Evidence

Under the blazing Texas sun, the narrator rides with Jimmy Calton, a sharp-tongued rancher whose mordant wit masks a relentless habit of exposing lazy thinking. On the way to a coroner's inquest, Jimmy dismisses easy assumptions and announces his intention to "horn in" on the murder case of Abe Martin, whose death seems at first glance to be a plain robbery gone wrong. At Abe's decaying ranch house, the coroner hears testimony that Abe was shot through the heart and that more than four thousand dollars has vanished, while the remnants of an older cattle empire lend the scene a faded, ominous weight. The case appears to tighten around Harry Temple after Joe Harkness claims to have seen him leaving the house near the time of the killing. Yet Harry's explanation—that he came to discuss buying yearlings and left when he could not find Abe or the cook—only deepens the puzzle. Jimmy, with his sly intelligence and fearless logic, dismantles the obvious conclusion, arguing that Harry's honesty and bank account make him an unlikely murderer and suggesting that the supposed incriminating detail in his pocket may be nothing more than a handkerchief. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.