The Six Gun Solution

6

Lucas sat across the table from Wyatt Earp in the Oriental Saloon, taking notes. On the other side of the room. Neilson was playing poker with several men. No sign of recognition had passed between them when Lucas came in. Good, thought Lucas, the kid’s playing it smart. He decided to follow Neilson’s lead for the time being. He was already on the scene and would be more on top of the situation. Maybe he was planning to make contact at the proper time. If not, and he was waiting for him to make the first move, Lucas knew he would have ample opportunity to do so in his cover as a journalist, when he sought to interview the Montana Kid. For now, he was more intent on firmly establishing his cover and getting his own reading on the situation in Tombstone. And in his cover as a journalist, he could hardly pass up the chance to interview the famous Wyatt Earp, who already possessed quite a reputation as a lawman from his days in Dodge

“He found Wyatt Earp to be amiable enough, a forthright, plainspoken man who talked easily and openly about his days as a lawman in Dodge City with Bat Masterson. He did notice, however, that while Wyatt Earp was not given to the sort of braggadocio that was often, attributed to him later, he did have a tendency to give a version of events that placed him in the most favorable light. Lucas went through the obligatory questions that a writer could be expected to ask and listened to Wyatt’s stories about Dodge, then finally brought the conversation around to Tombstone.

“Would you say that Tombstone, in its own way, is as wild a town as Dodge was. Mr. Earp

Wyatt seemed to consider his response. “Well, in some ways, yes. And in some other ways, no. We don’t really get the cattle drives the way that Dodge does, so there isn’t as much trouble with the Texans comin’ through. See, these cowboys spend a long time on the trail with nothin’ much to do. Driving cattle’s plenty of work, make no mistake, but there isn’t really anything the men can do for entertainment on the trail, so when they get to town, they tend to run a bit hog-wild. That’s understandable, so long as they don’t get too out of hand. They gamble away most everything they’ve earned and what they don’t gamble away they either drink up or spend on women. Trouble is, they get all liquored up and decide to hurrah the town. gallopin’ through and givin’ rebel yells and firin’ off their six-guns. Somebody could get hurt and property could get damaged. So when that kind of thing gets started, you have to put a stop to it right quick.

“Now you take most men.” he continued, “they get a little too much whiskey, they step out of line and usually all it takes is buffaloing one or two of ’em to put a stop to things, Man wakes up in jail in the morning with his head sore from too much drink and from a good blow with a six-gun barrel, he understands how things are He pays his fine and says he’s sorry he got drunk and caused a little trouble and he goes his way with no hard feelin’s. None on my part, either But some of them tend to be mean-spirited and those are usually the real troublemakers. You need to come down real hard on them. You have to keep the peace. It’s what you’re paid for. Of course, every now and then, you get some cowboy who really ties one on and starts stalkin’ through the streets, braggin’ about how he’s goin’ to face down the local lawman. Clay Allison did something like that once. Well, so long as the gent isn’t causing any real trouble, then you just keep out of his way and before too long, he’ll get tired of it and go sleep it off somewhere.

“Now in Tombstone, the situation’s a bit different. It’s a boomtown and you get a lot of people comin’ through. You get your businessmen and speculators, you get your greenhorns, you get your cowboys, you get your preachers and your gamblers and your bunco artists… Wherever you find men makin’ money, you find other men ready to separate ’em from it. We got us a sizable bunch of rustlers up in Galeyville and a few of ’em have ranches just outside of town. Many of ’em were here when Tombstone was no more than a few tents and empty lots, but now they get attracted by the money in this town and a few of ’em don’t mind takin’ a few shortcuts to get their hands on some of it.”

“You’re referring to the stagecoach robberies that you’ve been having lately?” Lucas said.

“That, for one.” said Wyatt. “Once a man takes it in his head to steal some stock, he hasn’t got far to go to holdin’ up a stage. And he can make a lot more money that way. Then there’s claim jumpin’. We’ve had our share of that, as well. Every now and then we have a shootin’. That’s why we have an ordinance against carryin’ guns in town, though that doesn’t stop some people.”

