WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:07.000 Evidence by Murray Leinster. It was hot. My pony jogged 2 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:11.560 listlessly along, without interest or animation, while I was only 3 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:14.560 concerned with the problem of getting to shade and water, 4 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:19.239 but especially shade. The sun was hot enough to fry 5 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:23.000 any one's brains in his skull, and my saddle burned 6 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:26.000 my hand if I touched it. Where the sun struck it, 7 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:30.039 there was a trickling stream of perspiration down either cheek, 8 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:33.560 and a third stream down my nose. From time to 9 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.679 time I smudged the dust across my face in an 10 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.840 attempt to stop the streams, but the action merely interrupted 11 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:45.280 their course. It was in this peculiarly Texan atmosphere that 12 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:49.039 I came upon Jimmy Calton. He was standing by the 13 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.600 open hood of one of those mechanical miracles known as 14 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:56.719 a Tin Lizzie, holding a sooded spark plug and a 15 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.240 cloth in one hand and attempting to clean it with 16 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:05.120 the other. He was swearing the while dispassionately in a 17 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:11.959 curious mingling of good Anglo Saxon and Doby Spanish. Hello, Jimmy, 18 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:15.920 I said listlessly. He looked up and nodded, say you 19 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.439 look hot, he observed, Come on and ride aways with me. Lizzie. Here, 20 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:24.239 I'll be running in a minute, and you can tie 21 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:28.599 your pony on behind. Going anywhere in particular, I asked 22 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.719 over to see the coroner. He's told me old Abe 23 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:35.480 Martin got shot the other day, and folks are saying 24 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:38.799 Harry Temple done it. They got him locked up. Anyways, 25 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.400 I dismounted stiffly and tied my pony to the rear 26 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:46.719 of the machine, allowing him plenty of lead rope. Jimmy 27 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:51.359 finished wiping the last of the spark plugs, apostrophizing the car. 28 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:58.239 In the meantime, you creakin growlin' spark plug fowlin blasted 29 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:02.319 hunk a tin. He finished lyrically and put down the hood. 30 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:04.799 He went to the crank and turned it half a 31 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:09.639 dozen times. The engine caught sputtered and began to run 32 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:14.479 with a pretentious roar. Jimmy hastily reached for the wheel 33 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:18.120 and adjusted the spark and throttled and climbed in leisurely 34 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:22.199 with a grinding and a lurch. We started off, my 35 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:28.280 pony following docilely behind. Yees ten tin tin, said Jimmy 36 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.479 doing mysterious things with his feet. I have scorned you, 37 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:36.280 and I've flayed you. But by the guy who made you, 38 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.199 you are better than a big car lunk a tin. 39 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.639 We slipped into the car's second and highest speed and 40 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.280 began to run more smoothly. Jimmy looked behind to see 41 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:49.639 that my pony was all right, and began to roll 42 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.159 a cigarette with his left hand while expertly guiding the 43 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:56.719 car around the numerous ruts and rocks in the roadway. 44 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.520 I watched the process of cigarette rolling without interest. I 45 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:04.039 can't seem to get the neck of that, I remarked, 46 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.319 when he had finished and was licking the edge of 47 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.199 the paper to hold it in place, imitating, said Jimmy casually. 48 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.520 There ain't any way that everybody can do. Nobody else 49 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:17.960 I know rolls them like this. It's just easiest for me. 50 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:20.879 You'll have to mess around till you find a way 51 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:24.680 that fits your fingers. I'll smoke tailor made, I said, 52 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.840 rather than bothered with learning, just like the new generation, 53 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:33.560 said Jimmy severely. Jimmy, it may be said, is thirty, 54 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.120 but affects the authority of a man of eighty, wanting 55 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:43.199 everything done by somebody else, else by machinery. They even 56 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.240 want the thinking done, fam, it's too hot to think 57 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:50.280 down here. I took off my hat and wiped the 58 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.560 moisture off the sweatband. Jedgin by the little bit of 59 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:57.919 it people do, Jimmy remarked acridly. Most people agree with you. 60 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.199 Most people look at thinking something they was taught to 61 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:04.360 do in schools, and as such, something to forget as 62 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:07.840 soon as possible from the folks that don't think about 63 