After receiving the message for Nix, Tilghman went by the warehouse. He found Zoe supervising a group of women volunteers who were parceling out food at one counter and clothing at another to families who had been devastated by the storm. Waiting until she could break free, he stood off to one side, admiring the way she deftly kept the operation moving. Finally, when the lines began to thin out, she came around the counter. Her dress was soiled from the dusty warehouse and her hair had come unpinned on one side.
“Whew!” she said, blowing a lock of hair off her forehead. “I must look a sight.”
Tilghman grinned. “You look pretty good to me. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Why, thank you, sir.” She smiled engagingly. “You know how to make a girl’s day.”
“How are things going?”
“Oh, the usual misery and heartbreak. All these unfortunate people with their lives turned upside down. I just don’t know how they bear it.”
“You forget,” Tilghman said. “These are the folks that pioneered the territory. They’re not quitters.”
“Yes, you’re right.” She glanced back at a woman with two small children. “I just hope our supplies hold out.”
“Don’t worry yourself about that. We got word there’s another shipment on the way from Oklahoma City.”
“Well, that is good news! Was that what you came to tell me?”
“Not exactly,” Tilghman said with a sudden frown. “I’ve been called to Guthrie. I’ll have to leave this afternoon.”
She searched his face. “Do you know what it’s about?”
“Nix didn’t say in his message. I’ll find out when I get there.”
“Then why do you look so glum?”
“Shows that much, huh?” Tilghman was silent a moment, then shrugged. “Guess I’ve gotten used to being around you the last week. I’m not keen on leaving.”
Her eyes sparkled with laughter. “Will you miss me a little bit?”
“Yeah, I will, and that got me to thinking. Doolin’s scheduled to stand trial late next month.”
“I somehow missed the connection. What does that have to do with your leaving today?”
“Well, don’t you see—” Tilghman knuckled his mustache, clearly fumbling for words. “Fact of the matter is, Doolin’s caught and he’ll likely swing before Christmas. So there’s nothin’ to stop us from getting married.”
“Yes!” she burst out. “That was the only reason you wanted to delay. And now, there is no reason!”
“Not so far as I’m concerned.”
“Oh, aren’t you a sweetheart! You didn’t come here to talk about a trip to Guthrie. You’re here to talk about our wedding—aren’t you?”
Tilghman ducked his head, and she sensed that he was somehow embarrassed. Whatever he was feeling, he found it difficult to put into words. He motioned with an offhand gesture. “I’m not much on plannin’ such things. You just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
She laughed. “You knew I planned on a church wedding—didn’t you?”
“Figured as much.”
“And that’s all right?”
“I’ve got no objections.” Tilghman looked at her with a wry smile. “Leastways if the parson doesn’t carry on too long. Never could stand a windy preacher.”
She knew they were past his moment of discomfort. He was now teasing her, and she was perfectly willing to play along. “I’ll speak to the minister,” she said. “A short ceremony without the hearts and flowers.”
Tilghman chuckled, aware that she was gently mocking him. “Think you’ve got my number, don’t you?”
“Why, mercy sakes, whatever gave you that idea?”
She walked him to the door of the warehouse. Several people on their way inside snickered when she stood on tip-toe and gave him a kiss. She then waved gaily and went back to work.
Tilghman thought she was the sauciest woman he’d ever met. A kiss in broad daylight would be the talk of the town.
* * *
Early the next morning Tilghman, Thomas, and Madsen trooped into the Herriott Building. Like Tilghman, Madsen had been summoned from El Reno by a cryptic message. The three of them had spent a good deal of time speculating on the reason for the meeting. But nothing of any great import had occurred to them, particularly now that Doolin was in custody. They were still in the dark when they walked into the office.
Nix greeted them with a bonhomie normally reserved for close friends. He was positively chipper, shaking their hands with warmth, as though delighted by their company. Finally, after he got them seated, he took the chair behind his desk. He made a grand motion with a sweep of his arm.
“Gentlemen, let me first extend my thanks for a job well done. You three deserve credit for devotion to the law that is truly above and beyond the call of duty. You have my utmost admiration.”
The sentiment, as well as his grandiloquence, took them by surprise. His unusually jovial manner lent even greater mystery to the occasion. They stared back at him with slight smiles, thoroughly baffled.
Nix fairly beamed. “I brought you here for a most momentous occasion.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Today, I am announcing my resignation as U.S. marshal.”
The three lawmen blinked in unison. Whatever else they suspicioned, his resignation would not have made the list. Their bafflement of a moment before had now turned to dumbfounded astonishment. After a moment of profound silence, Thomas was the first to recover his wits. He shook his head.
“Why the devil would you resign?”
“For the best of all reasons,” Nix said, striking a pose. “Doolin will shortly walk the gallows and the Wild Bunch is but a distant memory. My job is
