to me or I said to him, but it’s all true, what I’ve said so far!”
“Let her tell things her own way, Floyd,” Longarm told the outlaw. “We can sort it out after we’ve heard all of it.”
“You keep out of this, Windy!” Floyd shot back. “This ain’t your affair!”
“Both of you roosters keep quiet and let the girl finish!” Belle commanded.
Longarm patted Susanna’s hand. “Go on, tell us what happened next. Tell it just the way it was, though.”
“Ah, right, Windy, I’ll do the best I can, but everything that started then was—well, it all happened so fast, I might get mixed up.” She frowned, trying to remember where she’d left off, then continued, “I stayed in the cave, let’s see—the first night, with Lonnie, then he rode off the next morning and said he’d be gone a day, two days at the most. He didn’t come back that night, but he rode up the next morning, real early. He said we had to hurry and get out of there, that they were after him.”
“Who was after him?” Floyd asked.
“y, the sheriff and his deputies,” Susanna replied. “I didn’t find that out until later on, though. Not until they caught up with us late that afternoon. We’d been pushing our horses real hard, riding around whatever towns we saw ahead of us. I guess that slowed us down a little bit. Anyhow, they got close to us and started shooting. They killed my horse, the one Lonnie’d just bought for me. And he took me up in front of him. But then we couldn’t go as fast, of course. That’s when they shot Lonnie.”
Susanna stopped and pressed her hands over her face. Even Floyd stayed quiet until she was able to go on with her story. “It was lucky that Lonnie knew the country better than the posse did. He rode up a little creekbed and over a hill and doubled back and went over two or three more hills, zigzagging all the time. And I didn’t see the men who were chasing us again. Lonnie’d been hurt right bad, though. But you know that. So we changed places. I got back of him in the saddle so I could hold him on, and he told me which way to go. He’d told me where we were heading for, right after we shook off the posse. And then I turned in at the place he’d said to look for, and then Windy came up just when the horse was about to give out. And that’s really how it all happened.”
“Where was this place that Lon went for money?” Floyd asked.
Susanna shook her head. “I don’t really know, Floyd. Lonnie didn’t tell me where he’d been, or what happened. Oh, I knew he’d done something that was against the law. I knew what was in his mind when he set out from the cave, even if he didn’t tell me. And when he came back, I was sure. He never did say where he’d been or what he’d done, though.”
“It was likely a stagecoach or a bank job,” Belle said thoughtfully. “I know that cave west of Poteau. He could’ve gone into Poteau, but if he was smart, he’d have gone all the way back to Arkansas. It’s not too far, just an hour of hard riding. There are two or three towns there he could’ve hit, Hartford or Greenwood or Waldon. I don’t see that it makes any difference, though. Your job’s north of there.”
“We’ll find out from Lon when he comes around,” Floyd said. “He didn’t know too much about what we’ve been figuring to do. All I said when I sent word to him was to get here to Younger’s Bend as fast as he could ride. Told him who he’d be riding with, of course. He’d known Mckee and Steed from earlier. He didn’t know Bobby, but that wouldn’t have worried him. Lon trusts me.”
“He was on his way here, of course. You’d told him how to find the place, judging from what he told Susanna,” Belle said thoughtfully.
“You remember, though, Belle, he didn’t even tell Susanna until he’d been shot, and he knew she’d need to be able to find her way here,” Floyd pointed out.
“Hell, Floyd, I never have made any secret of where Younger’s Bend is. There isn’t any need to, as long as my treaty with the Cherokees holds good.”
Starr called from inside the house, “Belle! Taylor’s coming around!
He keeps calling for some girl, Sue’s her name. Would that be th-“
Susanna hurried inside, followed by the others. Taylor’s eyes were open and he was looking around the room. He saw Susanna and tried to sit up, but lacked the strength. She hurried to the table and took his hand.
“I guess you got me here in time,” he whispered. His voice was weak and raspy in his throat. “I feel pretty good right now.”
“That’s fine, Lonnie. You’ll be looked after. Everybody’s going to help,” she said.
Taylor saw Floyd, who’d come up to the table. “I’ll be riding with you on that job, Floyd. Just don’t plan on starting it until I feel a little stronger.”
“Don’t worry, Lon. I’ll wait till you heal up,” Floyd assured him.
Taylor smiled weakly. “That-that’s good.”
Floyd saw the whiskey bottle sitting in the chair. He said, “We’ll just have a drink on that, by God!” and walked around the table, picked up the bottle, and selected two glasses.
“I’m sure glad you feel better, Lonnie,” Susanna said.
Taylor looked at her and smiled. He started to say something, but the words that formed in his mouth failed to come out. His throat pulsed convulsively for a moment, then his eyes rolled upward, the pupils going out of sight even though the eyelids remained wide open. His head fell back and his body seemed to shrink a tiny amount as it went limp.
Susanna stared at him, realization growing in her eyes. “Oh, God!” she gasped. “I-I think he’s dead!”
“Dead?” Floyd whirled around, still holding the two shots of whiskey he’d poured. “How in hell could he be? He just said he was feeling a lot better!”
“I don’t know how he could!” Susanna retorted. “He started to say something, then all of a sudden he
