B M Bower

Jean of the Lazy A B M Bower

"Lucky you was with me all day, up to four o'clock, Lite," Jim said. "That lets you out slick andclean, seeing the doctor claims he'd been dead six hours when he seen him last night. Crofty-why, Crofty was laying in there dead when I was talking about him to you! Kinda gives a man the creepsto think of it. Who do you reckon done it, Lite?""How'n hell do I know?" Lite retorted irritably. "I didn't see it done."Jim studied awhile, an ear cocked for the signal that the coroner was ready to begin the inquest."Say," he leaned over and whispered in Lite's ear, "where was Aleck at, all day yesterday?""Riding over in the bend, looking for black-leg signs," said Lite promptly. "Packed a lunch, sameas I did."The answer seemed to satisfy Jim and to eliminate from his mind any slight suspicion he mayhave held, but Lite had a sudden impulse to improve upon his statement."I saw Aleck ride into the ranch as I was coming home," he said. As he spoke, his face lightenedas with a weight lifted from his mind. Later, when the coroner questioned him about his movements and the movements of Aleck, Lite repeated the lie as casually as possible. It might have carried more weight with the jury if AleckDouglas himself had not testified, just before then, that he had returned about three o'clock to theranch and pottered around the corral with the mare and colt, and unsaddled his horse before goinginto the house at all. It was only when he had discovered Johnny Croft's horse at the haystack, hesaid, that he began to wonder where the rider could be. He had gone to the house-and found himon the kitchen floor. Lite had not heard this statement, for the simple reason that, being a closely interested person, he had been invited to remain outside while Aleck Douglas testified. He wondered why the jury, -men whom he knew and had known for years, most of them, -looked at one another so queerlywhen he declared that he had seen Aleck ride home. The coroner also had given him a queer look, but he had not made any comment. Aleck, too, had turned his head and stared at Lite in a waywhich Lite preferred to think he had not under