“That’s the way it is.”
“That’s the coward’s way,” Smoke said.
“You can call me whatever you want, Mr. Jensen. But the truth is, I’ve got your woman, and the only way you are going to get her back, is to come through me.”
Smoke raised up just a bit and Taggart fired again. But the sound was sharper, higher, less explosive than the other. The bullet hit the rock in front of him, then careened off with a high pitched skirling sound.
“Oh, yeah, maybe I should have told you,” Taggart called across the gap separating them. “My fifty is a single shot. So, just to keep me safe between shots, I also have a Winchester.”
“You have it all figured out, don’t you, Taggart?”
“I have to. Killin’ folks is my profession.”
“You sound as if you are proud of that.”
“How about you? I’ll bet if truth were known, you’ve killed more people than I have,” Taggart replied.
“It’s not something I take pride in.” Smoke moved around, trying to get into position to see his assailant.
“I tell you what, Jensen. What do you say me ’n you meet each other out in the open? You with your pistol, me with my Winchester. You got the guts to try that?”
“What?” Smoke asked, surprised by the challenge. “Let me get this straight. You’re offering to go up against me?”
“Yeah. I’m a sportin’ man. Step out now, with your pistol in your holster. I’ll step out with my Winchester, and we’ll go agin’ each other. To make it more even, I’ll toss my Sharps out on the ground.”
Smoke looked around the rock and saw Taggart hold the big buffalo rifle up, then toss it.
“There, see, I wasn’t lyin’ to you. There’s my fifty, lyin’ on the ground. Come on out, now.”
Smoke hesitated.
“Ah,” Taggart said. “I understand. You are afraid that if you come out, I’ll shoot you, right? Just to make you feel better, I’ll come out first.”
Smoke raised up again to take a look, and saw Taggart, coming out from behind the rock. Then he saw Taggart reach back and pull Sally out from behind the rock. She was gagged, and her wrists were bound together. Her ankles were tied together with a short piece of rope that would let her shuffle, but not walk, and certainly would not let her run.
“All right, Mr. Jensen, as you can see, I’m already out here.”
Smoke holstered his own pistol, then stepped out from behind the rock. “Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t really think you’d do it.”
“Well, I’m a surprising man.” Taggart grinned evilly. “But I am not a dumb man.” He reached for Sally and pulled her over to stand in front of him.
“Now, let’s see if you are good enough to hit me, without hitting your wife.” Taggart laughed. “Interesting challenge, isn’t it?”
Smoke looked into Sally’s eyes and saw, not fear, but determination. She was trying to tell him something, but what? She blinked a couple of times and stared pointedly, and all of a sudden he realized what she was saying. Smoke smiled at her, and she smiled back.
“Anytime, Mr. Jensen,” Taggart said.
“Now!” Smoke shouted.
Sally threw herself to the ground. Her sudden, and unexpected move not only exposed Taggart, it surprised him into a split second of indecision.
That split second was all Smoke needed. He drew and cocked his gun at the same time, then fired. The bullet slammed into Taggart’s chest, severing arteries and plowing through one of his lungs. Taggart dropped his rifle and fell to the ground.
Smoke stood quietly as the echo of his shot came rolling back from a nearby rock wall. When the last echo was a subdued rumble off a distant hill, the silence returned. The leaves of a nearby aspen rustled. A distant eagle shrieked. A rabbit scurried under a clump of sagebrush.
Smoke saw Sally trying to get back up and hurried over to her. He lifted her up, then removed the gag. Not only had Taggart bound a cloth around her mouth, he had also stuck a sock in it. She reached up with her bound wrists and pulled the sock out, then coughed and gasped for air.
“Ohhh, that was awful! I don’t think that sock has ever been washed.” She began spitting.
“If you’ll stop spitting, I’ll kiss you.” Smoke smiled at her.
“You’ll taste sock,” Sally warned.
“No, I’ll taste only you.”
They kissed, then Sally held up her hands. “Untie my wrists. I can’t kiss properly with my hands tied.”
Smoke laughed, but he untied her hands. “What makes you think you need your hands to kiss?”
“So I can do this.” She leaned into him, put her arms around him and her hands on the back of his head to pull him closer.
They kissed deeply, then all of a sudden Sally stiffened and pulled away from him. Smoke looked at her in surprise, but before he could say anything, she pulled his pistol from his holster. He whirled around then and saw that Taggart had sat up and cocked his Winchester.
