“We can find that out when we get over there.”
“All right, let’s check out, then get the buckboard and our horses from the livery. We can tell Mr. Milty what we’re planning and that we’ll pay him something even if we don’t use the livery.”
“We can also find out if his kid delivered our message.”
“Right.”
They paid their bill and left the café. As they were aproaching the hotel, they saw young Frank Milty waiting out front.
“Mr. Locke, Mr. Cooper,” Frank said as they reached him. “I delivered your note.”
“And?” Cooper asked.
“I got one in return.”
He took a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. In return, Locke gave him the rest of his money.
“Thanks, Frank,” he said. “You did a good job.”
“If you need me again, just let me know,” the young boy said.
“We’ll do that.”
The boy nodded and ran off, to do whatever it was boys his age did with their money.
“What’s it say?” Locke asked.
“Crowell says Molly is out at the creek already. He’s gonna send someone out to tell her what’s going on. He says he thinks she’ll just stay there and wait for us.” He passed the note to Locke. “Says she likes bein’ alone.”
“Poor George,” Locke said, scanning the note. “He’s so in love with her it’s painful to watch.”
“Think she knows?”
Locke folded the note and tucked it into his pocket. “She knows. A woman always knows.”
“That sounds like you’re speaking from personal experience, John. Some woman break your heart?”
“More than one, my friend,” Locke said. “More than one …”
Hoke Benson and his men were staying at a hotel on the other side of town, a cheap, rundown place with no name.
“We coulda stayed at a better place,” Eli Jordan complained as they met in the lobby. Hoke had his own room, but Eli and Bob Bailey shared one.
“Go ahead,” Hoke said.
“You won’t let us use any of the first payroll money,” Eli complained.
“We don’t wanna be flashin’ any money, Eli,” Hoke said. “After we hit the second payroll, we’ll put some distance between us and this place, and you can spend all the money you want.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Where’s Bailey?”
“He went over to the station like you tol’ him,” Eli said. “He should be right here.”
Right on cue, Bailey walked through the front door.
“What’s goin’ on with Locke and Cooper?” Hoke asked.
“It looks like they checked out of their hotel. They got their buckboard and horses from the livery and took everything over to the station with them.”
“They’re gonna leave right from the train station, soon as they get the payroll.”
“How do you know that?” Bailey asked.
“I’m figurin’ that, Bob,” Hoke said. “I don’t know that for sure, but that’s the way it looks.”
“So, what do we do?” Eli said.
“We gotta be ready to leave at any time,” Hoke said. “We’ll have to talk to Rome and Turpin.”
“We really need those guys?” Eli asked.
“You want to go against Cooper and Locke just the three of us?” Hoke asked.
“No, but do we have to cut them in for an equal share?” Eli complained.
“Actually,” Hoke said, “no.”
Eddie Rome looked out the window of his hotel. In quality, it was about halfway between the Gold Nugget, where Locke was staying, and the no-name where Hoke Benson was staying. As far as location, it was in the center of town. Rome was able to see Locke and Cooper on their way to the livery, and he saw Bob Bailey walking to the station. He also saw Locke and Cooper taking their buckboard and horses to the station.
When he met his partner, Turpin, in the hotel dining room for breakfast, he said, “Somethin’s happenin’.”
“Like what?”
“Bacon and eggs,” Rome said to the waiter. “Locke and Cooper collected their stuff from the livery and took it to the train station. I think they’re gonna leave town as soon as they get the payroll.”
“Think Hoke knows?”
“He knows.”
“So, what do we do?”
“We wait,” Rome said. “Hoke’ll send Eli over to tell us what to do.”
“Eddie.”
“Yeah?” Rome sat back to allow the waiter to put down his plate.
“You’re smarter than Hoke, ain’tcha?”
“Sure I am,” Rome said.
“Then why are we lettin’ him tell us what to do?” Turpin asked.
“Because it was his idea.”
“So?”
“So, we let him do all the work and all the plannin’, and then we take the money from him and the others.”
“And kill ’em?”
“Of course,” Rome said. “Why would we leave them alive to come after us?”
“I just wanted to make sure,” Turpin said.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Locke and Cooper sat on a wooden bench on the train platform with their backs to a wall.
“This ain’t no secret, you know,” Sheriff Maddox said. “You drove right through the center of town.”
They both turned their heads to look at him.
“We know that,” Locke said.
“You just gonna sit here all day?” the lawman asked.
“Until the train arrives.”
Maddox looked around. “I can’t stay here with you,” he said.
“We know that.”
Maddox shifted from foot to foot.
“Sheriff,” Locke said, “we’ll be fine. Go look after your town.”
“Just think,” Cooper added. “If somethin’ happens here, it’s outside of town.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maddox said.
“He’s not a bad guy,” Cooper said as Sheriff Maddox walked off the platform.
“I guess.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I think he’s having problems with us being here,” Locke said. “I think he’s been real comfortable up to now.”
“And we’re makin’ him uncomfortable?”
“Very.”
“Maybe he’ll become a real lawman again.”
