esses."

"What of your ranch? Your political nomination?"

"I withdrew from the latter; that was one of the terms made by Gordon
on which they were to help me escape instead of turning me over for
prosecution. And my ranch and cattle, I had to deed them over to the
four men too."

"Then their friendship wasn't disinterested," Steele said quickly,
with suspicion dawning on his face.

"They weren't really friends, I knew that."

"How were they to arrange your escape?"

The senior Weir seemed to shudder at the question.

"By bribing the sheriff and county attorney. I was then to leave the
country at once, never showing my face again, or I should be arrested.
I was still half dazed by whiskey and terror; I took your mother and
you and fled this far, when my money gave out. So here I've remained
ever since, for here I could hide and here was her grave."

"What's the last thing you remember of the circumstance previous to
learning Dent was dead?" he asked.

"Ah, though I had been drinking I can remember clearly up to the time
I stopped playing poker with Jim and the four men, for we were losing
and I felt they were working a crooked deal on us somehow. I asked Jim
to quit also, for though I hadn't lost much he was losing fast and
playing recklessly. But he wouldn't drop out of the game, and when
Vorse and Sorenson cursed me and said for me to mind my own business I
went back to a table near the rear door and laid my head on my arms
and went to sleep. When I was awake again, Vorse and Gordon were
holding me up by their table and Jim was dead on the floor. I had come
forward, they said, begun a big row with Dent and finally shot him."

"Then the only witnesses were these four men who were gambling with
him, who cursed you when you attempted to persuade him to drop his
cards," Steele proceeded, "one of whom was your political adversary,
men who were old-timers and opposed to new-comers, who pretended to be
your friends but took your ranch and cattle. It begins to look to me
as if they not only killed your friend Dent but double-crossed you in
the bargain. Did you look in your gun afterwards?"

"No. I was sick with the horror of the accusation, I tell you, Steele.
I had no way to deny it; it seemed indeed as if I must have killed
him. And from that day until this I've never had the courage of soul
to reload my pistol, or even clean it. It hangs there on the wall with
the very shells, two empty, the rest unfired, that