The Captain waited until the silence was a palpable thing made alive
by the rhythmic breathing of the men who were to look upon this new
travesty of justice.
"Gentlemen," he said at last, his sonorous voice carrying his words
distinctly to the crowd without, "we are now ready to proceed with the
investigation. I wish to state, for the information of those present,
that after the prisoners were placed here under guard, I went to get a
statement from the wounded man, Mr. Texas Bill. I found him dying
from a wound inflicted upon his person by a pistol ball which passed
through his left lung, above and to the right of his heart. I did not
take a written statement, for lack of time and writing materials. But
Texas swore--"
"Yeah--I'll bet he swore!" commented Bill Wilson under his breath.
Every one looked toward Bill, standing just inside the flaps, and the
Captain scowled while he waited for attention.
"Texas swore that he was shot by one of the prisoners, Jack Allen by
name, who fired upon him without due provocation, while he was talking
to this other prisoner, whose name we have yet to learn. Texas stated
that Allen, appearing suddenly from behind some bushes, began shooting
with deadly intent and without warning, wantonly murdering Rawhide
Jack, who lies dead in Smith's back room, and shooting him, Texas,
through the lung. He also stated that Mr. Dick Swift was with him and
Rawhide Jack, and was also shot by the prisoner, Jack Allen, without
cause or provocation.
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