them on their rustling. We’ve lost a lot of stock. Maybe they didn’t overlook you. It’s as well Doc Martin has cashed in. We would certainly have hung him to the nearest cottonwood. We don’t reckon there’ll be any more trouble. I hope you don’t hold grudges,” he said, turning to Rock. “In our place you’d do the same. Nobody told us what happened to Martin. You passed for him. We got to protect our range. There’s only one way to deal with rustlers.”
He turned to his men with a wave of his hand.
“All right, boys,” he said. “You’ve heard the whole show, and we’re saved a nasty job. Ride on. We’ll catch up with you.”
Elmer Duffy muttered something, stepped down off the porch, and swung into his saddle, without a word or a look at Rock. Buck Walters stepped over beside Alice. She had listened, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Now she shrank away from Buck.
“Come on home with us, Al,” he said coaxingly.
“Go home with you!” Alice Snell shrilled. “I’ll never go on that ranch again till you’re off it for good, you blackhearted beast! If Doc Martin was murdered, I know who did it and why. I hate you—I hate you!”