“He’ll have to prove it, Bill.”
“What’ll we do, Bill?” asked one of the men anxiously.
“What became of Mac?” asked another.
“Mac got killed,” said Hashknife. “A man named Boomer Bates shot and killed Mac. Bates is dead, too.”
“Well, for the love of ——!” exploded a sheepman. “What did Boomer Bates shoot MacLeod for?”
“Mistook him for somebody else, I reckon. Were they friends?”
“Well, mebbe they wasn’t friends, but they wasn’t enemies. Mac didn’t even know Bates, I don’t think.”
“And what in —— is Bates doin’ over in this country?” wondered Bill Steen.
No one seemed to know just why Bates might be in Lo Lo Valley.
“There’s a lot of things I don’t sabe,” observed Steen, “and one of ’em is this: Why did you fellers ride plumb up here to tell us that Eph King is in jail?”