“Yeah. He’s good, and he’s careful. Man don’t get to his age without bein’ careful. But they’s several down there just about as good, or maybe as good as John T. Utah Red. Montana Jess. Cat Brown. I’d have to include Gil Webb in that bunch too.”
Smoke grunted. “Some rough ol’ boys you just named, Walt. And fast. I’ve met John T. a time or two.”
“So he said.”
“All right, boys,” Smoke shouted. “Here it is: way I got it figured, there can’t be any more than fourteen or fifteen of you left ...”
“He’s close,” Utah said. “They’s fifteen of us still able to shoot, and three of them are wounded.”
“... Draw your money and pull out. I give you my word, and you all know that my word is my bond, I won’t seek revenge. It ends right here. What the Army does is the Army’s business. But I’ll have no hand in it. None of the civilians up here know any of your names or faces. So they can’t talk or be used as witnesses against you ...”
“He’s got a point,” Tom Ritter said. “A damn good point.”
“For a fact,” Mike Hunt agreed.
“Damn him!” Marlene said.
“But Walt and Angel know us,” Montana yelled. “What about them?”
“This here’s Walt! I’m speakin’ for both me and Angel. Haul your ashes outta here and we sudden got a loss of memory. And you got my word on that.”
“But they’re murderers!” Carol protested.
“They were murderers before this, ma’am,” Walt told her. “And they’ll be murderers after this. Right now, we’re tryin’ to save you folks’ butts. Pardon my language.”
“They’ll meet their just end,” Smoke told her. He raised his voice. “How about it, boys?”
“We’ll think on it, Jensen,” John T. called.
“Fine. You do that.”
“Now what?” Robert asked from out of the darkness of the stone and wood enclosure.
“We wait.”
“What do we do, Frederick?” Marlene asked.
“Do you have your checkbook with you?”
“Of course. One of them. It’s the account we set up with Wells Fargo.”
“Do you have thirty thousand dollars in that account ?”
The look she gave him silently informed the baron that meager amount would be a mere drop in the bucket.
“Make it out payable to bearer, if you would, please.”
When the ink had dried, von Hausen walked over to the group of gunslingers and handed John T. the check. “Let everyone see it, please, John.”
John T.’s eyes bugged out. He carefully held the check up for all to see in the campfire light.
“That is, of course, in addition to the monies already paid you and is waiting for you in separate accounts back in Dodge City. And remember this, your share of that money has greatly increased over the past weeks due to the demise of several of your fellow hunters. The attorney handling that money knows to divide it equally among the survivors. Think about that. But one of my group has to give him the signal, in person, to do so.” He smiled. “That was done in case any, or all of you, got it into your heads to kill us. With the addition of this thirty thousand, those of you who are left when this hunt is concluded, stand to walk away with a very large amount of money. Enough to retire on; buy a ranch or a business.” He plucked the check from John T.’s fingers. “Think about it, gentlemen. Give it careful thought.” Von Hausen carefully and with a lot of dramatic gestures, folded the check and put it in his pocket. He walked back to his tent.
“Any questions, boys?” John T. said.
Cat Brown picked up his rifle and punched in a couple of rounds. “I reckon it’s time for us to go back to work, boys. I always did have a hankerin’ to own me a whore house.”
“Sit down,” John. T. told him. “I got a plan that just might work. See what you boys think about this.”
“It’s been more’un an hour since you made your offer,” Walt said. “They must be really talkin’ it over.”
“Or planning to hit us again,” Smoke said.
“You cowardly sons of bitches!” the shouted voice of von Hausen drifted up the hill. “You agreed to stay on until the end. You have no honor. None of you!”
A lot of cussing followed that.
“What in thunder is going on down there?” Charles asked.
“Sounds phony to me,” Walt grumbled.
“Both of us,” Smoke said.
“Damn you all to hell!” a strongly accented voice shouted.
More cussing.
“They’re really putting on a good show, aren’t they?” Smoke said with a smile.
“I thought you western men were brave?” a female voice was added. It was filled with contempt. “You’re all
