“Then why,” interrogated Otis, “why do you believe in me?”
Mariel shrugged. “Woman’s intuition, I suppose. And in this case that means something that the law doesn’t consider. That’s character. Somehow, Otis, I can’t conceive of a man of your character doing such a thing, and doing it in such a way.”
“Mariel, you’re the first, and the only one of my friends who has shown that much faith in me. Hasn’t it occurred to you that you might be mistaken in your estimate of me?”
Mariel stamped her foot. “I haven’t even asked you if you did it,” she announced, eyes flashing. “And what’s more, I don’t intend to. I know you didn’t. That’s why I left the ranch before dawn to come out here to the ranger station. I’m going to prove that you didn’t. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I will.”
Otis longed to pour out the flood of heartfelt appreciation that swelled up within him. But, untrained in the use of such phrases, his lips failed him. He could only stammer, “Th-thanks, Mariel,” as he reddened beneath her direct gaze. But his eyes told her more of the feelings that surged within him than his words could express.
“As a matter of fact,” he went on awkwardly, “that’s just why I came back here. That is, I mean that I came to search for some clue that might lead me to the discovery of the real murderer. And, like you, I don’t know just what it is, but if it’s here I mean to find it.”
He went on, sketching briefly for her the incidents of the discovery of the murdered ranger and his arrest, touching lightly upon his escape from the flood, and ending with a condensed version of his rescue from the jail.
“Now, let’s reason this thing calmly,” Mariel began in a businesslike tone when he had finished. “First, what could have been the motive for the murder?”
“I don’t know,” Otis admitted frankly, “unless it could be the same motive they’ve charged to me—that is, the natural enmity of the cattle man toward the Government ranger. No one, so far as I know, had any personal grudge against Joe Fyffe. He kept pretty much to himself, and never quarreled with anyone here, except possibly when some of the ranchers protested at the necessity of applying to the Government for a grazing-permit. His spare time was spent mostly in the pursuit of his hobby, which was wild-animal photography.”