Jane nodded, but did not look at her father.
“I’m goin’ to call a meetin’ of the Painted Valley folks,” said her father slowly. “They got to know what you heard Marsh tell Nolan that night in Marsh’s home, Jane. They’ve got to know that Blaze Nolan knows where the Lost Trail leaves this valley. We know now that Marsh aims to loot the valley, and that Nolan is his man.”
Jane shook her head quickly.
“We don’t know that, Dad,” she said. “We know what Marsh intends to do, but we don’t know what Blaze Nolan will do.”
“We know that Nolan will do as Marsh directs. Marsh got him out of the penitentiary, the damned murderer!”
Jane winced visibly.
“He could have held me for the police,” she said. “He thought Kendall Marsh was dead.”
“Scared of his own skin, Jane. The police don’t believe the word of a parolled murderer. I’ll send out word for the meeting, and we’ll decide what to do. And I believe,” the old man’s eyes hardened, “that when Painted Valley knows the truth about Blaze Nolan bein’ out on parole—it won’t be healthy for Mr. Nolan.”
“But, daddy,” she turned appealingly to him, “we don’t know that Blaze Nolan accepted Marsh’s proposition. Marsh did all the talking. Do you imagine that Kendall Marsh or anybody else could drive Blaze Nolan into doing a thing he didn’t want to do?”
“Would you protect Blaze Nolan, Jane?” harshly.