'Some of von Heusen's boys. The four fellows who just came in. The
mean-looking ones.'
They were a mean-looking group, Jamie decided. Lanky- haired,
glitter-eyed.
Two were light, two were dark-haired.
One chewed tobacco incessantly.
The dark-haired man who chewed tobacco seemed to be the spokesman for
the group. He slammed his fist on the bar, rattling all the glasses on
it. He shouted to the bartender, who couldn't seem to move swiftly
enough to the end of the bar.
'Hardy! What's the matter with you, ya getting' old?' one of the men
demanded.
'Whiskey. And not the rotgut you serve the local swine. Give us the best
in the house.' Hardy set a bottle on the bar. The man grasped him by the
shirt collar and nearly pulled him over the bar. Hardy was starting to
turn purple, and his attacker was laughing like a hyena.
'That's enough.'
Jamie was on his feet. Once again, everyone went silent. Von Heusen's
men were silent, too. The four of them stared at him with astonishment.
Then they began to smile. 'Who the hell are you?' asked the dark-haired
brute.
'That doesn't matter. Let Hardy alone.'
'Why, son, you don't know anything about this town at all, now, do you?'
'Let him go,' Jamie repeated.
'He needs to be taught a lesson,' one of the light-haired men said with
a nasty snarl.
'Yeah. A fatal lesson.'
In a flash, the man released the bartender. He drew his gun.
He was fast, but not fast enough. Before he could aim he had dropped the
gun, howling in pain. His friends tried to draw.
Rapid shots sizzled from Jamie's Colts. The second man was on the floor,
clutching his leg. The third grasped an arm. The fourth was on the
floor.
He might have been dead. Jamie didn't know or care.
He looked at Edward Clancy.
'Thanks for the drink, friend,' he said quietly.
Then he left the bar, walking over his fallen enemies.
Chapter Seven.
By nightfall the wagon had been unloaded except for the printing press,
which would be taken into town in the morning. Tess had even managed to
fill the hip bath in the kitchen with steaming water and soak for a long
time, washing away the dust and dirt from the trail. She kept reminding
herself that von Heusen was coming back, but she felt strangely calm,
despite the fact that Jamie had deserted them.
Von Heusen wasn't going to come right up to the house and murder her. He
hadn't the guts for that. She dressed in a soft summer-green cotton and
set about making dinner with Jane and Dolly to help her. She was
accustomed to Jane, but it was really nice to have Dolly with her. Dolly
kept up a steady stream of conversation, mostly about her husband, Will,
