For Caldwell an' his outfit wouldn't touch 'em. When I left, to
come an' tell you--thinkin' you was in jail--Caldwell an' his boys was
plantin' our fellows, an' takin' Blackburn and the three others to the
Hamlin shack!"
He looked hard at Lawler, noted the paleness of the man's face, and then
spoke less excitedly, and with deep regret in his voice.
"Lawler, I hate to tell you this. After I seen what happened to our
boys, I rode this way, intendin' to tell you. The trail took me past the
Hamlin shack. I wasn't intendin' to stop, but it seems like they heard
me comin' an' run out to see what was up.
"It was your mother stopped me, Lawler--smiling kind of grim--like she
always smiles when things go wrong.
"'Shorty,' she says; 'you go directly to town and find Kane. You know
he's in jail, for I told you so last night. Tell Sheriff Moreton to
release him; and then tell Kane that Antrim has stolen all the Circle L
cattle and has burned all the Circle L buildings. Tell him that Antrim
himself burned the buildings, and that Antrim said he would wait for
Kane at Antrim's shack--and that he dared Kane to come there for him.
'Shorty,' she said, cold an' ca'm; 'you tell Kane to get out of jail and
go to Antrim's cabin, and kill him!'"
Lawler had sat, grim and silent, listening to Shorty.
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