“The boy has told you who killed Will Henderson,” Jim answered at once. “I can’t, because I didn’t see him killed. I’ll tell you the part I had in the affair. It’s not pretty.” He paused, but went on almost at once. “I happened along to Mrs. Henderson’s house directly I came in to town. I had news for her. You know the news. Will had escaped.”
“Yes,” cried Smallbones, unable to keep silent longer, “because you helped him, an’ bluffed the Doc. Oh, I’m wise to you.”
“You look wise to a good deal,” retorted Jim, with a cold smile. Then without further concern he went on with his story. “I came to her house and found her 398 bound and gagged. Will had not long left her. She told me what had happened, that he had gone off to kill Elia, and I rode out at once to the bluff. I found Will kicking the life out of the poor boy. I jumped from my horse and hit him with my fist. I frankly admit I desired to kill him, and my whole intent was in that blow. He fell to the ground with his jaw badly smashed, and––and I was glad. I left him there and looked to Elia. He was in a pretty bad way, but he did not seem so bad as I now realize he must have been. However, when I saw that I had been in time to save him, my anger began to pass, and I felt I could not leave the wretched man lying there with his wound dripping, and––well, I thought I’d better do what I could for him. So I sent Elia over to my horse––I intended that he should ride home––while I fixed Will’s face up some.
“Well, I had nothing much to do it with except my handkerchiefs,” he went on, “so I knelt down beside him, took out my sheath-knife and ripped up my white handkerchief into a bandage and folded my neck-scarf into a pad, and bound it on his broken jaw. Then I got up, and now I know I must have left my knife on the ground beside him. I didn’t know it at the time. Anyway, I left him and went back to my horse expecting to find Elia. But he was not there. I was alarmed at once, and began to search round for him, calling at the same time. You see, I thought he’d maybe collapsed somewhere near by. But I got no answer, and so circling round and round I again came to where Will Henderson was lying. At first I didn’t notice anything, it was fairly dark; then, of a sudden, I saw he was lying on his back, where before he had been on his side. The next thing was that I realized the 399 bandages were off his face. Then, as I knelt down beside him again, I found that––other. My knife was sticking up in his chest. Then I knew the reason of Elia’s absence, and––what he had done.”
Jim ceased speaking, and presently his eyes sought Eve’s face with a look of trouble in their dark depths. He had wanted to spare her all this, and now––
The doctor’s voice was questioning him.
“And you come right into the village, wher’ your flavor was mighty strong, to tell us he was dead?” he asked almost incredulously.
Jim shrugged. All eyes were upon him, silently echoing their leader’s question.
“Why not?” he said. “I hadn’t killed him. Besides, what else was there to do? The evidence was damning anyway. And I sure couldn’t run away. I guessed I’d best trust to circumstances. Y’see my last words to Mrs. Henderson were a threat to kill her husband––if he’d killed Elia.”
The doctor shook his head.