l, and that Aleck had not fired the shot in
the grip of a sudden, overwhelming rage against Croft. By Aleck's own
statement he had been at the ranch some time before he had started for
town to report the murder. By the word of several witnesses, it had
been proven that Croft had left town meaning to collect wages which he
claimed were due him or else he would "get even." His last words to a
group out by the hitching pole in front of the saloon which was
Johnny's hangout, were: "I'm going to get what's coming to me, or
there'll be one fine, large bunch of trouble!" He had not mentioned
Aleck Douglas by name, it is true; but the fact that he had been found
at the Lazy A was proof enough that he had referred to Aleck when he
spoke.

There is no means of knowing just how far-reaching was the effect of
that impulsive lie which Lite had told at the inquest. He did not
repeat the blunder at the trial. When the district attorney reminded
Lite of the statement he had made, Lite had calmly explained that he
had made a mistake; he should have said that he had seen Aleck ride
away from the ranch instead of to it. Beyond that he would not go,
question him as they might.

The judge sentenced Aleck to eight years, and publicly regretted the
fact that Aleck had persisted in asserting his innocence; had he
pleaded guilty instead, the judge more than hinted, the sentence would
have been made as light as the law would permit. It was the stubborn
denial of the deed in the face of all reason, he said, that went far
toward weaning from the prisoner what sympathy he would otherwise have
commanded from the public and the court of justice.

You know how those things go. There was nothing particularly out of
the ordinary in the case; we read of such things in the paper, and a
paragraph or two is considered sufficient space to give so commonplace
a happening.

But there was Lite, loyal to his last breath in the face of his secret
belief that Aleck was probably guilty; loyal and blaming himself
bitterly for hurting Aleck's cause when he had meant only to help.
There was Jean, dazed by the magnitude of the catastrophe that had
overtaken them all; clinging to Lite as to the only part of her home
that was left to her, steadfastly refusing to believe that they would
actually take her dad away to prison, until the very last minute when
she stood on the crowded depot platform and watched in dry-eyed misery
while the train slid away and bore