“I mean, sir, that if this jury finds you guilty I will sentence you to hang tomorrow,” Frewen said. “That being the case, if the verdict is overturned next month, it will be of no consequence to you, because your carcass will be a worm feast.”
“No, that ain’t right!” Clem said.
“Killing Burt Rawlings wasn’t right, either,” Frewen said. “Mr. Gilmore, you are the prosecutor. Make your case, please.”
“The court calls Jeffery Singleton to the stand,” Gilmore said.
Jeff, all cleaned up now and wearing his best denims and shirt, took the stand and was sworn in.
“Mr. Singleton, did you see who killed Burt Rawlings?”
“Yes, sir, I did.”
“Is he in this courtroom now?”
“One of ’em is,” Jeff replied. “The other ’n is tied up to a board that is standin’ up in front of Sikes’ Hardware Store.”
There was a smattering of laughter throughout the court.
“Would you point to the murderer please?”
“It was him,” Jeff said, pointing to Clem.
“Let the record show that Mr. Singleton pointed to the defendant.”
Gilmore walked over to the bar where there lay two pistols. He picked both of them up and brought them over to show to Jeff.
“Do you recognize these pistols?”
“Yes, sir. That there’n is mine,” Jeff said, pointing to one of them. “The other’n belongs—uh, belonged to Burt.”
“Thank you. Let the record show that the witness identified the two pistols, one as belonging to him and the other belonging to the decedent, Burt Rawlings.” Gilmore turned to Dempster. “Your witness.”
Dempster did not get up from his chair. “Was it daylight or dark when you saw the men who shot your friend?”
“It was daylight,” Jeff said.
“And you are sure that the defendant was one of the two men you saw?”
“Yes.”
“Could it be that perhaps the sun was shining in your eyes so that your vision was restricted?”
“No.”
“You say that with such resoluteness. How can you be so sure?”
“Because it was mid-mornin’, and this Clem feller, and the other’n, the one that’s tied to the door down to Sikes’ Hardware, the first time I seen ’em, they was standin’ west of me. Burt, he never seen ’em at all, ’cause they was still hidin’ behind the rocks when they shot him.”
“No further questions,” Dempster said, realizing that every question he asked was just making the case worse for his client.
“Witness is excused,” Gilmore said. “Prosecution calls Matt Jensen.”
Like Clem before him, Matt was sworn in, then he took his seat.
“Mr. Jensen, you are the one who brought in Zeke Holloway’s body, are you not?”
“I am.”
“And you killed him?”
“I did.”
“You also brought in Clem and these two pistols. Where did you get the pistols?”
“Clem and Zeke had them on their persons.”
“What were Clem and Zeke doing when you encountered them?”
“They were herding stolen cattle.”
“How do you know the cattle were stolen?”
“They had the Frewen brand,” Matt said.
“Objection, Your Honor!” Dempster said.
“What is the objection?” Frewen asked.
“I object to the fact that the stolen cattle had the Frewen brand.”
“I don’t understand the objection. Are you saying they did not have the Frewen brand?”
“No, sir, I’m sure they did have the Frewen brand.”
“Then what is the objection?”
