They rode on, and Hashknife leaned against the stable, his mind working swiftly. Dead or alive!
“Oh, I was afraid of that,” he told himself.
He saddled his horse and went to the bunk-house, where he called to the boys.
“I’m goin’ to town,” he told them. “They just went past with that body. The man was shot at close range, and they’ll offer a reward for Joe Rich, dead or alive. I want to get a look at that body. Be back for supper, and for gosh sake, don’t let Peggy know what they said!”
Hashknife galloped away from the ranch, but did not try to overtake the sheriff and his party. They took the body straight to the doctor’s office. It happened that Doctor Curzon was the county coroner, and the case would require an inquest.
But the sheriff and his party did not stay more than fifteen m
