Instead, Branch screamed, “You bastard!” and hauled his iron out the rest of the way. Matt waited until it was coming up before firing a single shot that ripped through Branch’s throat, severed his spine, and dropped him in the dirt of the street like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Look out!” the woman cried.
Matt had already seen Court regain his balance and swing up the gun he still held. Matt fired before the man could squeeze the trigger. This slug went into Court’s forehead, leaving a black hole over his right eye. Court went over backward, arms and legs flinging out to the side as he died.
From the size of the pool of blood forming around Branch’s head, Matt knew the reckless cowboy wasn’t a threat anymore. He looked at the remaining two punchers, who seemed cold sober now, shocked out of their drunken haze by the deaths of Branch and Court.
“You fellas want to take a hand in this game?” Matt asked them.
Both men practically broke their necks shaking their heads so hard as they backed away. They held up empty hands and one of them stammered, “N-no, sir, Mr. B-Bodine!”
“When the marshal asks you about this, you’ll tell him the truth about what happened, won’t you?”
“Y-yes, sir! You don’t have to worry about that. Dub and Court were damn fools, that’s what happened!”
“Damn fools,” the other puncher repeated, “to go up against Matt Bodine!”
Matt nodded. “Best go fetch the undertaker then, if this burg’s got one.” The two surviving cowboys hustled away up the street as he pouched the left-hand iron and began reloading the two chambers he had emptied in the other Colt. When that was done, he replaced the expended round in the second gun.
Then he looked up and saw that the young woman was still sitting there on her horse. She wore a long gingham dress, not the sort of outfit that was suitable for riding. She stared at Matt and said, “You’re Matt Bodine.”
He smiled as he holstered the left-hand gun, then touched the brim of his Stetson and gave her a polite nod.
“Yes, ma’am. You’ve got the advantage of me.”
“My name is…Jessica Devlin.”
He noted the slight hesitation, and wondered briefly if the name she had just given him was the right one. It didn’t really matter, though, so he didn’t press her on it. He just said, “I wish we’d met under better circumstances, Miss Devlin.”
“Yes. So do I. But I…I thank you for your help.” She looked nervous, a little like a wild animal that’s realized it’s being stalked. “I…have to go now.”
Matt tugged on his hat brim. “Ma’am.”
She turned her horse and kicked it into a trot that carried her toward the railroad station. Matt watched until she got there safely and dismounted, then turned toward the general store again.
He still had to pick up those supplies and get back to the barn. Sam was probably wondering what those shots had been about.
And knowing Sam, he’d just assume that Matt had been mixed up in the fracas…
Chapter 28
Maggie’s heart wasn’t choking her anymore, but it still pounded a mile a minute in her chest. She had heard the outlaws talking about Matt Bodine, about what a deadly gunman he was, and now she had seen the proof of that with her own eyes.
If she hadn’t witnessed it, she wouldn’t have believed that a man could draw and fire even one pistol that fast and with such accuracy, let alone two. And Bodine’s companion, the half-breed called Two Wolves, was supposed to be almost as good with a gun, according to the outlaws.
No wonder they’d been able to fight off the two attempts to rescue Joshua Shade. Bodine and Two Wolves were alone now, though, except for the marshal and one deputy. They couldn’t outfight what was left of the gang. Their only real hope of getting their prisoner out of here lay in catching the train.
Maggie understood that was why Garth wanted to know when the next train was due. They had to free Shade before the train arrived.
She glanced up the street as she dismounted by the train station. Matt Bodine still stood there, obviously keeping an eye on her to make sure no one else bothered her.
She started to lift a hand and wave to him to let him know that she was all right, but she didn’t do it. She didn’t want to be friendly toward him. It was bad enough that she was helping Shade’s gang, after he had risked his life to keep those cowboys from molesting her. What she was doing now might allow the outlaws to kill him later on.
She had no choice, though. Not as long as they had Ike and Caleb in their power.
Maggie almost wished Matt Bodine hadn’t stepped in when those men accosted her. She certainly wished he hadn’t asked her what her name was. For some reason, she hadn’t wanted to admit the truth. So she had given him the name of her best friend back in Ohio instead. Jessica would never know the difference.
Pausing at the top of the steps leading to the station platform, Maggie glanced up the street again. Bodine was gone. She felt oddly relieved.
The ticket window was still open, but as Maggie hurried toward it, she saw the clerk reach up to pull down the shutter that would close it off for the night. She looked at the board next to the window, saw that nothing was written on it, and hurried forward to catch the clerk’s attention before he could pull down the shutter.
“Sir! Please, wait a minute!”
