“Hold them out here, let me see them,” Odom ordered.
Schuler held his hands out for Odom’s inspection. They were shaking badly.
“Damn,” Odom said. “Look at that. Hell, shaking like that, you couldn’t even light the fuse, let alone plant the charge.”
“Give me a drink,” Schuler said.
“You’ve had too much to drink already.”
“Give me a drink,” Schuler said again.
Odom poured a drink from his bottle and handed it to Schuler. Schuler tossed it down, then held his hands out again. They were as steady as a rock.
“I’ll be damn,” Odom said. “All right, you’re in.”
“I’m in what?”
“Does it really matter as long as there’s money in it?”
“How much money, Senor?” Paco asked.
Odom studied them through his half-drooped left eye. “A lot of money,” he finally answered. “If you was to take all the money the four of us have ever had in our whole lives and put it in one pile, it wouldn’t make as much as one share of the money I’m talking about now. Are you boys interested?”
Bates smiled. “Hell, yes, I’m interested. I told you that from the beginnin’, you know that.”
“What about you, Paco?”
“
“What do you want me to blow?”
“A safe.”
“Where is the safe?”
“In a train.”
“A train. You are planning to hold up a train?” Schuler asked.
“Yeah. You have a problem with that?”
Without asking, Schuler poured himself another drink, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“No,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
“When do we do it?” Bates asked.
“Couple more days,” Odom replied. “I’ll let you know when it’s time.”
Chapter Four
When Matt Jensen first encountered the town of Purgatory, Arizona, it rose from the prairie in front of him so indistinct in form and substance that it resembled nothing more than a rise of hillocks and rocks. But as he drew closer, the hillocks and rocks began to take on shape and character until it was obviously a town.
It had been a long ride since the last water hole, and Matt’s canteen was down to less than a third full. But the sight of a town gave promise of more water, so he stopped, and allowed himself a long drink.
“I wish I had some for you, Spirit,” he said, patting the animal on the neck. “But there’s water just ahead, and I promise you your fill, as well as a good rubdown and a supper of oats.”
Matt hooked the empty canteen onto his saddle, then slapped his legs against Spirit’s side to urge him on down into the town. A rabbit jumped up alongside the road and ran in front of him for a little while before darting off to one side. A hand-painted sign greeted him at the edge of town. PURGATORY
OBEY OUR LAWS
Just beyond the sign was a house, and in the yard of the house was a water pump. An old woman was pumping water into a bucket, though it was obvious that the pumping action was difficult for her. Smelling the water, Spirit whickered again, and tossed his head. Matt headed toward the pump.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” Matt said. He swung down from the horse. “May I pump for you?”
The woman, who could have been anywhere between fifty and eighty, looked at him with eyes that were too tired to be frightened. Without saying a word, she relinquished the pump handle.
Matt filled the bucket, then handed it to the woman. “I wonder if I might have a little of your water for my canteen and my horse,” Matt asked.
“You are welcome to the water,” the old woman answered.
“Thank you,” Matt said. He took his hat off, put it under the pump, and filled it with water. Holding the hat in front of his horse, he watched as the animal drank thirstily. It took three more hats to slake the horse’s thirst. Not until then did Matt fill his own canteen.
“You are a kind man, sir, to see to the thirst of your horse before yourself,” the old woman said.
“I’ve managed to drink a little from time to time,” Matt said. “He hasn’t. His thirst was much greater than mine.”
Matt put the canteen back onto his saddle, then handed the woman two dollars.
