“That’s not Pearlie,” Smoke said.
“No, sir, it is not,” Cal said. “But whoever it is, he’s a-wearin’ Pearlie’s hat.”
Smoke and Sally came down off the back porch and stood alongside Cal as the rider approached. As soon as Lenny reached them, he dismounted, but before he could say a word, Cal stepped toward him.
“Where at did you get that hat?” he shouted angrily.
Lenny leaned back away from Cal.
“I got it from Pearlie,” he said.
“What do you mean you got it from Pearlie?”
“Are you Calvin Woods?”
“Yeah, I’m Cal.” Cal was a little taken aback at being called by his name. “How do you know who I am?”
Lenny took the hat off and handed it to Cal. “Well, sir, I got the hat from your friend Pearlie. He said I was supposed to give this here hat to you and tell you thanks for the loan.”
“That’s what he said? Thanks for the loan?”
“Yes, he said if I said that, you would know that he gave me the hat to give to you. And I’m also supposed to see a man by the name of Smoke Jensen.”
“What about?”
“Well, sir, I reckon that’s for me to tell Mr. Jensen,” Lenny said.
“I’m Smoke Jensen,” Smoke said. “And you are?”
“My name is Leonard York, Mr. Jensen, but most folks just call me Lenny. Mind if I water the horse? I came up here by train, and rented the horse in town. I didn’t know it was going to be this long of a ride out here, and I wouldn’t want the horse to go down on me before I can get him back to the livery stable.”
“No, by all means water your horse,” Smoke said. “Excuse me for not making the offer. It’s just that, well, Pearlie has been gone for a while and when we saw you with his hat and hatband, we were concerned.”
“Yes, sir,” Lenny said as he led the horse to a large, round, watering tank. “The thing is, Mr. Jensen, you got a right to be concerned.”
“Why?” Sally asked. “Is Pearlie in trouble?”
“Yes, ma’am, he is. In fact, he is in a great deal of trouble,” Lenny said as he stood there, watching the horse drink. “That is, if you figure getting hung trouble.”
“Oh, my God!” Sally gasped. “Pearlie’s been hung?”
“Oh, no, ma’am, not yet,” Lenny said quickly. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I should have thought before I spoke. I certainly didn’t intend to give you that idea. But the truth is, the marshal has Pearlie in jail for murder and they are bringing in a judge that’s pretty much known as a hanging judge, so I reckon they’ll be getting around to it right soon.”
“Pearlie may have killed someone,” Cal said. “But I don’t believe for one minute that he would commit murder.”
Lenny shook his head. “You’re right, I don’t think any reasonable person could say that what Pearlie did was murder. I know, because I saw what happened. Pearlie had no choice in the matter. If he had not killed Billy Ray, it is for certain that Billy Ray would have killed him. Billy Ray came after Pearlie with a double-barrel shotgun with the intention of shooting Pearlie in the back.”
“You say you saw it?” Smoke said.
“Yes, sir, I saw it all very clearly,” Lenny replied.
“Why didn’t you tell the marshal what you saw?”
“Oh, I did tell him, Mr. Jensen. So did a couple of others who were in the saloon at the time. But the truth is that the marshal works for Pogue Quentin more than he works for the town. And Billy Ray, the man that Pearlie killed, was Pogue Quentin’s son.”
“Pogue Quentin?”
“Yes, sir. Do you know him?”
“Smoke, isn’t Pogue Quentin the unpleasant man we met in Colorado Springs?” Sally asked.
“Unpleasant, yes, ma’am, that would be him. I reckon you do know him,” Lenny said. “Because if you were going to describe Pogue Quentin, well, unpleasant would sure be the way to do it.”
“You are talking about Pogue Quentin from Huereano County, aren’t you?” Smoke asked.
“Yes, sir. Santa Clara, to be exact.”
“I’ve never been to Santa Clara,” Smoke said.
“It’s some south of Colorado Springs. It took me twenty-four hours to come up on the train,” Lenny said. “I got into Big Rock at four o’clock this afternoon.”
“I appreciate you making the long trip to tell us,” Smoke said.
“Yes, sir, well, I gave Pearlie my word that I would come tell you, and I’m not one for going back on my word once I give it.”
“You and Pearlie is good friends, are you?” Cal asked. There was almost a plaintive quality to Cal’s question, as if fearing he might have been displaced as Pearlie’s closest friend.
