“Did the old man tell you anything?” War demanded.
“We learned everything,” Craig Warner said, taking up the story. “It’s a bit fantastic, but understandable if you know Joe’s type as I do. As a very young man, he chanced upon the Headless Hollow area.”
“About the time Old Stony and your father found gold there?” Jack commented.
“Yes, even as a young man, Joe wasn’t right in his mind. He suffered hallucinations and had obsessions. To make it short, poor Joe thought that the valley and the gold belonged to him and that my father and Stony were intruders. He spied on them and even shot my father. Then he fled.”
“Did Hansart himself make that confession?” Ken demanded.
“Yes, and I think it’s the truth,” the rancher replied. “As I said, Joe’s mind was clear at the end. I doubt if Joe ever knew Old Stony was blamed for my father’s death.”
“What about the caches of gold?” War interposed eagerly.
“Joe found them. He moved the ore to the mouth of the mine. Over the years, at remote places, he sold just enough to keep him in supplies. You see, he thought he had found one of the richest mines in the state and was afraid word would leak out.”
“Didn’t he ever file a claim?” Ken inquired.
“He filed several, but improperly. As soon as we hit town, I checked on that. I’ve filed one of my own now. Not that it matters much.”