?Jesus,? Neal whispered.
?Right. So while we?re looking for the White Hoods, we?re also looking for Markham and the woman. And the first thing I want done, before we waste another minute sitting here, is that I want a guard posted on the railroad tracks down where the canyon squeezes into those narrows. I want you to send two men from each mine, every man armed and equipped to stay a while. The orders are that no one, and I mean no one goes past them.?
?That won?t be so easy to do, Marshal. I mean, there?s plenty of places a man can hide on a train. We can search the cars and the rods and what not, but, hell, a fella can burrow down into the ore or crawl inside the wood car and stack wood over himself
just lots of ways.?
?I?ll take care of that,? Longarm told them. ?What I want the guards to do is to make damn sure nobody passes them on foot.?
?That we can do easy.?
?If you boys can guarantee me that much, then I think we?ll be able to get a handle on this thing.?
?Marshal, you got my word on it anyhow.?
?And mine.?
Batson just nodded.
?Won?t anybody walk out of here.?
?Then I want you each to go get your people moving. Quick as you?re done, come back and we?ll talk some more about the rest of what I have in mind. Mind, though, nobody, not even one of the big bosses, goes out along those tracks.?
?What about if you??
?I won?t,? Longarm cut him off. ?You can tell the guards that too. I won?t be writing out any passes, and I won?t be sending any messages. If anybody tries to tell them otherwise he?s a liar and probably one of the White Hoods, and they have my permission to shoot if the liar resists. Understood? No exceptions, not even for county supervisors. Not for nobody.?
?Guaranteed,? Sawyer said. ?Nobody goes out until this thing is over.?
?And you are all sure that no one can leave any other way but by the tracks??
?No chance, Marshal,? Neal said.
?No chance,? Batson agreed.
?Not even by foot??
?I?ve done a lot of hiking and climbing around here, Marshal,? Batson said. ?It?s kind of a hobby of mine. The way we?re cut off back here I don?t think a man could make it out afoot unless he had ropes and pitons and a hell of a lot of mountain climbing experience. Of course, in the areas you can reach, there?s an awful lot of places a bunch like the White Hoods could crawl into and hide, for months if they had to while they waited for things to cool down.?
Longarm smiled. ?I think they?re gonna find that once I get hot, I don?t cool down so easy. Not until I get what I want, that is. And right now what I want are those White Hoods and the former sheriff.?
?You don?t get any argument from us on that one, Marshal.?
?We?ll go get our guards set, then come see you. Uh, would it be all right if we send more that two men per outfit? We could send a good sized crew and supplies to keep them there. Set up a rotating schedule with at least one man from each mine standing guard at all times??
?That sounds all right to me.?
?Then we?ll see you shortly, Marshal. An? you?d better know that no son of a bitch will be leaving Thunderbird Canyon till those murdering cocksuckers are dead.?
Longarm raised an eyebrow.
?Or in irons, of course,? Sawyer said without conviction.
The man?s meaning was clear enough. These men who had just lost friends in the bank explosion had no intention of letting a single White Hood live long enough to stand trial for his crimes.
?I?ll see you after a while then,? Longarm said. He forced himself to his feet again with a weary sigh and headed for the train depot while the security people hurried off into the night.
Chapter Twenty-Six
?You want what?? The trainmaster planted his fists on his hips and glared.
?Oh, I don?t think it?s all that difficult to understand.? Longarm struck a match and bent to the flame, lighting his cheroot. He shook the match out and flicked the spent stick into the cinders and gravel that lined the edge of the roadbed. ?Think of it as a vacation,? he said.
?You son of a bitch,? the trainmaster declared.
?It?s a common enough opinion,? Longarm agreed pleasantly.
?I don?t care what you say, mister
?
?It isn?t mister, it?s Marshal. And if you so much as make steam in that boiler until I say different, man, I?ll have you in irons on charges of obstructing justice.? Longarm smiled at the angry man. ?With a nice, clean record behind you, I?d say you wouldn?t get more than eighteen months, maybe two years out of it.?
