ch the automobile until the arrival of the sheriff, as
the murder had happened outside of Government jurisdiction, and the
local authorities were jealous of their rights. The murder had been done
close to the brow of a low hill. The gently rolling prairie stretched to
a creek on one side, and to interminable distance on the other. There
was a carpet of green grass in both directions, dotted with clumps of
sagebrush. It had rained a few days before--the last rain of many, it
chanced--and there were damp spots in the road in places and the grass
and the sage were fresh in color. Meadow-larks were trilling, and the
whole scene was one of peace--provided the beholder could blot out the
memory of the tenantless clay stretched out upon clay.

In a few minutes Sheriff Tom Redmond and a deputy arrived in an
automobile from White Lodge. They were followed by Bill Talpers, in the
saddle.

Redmond was a tall, square-shouldered cattleman, who still clung to the
rough garb and high-heeled boots of the cowpuncher, though he seldom
used any means of travel but the automobile. Western winds, heated by
fiery Western suns, had burned his face to the color of saddle-leather.
His eyebrows were shaggy and light-colored, and Nature's bleaching
elements had reduced a straw-colored mustache to a discouraging
nondescript tone.

"Looks like an Injun job, Lowell, don't it?" asked Redmond, as his sharp
eyes took in the situation in darting glances.

"Isn't it a little early to come to that conclusion?" queried the agent.

"There ain't no other conclusion to come to," broke in Talpers, who had
joined the group in an inspection of the scene. "Look at them pony
tracks--all Injun."

Talpers was broad--almost squat of figure. His complexion was brick red.
He had a thin, curling black beard and mustache. He was one of the men
to whom alkali is a constant poison, and his lips were always cracked
and bleeding. His voice was husky and disagreeable, his small eyes
bespoke the brute in him, and yet he was not without certain qualities
of leadership which seemed to appeal particularly to the Indians. His
store was headquarters for the rough and idle element of the
reservation. Also it was the center of considerable white trade, for it
was the only store for miles in either direction, and in addition was
the general post-office.

Knowing of Talpers's friendliness for the rebellious element among the
Indians, Lowell looked at the trader in surprise.