When Sheriff Button arrived at the cabin he found the empty shells on
the floor, noted the holes in the window, and read the story of the
raid plainly. "Annersley shot to scare 'em off--but the kid shot to
kill," he argued. "And dam' if I blame him."
Later, when Young Pete was able to talk, he was questioned by the
sheriff. He told of the raid, of the burning of the outbuildings, and
how Annersley had been killed. When questioned as to his own share in
the proceedings, Pete refused to answer. When shown the two guns and
asked which was his, he invariably replied, "Both of 'em," nor could he
be made to answer otherwise. Finally Sheriff Sutton gave it up, partly
because of public opinion, which was in open sympathy with Young Pete,
and partly because he feared that in case arrests were made, and Pete
were called as a witness, the boy would tell in court more than he had
thus far divulged. The sheriff thought that Pete was able to identify
one or more of the men who had entered the cabin, if he cared to do so.
As it was, Young Pete was crafty. Already he distrusted the sheriff's
sincerity.
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