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:12.560 the spiggetty revoltosos just across the border, and are feigned 64 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:16.199 and surprised when the spiggottyes run off with some of 65 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:19.519 the cattle. Down to the folks that had rather buy 66 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:22.399 cigarettes than bother thinking up a way to roll them 67 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:27.639 one handed for themselves. Everybody's just the same. Why it 68 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.720 wouldn't surprise me none at all if most folks told 69 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.439 the truth, just cause it's too much trouble to think 70 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.639 up a lie. I accepted his rebuke in the matter 71 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:42.600 of cigarettes meekly and said, nothing. It's a fact, said Jimmy, 72 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.839 with an air of mournful pity for a race fallen 73 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.240 so low. I saw in a book the other day 74 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.160 that the best lion is the lie that's near the truth. 75 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:58.839 Ain't that ridiculous. That's just justifying laziness. If folks got 76 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.600 the goods on you, you can't get away from the truth, 77 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:04.839 then it's all right to dilute the truth until it's harmless. 78 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:09.160 But otherwise a good lie beats the almost truth nine 79 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.759 ways from Sunday Only. It's a lot of trouble thinking 80 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:16.800 up a good lie and fortifying it with accumulative evidence. 81 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:21.040 Jimmy rolled those two words off his tongue with some satisfaction. 82 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:25.879 A cumulative evidence like a good lie ought to have. 83 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:30.079 He fell silent for a while, doing marvels of steering 84 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:34.079 in the avoidance of obstacles and depressions in the really 85 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:39.920 horrible road, and thinking, he said, suddenly, presently, folks don't 86 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:44.639 like thinking. Anybody with any sense of no, Harry Temple 87 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:48.800 wouldn't a shot old Abe Martin. Harry Temple has got 88 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:52.079 a bank account in the Farmer's and Ranches Bank, and 89 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:55.199 it ain't in reason that he'd go and shoot anybody 90 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.800 to steal their role. Old Abe sold off six hundred 91 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:02.240 steers and got the money. He was old fashioned and 92 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.480 didn't believe in banks, so he took the money home 93 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.839 with him, and somebody went and shot him and took 94 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:12.600 the roll. But Harry Temple with a bank account at 95 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:16.279 the Farmers and Ranches Bank. It ain't reasonable that he'd 96 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.519 go and shoot anybody for to steal the money. If 97 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:22.480 he's any like I am, he's too busy wondering if 98 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:25.920 somebody is going to steal his money to go stealing 99 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:29.959 somebody else's. Jimmy said this last, with an air of 100 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:34.319 virtue that made me smile. Jimmy's much too good a 101 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.879 poker player to be worried about his money. I know 102 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:41.439 he owns one small ranch he never goes near, bought 103 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:45.639 out of the proceeds of a colossal gain still remembered 104 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:49.600 along the border. But they think he did it, I asked, 105 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:55.000 show they do, Jimmy said, scornfully. They's going around saying 106 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:59.480 they know he did. That's toro. Of course, one of 107 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:04.639 jimmy individualities as his habit of translating American slang into 108 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.879 Adobe Spanish and using it in his conversation. What are 109 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:12.920 you going to see the coroner for? They's holding an inquest, 110 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:16.360 said Jimmy. I'm sort of goin to hornyin a little 111 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:19.639 I reckon. These folks are too lazy to do any 112 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:22.839 thinkin' if I see a chance, I'm going to do 113 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:26.480 some head work for them. They is a Martin's place 114 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:29.439 right ahead. We turned in the gate and swung up 115 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:32.759 to the house. Half a dozen cars, most of em 116 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:35.759 say make as Jimmy's, clustered about the front, and there 117 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.720 were a dozen or more ponies tethered close by the 118 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:42.439 porch and dozing in the baking heat. It was quite 119 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:45.920 a pretentious place, built in the old fashioned style of 120 00:07:45.959 --> 00:07:49.279 the days when a rancher was almost a barren in 121 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:53.439 his own right. Two big barns and a huge stable 122 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:58.399 behind the house almost dwarfed the dwelling proper and quite 123 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.079 hid it from the rear. Jimmy eased his car in 124 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:06.000 among the others, snapped the switch and alighted. Three or 125 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:08.079 four of the men about the door nodded to him 126 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.079 and told him the inquest had not started, but that 127 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:15.199 it would begin shortly once he found that out. Jimmy 128 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:20.519 plunged into an intricate and technical discussion of patented attachments 129 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:23.839 for his machine, and I drifted off into the house. 