They shoved in past Hashknife and found Noah on a bed in the living-room, with the doctor bandaging him with yards of cloth, while Nan stood beside the bed, assisting him.
Noah tried to smile, but it was an effort.
‘Don’t ask him to talk,’ warned the doctor. ‘He’s been hurt badly. Have you something we can take him to town in, boys?’
‘Got a hack,’ said Lem. ‘But we’ve got a dead man in the bottom of it. Who knows what happened here?’
‘Nobody,’ said Sleepy quickly. ‘Noah went out on the front porch, just kinda lookin’ around, and somebody potted him from the brush. We heard the shot, and Noah came clear back in here before he fell. By the time we got over the shock and got outside, there wasn’t anybody in sight. Anyway, it was too dark to see. I reckon they saw him against the light of the doorway.’
‘Where was the girl and that young feller?’ asked Dave Morgan.
‘Right in here with me.’
‘Who are you?’ asked Joe Cave.
Sleepy considered Joe gravely.
‘You ought to study law, pardner. I think I’ll object to that, as bein’ a leadin’ question, irrelevant, immaterial, and having no bearing upon the case.’