“Now look at the picture again. See that calf? Looks like it just happened into the picture, like any of the calves on the range around the cabin, doesn’t it? Notice its feet? Just like it’s been hog-tied, and slipped its hind foot out of the knot, isn’t it? Look at the brand. Not like any brand hereabouts, is it?
“What’s that the man’s got in his hand? That’s right. It’s a running-iron. That’s what he dropped when he grabbed his gun. He must have recovered it after the murder, when he doused his fire and beat it. Take a look at the horse, now. He hasn’t got a star-face, like Pie-face, has he? And notice those white stockings. Never saw white stockings on Pie-face, did you?
“Now we’re getting down to cases. You’ve guessed most of the rest of it. The man’s the rustler that Fyffe surprised while he was working over that calf with the running-iron. Dressed like me. Did it intentional, too. If anyone saw him at a distance, they’d think it was me, and they’d never suspect anything. And he didn’t aim to let anyone see him close.
“Sheriff, you told Dad about old man Foster and Frog-legs Ferguson seeing me near the ranger cabin after the shooting, didn’t you? Well, I guess what they said was true enough. They thought they saw me. But I tell you, whom they saw was this man, dressed like me, and riding a horse that looks a lot like mine. Just what this brand-blotter had figured on.”
“But who,” interrupted Sterling Carr, “is the man in the picture? His face doesn’t show.”
Again Otis smiled.
“Look at the calf again,” he directed. “Now I’ll hide the top of that brand with my thumb. What’s the bottom of it look like?”
“By God!” Sterling Carr burst forth. “It’s the Footstool!”
“Yes,” Otis concurred. “And that part I’ve hidden with my thumb shows that one of the legs of the footstool had been extended with the running-iron, over the seat of the stool, doesn’t it? That leaves the changed brand only half complete.
“Now, what brand would result if he extended the other leg of the footstool until both legs met above the seat of the stool?”