‘Dead, is he?’ gritted Joe Cave.
‘You’re lucky not to be with him,’ said Spike nervously.
‘Like hell, I am! Why didn’t he live long enough to tell the truth? Nobody will believe me. Dave killed Pete. I was out there with him.[’]
‘He didn’t go to kill him; he went to borrow money. I wasn’t even in the house. He wouldn’t lend Dave money; so Dave killed him. I don’t know how Hartley knows so damn much about it. Dave wanted to lay the blame on Lane; so we took the body there. We didn’t know who that kid was, but Dave said to take him along.[’]
‘I shot Noah Evans by mistake. Dave promised to give me this saloon for helpin’ him. He wanted to git rid of that tenderfoot, and yesterday we had a quarrel about it. I was afraid he’d kill me, as soon as I done his dirty work. I shot the kid’s horse on the grade, and I swiped the rug, jist before I shot through the winder. And that’s all the truth.’
‘And Dave Morgan robbed Pete’s safe, didn’t he?’ asked Spike.
‘Sure did. He was worried about a will. He thought old Briggs knowed too much so he waylaid Briggs on the Coyote Cañon grade. But Briggs fell into the cañon.’
‘What did you go down there for to-day?’ asked Hashknife.
‘To see what happened. I know that cañon like a book.’
‘And you choked Briggs?’