by Jake Logan
The big man on the floor stirred. He got himself to his feet and leaned on the bar. “Give me a whiskey,” he said. The bartender poured him a drink, and the man paid for it. He drank it down. He felt for his six-gun and could not find it.
“Hey,” he said, “where’s my goddamn gun?”
The barkeep reached under the bar, pulled out the weapon, and tossed it on the bar in front of the man. The man picked it up, cocked it, and turned around looking. He spotted Slocum sitting at the table and pointed the gun in that direction.
“You son of a bitch,” he roared.
Slocum’s Colt was out and barking in no time at all. Two slugs tore into the man’s chest, knocking him back against the bar. He sagged there for an instant, a stupid look on his already stupid-looking face. His fingers went limp, and he dropped the still-unfired gun to the floor. His elbows were on the bar holding him up. He slumped some more. His chin dropped to his chest. His elbows finally slipped off the bar, and he fell to the floor in a sitting position leaning back against the bar. He was dead.
In the small tent, Billy was sitting beside the girl. His arm was around her shoulders. She put her head on his chest. “What’s your name?” he asked her.
“Maggie,” she said. “Maggie Black.”
“I’m Billy Pierce,” he said. “I’m glad to meet you, Maggie.”
She smiled for the first time. “I’m glad to meet you, Billy,” she said. “Do you want to—”
“You don’t have to do nothing,” he said. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to do it here. Not in this place.”
She lifted her head and looked him in the face. “I like you,” she said. “You’re not like them others in the saloon. You’re nice.”
“Where’s your stuff?” Billy asked her. “I mean, your clothes and all.”
“I’ve still got Daddy’s cabin,” she said. “That’s where I live. I don’t have much, but all I’ve got is there.”
“Well, let’s go get it,” Billy said. He took hold of the dress she was wearing. “We can give this thing back.”
She smiled broadly. “All right,” she said. “Come on.”
Gillian and Sluice were at the mine on the side of the hill talking with the owner, Ezra Waits. The man on the street had been right. Old Waits wanted out. He was tired. He had pulled enough out of the mine to live well for the rest of his years, and he was more than willing to part with the mine. They agreed on a price, and the two outlaws had pulled all of the gold coins out of their pockets and laid them on Waits’s table.
“That’s a down payment,” said Gillian. “We’ll bring back the rest in about an hour. You have the papers ready by then.”
“I sure will,” said Waits.
“Where can we rent a wagon around here?” said Sluice.
“What you want with a wagon?” Waits asked.
“We mean to move right in,” said Gillian. “We’ve got some supplies to haul up here.”
“Hell,” said the old man, “I’ve got a wagon right up here. You all can have it. It comes with the place.”
They hitched up the wagon and drove down the hill, promising to return soon. The old man watched them drive down the hill, smiling at his good fortune. Once down the hill, Sluice and Gillian turned to drive down the only street in Devil’s Gap. They moved past the tent saloon while Slocum, Holmes, and Old Jan still sat at the table drinking. They rolled on out to the shack they had commandeered at the edge of town. Soon, they had the gold loaded. They covered the bags the best they could, with weeds and sticks and even the logs from the old corral. Then they started back.
“You know, Sluice,” Gillian said, “once we get them papers signed and all by that old fart, we could kill him.”
“Then we’d have the mine and all our money back,” said Sluice, a big grin on his face.
“Just my thoughts,” said Gillian.
The man Sluice and Gillian had talked to on the street had a few friends gathered around him. They were lounging on the street talking and chewing, spitting on the street. The man said, “Say, boys, there was a couple of fellows here this morning asking about something they could buy around here. I told them about old Ezra’s place, and they headed up there to check on it.”
“Ezra might sell out?” said another.
“That’s right,” said the first man.
“Well, hell,” said another. “Let’s all go up there and see what’s happened.”
“Yeah. We can congratulate old Ezra and meet our new neighbors at the same time.”
“If they made a deal,” said the first man.
“Yeah. Well, maybe we’ll find out.”
They started walking, heading for the trail that would take them up the hillside.
Billy and Maggie arrived at the shack her father had left her, and went inside. Billy stood looking around for a moment. There wasn’t much to see. It was just a basic place to live. There was a stove and a couple of cots. A table with two chairs stood in the center of the shack. It was neat and clean, though, as clean as such a place could be.
“Well,” she said, “this is it. My home.”
