Pollard would be in a position to prove
that Thornton had paid him this five thousand only to take it back; it
would give him a chance to break the contract, to regain possession of
the Poison Hole and to keep the other ten thousand dollars already paid
in as forfeited....
Why had they chosen him to bear the brunt of their manifold crimes?
That, too, was clear to him. With him in the penitentiary or gone to the
gallows the whole episode would be closed, the men who had put through
the monumental scheme would be in a position to enjoy their boldly
acquired profits with no fear of the law so much as searching for them.
It was necessary to them that some man suffer for their wrong doing.
Now: why Buck Thornton in particular? The reasons were forthcoming,
logical and in order: he was a man whom Pollard hated; already Pollard
regretted having sold the Poison Hole ranch for twenty thousand dollars;
he wanted it back; Thornton happened to be a new man in the country and
new men are always open to suspicion; he happened to be close enough to
Ben Broderick in size and form and carriage to make the deception easy.
And, thought Thornton, there was one other reason:
The undertaking of these men had already grown too big, the work too
extensive, for it to be handled by two men alone.
Pages:
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274