“You don’t know his past,” Cooper said. “How do you know he didn’t put in a lot of years as a real lawman? How do you know he doesn’t deserve to take it easy here?”
“I don’t know, Coop,” Locke said. “Do you?”
“No,” Cooper said. “I don’t know nothin’ about him.”
“Why don’t we just worry about why we’re here, then?” Locke suggested. “Worry about the payroll, and about watching each other’s back.”
“Okay,” Cooper said. “Okay.”
Later in the afternoon, the clerk came out and told them the train would arrive within the hour.
“Still early enough for us to put some distance between us and this town,” Cooper said.
“Depending on how long it takes us to unload the gold,” Locke said. “I’ve got no idea how big or how heavy the load is, do you?”
Cooper was about to answer when they both heard it, the sound of the train whistle.
“It’s early,” the clerk said, sticking his head out the door.
“Here comes all that gold,” Cooper said, his tone almost reverent.
“What do we have to show that we’re pickin’ it up?” Locke asked as they both stood up.
“I got a paper from Molly,” Cooper said, “and she sent a telegram with my name on it. We won’t have any trouble takin’ delivery.”
Sheriff Maddox appeared at the end of the platform and started walking toward them.
“Looks like somebody else heard the train whistle,” Locke said.
“Sheriff Maddox,” Cooper said.
“Thought I�
��d stop by and see if somebody got brave.”
“Appreciate the thought, Sheriff,” Locke said.
When the train pulled in, Locke, Cooper, and Sheriff Maddox made their way to the payroll car. The door slid open, and two men with rifles appeared. Cooper stepped forward and produced the paper Molly had given them for identification.
“Sheriff?” one of them asked, looking at Maddox.
“What are you askin’ him for?” Cooper demanded.
“He’s the law, ain’t he?”
“I got identification right there,” Cooper said. “Signed by Molly Shillstone. What more do you need?”
“How do I know you’re Cooper?” the man demanded.
Cooper turned and looked at Locke.
“I’ll vouch for him.”
The guard looked at Locke. “And who are you?”
“Is my name on that paper?” Locke asked Cooper.
“No.”
“I guess I can’t help, then.”
Cooper sighed, then looked at Maddox. “Sheriff?”
The guard looked at the lawman.
“He’s Dale Cooper.”
The guard looked at the name on the paper again, then said to his partner, “Okay.” He looked at Cooper. “We got four crates of gold.”
“Bars?” Cooper asked.
“Coins.”
They turned out to be small crates, but heavy. The guards would not leave the car, as they had other valuables there. Locke and Cooper had to carry the crates themselves, one in front, one in back, each with a hand on his gun. A small crowd gathered to watch them.
“Word gets around fast,” Locke said.
Maddox, who walked alongside them, said, “I’ll stay with the first crate while you get the second.”
Then he stayed with the first two while they got the third, and then the fourth. By that time, it seemed as if half the town had turned out to watch them unload.
“They’re going to come out of the woodwork for this,” Maddox said.
“We have to get moving,” Cooper said. “Once we’re out of sight, a lot of these people will forget all about it.”
“And the others?” Maddox asked.
“They might come after us,” Cooper said. “We’ll deal with them when they do.”
“I don’t envy you this job,” Maddox said.
Cooper tossed a tarp over the crates, closed the tailgate of the buckboard, and turned to face Maddox. “You want to come with us?”
“Oh, no,” Maddox said. “I’m not getting paid enough to paint that kind of a target on my back.”
“No,” Locke said. “We are.”
As Locke and Cooper rode off with the buckboard full of gold, Hoke Benson pushed through the crowd to watch them go. As the people began to disperse, he remained there. With this many people aware of what was on that buckboard, he knew they were going to have competition. That meant they were going to have to try to hit the payroll on the trail to Turnback Creek.
He waited for Sheriff Maddox to move away with the rest of the crowd, then turned to go back to Lucky Lil’s and pick up his men.
“Now?” Eli asked.
“Come on. Get up. We’ve got to get mounted and ride.”
“What’s goin’ on?” Rome asked, coming over from his table.
“We’re movin’!” Hoke said.
“Now?”
“Yes, now!” he shouted. “What’s so hard to understand about that?”
He headed for the door, and the other men hurried to keep up with him.
From the back of the crowd, Cal Nieves and Del Morgan watched the gold get loaded into the buckboard.
“Let’s go and find the others,” Morgan said. “We’ve got to move now.”
“Are you ready for this, Del?” Nieves asked.
“Did you see them loading those crates?” Morgan asked. “That’s gold, Cal. Believe me, I’m ready.”
When Hoke and his men got to the livery, they saw five men riding away at high speed.
“Hey,” Hoke shouted at the liveryman. “We need our horses, fast!”
“You got an emergency?” Ed Milty asked.
“Yeah, mister,” Hoke said. “We got a big emergency.”
“That’s funny,” Milty said. “That’s what those five who just rode out of here said. Wonder what kind of emergency they had?”
“I think I know,” Hoke said. “Come on, we’ll help you get those horses.”