“I heard about some shootings you had here a little while ago,” said Lucas. prompting him.

“That’s right. Had two right here in this saloon,” said Wyatt. “Matter of fact, that young fella playin’ cards right ova there was the one that did it.”

“You’re talking about the Montana Kid?” asked Lucas, turning around. Which one is he’?”

“The one with the light blond hair, wearin’ it long, like a plainsman.”

“So that’s him, is it?” Lucas said. “He looks very young.”

“He’s young, all right,” said Wyatt, “but Billy the Kid was even younger when he killed his first man. You don’t need hair on your chin to pull a trigger, mister.”

“No. I guess you don’t, at that,” said Lucas. “But I was referring to the murders of those three miners out at their claim a little while back.”

Wyatt Earp frowned. “Which three miners is that?”

‘Let’s see, I think I wrote their names down somewhere.” Lucas said, glancing through his notebook as if he needed to refresh his memory. “Ah, here we are. Their names were Ben Summers, Josh Billings and Joe McEnery.”

Wyatt Earp was still frowning. “You sure you got that right, mister? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Lucas looked up at him sharply. “It would have been about a couple of weeks back,” he said. “Three men found shot dead out at their claim. Very mysterious circumstances. Apparently. their murderers were never found.”

“Seems to me like their bodies were never found, either.” Wyatt said. “I think you must have got your information wrong, mister, or someone was feeedin’ you a story. I’m not aware of any men by those names bein’ murdered.”

Lucas stared at hint, completely taken aback. “Ben Summers, Josh Billings and Joe McEnery? Those names mean nothing to you?”

Wyatt shook his head. “Never heard of ’em. Where’d you get this story?”

Lucas shook his head. “Why. I. I’m not exactly sure. I think I must have heard it in the bar over at the hotel. But I suppose I might have got it wrong somehow. You’re sure those names mean nothing to you? Three men found dead in very mysterious circumstances?”

Wyatt smiled. “Sounds to me like somebody was pullin’ your leg. You’re liable to get some of that around here. City slicker like yourself, out to write about the Wild frontier, folks are liable to string you along a bit. You’ll have to watch out for that sort of thing.”

Lucas was thoroughly confused. Why would Earp deny any knowledge of the killings? It made no sense, unless he wasn’t anxious to have some reporter from back Fast writing about a case he couldn’t solve. But then, surely he’d hear about it from others in town. Maybe it was just Earp’s way of not wanting to talk about it.

Well… I guess maybe I might’ve got taken in a bit.” said Lucas. “I did tell people I was looking for interesting stories about life on the frontier. Somebody might have just made that one up to get a few drinks out of me.”

“You offer drinks for stories, mister, you’ll get more than your share; said Earp, with a smile, “and most of ’em right fanciful, to boot. But I don’t guess that really makes much difference, does it” You writers like to spice things up a bit. I don’t suppose it does much harm.”

“No, I… I don’t suppose it does,” Lucas replied, still mystified by Earp’s curious denial. “But I was wondering.-”

“The stage’s been robbed!” someone shouted.

Wyatt was on his feet in an instant, rushing over to the man.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“They shot Bud Philpot! Bob got the stage back, but Bud’s dead and one of the passengers was shot. They didn’t get the silver shipment.”

“I’m goin’ to need a posse!” Wyatt called out, quickly taking charge. “Lem, you run down and get Virg and Morg. Where’s Bob at?”

“He’s outside with the stage,” said the man who came running in with the news. “He got banged up some, but he’s okay.”

“You need some help. Marshal’” Neilson asked.

“I can use a good gun, Kid. Come along.”

“Marshal Earp!” said Lucas. “I’d like to ride along, if I

“A posse’s no place for a greenhorn, mister. No offense.”

“I can ride,” said Lucas. “I know how to shoot, too. I used to be a soldier. I’d like to help.”

