Roy Norton

“ The skull is furrowed for some distance, and in one place has been shattered. The brain has not been broken, I think. I can't tell yet whether there is pressure on it, but I am hopeful——” He paused thoughtfully, while Tom's heart throbbed like a steam hammer and Frank Barnes leaned his head forward with wide eyes. “Yes, I'm reasonably certain that he will live.”
Tom suddenly felt weak in the knees and dropped to the bench beside the cabin door. ”

“ If his surmise were correct—that the man who had discovered the loot from the robbed pay wagon was the same who had shot Josh Price, Tom Rogers' protector—then to forego the connecting evidence might mean that the man who had tried to murder Josh Price would escape. And to bring that piece of slate would necessitate some explanation to Frank Barnes, father of Edith Barnes, who already, in a half dozen meetings, had brought the repentant, distressed amateur outlaw to her feet. ”

“ It was broad daylight when they stood above the bloodstained spot in the narrow place of the trail, and Tom had finished his explanation.
“Good!” said Barnes. “Now, you see, he was probably walking straight ahead when he was creased. The trail is straight that way for two hundred yards. The bullet must have been fired from somewhere ahead and on Josh's left side, because that would be the angle to inflict such a wound on the right side. That is, unless his head was turned, which is not likely. If it had been fired from the other side, the bullet would have entered his head and killed him. ”

“ You and I have got a little work to do. Hold on a minute! We'll unsaddle those horses 'and give them a little water. They're cooled out now.”
“I shall remain here a while,” the doctor said quietly. “I must make another inspection of that wound when it gets broad daylight.” He consulted his watch. “I have four hours to spare,” he concluded. ”