'Thank you, Marshal. I believe I have a better understanding of the West now. You have a nice day.' Conrad strolled off toward the Henson office building.
'Strange boy,' Frank muttered, 'In many ways, more man than boy.'
Kid Moran stepped out of the general store and leaned against an awning post. He stared across the street at the marshal.
_What's wrong with this?_ Frank thought. _Something isn't right, but I can't put my finger on it._
Frank looked up at the buildings across the street. Was there a second shooter on a rooftop somewhere? If so, was it in front or behind him? Had Pine or Vanbergen sent The Kid in to check out things, or had The Kid come in on his own?
The cafe door opened behind him and Jerry asked, 'What's wrong, Frank?'
'I don't know, Jer. Maybe nothing. But I've got a funny feeling about this thing.'
'Far as I know, this is the first time The Kid has ever ridden in alone.'
'He's been here before, then?'
'Oh, yes. But always with others. Never alone. Frank, I'm goin' to check out the back of this block of buildings. Don't step out until you get a signal from me.'
Jerry exited the rear of the cafe while Frank waited on one side of the street, Kid Moran on the other. They leaned up against awning support posts and stared at each other without speaking.
As it nearly always happened in Western towns, the word spread fast and the main street became quiet -- no riders, no one walking up and down.
'All clear back here, Frank,' Jerry called from one end of the block.
'OK, Jer.' _Then why am I so edgy?_ Frank wondered. He wasn't afraid of facing The Kid in a hook and draw situation. Frank made it a point to find out all he could about any and all gunfighters, new and old, and he knew that while The Kid was very quick, it was reported that he almost always missed his first shot. Frank used to be the same, until he began spending countless hours practicing, making that all important first shot count.
Fear wasn't a factor in the edgy feelings Frank was experiencing.
Frank again searched the rooftops of the buildings across the street. As near as he could tell, there was no one up there. The Kid was still leaning against the post across the street, staring at him.
'All right,' Frank muttered. 'I've had enough of this. I'm going to find out what The Kid has on his mind.' He stepped off the boardwalk and into the street.
The Kid immediately straightened up and began walking away from Frank, heading down toward the end of the street. Frank signaled Jerry to stay put, and began following The Kid. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on ... but something was up -- he was sure of that.
The Kid suddenly stopped and looked around him -- everywhere but directly at Frank. Then he crossed the street.
Frank was now standing in the middle of the wide street.
'Well, damn!' Frank muttered.
Half a dozen fast shots blasted the early morning air, as near as Frank could tell, coming from near the Henson office building. He looked for The Kid, but Kid Moran had vanished.
'Goddamn it!' Frank yelled, and took off running.
--------
*Fourteen*
Frank rounded the corner of the street just as Hal went down in another roar of lead from several pistols in the hands of men standing in the middle of the street in front of the Hanson building. The bodyguard spun around, hit several times, and slumped to the dirt. Frank shot the first assailant in the belly, and his second round knocked another down in the street, hip-shot. Frank was forced into an alley as several hidden gunmen opened fire, the bullets howling and whining all around him. The third gunman in the street jumped behind a water trough.
Frank had caught a quick glimpse of Conrad, huddled in the doorway of the office building. He didn't appear to be hurt, but was apparently too frightened to seek better cover. And Vivian was due to arrive at any moment.
Frank snapped a quick shot at a man standing in a doorway.
The bullet knocked a chunk out of the door stoop and sent splinters into the face of the man. Screaming in pain as one of the splinters stuck in his eye, he stepped out of cover. Frank put a bullet in the man's guts that doubled him over and sent him stumbling into the street. He collapsed facedown in the dirt, and was still.
Jerry's six-gun cracked from the other end of the street, and a man yelled and went off the roof of a boarded-up building. Anyone within earshot could hear his neck break as he landed in the street.
'This ain't workin'!' a man yelled. 'Let's get the hell outta here!'
Frank and Jerry waited.
'How?' another man shouted.
'Through the pass, you nitwit. Just like we planned.'
There was silence for a moment, then the sounds of several horses being ridden hard away from the edge of town.
Jerry ran over to Frank, a pistol in each hand. 'Are you hit?'
