“What d’you think?” Thomas said. “Anybody in that dugout?”
“Doesn’t look that way,” Tilghman said. “By now, they’d be up and making coffee. Not a trace of smoke from the stovepipe.”
“Maybe they rode out to pull a job. Could’ve left yesterday after you were here.”
“I’ve got an inkling that’s the case.”
“We could wait,” Thomas suggested. “Like you said, they might come back this way.”
“Yeah, they might.” Tilghman stared at the house a moment. “What say we have a talk with the Dunns?”
“Any particular reason?”
“They’ll likely know Doolin’s plans. Leastways they’ll know more than we do.”
“That’ll tip our hand,” Thomas said. “Dunn will figure we’re keepin’ a watch on his place.”
“Things have changed,” Tilghman observed. “After yesterday, we’ve got solid proof he was harboring fugitives. I’d say it’s time to convert him.”
“Turn him into an informant?”
“You’re reading my mind, Heck.”
Ten minutes later they rode into the compound. Outside the corral, they dismounted and hitched their horses. Bee Dunn appeared in the doorway of the house, his expression unreadable. He spoke to someone over his shoulder, then walked toward the corral. His brother took a position at the door, stationed to act as a watchdog.
Dunn halted before the lawmen. “You gents are gettin’ to be regulars.”
“Listen close, Bee.” Tilghman nodded toward the house. “George looks like he might have a rifle hidden behind that door. If he tries anything, you’re a dead man.”
Dunn motioned his brother into the house. When the door closed, he turned back to Tilghman. “Satisfied?”
“For now,” Tilghman said. “That dugout appears to be empty. Where’s Doolin?”
“How would I know?”
“Don’t dance me around, Bee. I stayed behind yesterday and waited to see what happened. You treated Doolin and his boys to breakfast.”
Dunn gave him a sharp, sudden look. “I’ll be gawddamned! You didn’t have no posse up in the woods. You were by yourself, weren’t you?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Tilghman said. “Either way, I’m eyewitness to the fact that you’re harboring fugitives. You’ve been caught out, Bee.”
“So what d’you want from me?”
“Let’s take first things first. Where’s Doolin?”
“Gone,” Dunn answered in a monotone. “You spooked him with all that talk of a posse. Him and his boys went back to the Nations.”
Tilghman appraised him. “Were they planning a holdup?”
“I’m not privy to Doolin’s plans. He keeps such to himself.”
“Where does he hide out in the Nations?”
“Dunno,” Dunn said stonily. “Never asked him.”
“You think we’re stupid?” Thomas demanded, poking him in the chest with a thorny finger. “You’d better come up with some answers, pronto! Otherwise you’re up shit creek.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tilghman riveted him with a look. “By law, you’re an accomplice after the fact to murder, robbery, and conspiracy to commit criminal acts. How’d you like to take a short drop on a hangman’s rope?”
“Jesus Christ, I never killed nobody!”
“You’re still guilty under the law. A judge and jury would convict you in a minute.”
“What if they would?” Dunn sounded unnerved. “Why haven’t you arrested me?”
“Here’s the deal.” Tilghman’s eyes were like nail heads. “We’ll drop all charges against you, even for horse stealing. In exchange, you feed us information on Doolin and his gang. Their whereabouts, their plans—anything you know.”
“You expect me to inform on Bill Doolin?”
“Get the wax outta your ears,” Thomas warned. “You waltz us around and we’ll put your ass smack-dab on the gallows. You hear me?”
“Yeah,” Dunn said dully. “I hear you.”
“So let’s try again,” Tilghman said. “Where’s Doolin hole up in the Nations?”
“Swear to God I don’t know. I’m tellin’ you the truth.”
“You ever lie to me and I’ll personally put the rope around your neck.”
Dunn’s expression became one of bitter resignation. “You done convinced me, awright? I got the message.”
Tilghman quickly laid out the ground rules. He explained the location of his ranch outside Chandler as well as the marshal’s office in Guthrie. Dunn was to get word to him whenever there was information on Doolin. He underscored the urgency should Doolin return to the Dunns’ ranch.
“One last thing,” he concluded. “Your brother’s as guilty as you are. Any slipups and you’ll both swing.”
“Don’t worry about George,” Dunn said weakly. “He does whatever I tell him.”
“We’ll expect to hear from you, Bee—real soon.”
The lawmen mounted and rode toward the creek. Dunn stared after them a moment, his pudgy face wreathed with disgust. His mind whirled at what he’d done.
He was now the Judas goat for the certain execution of Bill Doolin.
CHAPTER 24
Late that afternoon Tilghman and Thomas rode into Guthrie. On the street, they hitched their horses and then trudged into the Herriott Building. Neither of them relished the thought of delivering their report.
Evett Nix greeted them with an expectant look. But as Tilghman related the details of the raid, his expression changed. His eyes hooded and his mouth set in a razored line. Finally, unable to suppress his anger, he slapped the top of his desk with the flat of his hand. His voice was tense.
“You say Doolin and his gang were gone. Gone where?”
“The Nations,” Tilghman told him. “They pulled out yesterday morning.”
Nix glared at him. “After you failed to shoot Doolin—despite your orders.”
“We’ve already covered that ground.”
“And you assured me Doolin would be caught. But now, he’s escaped again. For the umpteenth time!”
Tilghman hadn’t slept for almost two days. His features were drawn, and he was in no mood to be bullyragged. He shifted in his chair, his temper frayed, on the verge of replying in kind. Thomas swiftly interrupted.
“You’re overlooking something,” he said to Nix. “Doolin and his boys were plannin’ on pulling a holdup somewheres. Bill’s visit there yesterday gave them cold feet. Except for that, the newspapers would be hawkin’ another robbery.”
“Thank God for small favors,” Nix scoffed. “The fact remains that the Wild Bunch has once again slipped through the net. Why are you sitting here telling me this? Why aren’t you on their trail?”
“Waste of time,” Thomas said. “They’re scattered all over the Nations by now.”
“So you intend to twiddle your thumbs and wait for them to
