Overton! At the name her very heart grew cold within her. Had he not
threatened he would kill the man who visited her at night? Had he come
straight to the cabin after leaving her? Had he kept his word? Had he--
"I think Overton left camp after supper--started for the lake," answered
some one.
"Well, we'll do our best to get it straight without him, then. Some of you
see what time it is. This man has been dead about a half hour. Mr. Lyster,
you had better write down all about it; and, if any one here has any
information to give, let him have it."
His eyes were on the girl's face, but she said nothing, and he bent to
wipe off the stain from the dead man's face. Some one brought water, and
in a little while was revealed the decidedly handsome face of a man about
forty-five years old.
"Do any of you know him?" asked the miner, who, by circumstance, appeared
to have been given the office of speaker--"look--all of you."
One after another the men approached, but shook their heads; until an old
miner, gray-haired and weather-beaten, gave vent to a half-smothered oath
at sight of him.
"Know him?" he exclaimed. "Well, I do, though it's five years since I saw
him. Heavens! I'd rather have found him alive than dead, though, for there
is a standing reward offered for him by two States. Why, it's the
card-sharper, horse-thief and renegade--Lee Holly!"
"But who could have killed him?"
"That is Overton's knife," said one of the men.
"But Overton had not had it since noon," said 'Tana, speaking for the
first time in explanation. "I borrowed it then."
"You borrowed it? For what?"
"Oh--I forget. To cut a stick with, I think."
"You think. I'm sorry to speak rough to a lady, miss but this is a time
for knowing--not thinking."
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Lyster.
The man looked at him squarely.
"Nothing to offend innocent folks," he answered. "A murder has been done
in this lady's room, with a knife she acknowledges she has had possession
of. It's natural enough to question her first of all."
The color had crept into her face once more. She knew what the man meant,
and knew that the longer they looked on her with suspicion, the more time
Overton would have to escape. Then, when they learned they were on a false
scent, it would be late--too late to start after him. She wished he had
taken the money and the gold. She shuddered as she thought him a
murderer--the murderer of that man; but, with what skill she could, she
would keep them off his track.
Her thoughts ran fast, and a half smile touched her lips. Even with that
dead body at her feet, she was almost happy at the hope of saving him. The
others noticed it, and looked at her in wonder. Lyster said:
"You are right. But Miss Rivers could know nothing of this. She has been
with us since the moon rose, and that is more than a half-hour."
"No, only fifteen minutes," said one of the men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account