sheriff than I am. He sure would like to be sheriff, though. And he has started a vigilante committee to protect the good people of the Bannack Mining District. But he’s the one we need protecting from. Look at Logan Gillis. If the truth were known, Plummer and his men probably stole money from Gillis, then hung him for trying to keep hold of his own.”
“Does everyone feel the same way about Plummer?” James asked.
“Everyone who isn’t on his payroll feels that way about him. But he has so many men working for him as deputies, and so many others frightened, that if we were to hold a real election today, he would win.”
“Sounds to me like he’s the kind of person a fella wants to stay away from,” James said.
“You’ve got that right, mister.”
It was the last building on the street, sitting just on the edge of the town. The sign in front read SHERIFF’S OFFICE, BANNACK MINING DISTRICT VIGILANTE COMMITTEE, HENRY PLUMMER, SHERIFF.
A woodfire popped and snapped inside a small, potbellied stove, warming the inside of the building. Half a dozen men stood around the stove and around the single desk that occupied the room. Henry Plummer sat in a swivel chair with his feet propped up on the desk. He was buffing to an even higher shine his already polished boots.
“That was quite a show this morning, all those cows coming through,” Plummer said as he worked the shoe brush back and forth over the burnished leather. He looked up at Angus. “Is this is the herd you’ve been waiting for?”
“Yes,” Butrum replied.
“Well, I congratulate you, Mr. Butrum. It was worth waiting for. They were paid over a hundred thousand dollars for the herd, all in gold,” Plummer said. He put the brush back in the desk drawer then admired the sheen on his shoes. Looking up at the others, he smiled. “Yes, sir, it’s going to be a very good payday.”
“Wish he’d taken the money in paper, it would’a been a lot easier,” George Ives said.
“Ives, I swear, you would complain if they hung you with a new rope,” Plummer said. “If the gold is too heavy for you, I’m sure some of the others will be glad to take your share.”
“No, no, it’s not too much for me.”
Plummer laughed. “I didn’t think it would be.”
“When are we going to do it?”
“As soon as I figure out the best way to do it,” Plummer answered. “Probably some time tomorrow.”
“What about Faglier?” Angus asked.
“Who’s Faglier?” Plummer replied.
“I told you who he is. He’s the one me an’ my brothers been lookin’ for all this time. He’s one of the cowboys that brought the herd up.”
“Do you know which one he is?”
“Yeah, one of the men down at the holding pens pointed him out today. We know him, but he don’t know us.”
“Well, that ought to make it easy enough for you tomorrow.”
“We don’t aim to wait until tomorrow to give him a chance to get away,” Percy said.
“We’re going to kill him today.”
“No, you aren’t. You are going to wait until tomorrow,” Plummer said, scowling at the three brothers. “I don’t intend to let that money get away from me because you have some score to settle.”
“All right, we’ll do it your way. If you want us to wait, we’ll wait,” Angus said. “As long as you know we intend to kill him.”
“You can kill him,” Plummer said easily. “It doesn’t make any difference to me. All I’m interested in is the money.”
Chapter Eighteen
Duke Faglier poured a little gold dust into his hand, examined it for a moment, then returned it to the sack. “Seventy-five hundred dollars,” he said. “I’ve never held so much money in my hand at one time in my life.” He chuckled. “In fact, I don’t think all the money I’ve ever handled would equal this.”
“What are you going to do with all that money, Duke?” John asked.
“I don’t know yet, but I figure I’ll find some way to spend it.”
“What about a saloon?”
Duke chuckled. “Well, I might buy a few drinks, but I don’t know as I want to spend it all in a saloon.”
“Not
“Well, I don’t know,” Duke answered. “I don’t know, let me think about that.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do,” Billy said. “Well, after I poke around in the hills a while, I guess I’ll take my uncle’s money back to Texas. Then I’m going out to California.”
“California,” Matthew said. “Now, there’s an idea. I’ve always had a hankering to see that place myself.”
“That leaves you, Bob. What are you going to do?” James asked.
“You won’t care much for what I have in mind,” Bob replied.
“What do you mean?”
“I aim to get into the war,” Bob said. “I thought about it a lot during the drive up here. I’m not sure I understand all the reasons why the war come about, but I know I won’t be able to hold my head up if I don’t get into it.”
“So, come next spring, you’ll be going back to Texas?”
Bob shook his head. “No, I’m going now. They say the boats will be running for about another month until river ice shuts them down. I’m going with the next boat.”
“You mean you ain’t goin’ to look for gold?” Luke asked. “I thought that was the whole reason you come up here.”
“It was,” Bob said. “But I’ve changed my mind. I feel like I have to go back.”
“Well, it’s your decision, Bob,” James said. “A man has to do what a man has to do. I wish you luck.”
“Thanks.”
“Now, I have a proposal,” James said.
“What’s that?” Billy asked.
“I propose that we all go into town and spend tonight in the hotel. It might be nice to have a roof over our heads for a change.”
“Yeah, and no cows bellowing,” Luke said.
“Or wandering off,” Bob suggested.
“Or stinking,” Billy added. The others laughed.
Percy tripped as he stepped up onto the boardwalk in front of the Last Chance Saloon, across the street from the Miner’s Hotel.
“Shhh!” Chance whispered. “You’re making enough noise to wake the dead.”
“I didn’t see the step in the dark.”
“Well, hell, it ain’t like they just put it there,” Chance said. “It’s been right there as long as we’ve been
