“You boys do seem to have something on your mind,” Matt said. “And I’m just betting it would be the reward money.”
Carter smiled. “You know about the reward, do you?”
“Yes. Evidently a couple of men have already tried for it.”
“Yeah? Where are they now?”
“Oh, the town gave them choice lots down in the cemetery.”
“We’ve talked enough, Carter,” Hodge said. “I say let’s just go ahead and kill him now.”
“You’re goin’ to do it, are you Hodge?” Carter asked.
“Yeah, I’m going to do it,” Hodge answered. “He don’t look all that tough to me. Last time he was standin’ behind us, if you remember. This time we are face to face, and I say let’s do it, get our money, and be done with it.”
Hodge moved his hand down to hover just over his own gun. “What about it, Mr. big-shot gunfighter? You want to settle this now?”
By now, all the rest of the conversation in The Lion and The Crown had ceased, and everyone turned to see if this was going to progress any further.
“That’s pretty brave of you—what did your friend call you? Hodge?”
“Yeah, the name is Hodge, Tim Hodge. What about it, Mr. Matt Jensen, Mr. big-time gun fighter? I’m gettin’ pretty tired of jawin’. I say that you either go for your gun now, or get plumb on out of the county with your tail tucked down between your legs.”
“You are challenging me to a gunfight, are you, Mr. Hodge?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m doing. I’m challenging you to a gunfight.”
“That’s not really fair now, is it?” Matt said. “I mean with me sitting down, and you standing up. It’s sort of hard to make a quick draw from a sitting position. Are you going to allow me to stand up first?”
A broad, mocking smile spread across Hodge’s face. “Well now, what do you think, boys?” he asked. “Should I give this famous gunfighter a chance and let him stand up? Or should I just kill him where he sits for being so stupid as to let himself get caught in this predicament?”
Matt made no move toward his own gun, but he did smile up at Hodge and his smile was even colder and more frightening than Hodge’s smile.
“You aren’t going to let me stand, are you, Hodge?”
“No, I ain’t.”
“I didn’t think so. And this isn’t the first time some coward challenged me while I was sitting down. So,” Matt continued. “You might say that I was ready for it. You see, I already have my gun out, and I am pointing it at you, right now.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Hodge asked. “Hell, your gun ain’t out. I can see your gun in that fancy holster, plain as day!”
“Oh, I’m glad you noticed. That is a nice holster, isn’t it? I had that made, especially for me, down in El Paso.”
“Mister, you ain’t makin’ no sense at all. What gun do you have pointed at me?”
Matt brought his hand up from under the table. His fingers were wrapped around a small pistol.
“Well, now, that would be this gun, Mr. Hodge,” Matt said. “It is a Derringer, two barrels, forty-one caliber. It doesn’t have that much range, but hell, how far are you from me, anyway? Six feet? Ten feet? They say that’s about how far Lincoln was from John Wilkes Booth when he killed him with this same kind of weapon.”
Hodge stood his ground for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing, a muscle in his cheek twitching, and sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“That—that—where did that gun come from?”
“Oh, I can’t give away all my secrets now, can I, Mr. Hodge?”
“Ha! Looks to me like you have a problem,” Hodge said.
“And what problem would that be?” Matt asked.
“You can’t count.”
“Why would you say that?”
Hodge smiled. “You’ve only got two barrels on that gun, and there are three of us.”
Matt looked down at his pistol, then at the three men. “Damn if you aren’t right, Hodge. There are three of you, and I have only two barrels.”
“Which means,” Hodge said, his confident smile growing broader, “That you can’t kill all three of us.”
“You’re right again. I can’t get all three of you,” Matt said. “So here’s what I’m going to do. Since you seem to be the only one smart enough to have figured that out, I’m going to let you live, but I’m going to kill the other two.”
“What?” Carter shouted. “The hell you say!”
“I tell you what,” Matt said. He cocked the pistol. “Why don’t I just shoot them now and get it over with? I believe I can kill both of them before you can kill me. Shall we try it?”
“No!” Carter said. He pulled his pistol and pointed it at Hodge. “Hodge, you put that gun away, now! You think I’m going to let him shoot us, just so you can shoot him?”
