recall.”
“It isn’t right,” Sue said.
“Them getting killed isn’t right, the newspaper office getting messed up isn’t right, and collecting tolls on a public road isn’t right. Sometimes things happen that aren’t right.”
“Do you have the toll money ready?” Sue asked.
“Yes. Two dollars, one for you and one for me. I guess we’re lucky that they don’t charge for Green as long as he is in the buckboard with us.”
“Two dollars to come to town and two dollars to leave town. That’s almost as much money as we spent while we were in town,” Sue said. “It isn’t right. It just isn’t right.”
Chapter Eight
Leaving the hotel after the shooting, Lucas Meacham went to the livery stable where he spent the night sleeping in the same stall as his horse. He heard one of the stable hands coming in the next morning and, though he was awake, he pretended to be asleep until the man walked by the stall.
“Good morning,” the stable hand said. “Slept with your horse, did you?”
“Yes,” Meacham said, sitting up and stretching. “Mr. Forbis, the livery owner, said it would be all right.”
“Sure, he lets folks sleep with the horses all the time, saves them from having to pay for a hotel room. Hey, if you spent the night here, I bet you don’t even know about all the excitement.”
“You mean the parade and celebration over this fella, Matt Jensen? I thought that was all over yesterday.”
“Nah, I ain’t talkin’ about that at all. I’m talkin’ about the shootin’ that took place in the hotel last night.”
“A shooting?”
“Yes, sir. Seems that there was three men who tried to kill Matt Jensen while he was asleep in his hotel room last night. Only thing is, two of ’em got themselves killed instead.”
“How do you know there were three men?” Meacham asked. “Maybe they were the only two.”
The stable hand shook his head. “No, they was three of ’em. Dupree seen the third one as he was leavin’. He seen him shoot down Bubba James too. Onliest thing is, Dupree just seen him from the back, so he don’t have no idee who it was.”
“What about Matt Jensen? Was he hurt?”
The stable hand laughed. “Nah, he didn’t get nary a scratch. I believe they’re goin’ to have a hearing about the shootin’ this morning. It’s goin’ to be open to the pubic if you’d care to attend.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Meacham said. “Shooting and all that? I don’t like violence. I like to live as calm a life as I can.”
“I don’t blame you,” the stable hand replied. “I’m a peaceable man too, don’t like any kind of trouble. But I reckon Matt Jensen is just the kind of man that trouble follows around. Do you know anything about him?”
“Only what I read about him in the paper. I take it he saved the bank’s money?”
“Chased down the outlaws, killed them, took the money off them, and brought it back to the bank. But if you know anything about him, you’ll know that ain’t all that unusual for him. Jensen is the kind of man that’s always doin’ stuff like that. I’ll just bet them three men didn’t know who they was tanglin’ with when they come after him last night. Oats?”
“What?” Meacham asked, surprised by the sudden change of subject.
“Do you want oats for your horse?”
“No, hay is good enough. I think I’ll go find me someplace to have breakfast.”
“You might try Little Man’s,” the stable hand said. “It’s just down the street there on the right. You can’t miss it.”
“Thanks,” Meacham said.
“Ha, you was just foolin’ me, wasn’t you, mister?” the stable hand said and Meacham started to leave.
“Fooling you? About what?”
“You say you don’t like violence, but the way you’re wearin’ your gun, low and kicked out like that—seems to me like you might be a man who knows how to use it.”
“I said I didn’t like violence,” Meacham said. “I didn’t say I couldn’t be a violent man if I needed to be.”
The stable hand laughed out loud. “That’s a good one, mister,” he said. Yes, sir, that’s a good one.”
***
Just after noon on that same day, just as the stable hand had predicted, there was a preliminary hearing. The hearing was conducted by Judge Warren Phelps, circuit judge of Pueblo County.
His first witness was Anton Dupree, a notions salesman who called frequently on his customers in Pueblo and always stayed in the same room at the Railroad Hotel. He had been in that room last night, on the same floor as Matt. After the witness was sworn in, the judge questioned him.
“Tell me everything you can remember about last night.”
“I heard what I thought were firecrackers coming from the other end of the hall. There had been a celebration yesterday with fireworks, so I thought maybe someone was just shooting them off in the hotel. But when I stuck my
