What did Rooster learn from Mr. Bagby?

• A. Ned Pepper had been seen at McAlester's store for the first time the previous week.
• B. Ned Pepper had been at McAlester's store three days earlier with a robber named Haze and a Mexican.
• C. Ned Pepper had been at McAlester's store three days earlier, traveling with a robber named Haze but no Mexican.
• D. Ned Pepper had been at McAlester's store three days earlier, traveling with a robber named Haze and a Mexican on the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad line.

Answer: (D)

This hinges on what Bagby tells Rooster about Pepper’s gang and where they were headed. Bagby reports that Ned Pepper had been at McAlester’s store three days earlier, traveling with a robber named Haze and a Mexican, and they were on the Missouri Kansas & Texas Railroad line. That exact combination—the two named companions (Haze and a Mexican), the placement on the railroad line, and the three-day-ago timing—gives Rooster a precise picture of Pepper’s party and their route, which is why this option is the best. The other statements miss one of those key details (time, the Mexican, or the railroad route), so they don’t match Bagby’s account.