“Uh-huh. Got a reputation, eh? Gun-man?”
“Nope; not exactly. But he’s shore sent a lot of gun-men down the trail. Didja notice them gray eyes of his? He looks plumb through yuh. If he ever asks yuh a question yuh better give him a square answer, Butch. Pity Kid Glover, if he ever comes back here again.”
“I guess that’s right,” nodded Butch. “Do yuh reckon old Rance will confess?”
“No! All hell can’t make him confess. And I don’t see how Merkle can convict him on the evidence. There’s not a thing, except that dead horse; and that ain’t no real evidence. Of course, I don’t know how the jury will look upon the fact that the saddle was recovered and the brands stripped off the dead horse. But they’ll never get that money back—not a bit of it.”
“I don’t think they ever will,” agreed Butch.
CHAPTER XV—ESCAPE
That night Jim Parker seemed unusually serious during supper. Lila noticed that he looked often at her, and there was a gloomy expression in his eyes. Lila knew Rance McCoy had been arrested, and she wondered if this had anything to do with Jim Parker’s demeanor.
Mrs. Parker noticed it too, and finally she asked him if he felt well.
“Well enough, mother,” he said slowly. “We had a meeting this afternoon—the school trustees.”
Lila lifted her head quickly and Jim Parker was looking at her.