130 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:27.160 It was a very old house, and built with old 131 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:32.360 fashioned disregard for space. I gathered, however, that the house 132 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:36.879 keeping done in It was but sketchy. Half a dozen 133 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:41.159 of his riders made at their headquarters with old Abe Martin. 134 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:44.879 They bunked there, and a cook prepared the meals for 135 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:47.759 all of them. There was a long table with a 136 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:51.799 checked red tablecloth on it. The room was empty now 137 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:55.120 except for buzz and flies where they had their meals. 138 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.519 On the day of the shooting, I learned the men 139 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:01.120 had all been gone away on their duties, and the 140 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.840 cook had gone into town for supplies, so Abe Martin 141 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:08.600 had been alone presently. I went out to look at 142 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:13.679 the stables. They were huge, but not much used. Three 143 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:17.200 or four ponies were in their stalls, and several more 144 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.080 stalls seemed to be used from time to time, but 145 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:26.200 most of them were without signs of recent use. There 146 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.919 had been a time when the place was the headquarters 147 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:32.279 of a busy ranch, but since the time of fences, 148 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:37.159 the activity had lessened, until only Abe Martin, his half 149 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:41.639 dozen riders, and the cook lived there. It was curious 150 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.960 to see the dwelling place, large in itself, dwarfed by 151 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:50.759 its outbuildings. A stir in the house called me inside. 152 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:53.799 The inquest was evidently to be more or less of 153 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:56.399 an informal affair, but there was none the less a 154 00:09:56.440 --> 00:10:01.360 determined than business like air behind it. All those men 155 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:04.399 meant to get at the bottom of the matter. The 156 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:07.919 coroner seemed to be a conscientious individual who took the 157 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:11.600 evidence of the first witness with great exactitude, though he 158 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:15.960 knew perfectly well beforehand just what the testimony would be. 159 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:20.639 The whole inquiry, as a matter of fact, promised to 160 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:23.600 be cut and dried, in spite of Jimmy's announced intention 161 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:29.200 of horning in the first witness was the cook who 162 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.039 had discovered the body. He had come back from town, 163 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:34.840 entered the house and discovered his employer dead on the 164 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:37.759 floor of the hall. He had been shot through the heart. 165 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:42.279 A rider whom the cook had hastily summoned, corroborated his 166 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.039 testimony and added that the body was cold when he 167 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.879 was called, proving that death had occurred some time before. 168 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:55.840 The evidence shows, said the coroner casually, that Abe was 169 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:58.840 shot when there wasn't nobody else in the house but 170 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:03.480 him and the murderer. The cashier, the farmer's in rancher's 171 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.039 bank ain't here, But he has give me the information 172 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:10.720 that Abe had over four thousand dollars on him when 173 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:16.039 he was killed. That's gone. Evidently he was shot for 174 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:19.720 his money. It's part of the duties of a coroner's 175 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:23.399 jury to uncover any evidence that will help in solving 176 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:28.399 the problem of who the murderer might be. Mister Joe 177 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:33.759 Harkness will take the stand. There was a movement of 178 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:36.679 interest in the small crowd packed into the one room 179 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:40.360 I had managed to get beside Jimmy Calton, and his 180 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:45.360 face became extraordinarily mild and gentle. It hinted at some 181 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:49.919 expectation of excitement if I knew Jimmy. Everyone had heard 182 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:55.960 Harkness's story before, so it was simply a recapitulation. I 183 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.440 ain't got a thing to say, announced Harkness bluntly, except 184 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:01.480 that I seen when Harry Temple come out of this 185 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:06.000 here house about three o'clock, just after Aide Martin was shot. 186 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:08.679 I was having trouble with my spark plugs down the 187 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:11.639 road of ways when I seen Harry. He come out 188 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.159 of the kitchen door, looked all round as if he 189 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:17.360 was looking to see if anybody seeing, and then he 190 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:21.720 went down toward the stables. He went inside there. Then 191 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:23.960 he come out of that and went over to the 192 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.360 quarters and got a drink at the pump by the door. 193 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:29.399 I was wondering what he was doing, but it looks 194 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.200 to me like he was making sure there wasn't nobody 195 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.559 around that could have told that he'd been around. And 196 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:38.919 there's one mole thing when he come out of the house. 