“All right, if you feel you’re up to it, we’ll get you a rifle. Come along.”

Still no sign of recognition from Neilson, thought Lucas. All right, he’d wait and see. They went out into the street and hurried a short distance down the block, to where the stage had pulled up. Sheriff Behan was already there, along with several other men. A crowd was gathering rapidly. Wyatt pushed his way through to the man at the center of attention, the shotgun guard, Bob Paul. He was covered with dust and his clothing was disheveled

“What happened, Bob?” asked Wyatt.

“I was just akin’ him that,” said Sheriff Behan, irritably. Lucas noticed a look of dislike between the two men.

“They got us a short way out of Contention.” Paul said. “Bud was havin’ stomach cramps, so I told him I could drive for a bit till they eased up. We’d pulled over and traded places, but we hadn’t gotten more than a few miles north on the road to Benson when they hit us. We’d just gone across a dry wash and started up a hill when a masked man stepped out into the road and shouted. ‘Hold!’ Next thing we knew, there was a hunch of ’em around us, three, four, maybe more. I couldn’t tell, it all happened so fast. Bud went for the scattergun and they shot him. The horses-bolted and then they were all shootin”. I lost the reins and had to climb down to retrieve ’em. Almost fell off into the road,

They get the silver?” Behan asked.

“No. they didn’t get it. They didn’t have a chance ‘the horses ran off soon as they shot Bud. One of the passengers took a bullet, too. Name of Peter Roerig, was sittin’ in the dickey seat up back. He looked bad. They took him to the doc’s, but I don’t think he’s goin’ to make it.”

Virgil and Morgan had arrived. “We’re gettin’ up a posse.” Wyatt told them. “Outlaws just robbed the stage and killed Bud Philpot. If we get a move on, we might catch ’em.”

“Wait a minute. Wyatt,” Behan said. “I’m the sheriff. I’m takin’ this posse.”

“Fine, then, take it. But we’re comin’ along.”

Behan looked as if he was going to make an argument of it, then changed his mind.

“I’m goin’ too. Wyatt,” Paul said.

“You sure you’re up to it?”

They got Bud.” Paul said, with a hard edge to his voice.-I’m goin’.”

Within moments, the posse was organized and mounted, galloping out of town on the road to Contention, about eight miles northwest of Tombstone. Lucas found himself riding next to Neilson, but aside from a curious look, nothing else passed between them. Lucas wondered if Neilson was being watched by someone in the posse and was aware of it. He was playing it very cool. Until he had a chance to speak with him alone, he’d have to follow his lead. Neilson could have discovered more about what was going on here since the time he’d last made his report.

It was late by the time they reached the place where the robbery had occurred and the darkness slowed them down, making the trail hard to follow. They were still tracking the outlaws when daylight came.

“Looks like the trail’s leading to Len Redfield’s place,” said Virgil.

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” said Wyatt, dryly. “Len’s real friendly with Ike Clanton.”

The trail, as Virgil had predicted, led straight to the ranch, where they discovered several horses in the corral that had been ridden very hard.

“Looks like they might have traded horses here.” said Wyatt, as Lucas rode up beside him.

Suddenly a shot cracked out.

“Hold it right there, mister!’

It was Neilson who had yelled and fired. Lucas frowned.

That was getting a little too involved. The man who had taken off running from the corral, heading toward the house, stopped in his tracks and raised his hands in the air.

“Don’t shoot!” he shouted.

“It’s Luther King.” said Behan, riding over to him. Wyatt and Bob Paul followed.

“Virg, you and the others go and check the house.” he said. “And watch yourselves.”

“I didn’t do nothin’!” King protested. “What the hell did you shoot at me for?”

“Why’d you run, Luther’?” Wyatt asked, looking down at the man from his horse.

“How was I supposed to know who you were?” protested King. “I thought you might be outlaws!”

“Did you, now?”

“Well, how was he to know?” asked Behan.

Wyatt gave him a hard look. “Why don’t you go and check the house. Johnny? See if your friend Len can tell us anything.”

