"They found Bill Wingo's quirt on the floor beside the body and right
inside the door a snakeskin hat-band the whole town knows belongs to
Bill."
Hazel's cheeks began to glow. "That doesn't prove anything," she
declared in a level voice. "Bill owns three quirts to my knowledge,
and he hasn't worn that snake hatband since last July. It began to
stretch then and was always working up off the crown, and he couldn't
tighten it without ruining the skin, so he stopped wearing it."
"It worked off the crown once too often last night," offered Nate.
Hazel's black eyes were glittering through slitted eyelids. Really,
Nate Samson should have been warned.
"You think Bill did it?" asked Hazel Walton.