197 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:42.279 He come out of the kitchen doll. He was putting 198 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:46.080 something in his breast pocket. I glanced at Jimmy Calton. 199 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:50.159 He was looking at Harkness with a gentle, placid smile. 200 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:54.519 His face did not change when Harry Temple stood up, 201 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:59.799 pale beneath his tand everything Harkness says, his soul said 202 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:05.480 Harry Temple determinedly, every single word. Only I didn't shoot 203 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:09.159 old Abe. I come out here to see him about 204 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.080 selling him some yearlings. He wasn't here, so I went 205 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.759 in the kitchen to see if I couldn't leave wood 206 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:19.440 with a cook. The cook was missing, too, but I 207 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.919 thought I heard somebody moving around somewhere, and I went 208 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:26.480 just where Harkness said, and just in the order he said. 209 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.360 He must have seen me first. When I come out 210 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:32.879 of the kitchen. When I couldn't find nobody, I cranked 211 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:38.360 up and laughed. Harkness stood up. I hate to contradict Harry, 212 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:42.000 he said sharply, but he's made a mistake. He didn't 213 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.039 crank up and leave. He was driving somebody else's car, 214 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:49.399 and it had a self starter on it. Every Temple 215 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:54.279 flushed slightly. That's a fact, he acknowledged. I'd forgotten that 216 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:57.799 I was driving a car they lent me at the garage. 217 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.840 I'd left my own there to have some repairs made, 218 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:07.080 of course, said Harkness sarcastically. Nobody suspects that you was 219 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.240 driving a strange car with strange tires, so they couldn't 220 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.440 prove nothing on you by the tracks. Jimmy put a 221 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:19.039 question in a gentle voice. There's another question, he said, softly. 222 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.440 What was Harry putting in his pocket when Harkness saw 223 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:29.000 him coming out of the house. I don't remember putting 224 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:31.879 anything in my pocket, said Temple, beginning to be worried. 225 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:37.960 It was probably my handkerchief. There was a moment's silence. 226 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:41.399 One or two of the men in the room stirred uneasily. 227 00:14:42.440 --> 00:14:48.879 Jimmy called and smiled sweetly to himself. Mister corner, he said, slowly, 228 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:53.720 May I make an observation or two, it looks like 229 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:57.679 somebody ought to point out two or three facts. Go ahead, 230 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:01.639 Jimmy said. The coroner seemed to be bothering him that 231 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:05.519 so much seemed to point to the guilt of Harry Temple. 232 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.200 Temple did seem to be quite a decent sort, and 233 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:12.159 the coroner evidently hated to bring out so much to 234 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:18.600 his discredit without anything to counteract the impression thus made. 235 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:22.919 Knowing Jimmy, he knew Jimmy would not interfere unless he 236 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.720 thought things were going the wrong way, and that meant 237 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:29.159 in this case that he had something to say in 238 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:36.799 Temple's favor. Mister Cohner and gentlemen, said Jimmy formally, it 239 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:40.159 don't seem hardly fit to bring out all this he 240 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:44.320 evidence against a man without any evidence the other way. 241 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.879 I want to point out two things about this here case. 242 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.360 The first is that Harry Temple has got money in 243 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:57.960 the bank, and the second is that he never disputed 244 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:01.600 a single thing Hackness said about out him. You know, 245 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:05.679 and I know that a man with money in the 246 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:10.279 bank ain't goin around doin highway robbery and murder. He 247 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:14.000 can't afford to. You Just think about that a while 248 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:19.120 and here's something else to think about. Did you notice 249 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:22.919 that Harry