Behan hesitated, again seeming as if he was about to argue, then once more thought better of it. He wheeled his horse and trotted toward the house.

“Been out ridin’ tonight, Luther?” Wyatt asked.

“I’ve been here all night.” King replied, nervously. “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“You didn’t have anything to do with what, Luther?” Wyatt asked, calmly.

“With.. with whatever it is you boys are out for.”

“Somebody tried to rob the Kinnear stage tonight. Luther.” Wyatt said. “Bud Philpot was shot and killed. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

“How the hell would I know? Like I told you. I was here all night.”

“Were you? What were you doin’ out by the corral?”…

“I came out to milk the cows.”

“You always strap your guns on when you go milkin’. Luther?”

King hesitated. “Man can’t be too careful these days. Might have been Indians around.”

Morgan Earp snorted with disgust, “Indians, my foot! You were one of them Luther, weren’t you?”

“I told you. I was here all night! I didn’t have nothin’ to do with it! Ask Len!”

“How do we know that Len wasn’t involved’!” asked Wyatt. “You’ve got some horses over there in that corral look like they were ridden pretty hard. You got anything to say about that?”

“Yeah, well… there was some riders came by not long ago. Wanted to trade some horses.”

“Who were they?”

“I.. I don’t know. I didn’t know who they were. I never saw ’em before.”

“You’re lyin’, Luther.”

“I ain’t lyin’! I told you, I don’t know anything about any robbery!”

“It’s more than robbery, Luther.” Wyatt said. “It’s murder. Bud Philpot’s dead.”

“Passenger got wounded, too,” said Virgil. “Looks like he might not make it. That’ll be two murders.”

“Three. Virg,” Wyatt said. “Don’t forget Katie.” Virgil frowned. “Katie?”

“Isn’t that right. Bob?” Wyatt said, turning to Bob. “Didn’t you tell me Katie Elder took a bullet? Killed her on the spot, you said. Doc just about went crazy when he heard about it.”

Bob Paul picked up on it, “Yeah. that’s right. I never saw Doc like that before. It was somethin’ terrible.”

“Doc Holliday’s woman was on that stage?” asked King. his eyes wide.”She was headin’ out to Benson, to take the train and visit some relatives for a spell,” said Wyatt. “When Doc found out she’d been shot, he swore up and down he’d get every last one of those outlaws if it took him the rest of his life.”

“Oh, my God.” said King.

“If Doc gets in his head you were involved, Luther. I don’t know that there’s anything in this world that will stop him,” Wyatt said. You know how he is.”

“Listen, Marshal, you gotta promise me you’ll tell Doc I had nothin. to do with it, I swear!” said King, in a panic. “Well, now, I don’t know that for a fact. Luther.”

“Marshal, please! You gotta believe me! Look, you gotta tell Holliday it wasn’t me! I didn’t do any of the shootin’.

God’s my judge! I only held the horses! You gotta tell Doc, I only held the horses! I never even fired my gun! I wasn’t even there! I was just down the road a piece! I didn’t know there was goin’ to be any killin’! I swear. I didn’t! Please. Marshal, you gotta tell him!”

“Well now. I might, Luther, if you were to tell us who the rest of ’em were.”

“It was Head. Leonard and Crane!” said King. “I don’t know which one of ’em shot Philpot! I heard the shootin’, but I didn’t see it! Like I said, I only held the horses!”

“Head, Leonard and Crane, eh?” said Wyatt. “Where are they now’?”

“They rode out a while back. I ain’t sure where they went and that’s the truth, I swear it! The whole thing went wrong! But you gotta tell Holliday I didn’t do any shootin’. Marshal. You gotta tell him!”

Wyatt glanced at Bob Paul and grinned. “I always knew that had temper of

Doe’s would come in handy one day.”