Locke looked at Cooper, who was looking behind them. “Coop?”
“You saw that crowd,” the ex-marshal said. “Somebody’s got to try us early.”
“That’s okay,” Locke said, touching the rifle next to him. “We’ll be ready.”
THIRTY-NINE
They managed to put some distance between themselves and Kingdom Junction, even though the weight of the gold slowed them down, and then they stopped.
Locke dropped down from the buckboard. “We might as well wait for them.”
“How many do you think will come?” Cooper asked.
“However many they can gather while they’re in heat for the gold,” Locke said. “I don’t expect this to be a very organized attempt.”
“Not the ones who hit the first payroll yet.”
“No,” Locke said. “You saw the looks on the faces of those people. Some of them were salivating. Believe me, somebody’s going to be coming along, and soon.”
“Well,” Cooper said, “we can’t outrun them, that’s for sure. Guess you’re right. We might as well wait.”
They had stopped near a clump of trees and a formation of rocks.
“I’ll take the rocks,” Locke said, “and you take the trees. We’ll have them in a crossfire.”
“How close do we let them get to the gold?”
“All the way,” Locke said.
The first group of five riders came within sight of the buckboard and stopped.
“This was a bad idea,” Malcolm Turner said. “We ain’t robbers.”
“Don’t get cold feet on us, Malcolm,” Del Morgan said. “Do you know how much gold is on that buckboard?”
“I don’t,” Cal Nieves said.
“Anybody know?”
The other men all exchanged looks and shrugs.
“Well,” Morgan said, “we know it’s a lot. Four boxes worth. And it’s just sittin’ there.”
“Yeah,” Cletus Cloninger said, “but why is it just sittin’ there?”
“That’s easy,” Malcolm said. “They got scared. They ran off.” His tone was hopeful.
“I think we should go down and find out,” Cal said, drawing his gun. “Are you with me?”
“Now, hold on, Cal,” Morgan said. “You were the one who was tellin’ me what kind of men we’re dealin’ with. The kind that don’t give up.”
“Well,” Nieves said, “maybe I was wrong. Maybe they did give up. Maybe they just ran off.”
Morgan looked into Nieves’s feverish eyes and knew what he was seeing: gold fever.
“Are you with me?” he asked again.
The other three men nodded and drew their guns. Morgan knew he couldn’t have stopped them if he tried.
“Hold it!” Hoke said, holding up his hand.
The four riders behind him reined their horses in.
“They got here first,” Eli said, watching the five riders approach the buckboard. “They had the same idea we had, five against two. They’re gonna get our gold.”
“They’re not gonna get anything,” Hoke said.
“Come on,” Turpin said. “We can ride there and take it from them after they take it from the other two.”
“Where are the other two?” Bailey asked.
“They’re there,” Hoke said. “They didn’t just ride off and leave all that gold.”
“You think so?” Eli asked.
“I know so.”
“So, let’s just set here and watch and see what hap-pens,” Rome suggested.
“That’s a very good idea,” Hoke said, dismounting.
The other men followed, and he told Bailey, “Take the horses back about a hundred yards and keep ’em quiet.”
“I don’t get to watch?” he complained.
“That’s right, Bob,” Hoke said. “You don’t get to watch. Do like I told you.”
Muttering, Bailey collected the reins of everyone’s horses and started walking.
“We’re just gonna watch,” Hoke said, crouching down. “Has everyone got that?”
They all got it, and crouched down.
Cal Nieves led his four companions right up to the gold-laden buckboard, with Del Morgan bringing up the rear. The whole thing had been his idea, but he knew he had lost control of the situation. Even Red Sinclair’s normally stoic face was showing gold fever.
“Whaddaya think, Cal?” Malcolm asked. “Are they gone?”
All five men started looking around them with puzzled but hungry faces.
“Wait a minute,” Cloninger asked. “What if they switched buckboards on us?”
“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “What if there ain’t no gold under that tarp?”
“Del?” Cal asked.
“Well,” Del said, “check it, Cal.”
“Me?”
“Yeah,” Del said. “Look under the tarp.”
Cal dismounted, climbed into the back of the buckboard, and lifted the tarp. “Looks like the crates are here,” he said.
They waited again for someone to come forward, but nobody did.
“Open one up, Cal,” Malcolm shouted. “Come on, open one!”
Nieves took out his knife, which up to now had been used only for cutting twine in the store, jabbed it beneath the top of one crate, and lifted the lid. When he got it off and the sun hit the coins, it was blinding.
“Jesus,” he said, taking up a handful of coins. “They’re gold coins.” He held his hand out for the others to see.
“Well,” Cloninger said, dismounting as well, “I guess it’s ours. We’re rich, boys!”
Whooping and hollering, the other men dismounted and started for the buckboard. That’s when Locke and Cooper stepped into view, their rifles in their hands.
“Not today, boys!” Cooper shouted, firing his rifle once to get their attention. “It’s a bad day to get rich—or dead.”
Turnback Creek (Widowmaker) Page 11