Temple said right off that he'd done just 250 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:28.000 what Harkness said. Now, if he'd shot old Abe Martin, 251 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.879 you know, he'd have tried to make some of that 252 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:35.519 stuff sound just a little less incriminatin'. He'd a said 253 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:38.039 he didn't go in the house, just to the door knocked, 254 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.240 and he'd ha tried to weaken everything. Harkness said just 255 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:46.200 that way. But he didn't. He's telling the truth so 256 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:49.399 hard he can't seem to see. It's putting a rope 257 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.080 around his neck in spite of his beIN just as 258 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:56.279 innocent as he says. As for his putting something in 259 00:16:56.360 --> 00:17:01.840 his breast pocket, nobody puts money there, and especially stolen money. 260 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:08.079 But most everybody puts the handkerchief there. But that ain't evidence, 261 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:12.920 said the coroner, disappointedly. I've thought you had some facts 262 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:16.599 to give us. I'll give you one fact, Jimmy offered. 263 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:22.720 Harry Temple didn't shoot Abe Martin. Looky here, Harkness himself. 264 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:26.240 Don't believe he did, do you, he demanded, turning to 265 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:32.279 that person. Harkness sat stolidly in his chair. You heard 266 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.240 what I said, he grunted. You heard what I seen 267 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:39.160 him do? Saw I do, Jimmy admitted readily. But you 268 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:43.720 know he didn't shoot Abe. Jimmy seemed to be making 269 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.440 a fool of himself. I tugged at his sleeve for 270 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:50.160 him to sit down, but he paid no attention. What 271 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:55.759 do you mean, demanded Harkness suspiciously. Nothin whatever, said Jimmy, 272 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:00.799 with a gentleness I suddenly recognized as dangerous. Nothing whatever 273 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:06.440 except what I said. You know Harry Temple didn't shoot Abe. 274 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:11.519 You mean to tell me I'm lyin, snapped Harkness angrily. No, 275 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.920 said Jimmy in a cooing drawl. Nothin so harmless. I'm 276 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.519 accusing you of someth my, damn sight more dangerous than lying. 277 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.880 I'm accusing you of tellin the truth, the exact truth. 278 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:31.240 There's a puzzled pause. I noticed, however, that Harkness was 279 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:36.920 watching Jimmy with a curious alertness. It's always more dangerous 280 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:39.599 to tell the truth in a case like this, Harkness, 281 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:44.000 said Jimmy, still in that gentle drawl. You told the 282 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:48.480 absolute truth about what you saw Harry do. And that's 283 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:52.279 the most dangerous thing you could have told, cause there 284 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:57.599 ain't but one man could have told that, mister Corner. 285 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.240 If you look out of the window, you'll see just 286 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:05.960 where Harry Temple walked down the kitchen steps, just where 287 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.240 he went back to the stables, just where he went 288 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:13.000 into the Big Bond, and just where he got a drink. 289 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:18.079 And then if you look, you'll see where he stopped 290 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.720 his car so Harkness could see that it had a 291 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:25.480 self start on it instead of a crank. I saw 292 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:29.000 a light break on the coroner's face as he looked 293 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.759 from place to place in the yard behind the house. 294 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:38.079 He faced about just as Jimmy deliberately pulled a revolver 295 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:43.559 out of his pocket. Harkness told the truth, said Jimmy, softly. 296 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:48.839 He told the absolute truth. But there ain't but one 297 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:52.839 place you can see all them things from, with all 298 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:56.359 them bonds outside, there ain't but one place you can 299 00:19:56.519 --> 00:20:00.480 see the door of the stables, and the big Bond, 300 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.359 and the pump by the quarters and the kitchen door 301 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:09.200 all at once. And there wasn't but one man in 302 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:12.319 the world who could have seen Harry Temple do all 303 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:16.079 of them things, Because there wasn't but one man in 304 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:20.559 that place. The only place you can see all them 305 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:25.759 places from is this here room? And the only man 306 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.559 in the house when Harry Temple did them things was 307 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:32.200 the man who'd shot a Martin and hadn't had time 308 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:37.400 to get away. When Harriet Temple come driving in Harkness, 309 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:40.839 Jimmy's voice was suddenly like steal. If you pull that 310 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.200 gun on me, I'll blow a hole right through the 311 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:49.359 place your brains ought to be. End of evidence.