“It’s better than the other place,” said Billy.
“Do you have a home, Billy?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “I guess I don’t. I’ve just been a cowhand. Lived in the bunkhouses where I worked. That’s all.”
“You could live here with me,” she said, and she walked up close to him and put her hands on his chest.
“Well, I—”
Her arms went around his shoulders, and she pulled his face toward hers. Their lips met in a tender kiss. Then they parted again.
“I don’t mind doing it with you,” she said. “I want to.”
Billy’s heart pounded in his chest. He hugged her tight and kissed her again, this time longer and more passionately. She pulled him toward the cot and started pulling his shirt off over his head.
By the time Sluice and Gillian arrived back at Ezra Waits’s mine, there was a gang gathered up there. The men were drinking and slapping Waits on the back, and they were all laughing and having a grand old time.
“Congratulations, Ezra,” one of the men was saying. “By gum, I’d sure like to escape from this place the way you’re doing.”
“Damn right,” said another man. “You’ve just managed what all of us would like to do.”
“Say,” said Waits, “here comes the new owners. Climb down, men, and meet some of your new neighbors.”
Sluice and Gillian looked at one another and frowned. Gillian tied off the reins and climbed down out of the wagon. Sluice followed him. Waits made introductions all around, and Sluice and Gillian had to shake hands with all. They did their best to smile and act like they were pleased to meet everyone. They were offered some whiskey and, of course, they accepted. Soon, they were almost as drunk as all the others. Then Waits remembered something important.
“Say, fellows,” he said, “did you bring the rest of my money?”
“Why, sure,” said Gillian.
“I got these papers ready,” Waits said. “I’ll sign them over to you soon as you pay me off.”
The other miners all watched with wide-open eyes as Gillian walked back to the wagon and dug through all the debris and into one of the bags. He came back with the cash, and the miners’ eyes widened even more at the sight of real gold money. Waits signed the papers and handed them to Gillian.
“You’re the proud owners of a good, working mine,” he said.
“Yeah,” said Gillian, still disappointed that there was a crowd around and he and Sluice could not go ahead with their murderous plan. One of the townsmen tipped back the last bottle of whiskey and emptied it. He held it up and shook it.
“Hey,” he said, “we’re all out of drink.”
“Well, Goddamn it,” said another. “We got to keep on celebrating old Ezra’s good fortune.”
“Let’s all go down to the saloon,” said Ezra. “I’ve done got my bag packed.”
He duc
ked into the tent and dragged out a small bag.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Sluice asked.
“That’s it,” said Ezra. “The rest is all yours. Come on, boys. Let’s get on down to the saloon.” He turned to Sluice and Gillian. “You two coming along?”
“Uh, no, thanks,” Gillian said. “I think we’ll stay here and get settled in.”
“Yeah,” said Sluice. “We’ve got some things to take care of here.”
The raucous crowd, including old Ezra, started on their way down the hill, singing and laughing all the way. Gillian and Sluice stood watching them go.
“Well,” said Sluice, “there goes our money.”
“Aw, hell,” said Gillian, “we got plenty as it is. Maybe it’s better this way. We don’t need to start our new life in this town with a killing, now do we?”
“I guess you’re right. Let’s figure out where to hide our money away.”
“Yeah,” said Gillian.
The two started poking around in their new home.
Ezra and his pals reached the saloon and stormed in, making enough noise for a pack of buffalo hunters just hitting town after months out on the prairie. Everyone in the place turned to look at them. Ezra reached the bar first, and he pounded on it with his fist. The bartender walked over to him.
“Hey, Ezra,” he said, “what the hell’s wrong with you?”
“I want to buy drinks for everyone in the whole house,” Ezra shouted.
“You sure about that?” said the barkeep.
“Hell, yes, I’m sure,” Ezra said. “Start pouring.”
“All right,” said the barkeep. “Long as you know what you’re doing.” He turned and reached for the bottles, and started by pouring fresh drinks for everyone who was standing at the bar. Cheers and thanks to Ezra rang out around the room. When the bartender was through pouring drinks at the bar, he grabbed another couple of bottles and started making his way around to all the tables. He reached the table at which Slocum, Holmes, and Old Jan were seated, and he refilled their glasses.
“Say,” said Holmes, “what do we owe this to?”
