“Not so as you can say,” Lenny replied. “I never even met him until after they took him to jail.”
“How long had Pearlie been in town when this happened?” Smoke asked.
“That’s just it. He hadn’t been there any time at all. He said he was coming back home, but he stopped in town long enough to get him a beer and some supper when all this took place.”
“Smoke, what are we going to do?” Sally asked. “We can’t just leave him there to hang.”
“We aren’t going to,” Smoke said. “Throw a few things together, Sally, and do it fast. We’ll take the train down tonight.”
“I’m going, too,” Cal said.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Smoke said. “Lenny, I know you just got here, but are you up to coming back with us?”
“Yes, sir, only…” Lenny paused in mid-sentence.
“Only what?”
“Only I don’t have enough money for a ticket back.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Smoke said. “I’ll buy your ticket back.” He pulled out his billfold, then drew out a twenty-dollar bill. “And this will pay for your trip up here.”
Lenny held up his hand. “Oh, no, sir, why, the trip up here didn’t cost me no more than two dollars.”
“You had to eat, didn’t you?”
Lenny smiled. “My ma runs a restaurant. It’s a good restaurant, too, and she made me a lunch to carry along.”
“Well, take the twenty dollars anyway,” Smoke said.
Lenny’s smile broadened. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“All right!” Lenny said, taking the money. “And thank you, Mr. Jensen.”
It took Sally but a couple of minutes to pack some clothes, and half an hour later she, Smoke, Cal, and Lenny were in front of Sheriff Monte Carson’s office in Big Rock. Smoke dismounted, and handed the reins of his horse to Cal.
“Cal, how about you go with Lenny to get his horse turned back in at the livery, then get our horses boarded until we come back. I’m going to have a few words with the sheriff.”
Sally also dismounted, and handed the reins of her horse to Cal.
“Sally, you get our tickets, and send a telegram to Pearlie to let him know we are coming,” Smoke suggested.
“No, sir, don’t do that,” Lenny said quickly.
“Why not?”
“If you send a telegram directly to Pearlie, like as not, he’ll never see it. The marshal will get it and keep it from him. What you ought to do, if you want to send him a telegram, is send it to my ma.”
“You are right,” Smoke agreed, nodding. “Yeah, that’s probably a pretty good idea. All right, send it to Lenny’s mom.” Smoke took a piece of paper from his pocket. “And send this telegram to Mr. Murchison in Colorado Springs. I’m asking him to represent Pearlie, and to meet us when our train comes through Colorado Springs.”
“I’m sure he will,” Sally said. “He was such a nice man, and seemed so eager to help.”
“Yes, well, there is a difference between what he did for us last time and what I’m asking him to do for us now,” Smoke said. “I’m not sure how anxious he will be, but if he can’t do it, perhaps he can recommend someone who can.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Sally said.
As Sally, Cal, and Lenny set about their business, Smoke stepped into the sheriff’s office, where he saw Sheriff Carson standing with his back to the door, pouring two cups of coffee.
“I saw you outside,” Carson said without turning around, “and I figured you’d be coming in here for something. So we may as well talk about it over coffee.” He handed the cup to Smoke.
“Thanks,” Smoke said, taking the cup.
“What is it? What’s up?”
“Do you know anything about the town of Santa Clara?” Smoke asked.
“I know a little bit about it,” Carson replied. He took a sip of his coffee before he continued. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m afraid that Pearlie got himself into a bit of trouble over there.”
“Oh? I didn’t even know Pearlie was back.”
“He’s not, but from what I gather, he was coming back when he got into a shooting scrape.”
“Tell me about it.”
“According to Lenny York, the young man who brought us the news, Pearlie was just passing through. He stopped in town for a meal and a drink, and a friendly card game. Only, the card game wasn’t all that friendly, and Pearlie got into an argument with one of the other players. A few moments later, that same man tried to shoot
