There was a slight pause. Longarm suspected the Arrabie security chief was changing position inside the tunnel. ?I sure thought I had it covered, Longarm. What?d I do wrong??
?You stole a bunch of money and killed a bunch of people, Jack.?
?Aw, come on, Longarm. You know what I mean.? The voice did not sound quite so hollow now. Longarm was sure Thomas was moving closer to the mouth.
?Yeah, I know what you mean, Jack. You want me to tell you how clever you are??
?No. I really want to know how I fucked up. Aside from doing it to begin with, that is.?
Longarm eased down until he was lying on his belly with the Thunderer stuck out in front of him and held ready. ?It was the explosion more than anything, Jack,? he shouted.
?What do you mean??
?It wasn?t so hard to work out that it had to be somebody local behind it since there weren?t really any White Hoods. Hell, they?re too smart to get themselves bottled up in a canyon with only one way out. So I worked on that some, but I got to admit I had trouble spotting you for the one behind it. After you got yourself killed and all.?
The sound of Thomas?s laughter drifted out of the tunnel.
?Like I said, Jack, it was really the explosion that tipped me to it. It didn?t make sense. Killing all those people that particular way. And I happen to know how hard it is to really blow a human body into pieces. That?s a damned unusual thing, Jack. Pretty much had to be deliberate. And an awful big charge of dynamite. So I got to thinking about that. Like how even in a mining camp just any-old-body would excite some interest if he wanted to buy that much explosive without any obvious need for it. And how hard it is to steal dynamite from a mine. Then it occurred to me how it was you, Jack, that suggested we keep all the money together so we could guard it overnight and not distribute it until morning.
?Not that I thought anything about that when you were dead, Jack. But then when I got to wondering why any body would want to blow those men up, Jack, it occurred to me that maybe those two things were connected. And maybe you weren?t quite as dead as everybody thought.
?And of course you didn?t have much support in the guts or brains department in that partner you picked. Carter couldn?t tell me everything fast enough once I got him started.?
?Yeah, that son of a bitch. I needed him, though. Needed him to get that fake telegram sent so everybody?d blame the White Hoods and I could get it to fall into place.? Thomas?s voice sounded quite close to the front now, and Longarm took a fresh grip on his Colt and readied himself. He was betting that Thomas would count on his untried guards to hold their fire against a friend?the same friend, of course, who had blown several other friends to bits?and try to take Longarm and make a break for it.
?Actually,? Longarm said, ?you could have taken a trip out of the canyon and bribed some other operator to send your phony message.?
There was a pause, then a sound of laughter. ?Shit, Longarm, I never thought of that. That would?ve been bet ter, wouldn?t it??
?Naw, I?d?ve nailed your butt anyway, Jack.?
?I don?t know, Longarm,? Thomas called.
?I do,? Longarm said softly to himself.
?I guess we have a standoff here, Longarm.?
?I guess we do, Jack.?
?What say we try and negotiate this, Longarm? I have seventy-two thousand dollars in here with me.?
Longarm could hear Arnold Batson stirring behind him. The second attempt to bribe him in as many days would likely be having him pretty thoroughly pissed off, Longarm suspected. It just could be that Jack Thomas was counting more on a former friendship than Arnold Batson would be willing to deliver.
?Bullshit,? Longarm said. ?The money was hidden in the basement of the bank. I figure you had it transferred down there by the same fellas you killed. What?d you do, tell them that would hide it and keep it even safer??
?Yeah, but
?
?I?m not bluffing you, Jack. You hid it in the steamer trunk behind the file cabinets in the southest corner of the place. It?s already been found, counted, and turned over to the proper owners.?
?You son of a
Never mind that now, Longarm. I still think we can negotia??
He came out of the tunnel hard and fast, driving forward in a rolling fall, a Winchester held in his hands, its muzzle sweeping at belly level toward the place Longarm?s voice had been coming from.
Thomas?s finger tightened on the trigger, and the Winchester spat lead through the air where Longarm would have been if he had been standing upright.
Longarm took his time for careful aim and was surprised to see Jack Thomas?s head jerk backward a fraction of a second before Longarm fired to send a second, but unnecessary, bullet into the man?s brain.
Behind Longarm, Arnold Batson sagged to his knees and began throwing up.
Batson, whose loyalties lay with duty and pride rather than with the turncoat Jack Thomas, had killed again.
Longarm got to his feet and went forward to verify that Thomas was no threat any longer. Then he turned back to Batson.
?Come along, Arnold. We have to get your injured man down the mountain.? He smiled. ?By the time we get there, I expect Marshal Vail and Henry will?ve made that handcart ride. If I have anything to say about it, man, the marshal
