n I sneaked up to your window
after watching you and Miss Jessie go out to the corral, and making
sure that the boy was asleep. I opened the window, got the book that,
I made sure, was the Bible that I had seen put on the window ledge
that morning, and started back toward my horse. But I'd forgot one
thing, I'd forgot about the dog. He didn't forget himself, though; he
came round the corner after me and I had to leg it like scat. I had
studied some about him earlier in the day; enough so that I had
thrown a piece of poisoned meat near the upper trail. Not seeing
anything of him in the evening I never thought of him again until I
felt him a-holt of my coat-tail, for he caught up with me in a minute.
I do'no how it would 'a' come out between us, but jest then while I
was pulling up the hill and he was pulling back for all he was worth,
we come to the meat, stumbled over it, in fact. The dog let go my
coat--he's young, I reckon--" the victim interpolated, impartially;
"an old dog wouldn't 'a' give up his game for such a thing as
that--and stopped to sniff the meat. That give me time to reach my
horse, but he come tearing after me like a whole pack o' bloodhounds.
After I was fairly in the saddle, though, I didn't hear anything more
of the dog. I 'lowed that he'd given up and gone back, or else that
he'd swallered the meat and the poison had got in its work. I
rode down along the ravine, feeling good. As I said, I'd planned
it out beforehand. I knew jest what I was going to do with the
Bi--dictionary. I didn't 'low to plumb destroy it. I 'lowed that when
it was too late for it to be of any use to you--that is, after I'd
entered the claim--I'd see to it that it accidentally come to light
again. I didn't want to plumb destroy it," he repeated apologetically.

I made no comment, and Mr. Horton, plucking a pine branch, began
divesting it of its needles with fingers that shook a little in spite
of himself as he proceeded:

"I'd made up my mind to hide the Bi--dictionary in the old shack here
until it was time to bring it to light again. When I got to that break
in the canyon wall, down here, I put the horse up the break and rode to
the shack, and then--I made a mistake." He paused to silently review
this mistake, then continued: "Instead of dismounting and carefully
covering the book with the leaves, as I'd ought to 'a' done, I jest
slung it into the shack, letting it fall where it would. I heard it
fall, soft like, on the lea