Chapter 16Lawyer Bacon wasted no time in gathering information to prove that I both read and wrote fluently to counter the claim I’d signed Pindleton’s bill of sale with a crude X. He also filed affidavits from such people as Caleb Brown and the local banker where I had an account. He intended to contact Thurlo Tussler, the Hagstone brothers, and Timo Bowers to testify to my veracity, as well.
In the meanwhile, I puzzled over who could have claimed to be me by placing a mark on a document witnessed by a third party. Clearly it had to be a tribesman. At least, Philby Parson’s confusion when examining Ethan and me led to that conclusion. Despite his domicile at the Pindleton and Hume Cattle Company, the surveyor had struck me as a decent man. Of course, appearances can be deceiving, but I l
