Billy here who fired those shots because them others was tied up in the barn. Why, I thought Wyatt and Billy Tilghman were going to choke. They was laughing so hard."

Bat stopped his story for a moment to take a sip of his coffee. "Naturally, the next question everybody asked was why Hawes and Ben were tied up in the barn. And if they were, how could they have backed your play in ordering the Bledsoes off your property? Then I asked Bledsoe again to provide a description of you. And he couldn't. So I said, 'Boys, it appears to me that we just held Billy Battles's trial here in my office, and it looks to me that the boy is innocent for lack of proof.'"

The Bledsoes were not convinced, however. The posse of nine men was led by Wilson Bledsoe, who apparently was Nate'...

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