Hashknife walked to the door and looked up the street. He saw Lila enter Barker’s store.
“I think I need some tobacco,” he said, and left the office. Slim watched him out of the door, and saw him join Lila. He started to follow him, but decided not to.
He met Lila at the store entrance. She was taking some packages down to Parker’s house; so he walked along with her.
“Things are breakin’ kinda bad for yuh, ain’t they?” asked Hashknife.
Lila nodded. It seemed to Hashknife as though she did not want to talk about it.
“You heard about DuMond’s death?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do yuh think Rance McCoy killed him?”
“Not if he was murdered, as they say he was. Rance McCoy would have killed him in a fair fight.”
“They think Chuckwalla took him out of jail.”