Sheriff Johnny Behan and his deputy. Billy Breakenridge, took charge of the prisoner and rode back to town with him while the rest of the posse continued on the outlaws’ trail. Lucas took the opportunity to ride back with the prisoner, expecting Neilson to volunteer to do the same, only the Montana Kid continued on with the posse. Not so much as a meaningful look had passed between them. Andre was waiting at the hotel when he returned.

“Did you learn anything?” she asked. “Did you have a chance to talk to Scott?”

“No, to both questions.” Lucas said, easing himself onto the bed. It had been a while since he had been on horseback and he was saddle-sore. “Neilson acted as if he didn’t even know me. The only explanation I can think of is that someone in the posse was watching him and he was aware of it. He’s still out there with them. I guess he thought that if he came back with me, it might tip off whoever’s watching him.”

“Any clue who it might be?”

Lucas shook his head. “It could’ve been any of them.” He frowned. “I don’t know. There’s something bothering me.”

“You, too?”

“You pick up on something’?”

“You first.”

“Actually, it’s a couple of things, but I’m not sure if it means anything. For one thing, there’s Masterson’s leaving town to go back to Dodge City According to our historical records. he shouldn’t have done that until after the stage robbery. He should have been on that posse. But then, our records have been wrong before. Maybe that’s all it is. The other thing is that Wyatt Earp claimed to know absolutely nothing about the deaths of those Observers. Said he didn’t even know any men named Summers. Billings and McEnery. He told me that someone must have been pulling my leg and making up a story for my benefit. It’s possible he just didn’t want to talk about it and denied the whole thing because he didn’t want to discuss a crime he couldn’t solve. I can’t think of any other explanation. but why would he want to lie about it? We could easily corroborate that story with anyone in town.”

“You want to bet?” she said.

He glanced at her with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“I spent the evening last night visiting some of the stores and meeting some of the local women.” Andre said “I even managed to meet Wyatt’s girl. Josie Marcus, and have dinner with her And nobody would admit to knowing anything about those three Observers. Who they were, how they died, nothing. They all wanted to know where I came up with such a story. It was news to all of them.”

Lucas simply stared at her. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I don’t know,” said Andre, “but it’s as if somebody told the whole town not to talk about it.”

“Wait a minute.” Lucas said. “That barman downstairs, what’s his name, Mohan, he talked about it, remember?”

“Good luck getting him to admit it.” Andre said. “I spoke to him briefly after dinner. He looked blank when I brought it up. Said I must have gotten mixed up with a story about something that happened somewhere else. Denied ever telling us anything about it and looked at me like I was crazy.”

“Somebody got to him.” said Lucas.

“Apparently.”

Lucas looked worried. “That might explain why Neilson didn’t make any contact.” he said. “Our cover might be blown already.”

“How? We haven’t done anything to tip anybody off,” she said. “We’ve only just arrived in town.”

“Maybe we were recognized,” said Lucas. “There are people in the Network who know who we are. If one of them spotted us when we came into town, our cover could have been blown right there and then.”

“I suppose that’s possible,” Andre said. “Only if that’s the case, what would be the point in hushing up the deaths of those Observers? That would only put us on our guard.”

Lucas shook his head “You’re right. It makes no sense. And how the hell could they get to everyone so fast and make sure nobody talked about it?”

“They were late getting to Mehan.” Andre said.

“That makes no sense, either,” Lucas said, with a frown. “You’d think he would’ve been the first one they’d warn to keep his mouth shut. And the fact that they could do that, whoever they are, would presuppose that they control the entire town. That doesn’t seem possible.”

“Maybe it doesn’t seem likely.” Andre replied, “but it’s not impossible.”

“That would mean that this whole town is a Network operation,” Lucas said. “I can’t believe that. There’s got to be some other explanation.”

“I’m open to suggestions.” Andre said

Lucas sighed heavily, “Yeah. The trouble is. I haven’t got any. Did you talk to Finn?”

She shook her head. “I saw him going into the Oriental Saloon shortly before I went to dinner. He was with a couple of cowboys, so I didn’t try to make contact.”

