Chapter 9 Summary

Several months have passed, and the cowboy is on a ranch in Dakota. Interestingly, the Easterner rides up on a horse and appears even to possibly be the mailman. He carries news of the results of the trial of the gambler in the newspaper and tells the cowboy the gambler got three years for the crime. At first it seems like a light sentence, but as they continue to discuss it, the cowboy puts part of the blame on the bartender, saying that he could have stopped the killing before it got out of hand. The Easterner becomes somewhat outraged, saying that the whole event was the fault of all five men: Johnnie, Scully, the cowboy, the gambler, and himself. Everyone who took part encouraged the tragedy by his lack of action, but the gambler is the least to blame as he only...