blood from his mouth with a blood-soaked rag. 'What brings you to me, Morgan? Nurse Miller said it was important.'
'Ned Pine and Victor Vanbergen. I need to know where they are.'
'A nasty pair. Cowards, both of them. However, they'll shoot a man in the back and he'll be just as dead as if they'd faced him.'
'I know. I almost had them a few weeks back in the south part of the territory. They were holding my son for ransom to get at me. I got my boy back, but Pine and Vanbergen got away clean.'
'A damn shame. They need to take the dirt nap. What makes you so sure they're here?'
'I picked up their trail. They've still got a few gunslicks with 'em. One of 'em tried to jump me here in Glenwood Springs last night while I was down by the old cemetery. He came at me with a shotgun. It only makes sense that it was one of Pine's or Vanbergen's shooters. The only thing that troubles me is how they knew I was here, not that it matters, since I'm gonna kill 'em all anyway if I get the chance.'
'You're not worried about the odds?'
'I never worry about the odds. I lost their trail south of here by a few miles. I figured they'd come here for whiskey and supplies.'
'They did. That was a couple of weeks ago.'
'Some old man in town told me to look for 'em in a place called Ghost Valley. It doesn't show on the map I've got with me.'
'It won't,' Holliday replied. 'But that's where you'll find them, most likely. There are remnants of an old mining town in a deep valley to the north. They hole up in a cabin on the west edge of the town. Nobody lives there now.'
'How do I find it?'
Doc broke into another fit of bloody coughing. Frank waited for him to clean his mouth and chin.
'There's a two-rut wagon road that angles northwest of town into the mountains. It's a steep climb. Ride three or four miles until you come to a little stream. Swing off the road and follow that stream through the pines. It's a rough climb in places. I hope you're riding a good mountain horse.'
'I am.'
'The stream wanders for about six miles. You'll come to a place where it cuts between two ridges. Ride up the more nothern one. There won't be any trail to follow. Ride slow and very carefully. When you come to the top you'll be looking into Ghost Valley. There's an old Indian burial ground down below. You'll see the mounds. The mining town is to the east, what's left of it.'
'What about those old Indians, Doc? I thought I saw one yesterday near the Glenwood Springs Cemetery as I was riding into town.'
'Some people claim they can see them. I've never seen one. I think it's poppycock. The Anasazi have been gone for hundreds of years.'
'I saw something,' Frank assured him. 'My dog growled when he saw it. The Indian wasn't my imagination.' He left out the part about the whispered voice he'd heard.
'Maybe he was a Ute or a Shoshoni,' Holliday suggested as he wiped his mouth again, 'although most of the tribes have been driven farther north by the Army.'
'He was an Indian, whatever breed he was.' Right then, Frank couldn't shake the eerie feeling that perhaps he had seen a ghost, even though there wasn't a superstitious bone in his body that he knew of.
Holliday dismissed the subject with a wave of a pale hand. 'I've never seen an Indian around here and I've been here for three months. I've only been bedridden over the past month. As you can see, I'm at death's doorway. Doc Grimes tells me it won't be long now.'
'Sorry to hear it, Doc,' Frank said.
'Funny,' Holliday told him, smiling as he stared up at the ceiling. 'I've always assumed a bullet in the back would take me to my grave. I'd planned to die with my boots on, as the old saying goes. This is a horrible way for a man to cash in his chips.'
'I'd rather go out quick myself,' Frank agreed.
Holliday glanced at him. 'You may get your chance if Pine or Vanbergen sees you first. They won't do it honorably. You can bet your last dollar on that.'
'I've already become acquainted with them,' Frank said in a low growl. 'I'll be ready when the time comes.'
'You sound like a very confident fellow, Morgan. Are you that good with a gun?'
'I've gotten by. Tried to quit years ago, until this business with my son came about.'
'Good luck, Morgan,' Holliday said, his voice trailing off. 'Now if you don't mind, I need to close my eyes. I just took a dose of laudanum and I'm sleepy. Follow that stream until it passes between those ridges. Ride up to the crest of the valley, and from there on, you'd better have eyes in the back of your head.'
'I'm obliged, Doc,' Frank said, coming to his feet. 'I wish you the best.'
'My best days are already gone, Morgan,' Holliday replied as his eyelids batted shut. 'However, I must say I had a wonderful time while it lasted.'
Frank started for the door.
'One more thing, Morgan,' Holliday said, his throat clotted so that he was hard to understand.
'What's that, Doc?'