“And he didn’t make contact last night’?” Lucas asked, with concern

Andre shook her head. “No. But then he could have gotten into an all-night poker game or picked up a lead on a job at one of the ranches that the rustlers work out of.”

Lucas shook his head. “I don’t like it. He should have made contact by now.”

“There’s got to be a reason why he didn’t,” Andre said.

“Maybe he learned something that warned him off.”

“Or maybe something happened to him.” Lucas said. He struck the bed with his fist. “Damn it! We only just got here and already things are out of our control! What aren’t we seeing? What don’t we know?”

“Whatever it is, we’re not going to find out now,” said Andre. “You look beat. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?

I’ll stand watch.”

She reached into her carpet bag, pulled out a laser pistol and double-checked its chargepak.

“I wouldn’t mind lying down for a while,” Lucas said. “But I don’t know if I’ll get any sleep “

“Try,” said Andre. “Meditate or something. All we can do now is wait, anyway. Something’s bound to break. And I don’t need you tired when it does.”

“Okay, you’ve got a point.” said Lucas, lying back on the bed. “I’ll try to get some rest. Hut I’d feel a lot better if I knew what Delaney was doing.”

Moments later, he was fast asleep. Andre sat down in a chair and put her feet up, holding the laser pistol in her lap. She kept close watch on the windows and the door. Something wasn’t right She had the nagging thought that if she could just back off a bit and look at it a certain way, she’d see it.

She sighed. “Come on. Finn.” she whispered, softly, so as not to disturb Lucas. “Where are you?”

“Dealer takes two,” said Finn Delaney, dealing himself two cards. “It’s your bet, mister.”

“Well, let’s see if we can’t make this interesting,” said Stone, putting down his bet.

“Feelin’ sure of yourself, are ya?” said Delaney.

The gambler smiled. “Confidence is half the game.”

“Luck is the other half,” said Finn. “I’ll see you and I’ll raise you ten.”

“Too rich for me,” said one of the players, folding.

“I’m out,” said another.

“Luck, is it? I thought it was skill,” said Stone, his eyes twinkling. He matched Finn’s bet. “Call.”

“Three of a kind,” said Finn, putting down three eights.

“Sorry, Mister,” said Stone. putting down his cards. “Three ladies.” He reached for the pot.

“And two aces make a full house.” said Delaney, putting down his last two cards.

“Son of a bitch.” said Stone.

“Whoo-eee!” said one of the other men, clapping Delaney on the back. “That’s the way to play ’em!”

“Drinks on me. gents.” said Finn, gathering up the pot.

“Looks like it’s your lucky night. cowboy,” Stone said. He gathered up the cards. “Tell you what. I’ll cut you for that pot you just won. Double or nothing.”

“No, not me.” said Finn, with a smile. “I might believe in the luck of the Irish, but not enough to push it.”

Stone smiled. “Suit yourself. We’ll have to play again sometime. Give me a chance to get some of that money back. Unless you’re just passing through.”

“No, I think I’ll stick around a bit.” said Finn, as the others got up from the table. “You go on and get your drinks, boys, and tell the bartender I’ll take care of it,” he said.

“Thanks, mister.”

“Where you from, cowboy?” the gambler asked.

“Oh, all over,” Delaney replied, “guess I’m what you’d call a drifter. I never seem to stay in any one place too long. What about yourself?”

“Boston,” said the gambler.

“Boston? Is that right?”

“Ever been there’?”

“Yeah, back in another life.” said Finn. He smiled. The gambler seemed to hesitate a fraction of a second before he smiled back. “Got some of the finest food around in Boston. The old Oyster House by Faneuil Hall.”

“I know it well. What brings you to Tombstone?”

“The wind, my friend, the wind.” Delaney said. “I just follow where it blows me.”

“You seem to have a touch of the romantic in your soul,” said Stone. “That would be the Irish in you. A land of poets and dreamers.”

“Aye, that it is.” said Delaney. He grinned. “It’s lucky for me I ran into you tonight. Mr. Stone. My roll was gettin’ mighty thin. I’m much obliged to you.”

