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“Let's begin. Lane and his men showed up at your town and lit it on fire. This I don’t doubt. Now, what’s not clear to me is the motivation behind it. Can’t you throw me a little bone? You do something to piss him off?”

At this point he had to conjure a half-truth, otherwise he would start to be suspicious.

“Before they got there, someone else showed up. He had a nice hat and nice boots. Also, as soon as he got to the watering hole, he pulled out what looked like a gold pocket watch and checked the time. Studd thought he could have other valuables with him, so he shot him to get his stuff. They did end up finding some valuables on him, which caused a whole heap of people to rush in and grab for ‘em. Not long after, the man’s cronies arrived. There were nine of ‘em and they did everything I told you before."

“Lookie there, now the story is starting to make some sense! They feared they had the law on their trail in Little Pit, so they sent one of them to check; perhaps the least known face. Evidently, the guy didn't know that it’s never a good idea to show a pack of hungry dogs a nice, juicy steak. Well, since you’ve started to cooperate, I’ll help you out a little. In my opinion, you were sent here by Sadlann's band. They forced you to put on this little show to set a trap, and to make sure you don’t do anything funny, they’re holding your family hostage. Am I right?” It was clear that Blondie had been able to draw the most plausible conclusion from the clues at his disposal. A battered boy was the perfect bait. Ironically enough, his father had also thought the same thing. Fortunately, there was no evidence that would lead the man to conclude that one of the criminals had escaped by pocketing all the loot. Plus, the truth was even more arbitrary and beyond believing than anyone could invent.