“Who was in charge?”
“Superintendent Frank Ingalls. I understand the bastard is still there cracking his whip.”
“What kind of guns do the guards use?”
“They carry Winchesters in the towers, but it’s the Lowell Battery Gun in Guard Tower Number Two that we mostly worried about. It could spray the whole damn compound and cut down anything that moved.”
“And what was your worst punishment at Yuma?”
“I spent a month in the dark cell. It was hard.”
“How big was it?”
Longarm sighed. “Mr. Killion, it was fifteen feet square and they kept me in a strap-iron cage that was placed in its center. You rarely saw the light of day, and you sat in your own slime. They gave you nothing but stale bread and cold river water.”
“Where was it located?”
“In a cave bored out of solid rock along the south wall, right near the main cell block.”
“All right,” Killion said, apparently satisfied. “I guess that you know the Yuma prison better than any man ought. And as for Dean Holt, he had his bad whipping coming.”
“Thanks.”
“Why don’t you stay,” Killion suggested.
“Why? Are you going to buy anymore of our mustangs?”
“No, but you might find what I have in mind a lot more rewarding than mustanging.”
“I’m listening.”
“Are you good with that six-gun?”
“More than tolerable.”
“Yeah,” Killion said, “I’ll just bet you are. How does a hundred dollars sound?”
“Like tall dollars.”
Killion reached into his pocket and peeled off a hundred dollars. “You’re hired.”
“For what?” Longarm asked.
“Guarding Helldorado, and me.”
Longarm clenched the money in his fist, knowing it was probably from some train, bank, or stagecoach robbery. “No offense, Mr. Killion, but you already appear to have an awful lot of guards. Why do you want another?”
“Because Dean was my toughest man and you proved yourself even tougher. I think you are probably as good with that six-gun as you are with your fists, and I’d like to have you on my side.”
“Against who?”
“Anyone who opposes me or becomes my enemy.”
Longarm took a deep breath and pretended to give the response all the serious consideration it warranted. This was exactly what he’d hoped would happen, but he did not want to appear too eager to accept. “When will more money be coming?”
Killion chuckled. “Sooner than it would if you kept mustanging.”
“Yeah,” Longarm said with a half smile. “I guess you have a good point.”
“The girls are here for your pleasure. I’ll pay you enough to have a daily taste of ‘em, if that’s what you like.”
“I like.” Longarm’s eyes darted to Desiree’s face.
“This one, however,” Killion growled, reaching out to place his hand over the bulging fabric that covered her breast, “is mine.”
“Understood, Boss.”
“Good! I’m glad you’re joining us. Now, send that Indian away.”
“Why? He could use some-“
“Get rid of him and those mustangs,” Killion ordered, “before I have the boys do it.”
Longarm heard the threat and knew that this subject was not negotiable. “Yes, sir. Can’t he at least eat first?”
Killion laughed. “Sure! He can eat all he wants, but then he’s on his way. It’s for his own good.”
“I’ll tell him that,” Longarm said.
Killion started to escort Desiree back to his hotel, but he paused, then turned and said, “Randy wants you to teach him a few punches.”
“He told me that.”
“Then do it,” Killion said with a cold smile as he left Longarm with a hundred dollars worth of stolen cash in his hand.
