to San
Bernardino. Casey was in jail, naturally; but he didn't care much
about that so long as he owned a head with an air-drill going inside.
At least, that is what he told me when I was let in to see him. I was
working to get him out of there on bail if possible before I sent word
to the Little Woman, hoping she had not read the papers. I had some
trouble piecing the facts together and trying to get the straight of
things before I sent word to the Little Woman. I went out and got him
some medicine guaranteed, by the doctor who wrote the prescription, to
take the hoot out of the hootch Casey had swallowed. That afternoon
Casey left off glaring at me, sat up, accepted a cigarette and
consented to talk.

"--an' all I got to say is, Barney Oakes is a liar an' the father uh
liars. I never was in cahoots with him at no time. When he says I got
'im to foller a Joshuay palm jest to git 'im out in the hills an' kill
'im off, he lies. Let 'im come an' tell me that there story!"

Casey was still slightly abnormal, I noticed, so I calmed him as best I
could and left him alone for a time. There was some hesitancy about
the bail, too, which I wished to overcome. Throwing that half-stick of
dynamite might be construed as an attempt at wholesale murder. I did
not want the county officials to think too long and harshly about the
matter.

I explained later to Casey that Barney Oakes had reported his
disappearance to the officials in Barstow. The sheriff's office had
long suspected a nest of moonshiners somewhere near Black Butte, and it
was rumored that one Mart Hanson, who owned a mine up there, was
banking more money than was reasonable, these hard times, for a miner,
who ships no ore. Casey's disappearance had crystallized the
suspicions into an immediate investigation. And Barney's assertion
that Casey had been murdered took the coroner along with the posse.

It had all been straight and fairly simple until they reached the mine
and discovered Casey uproariously one of the gang. Throwing loaded
dynamite at sheriffs is frowned upon nowadays in the best official
circles, I told Casey; he would have to explain that in court, I was
afraid.

Then Barney, after Casey had kicked him in the chin, had reversed his
first report of the trouble and was now declaiming to all who would
listen that he had been decoyed to Black Butte by Casey Ryan and there
ambushed and nearly killed. Casey, as Barney now interpreted the
inci