“Well, you can’t win them all.” said Stone. “And call me Ben.”

“My friends call me Finn.”

“It’s a pleasure, Finn. Jenny! Bring us a bottle, will you, dear?”

“Well, now. I said drinks were on me,” said Finn.

“Very well, I won’t argue. Feel free to pay.”

Finn chuckled and stared appreciatively as Jenny brought a bottle of whiskey over to their table.

“Thank you, darling,” Stone said.

She smiled. “Anytime, Ben.”

They both watched as she moved off.

“Pretty girl.” said Finn.

“That she is,” Stone agreed. “But if you’ve got any ideas along that line. I’d advise you to forget them. Time was, not too long ago, she’d have been happy to accommodate you, but not since the Montana Kid arrived in town. Now she’s got eyes only for him. A big, husky fellow like yourself might not be deterred by that, but I’d think twice if I were you. The Kid’s one hell of a fast gun.”

“Is he, now?”

“Killed two men right here in this saloon. And they knew their business, too. He’s young, but don’t let that fool you. The Kid is deadly.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Delaney said. “Sounds like this town can get a mite rough for a man.”

“Well, it isn’t Boston, that’s for sure.” Stone replied. “You get many killings here?”

“More than our share.”

Finn fought back the temptation to ask about the dead Observers. He didn’t want to ask too many questions. He was aware of Stone’s light gray eyes watching him carefully, not smiling when his mouth smiled. Neither one of us an too sure about each other, are we? He thought. He had a feeling about Stone and he was pretty sure that Stone had the same feeling about him. Not quite a certainty, but close enough for government work, as they said. They were both gambling men and Finn would have bet Stone was a pro. Stone would probably have made the same bet, too. There were all sorts of telltale little things that ordinary people would have missed, things that, to a pro. couldn’t really be disguised. Body attitude and language. A sense of fine control. Alert and watchful eyes, eyes that picked up much more than most people’s did. But mostly, it was a feeling like two predators sensing each other. It was possible that Stone was simply the same breed of man. Capable, crafty, dangerous. Delaney knew he could be wrong. But he didn’t think he was.

“Seems like a man could do all right for himself in a town like this,” said Finn.

“Well, I guess it would all depend on what he had in mind.” Stone replied. Finn shrugged. “I’m in no hurry. I think I’ll just sort of stick around and get the feel of things before I make any decisions. Find out who’s who around here, what sort of opportunities there are.”

“There anything special that you had in mind?” asked Stone.

“I said, let go of me!”

Stone turned around. “Oh-oh. Looks like trouble.”

A cowboy sitting at a table had Jenny by the arm and was refusing to let go. She struggled, but he was much stronger and held on firmly.

“Come on. Now, honey, don’t be like that! You weren’t too good for me last week!”

“That was last week!” Jenny said. “Things are different now. I don’t do that anymore. Now let me go!”

“The Kid’s not going to like that,” Stone said.

“He around?”

“No, he went out on that posse with the Earps. And Frank Leslie rode out with the sheriff when they went back out after they brought in their prisoner.”

“I said, let me go!”

The man pulled her down on his lap, laughing. “Playin’ hard to get, eh?

Well. I know what you like!” Jenny struggled as the man started roughly fondling her breast. The other men at the table were laughing and egging their companion on.

“Excuse me,” Finn said, pushing back his chair. He went over to their table. Jenny was making angry, whimpering sounds as the man forced his kisses on her. “I think I heard the lady ask to be let go,” said Finn.

The man stopped kissing Jenny and stared up at Finn belligerently, though he still held onto her tightly.

“What the hell business is it of yours?”

“I just don’t like seeing women bullied, that’s all.” Finn said.

“Is that so? Well now, just what do you intend to do about it?”

“How about if I break your knees” asked Finn, with a smile.

“Hey, now! I don’t want any trouble in here!” the barman shouted.

“You stay out of this, Lem! It ain’t none of your concern!” shouted the cowboy.

