The iron door was supplemented with a
wooden one, which halted the glances of the curious. The windows were
high, thus insuring further privacy; the hard adobe floor was clean, and
the bunk in which Lawler lay when the dawn came was as comfortable as
might have been expected.
Moreton had come in just before daylight, solicitous, concerned, eager
to lessen the discomforts of his prisoner. Back of the apology in his
voice was a note of rage:
"It goes ag'in' the grain to keep you here, Lawler," he said when he
closed the door after entering; "but I'm goin' to bring this case to a
showdown today, an' don't you forget it!"
But the sheriff did not bring the case up that day. A little later he
provided Lawler with breakfast, and toward noon he opened the door to
ask Lawler how he was getting along. On the occasion of this visit he
told Lawler he was trying to locate Warden, but so far hadn't been
successful.
"An' I ain't found that Wharton woman, either!" he declared. "I'm
sendin' a man out to the Two Diamond for both of them, an' if they ain't
in town to appear ag'in' you by night I'm goin' to turn you loose--an'
be damned to them!"
It seemed to Lawler that only an hour or so had elapsed when the key
grated in the lock of the door and Moreton stuck his head in.
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