  We present our detailed spectroscopic analysis of the chemical composition of
four red giant stars in the halo globular cluster NGC 6426. We obtained
high-resolution spectra using the Magellan2/MIKE spectrograph, from which we
derived equivalent widths and subsequently computed abundances of 24 species of
22 chemical elements. For the purpose of measuring equivalent widths, we
developed a new semi-automated tool, called EWCODE. We report a mean Fe content
of [Fe/H] = -2.34$\pm$0.05 dex (stat.) in accordance with previous studies. At
a mean $\alpha$-abundance of [(Mg,Si,Ca)/3 Fe] = 0.39$\pm$0.03 dex, NGC 6426
falls on the trend drawn by the Milky Way halo and other globular clusters at
comparably low metallicities. The distribution of the lighter $\alpha$-elements
as well as the enhanced ratio [Zn/Fe] = 0.39 dex could originate from hypernova
enrichment of the pre-cluster medium. We find tentative evidence for a spread
in the elements Mg, Si, and Zn, indicating an enrichment scenario, where ejecta
of evolved massive stars of a slightly older population polluted a newly born
younger one. The heavy element abundances in this cluster fit well into the
picture of metal-poor globular clusters, which in that respect appear to be
remarkably homogeneous. The pattern of the neutron-capture elements heavier
than Zn point towards an enrichment history governed by the r-process with only
little -if any- sign of s-process contributions. This finding is supported by
the striking similarity of our program stars to the metal-poor field star HD
108317.
