none. She rip-r'ared right along, with a
steady flow of words, mostly adjectives. Finally she quit, an' she was
plumb white with anger. 'Quite through?' yore uncle asked with that
ice-cold voice of his. She asked him what he intended to do about a
settlement. 'Not a thing,' he told her. 'I did aim to give Hull two
thousand to get rid of him. But I've changed my mind, ma'am. You can
go whistle for it.'"

"Two thousand! Did he say two thousand?"

Kirby leaned forward eagerly.

"That's what he said. Two thousand," answered Olson.

"Then that explains why he drew so much from the bank that day."

"I had it figured out so. If the woman hadn't come at him with that
acid tongue of hers he'd intended to buy Hull off cheap. But she got
his gorge up. He wouldn't stand for her line of talk."

"What took place then?" the cattleman questioned.

"Still without rising from the chair, Cunningham ordered them to get
out. Hull was standin' kinda close to him. He had his back to me.
Cunningham reached out an' opened a drawer of the stand beside him.
The fat man took a step forward. I could see his gun flash in the
light. He swung it down on yore uncle's head an' the old man crumpled
up."

"So it was Hull killed him, after all," Kirby said, drawing a long
breath of relief.

Then, to his surprise when he thought about it later, a glitter of
malicious cunning lit the eyes of the rancher.

"That's what I'm tellin' you. It was Hull. I stood there an' saw just
what I've been givin' you."

"Was my uncle senseless then?"

"You bet he was. His head sagged clear over against the back of the
chair."

"What did they do then?"

"That's where I drop out. Mrs. Hull stepped straight to the window. I
crouched down back of the railin'. It was dark an' she didn't see me.
She pulled the blind down. I waited there awhile an' afterward there
was the sound of a shot. That would be when they sent the bullet
through the old man's brain."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't know what to do. I'd talked a lot of wild talk about how
Cunningham ought to be shot or strung up to a pole. If I went to the
police with my story, like enough they 'd light on me as the killer. I
milled the whole thing over. After a while I went into a public booth
downtown an' 'phoned to the police. You recollect maybe the papers
spoke about the man who called up headquarters with the news of
Cunningham's death."

"Yes, I recollect that all rig