Tesno herded the riderless horses through town to the livery barn. He
briefly questioned the attendant, then rode back down the street. He
intended to go at once to Vickers' camp; but in front of the marshal's
office, a thing happened that changed his mind.
The freighters were unloading the canvas-shrouded bodies here, carrying
them into the office. A little crowd was gathering on the walk, and
Madrid stood at the front of it. Tesno maneuvered his horse between
wagons and stopped directly before the marshal. Silence washed over the
crowd. For a moment neither man spoke. Then Tesno said, "I found the
bodies."
"Why tell me?" Madrid said. "It didn't happen in my jurisdiction."
"Not interested?"
Madrid shrugged. "It's all plain enough. One of the prisoners had a
gun. They shot it out. They--"
Mr. Jay stepped out of the crowd. He touched Madrid's elbow without
looking at him, and the marshal fell silent.
"Is that what it looked like to you, Mr. Tesno?" Mr. Jay asked.
"No."
"Mr. Tesno I have been asked to run for mayor of this town." Mr.
Jay raised his voice for the crowd. "Before I accept, I shall visit
Ellensburg and assure myself of the support and the co-operation of
the authorities there. I should like to be able to give them the facts
about this tragedy. Will you step into the marshal's office and tell me
everything you know?"
"It was an ambush. That's all I'll say now."
"Can you prove that, Mr. Tesno?"
"When the time comes, Mr. Jay."
"I was under the impression that you wanted to give the marshal
details."
"I wanted to see if he was interested," Tesno said. "He wasn't."
Mr. Jay threw back his head so that his trim little beard seemed to
be pointed up at Tesno. There were hollow circles about his eyes, and
Tesno thought that the brilliance in them was not entirely the result
of emotion. He realized suddenly that the man was under a strain that
amounted to illness. Yet his brazen assurance was a formidable thing.
"I don't understand your hostility, sir," Mr. Jay said.
"Willie Silverknife is dead, Mr. Jay. The men who killed him will
answer to me."