A FRESH START 16

it took a few hours and bill finally cooled off. the innspecter had picked up the peices of the pistol the shooter was trying to use. it was old and so worn that it was a wonder it had held together for the one shot. he had taken. the inspectors horse lay dead at the front of the barn. bill caught up a couple of his saddle horses and they drug the carcass out away from the corrals and buildings. bill agred to let clay use the horse to take the body back to willcox . clay made him promise to stay close to home and not go after the kearnys. he would bring slaughter back to deal with them. after loading the body of the shooter clay left leading the shooters horse with the body aboard. dill stood and watced them as they went out of sight. then turned and got a rake and started rakeing dirt over the blood puddle left by the dead horse. he wasnt half thru when a voice from in the barn spoke; " who shot the horse?" bill froze mid rake" who s there?" he called. old man kearny walked out of the barn his hands open and in front of him." i saw that guy leading a horse with a body away so i came to see if it was you." bill was starting to fume again"well your little hand bill you put out on me drew on shooter. how many more are out there floating around?" " what hand bill? i havent put out no hand bill, what are you talking about?" josh was incredulous. " dont tell me that! who else would have done that. you been mad ever since i came here you said i was stealing your grass. !" bill shifted his hand on the rake . he wanted it free if he needed his pistol. " i may think that but its nothin to kill a man over. or hire it done. as a matter of fact i had made my mind up to work with you. it looks like your here to stay and theres enough grass for both of us.i mean it i didnt hire nobody hand bill or not!"josh was trying hard to convince bill . " ok, but that brand inspecter is going to bring slaughter back out here. we found bryce in a prospect hole a while back he had been shot in the back. his horse was in your corral it is adding up pretty fast." bill shifted the rake so it wasnt in line with his hip and the pistol there in its holster. " that horse strayed into our yard , we put him in the corral until a owner showed up. we didnt know about bryce being dead. lord and you all think WE did it?"josh asked. " it sure looks that way dont it?" bill leaned a bit forward. " well we didnt! and ime going home if the law wants to talk to me ill be waitting. but believe me we didnt put a price on you." with that josh turned his back to bill and walked to his horse, mounted and waved then rode away. bill watched him ride away. " now what the hell?" was all he could say as he went back to rakeing.