It was a quite evening in North Fork or so it seemed. 
John Hallager was in a hurry, he was on his way to the hardware store to by a box of .44 caliber shells. The store keeper joked and asked him who he was figurin' on shootin'. He wasn't in a joking mood, he replied, "does it matter?" He paid the man and left. There was something bothering him, that's for sure. Right after he left a shot rang out. There was Hallager lying dead in the street.
As we were heading into town the next day we saw a strange wagon. "Jumpin' catfish," I never seen anything like that before. What do you suppose it is?" Asked Mark. I asked him if he could read the sign on the wagon. "World's Greatest Ment--ta--list." What does that mean?" "That's a fancy name for a mind reader. It means he can tell what your thinking." "Honest," said Mark. I told Mark, that's what he claims. We greeted him. He seemed like a nice enough man. He did have a different way with words then what we we're use to. Mark looked confused. He was looking for North Fork. Mark asked him if he was going to put on a show in North Fork. That was his intentions. "An unforgettable performance. Admission fifty cents, a quarter for sprouts." Mark asked him if he could really tell what people were thinking. "The thoughts hidden in men's minds are not secrets to me. You young man, at this moment you are thinking of a way to extract a quarter from your pater to buy a ticket for the performance." "He's got a funny way of talkin', if you ask me," said Mark. I told him to follow me.
We got into North Fork before the stranger. I was on 
my way to see Micah. Mark wondered if the stranger might have gotten lost? He decided to wait in the wagon for him. As I entered Micah's office, Lucy Hallager was talking to Micah, she was upset. Her father was the man that was killed the night before and Billy Mathis, her boyfriend, was being charged with her father's murder. She was arguing with Micah. She felt he had no reason to hold Billy, that he wasn't even in town that night. Micah told her she wasn't being fair, that Billy other then himself is the only other person he knows that owns a shotgun. Besides he had a good reason to do it. Lucy turned to see I was standing there. She wanted me to help Billy. I told her that is what I was doing in town. I told her she should go home and stop worrying, if Billy didn't do it, he wouldn't be in jail long.
Micah was glad I came along when I did. She has a lot of faith in Billy. Micah thought it was because she was in love with him. Billy told Micah that his shotgun was stolen from him. Other then that he just sits in his cell and stares at the ceiling. Micah had hoped that maybe I could get some more information out of him. We went into to talk to Billy. Billy's attitude was really bad. It was as if he gave up. Micah said he heard all this before and went to his office. "Did you bushwhack John Hallager?" "What difference does that make?" Asked Billy all the while he laid in his bed. "Get on your feet when you talk to me." I told him that Hallager was seen buying shells just before he was shot. I thought maybe it was because of Billy. Billy knew what he would do if he caught him with Lucy. He told me he was seeing Lucy. I asked him where he was Saturday night. He told me he was sitting on a rock four miles outside of town. He was there sundown to almost midnight. He was waiting on Lucy. He had no alibi. She never
showed up. Hallager didn't want Lucy to marry a forty dollar a month cowhand. He had no use for Billy. I wanted Billy to tell me he didn't do. He felt if saying it would make it so he would do it, just to get out of jail.
I went out to talk to Micah, when Mark came rushing in. He wanted me to know that James Barrow McBride just got into town. Micah and I kept talking. Micah mentioned he wished he could see into Billy's mind. Mark told Micah he should get James Barrow McBride, he's a mind reader. I told Mark he wouldn't be much help, but Mark kept insisting he was a mind reader. I had to tell the boy to wait outside.
Barrow asked Mark if he would be interested in posting his show cards for a ticket to his show. Mark told him no, but for two tickets he would. Mark came running out . He told me he had earned two tickets to the show tonight in exchange for distributing the show cards. The show wasn't until tonight. I hadn't planned on staying in town. I wanted to be back at the ranch long before that. He said if I should see my way to staying in town he'd be glad to give me one of the tickets. I couldn't see how a man could turn down an invite like that. "Yahooooo," shouted Mark. Off he went to post the cards.