Lem didn’t seem inclined to make it his concern. The cowboy let Jenny go and stood up. He was a beefy man, as big as Finn, though heavier and not as muscular.

“Mister, you just bought into a pack of trouble.”

Delaney hit him in the face with a quick, sharp blow and the man dropped like a felled tree. His three friends were on their feet in an instant. One of them swung at Finn. Delaney caught his fist in his left hand, then brought his right hand up to cover it, gave a quick, sharp twist and the man howled as his wrist bone snapped like a twig. The other man had picked up a chair and was bringing it down hard. Delaney swung the man with the broken wrist around and made him take the blow. The chair broke over the man’s head and Delaney released him as he went down. The third man was reaching into the pocket of his coat. Delaney snatched up a half empty whiskey bottle from the table and smashed it into the man’s face. Whiskey, broken glass, blood and a few teeth spattered on the table as the man went down.

The man who’d swung the chair came up with a bowie knife he had in his boot. Delaney just looked at him and grinned. The man with the knife found the grin highly disconcerting. The knife made sweeping arcs in front of him as he bent over in a crouch. Cards, glasses and coins rained to the floor as Delaney picked up the table and ran it at him.

“Jesus…!” yelled the man with the knife as the table struck him and he was propelled back against the wall, struck it hard and remained there, pinned by the table. The knife fell to the floor. Delaney dropped the table on the man’s feet.

“Yowww.”

And then Delaney struck him once and knocked him out.

“Great day in the morning!” someone said.

A few people applauded and whooped. Delaney turned and gave them a small bow.

“I’d like to thank you, mister.”

Finn turned to see Jenny standing behind him.

“My pleasure, Ma’am.”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“I’d be delighted.”

He glanced at Stone, who was watching him thoughtfully. Stone gave a slight smile, inclined his head and raised his glass to him.

“My name is Jennifer,” the girl said. ‘Jennifer Reilly. What’s yours?”

“Delaney. But my friends just call me Finn.”

“You sure do handle yourself well, Finn Those boys can be pretty mean.”

“Oh, I thought they seemed right sociable.” said Finn.

Jenny smiled. Oh, dear, thought Finn, not immune to its effects. What’s a heartbreaker like you doing in a place like this? One of the men behind him groaned from the floor, but made no move to get up.

“I’m afraid that coming to my rescue might have brought you trouble.” Jenny said. “Those men are Johnny Ringo’s boys. And they’ve got friends.”

“I’d be happy to make their acquaintance,” Finn said. raising his glass to her.

“I’m not sure you’d like that too much.” she replied. “What you did was very gallant, but I don’t want to mislead you. I’m spoken for.”

“So I heard.” said Finn. “I’d say the Montana Kid’s a lucky man.”

“He’ll appreciate what you did for me tonight,” said Jenny. “I’ll be sure to tell him when he gets back to town. I think the two of you might like each other.”

“Well, if you think highly of him, then I’m sure that I will, too,” said Finn. He turned around and glanced toward Stone’s table. The gambler was gone. He felt a light touch on his arm.

“You’re pretty good with your fists there, cowboy,” said a husky, female voice. “My! Strong, too!”

He turned to see an attractive young redhead smiling at him.

“Finn, I’d like you to meet my good friend. Becky,” Jenny said. “Becky, this here’s Mr. Finn Delaney.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Finn said.

“That was a nice thing that you did for Jenny.” Becky said. “Those boys had it comin’.”

“I thought so,” Finn replied.

“Too bad that Jenny’s already spoken for.” said Becky. “But I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I was to thank you for her.”

She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him. She took her time about it and she seemed sincere.

“You’re welcome,” Finn said somewhat breathlessly, when she broke off the kiss.

“Well now, I haven’t thanked you, yet,” said Becky, with a smile and a smoldering look. “That was just to introduce myself. Jenny, you’ll send up a bottle, won’t you, dear?” She took Finn by the arm. “Would you be so kind as to escort me to my room, sir?”