Angel did not like the idea of Lila living with the Parker family, because of the fact that he and Jim Parker had never been friends. Angel had never mentioned marriage to Lila since the day they had talked with Billy DuMond. In fact, he had seen little of her.
No one had asked Lila why she had left the Circle Spade, and it seemed that many thought it was because she was merely starting out to make her own way in the world. No hint of the suspicions against Angel McCoy had come to her ears. She did not know that Angel had written to the sheriff of Medicine Tree, seeking information of what had happened to Jim Stevens years ago.
Quite a number of the Red Arrow cowboys had looked with favor upon Lila McCoy, but none of them had summoned up enough nerve to visit her at Parker’s home, except Slim Caldwell, the sheriff. He had known Lila for years, and came to congratulate her on her new job. It took him from eight o’clock to midnight to offer his congratulations, much to the amusement of Jim Parker, who sat with them all that time in the living-room. Slim resolved to get even with Jim at the first opportunity. And Jim Parker added insult to injury when he told Chuck Ring about it.
Chuck’s version was rather wonderful.
“And there they sat, all night long; Lila asleep in her chair, and Slim and Jim glarin’ at each other until about five o’clock in the mornin’, when Slim went to sleep. Jim wakes Lila up and she goes to her room, and Jim goes to bed. Slim didn’t wake up until Mrs. Parker starts gettin’ breakfast, and then he sneaks out.”
But he came again, and though nobody knew what had happened, Jim Parker let Lila and Slim strictly alone.
All of which did not set so well with Angel McCoy. He was in the proper frame of mind to take Chuck’s version without reservations. Things were going worse with Angel. He had kept only one dealer, and was thinking seriously of cutting him off the payroll of the Eagle.
And it was about this time that Lila heard Jim Parker talking to another man about Angel McCoy. They were discussing the business at the Eagle, and Parker remarked that Angel had no one to blame except himself.
“You know what they’re sayin’,” said Parker. “He took twenty-five hundred away from old Rance McCoy, and some of the boys say it was a crooked deal. I never heard the old man say a word about it—but he wouldn’t.”
“I guess it was a crooked deal all right,” agreed the other man. “Doesn’t seem to be any secret.”