Barrow told us all to right down a question on a piece of paper and to fold it twice and put it in the basket that was going around. He told us that it was impossible to answer all questions personally, that only the person asking the question will know to whom he would be speaking. He even mentioned some one was stealing liquor from being the Last Chance. It was all rather funny for a while until someone asked the 
question "Who killed John Hallager? The shotgun that killed John Hallager was fired from the alley next to the Last Chance. After the foul deed the murder ran to a horse that was waiting at the end of the saloon and fled. This is a matter for the authorities. It would be improper to say more than this. That murderer tho it hath no tongue will speak." When I heard that question, I was upset. I looked at Mark, I was sure he had asked that question. With that the show was over. Everyone started to leave. Micah tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to see him.
Micah and I went back to see Barrows. We wanted to know where he got his information from. He couldn't give us any kind of an explanation for his unique tongue other then he was the seventh son of a seventh son. He told us he was picking up some vibrations from someone in the audience. The vibrations were weak and then faded off. He felt that the murderer was there, or a witness. I asked him if he would come face to face with the murderer, would he pick up any vibrations from him. We wanted him to go over to the jail with us. He agreed, but not until tomorrow.
The next day when I got into town, I stopped to talk to Lucy. She was on her way to see Billy and take him something to eat. Just then Micah came over to us and told me that it looked like I wasted a trip to town. That Barrows was gone. He wired every place he thought he could have gone and when he found him he was gonna drag him right back here. I told him that Barrows couldn't help us anyway. He probably picked up some rumors around the town and went on that. We agreed, but decided we would check around and see who all he's been talking to. Micah told me he'd be along after he talked to Lucy. 
I went over to the hotel to take a look at the registry. Joe Hyatt and Fogarty were playing cards in the lobby. Joe wanted me to join in on a card game and try my luck. I knew better, luck had nothing to do with any card game he dealt. Fogarty seem to agree with me. He hadn't won in days. Joe told me that Fogarty was a salesman, he sold knives. I asked him if Barrows tried to pump him for any gossip. He said not. He went to his room when he checked in and didn't come back down until the show. While I was checking the register, I heard a gunshot. It sounded like it was coming from the jail. As I rushed out of the hotel, Billy was riding off on my horse. I yelled to him, but he kept going. I had a clear shot, I could have shot him, I took aim, but couldn't bring myself to shoot him. Lucy had held Micah at gun point while Billy got away. Lucy came running out, she didn't know how close I came to shooting Billy. I took the gun from her. I told her she was a fool. She couldn't leave Billy to hang, she was sure he didn't kill her father. "An innocent man doesn't run." Micah and three other men rode out after him.
I went back to the hotel to question Fogarty. I got him to admit that he was in with the mind reader. He told me how he would go to town ahead of Borrows and find out any information he could and give it to Barrows. He got his information from an old character that hangs around the saloon. I asked him if it was Ed Osborne. He said it was. The best source of information usually is the town drunk. I went over to see Osborne. "Ed, I want you to tell me all you know about Hallager's murder. He told me the reason he didn't come forward was because he was the one stealing the booze in back of the Last Chance. He said he didn't see anything until Hallager was shot. He saw someone run off. He did remember he clinked when he ran, like he had a pocket full of silver dollars, not just a couple, a whole pocket full. I was confused, no one carries that much, unless he just won a pot in a poker game. Just them I heard someone cock the hammer on their gun. "Don't turn around Lucas, I'll kill you if you do," said Joe. I asked him why he killed Hallager. 
He heard that Hallager was gunning for him over an argument about some marked cards. That was a good enough reason for Joe to ambush him. He was willing to let Billy hang for what he had done. He was proud that he came up with the idea of using Billy's gun. He wanted my rifle, slow and easy. Just as I went to toss it to him, I flipped the rifle and shot him.
I was outside chopping wood and I heard Mark in the barn pounding something. I went into see what he was doing. He was hanging up his poster from 'The Mind Reader's' show. I told him, he should have given that to Lucy and Billy. He had already saved them one. "You know, I might just be a mind reader when I grow up." "Ohhhhh, now you listen to me boy, men who learns to see, hear and think will be a mind reader six ways to Tuesday. So while your waiting to grow up you just learn to be a book reader," I said. "And that means, gets in the house and do my homework. A man don't need to be a mind reader around here," said Mark.
James Barrow McBride in 'The Mind Reader'. 
