Malcolm smiled. “You have more sense than I gave you credit for, John,” he said.
Garcia offered no struggle at all, but Malcolm saw him arch his back slightly, as if trying to breathe. Malcolm held the pillow for at least two more minutes, then he pulled it away.
Garcia’s eyes were open but blank, and his face was slightly purple.
“John, if you would, sir, please confirm for me that he is dead,” Malcolm said.
The doctor picked up Garcia’s wrist and felt for a pulse. There was none. Then he put his hand to the carotid artery. He nodded.
“Mr. Garcia is dead,” he said.
Pearl crossed herself.
“Thank you, madam,” Malcolm said. “I am sure that Mr. Garcia needs all the prayers he can get.”
“I have to hand it to you, Malcolm,” Pettigrew said deferentially. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Malcolm said, starting toward the back door.
The others obeyed instantly.
Chapter Twenty-six
Falcon was tightening the cinch strap on Lightning as Duff stood by watching.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay awhile longer?” Falcon asked. “If this man Malcolm finds you, I might come in handy. Besides, I can help you build the barn.”
“Falcon, you have been more than helpful,” Duff said. “But the time has come when I must stand on my own. Besides, I’ve hired Mr. Gleason. As far as any further construction is concerned, I think the two of us can get the job done.”
“I’m sure you can as well. It looks like you’ve made a fine start.”
Gleason came out of the house carrying a little cloth bag. He handed it to Falcon.
“This is in case you get hungry on the train,” he said. “I baked you somethin’.”
“Mr. Gleason, you didn’t have to go to all that trouble,” Falcon said.
Gleason chuckled. “What do you think, that I cooked up a rat? I didn’t always eat rats and bugs and such. Before I got the gold fever, I was a belly robber for Mr. Richard King on his ranch down in Texas. And I was a good one, if I say so myself. I cooked you up a batch of sinkers. I think you’ll like them.”
Falcon opened the sack and looked down inside. As the aroma hit him, he smiled. Then he pulled one of them out and took a bite.
“Uhhmm,” he said. “Mr. Gleason, this is delicious. Cousin, if he can’t drive a nail for you, he’s worth keeping around just for his sinkers.”
“I don’t know what a sinker is,” Duff said.
“Some people call them doughnuts,” Falcon said. He broke off a piece of the one he was eating and handed it to Duff. “Try this.”
Duff tasted it, then smiled. “Mr. Gleason, I do hope you didn’t give all of them to Falcon.”
“Sonny, do you think I don’t know where my bread is buttered?” Gleason said. “I gave him a few, but I kept most of them back.”
Falcon laughed, then swung into his saddle. “Duff, I think I am leaving you in good hands,” he said. “You know how to get hold of me if you need me.” Slapping his legs against Lightning’s sides, Falcon rode off, throwing a wave as he left.
“He’s a good man,” Gleason said.
“Aye, I have found that to be so,” Duff agreed.
It created some curiosity when eight men rode into Chugwater together. That was because while groups of cowboys who were involved in trail drives often traveled together, this was not the time for a trail drive. Also, news of the bank robbery in Cheyenne had already reached Chugwater by telegraph message. So when Malcolm and the others tied up in front of Fiddler’s Green, Fred Matthews, who was standing at the window in the front of his mercantile store, saw them.
“Lonnie,” he called to the sixteen-year-old who worked for him.
“Yes, Mr. Matthews?”
“Go down to Marshal Craig’s office and tell him that he might want to check in on that bunch of men who just went into Fiddler’s Green. I’ve got a feeling about them.”
“Who do you think they are?”
“I think they may be the bunch that held up the bank down in Cheyenne.”
“You think they’re maybe goin’ to rob our bank? I got me near thirty dollars in that bank.”
“I don’t know,” Fred admitted. “But I think the marshal should know about it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Biff Johnson had just finished tapping a new barrel of beer, and he held a mug under the spigot, then operated it to see if it was working properly. A steady stream of golden liquid flowed from the spigot, so, satisfied that the flow was all right, he shut it off, then took a sip
