never deliberately frightened him.”
Longarm said, “You’re lying, Nelson, and I’m going to find out what you did.”
Asher Nelson said, “I’m tired and I’m hungry.” He suddenly yawned. “Let’s have something to eat and then get a good sleep in.”
Longarm looked at him. “Are you crazy? Do you think this is over with?”
Asher Nelson said, “Of course it’s over with. Why shouldn’t it be? You won. Hell, man, you’ve killed my two brothers. I’d like to make arrangements to have their bodies brought in.”
“Nelson, I hate to surprise you, but you ain’t making any more arrangements about anything. As far as I’m concerned, your brothers are dead and buried in a cave.”
Asher Nelson looked at Longarm in amazement. “Why, that’s barbaric. Surely they’re going to get a decent burial.”
Longarm said, “Have you got ten thousand dollars in this house?”
A sly smile crept over Nelson’s face. “Of course I’ve got ten thousand dollars in this house. Do you want it in paper or gold?”
“Well, considering the circumstances, I think it would be more fitting if it were in gold. What would you say?”
Nelson shrugged. “That’s no problem, but couldn’t I have a meal first?
Honestly, I’m starving to death.”
Longarm stood up. “Starving ain’t the way you’re going to die, Nelson. Lead me to the gold.”
Longarm reached into his back pocket and took out the same poster he had taken off the wall in the hotel. He said to Asher Nelson, “I’m claiming this ten-thousand-dollar reward. Do you see anything wrong with that?”
Asher Nelson shook his head. “Certainly not. You brought yourself here alive. The poster offers a ten- thousand-dollar reward for the capture and the delivery of Deputy Marshal Custis Long. You have captured yourself and you have delivered yourself. The reward is obviously yours.”
“Good. Let’s go get it.”
Asher Nelson said, “Then what happens?”
“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Longarm said. He looked toward the end of the room. He said, “Deputy Henderson, come along with us. We’re going to go get ten thousand dollars.”
The young man said, “Yes, sir.”
Longarm said, “Mr. Nelson thinks it’s going to buy us off. Don’t you, Mr. Nelson?”
Asher Nelson shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t think there’s anything to buy off. I made a proposition and you will have collected on it. We had a contest and you won. You can claim two out of three kills. I consider the matter closed. I see no further action for anything.”
Longarm smiled slyly. “That’s the way you look at it, is it?”
“Of course.”
Longarm said, “Lead the way.” They went out of the big room, down the hall, and into Asher’s office. The room where his gunbelt and revolver and Ross Henderson’s gunbelt had been stored. It was not a big room, but it was wood-paneled and luxurious. Asher Nelson went to one end and with a twist of a wooden lever, removed a panel to expose an iron safe. It was a combination safe, and he fiddled with the dials for a few seconds. Longarm was making head motions to Ross Henderson to move up closer to the right side of Asher Nelson. Longarm felt pretty sure there was a lot of money in the safe, and he felt pretty sure there was a gun in there too. He thought it would help Ross Henderson’s confidence if he was the one who stopped Asher Nelson from getting his hand on the weapon. But just to be sure, Longarm stayed at Nelson’s back, peering over his shoulder as the man swung the door open.
Inside the safe, which was fairly large, being four feet by four feet, were a lot of papers, stacks of gold coins, and some stacks of gold bars, as well as quite a bit of paper currency.
Asher Nelson said, “And you’d be wanting gold, is that right, Marshal?”
He ran his hand under one of the shelves inside the safe. Longarm knew he wasn’t going for gold, so he simply quietly pulled his revolver and put it to the back of Asher Nelson’s neck. He was hoping that Ross Henderson would do something.
Nelson brought his hand out. Longarm saw just the butt of the gun as Nelson started back with it. At that instant, Longarm pressed the barrel of his gun to the man’s head. He said, “Asher, that ain’t ten thousand dollars. That’s a gun, a revolver. You bring it on out and drop it on the floor.”
He heard Asher laugh dryly. He said, “Well, Marshal, you can’t blame me for trying.”
Longarm glanced across at Ross Henderson. He seemed hypnotized. “Damn it, Ross. Didn’t you see that? You had a better view of it than I did. If he had got that gun out, he could have killed us both.”
Asher Nelson said, “I don’t think your young deputy likes guns very much, Marshal Long. But who knows?”
Longarm took the gun away from Nelson and stuck it down in his waistband. He said, “Now, get to counting gold, Mr. Nelson.”
Asher Nelson began pulling out stacks of hundred-dollar gold pieces, counting them out carefully. He said, “I wouldn’t want to cheat you, Marshal.”
Longarm said, “That looks like it’s going to be a pile of money. Ross, I’m going to step out to the stable and get some saddlebags. You watch the prisoner. Keep a gun on him. I won’t be long, maybe ten minutes.”
He saw the stricken look come over Ross Henderson’s face. The young man took an involuntary step backward from where Nelson was kneeling at the safe. He gave Longarm an agonized look, but Longarm pretended he hadn’t
