69
Dolan led the gang of riders up to the front of the Bank of Denver. As agreed on, he and four others dismounted while the remaining six men remained mounted, but turned their eyes in every direction—except up.
Dolan led the others to the front door and they drew their guns. People on the street saw what was happening and scattered for cover. Dolan looked at the other men, they all nodded to each other, and he slammed the door open so they could all run into the bank.
Once inside, the six men looked around, but there was no sign of Ben Cardwell. Dolan was confused as to what to do next. While he was trying to decide, a security guard drew his gun and the bank employees hit the floor.
“Watch it!” Dolan shouted, spotting the guard, but before any of his men could do anything, four uniformed policeman stood up from behind the teller’s cages and let loose with shotguns.
Outside, three policeman stood up on the roof and let loose on the six mounted bank robbers with shotguns.
When the shotguns were empty, inside and out, the policemen picked up rifles and continued to fire.
The bank robbers got off a shot or two, but the element of surprise worked against them. By the time the gunfire stopped, every last member of the gang was on the floor of the bank or on the street, good and dead.
Lieutenant Peter Masters thought that it had been incredibly easy, considering he and his men had only gotten into position a half an hour before. As usual, the chief had been right, hadn’t he?
In another part of the city, Ralph Cory stood in a branch of the Bank of Denver, knowing instinctively that he was in the wrong place. He realized it was young Thomas who was going to have to face the music, because that was just the way things happened.
He was staring out the front window when a security guard sidled up beside him, hand on his gun, and asked, “Can I help you with something, sir?”
“I don’t think so,” Cory said. “I’m just waitin’ for somebody.”
“I see,” the guard said. “Well…I’ll just keep an eye out.”
“You do that,” Cory said. “After all, it’s your job, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir,” the guard said. “It is.”
Ben Cardwell rode up to the front of the bank and dismounted nonchalantly. About now the rest of the gang were getting themselves shot to hell, or maybe they were holding the bank up without him. Either way, didn’t matter to him. They could keep whatever money—or lead—they collected. This was the bank he wanted. It didn’t have the largest deposits, but it had enough to last one man a long time.
He looked up and down the street, on the lookout for any sign of a policeman. He didn’t expect to see any, but if he did, he would have called the whole thing off. Whatever was happening at the other branch, it must have been holding the attention of most of the police in Denver by now.
Satisfied that he was in the clear, he opened the door of the bank and entered. It had one security guard, who gave him a bored look. He wouldn’t be a problem.
There were a couple of customers at the tellers’ windows, and some other employees sitting at desks. The only one he had to worry about was the guard, and he figured the element of surprise should take care of that.
He waited, pretending to fill out a deposit slip, or a withdrawal slip, while the customers finished their business and left. The guard’s back was turned, and the moment was right.
He started to approach the guard when a door slammed open—the door to the manager’s office—and Thomas Shaye stepped out….
Thomas wanted to wait longer, but knew he couldn’t afford to. He didn’t know what Cardwell meant to do to the guard, knock him out or shoot him in the back. He couldn’t take the chance.
He hadn’t tried to convince the people in the bank that a robbery might take place. If everybody had believed him and left, Cardwell would have been suspicious when he walked in. Everything had to look normal.
He had, however, gotten the bank manager to agree to let him stay in the office.
“One day,” the man said, “that’s all I can give you. I’ll be checking in with the chief of police at the end of the day.”
“You do that,” Thomas said. He had a feeling they’d gotten to Denver just ahead of Cardwell, anyway. “I’ll take the one day.”
And that had been all it had taken, after all….
Thomas stepped out of the manager’s office quickly and shouted, “Cardwell!”
The bank robber holding his gun stopped, and the guard turned quickly, going for his own gun. With his bare hand, Cardwell hit the man quickly, just once, knocking him out.
“Are you one of the deputies?” Cardwell asked, his back to Thomas, as the bank employees dropped to the floor.
“That’s right,” Thomas said. “From Vengeance Creek.”
“You tracked me all the way here?”
“Got here ahead of you, actually.” Somebody moved, and Thomas shouted, “Everybody stay down!”
“That’s good advice!” Cardwell added holding his gun up in one hand. “Listen to the deputy.” Then, still turned away from Thomas, he said, “You alone, Deputy?”
“I am,” Thomas said. “There’s another, but he’s at one of the other branches.”
“I see,” Cardwell said. “And the large branch?”
“The police are there.”
“That’s good,” Cardwell said, “very good. In fact, that works out perfectly.”
“Set up some more men to be killed, did you?”
“Of course,” Cardwell said. “That’s my style, isn’t it? I don’t like to share.”
“Not somethin’ to brag about, if you ask me.”
“Okay, Deputy,” Cardwell said, “I’m gonna turn around now, and we can get this settled so I can get to work.”
“You’re not robbin’ this bank, Cardwell,” Thomas said, “or any other ever again.”
“Well, we’ll see,” Cardwell said. “I’m gonna turn around now, unless you want to shoot me in the back?”
“It’s what you deserve.”
“But you won’t do it, will you? So I’ll just turn around with my hands in the air…don’t get nervous, lad….”
Cardwell did a slow turn while the other people in the bank kept their noses to the floor. When he saw that Thomas’s gun was holstered, he laughed and lowered his hands.
“Not a good move, boy,” the bank robber said.
“I’m takin’ you in,” Thomas said.
“No, I don’t think so, Deputy,” Cardwell said, loosely holding the gun in one hand. “I’m gonna kill you, and then take as much money out of this bank as I can carry.”
“And are you gonna kill everyone who works here too, Cardwell?” Thomas asked. “Like you did in Vengeance Creek?”
“Who knows?” Cardwell said. “I might be in a really good mood after I kill you.”
“The easiest thing would be for you to give up,” Thomas said.
“You know,” Cardwell said, “I’d ask you where your father and brother are, but I really don’t have the time… and I don’t care. I’m kind of impressed that you came all this way…”
“Don’t be.”
“…to die.”
Cardwell lifted the gun, but Thomas saw the man’s muscles tense just a split second before. He snatched his own gun from his holster and fired once, hitting Cardwell in the chest before he could fire.
Thomas walked to the fallen man, took his gun from his hand, and tossed it away, just to be on the safe side, but the bank robber was dead.