“Damned if I know,” said the barkeep. “Old Ezra up there just come in and made an announcement that he wanted to buy everyone drinks. He ain’t never been this crazy before. He’s been making a living up at his place, but maybe he just struck the mother lode. Who knows?”
When the bartender went back behind the bar, Ezra pulled some coins out of his pocket and tossed them on the counter. The ring of the gold coins could be heard over the general noise in the saloon. In case someone had not heard, a voice at the bar said, “Goddamn, Ezra. Where the hell did you get all them gold coins?”
“I just sold my claim is what,” Ezra answered.
Holmes stood up and walked to the bar. He got there just before the barkeep swept the coins up.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “Can I have a look at that?”
“Why not?” said the barkeep. He passed one coin to Holmes. “We don’t see much real cash around here.”
Holmes looked at the coin and handed it back. He turned to Ezra and said, “You got that from selling your claim?”
“That’s right,” said Ezra.
“Who’d you sell it to?”
“Couple of strangers,” said Ezra, “names of Gillian and Godfrey.”
“Reb Gillian and Sluice Godfrey?” said Holmes.
“Yeah,” said Ezra. “That’s them. Friends of yours?”
21
Gillian and Sluice stashed all their stolen gold inside the mine entrance. When they were finished, they sat down to rest. Neither one cared for hard work. “We got any whiskey?” Sluice asked.
“No. Let’s go into town for some,” said Gillian.
They got up and went to their horses. Mounting up, they headed down the hill.
In the neighboring shack just to the north, Billy Pierce and Maggie were naked in bed. Billy had been hesitant because of Maggie’s circumstances and what she had just been through, but when he saw that she was more than willing, he joined in with just as much glee. Maggie was on the cot first, and Billy crawled on top of her, careful not to hurt her. She was precious to him. Keeping his weight on his hands and knees, he leaned forward to kiss her. With their lips pressing together, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him downward. Breaking away from the kiss, she said, “It’s all right, Billy. Lay on me. I want to feel your weight on me.”
Billy eased himself down on her smooth body. He felt the touch of her from his head to his toes, and it thrilled him more than anything else in his young life ever had. But he was afraid to do anything to her. He did not want to seem to be overanxious, and he did not want to hurt her. She sensed his hesitation, and she pulled his face down to hers again and kissed him again, this time deeply. While they were thus engaged, she reached down between their bodies with both hands and found his young and throbbing tool. She grasped it hard, and Billy gasped out loud.
Maggie guided the anxious rod into her soft, wet slit and thrust her hips upward, sucking the entire length into her. “Oh,” said Billy. “Oh. Oh.” He began to respond to her movements, and soon they were moving in unison, like a well-oiled machine. He humped and thrust with all his might, and suddenly he felt himself begin to gush forth, over and over. At last, he was spent. He lay on her heavily, gasping for breath. She hugged him tight and kissed him over and again.
“In a little while,” she said, “we can do it another time.”
It took some doing, but Slocum and Holmes managed to get Ezra outside the saloon and made him point out the place he had sold to Gillian and Sluice. When he had done that, he broke loose and went back inside. Slocum, Holmes, and Old Jan stood staring up at the mine entrance and the tent. “He said he left them up there,” said Holmes.
“Yeah,” said Slocum.
“You want to go up there after them?” said Holmes.
“If they’re still up there,” said Old Jan, “we’d be easy targets on that trail.”
“He’s right, Slocum,” said Holmes.
Slocum knew they were right, but he was itching to kill. It had been a long road, and he was anxious to have it all over with. Both men needed to be killed.
“Let’s sit right here,” he said, “and watch that trail.”
They dragged three chairs out of the saloon and sat down outside just to the right of the entrance. All three stared at the trail up the side of the hill.
Jigs and his bunch came riding into Devil’s Gap. The street was crowded as usual, and Slocum and the other two men did not see them coming. “Say, there’s a saloon up yonder,” said Bo. “Let’s hit it.” They angled their horses toward the big tent, working their way through the mess of foot, horseback, and wagon traffic. When they finally broke through, Jigs recognized the three men sitting outside the saloon. Jigs nearly fell off his horse in panic, but he jerked out his six-gun and fired a shot that just missed Slocum and went through the canvas wall of the tent saloon. Someone inside yelped.
Slocum threw himself from the chair onto the ground and pulled out his Colt at the same time. His shot had to be true. There were too many people around. He fired, and the bullet ranged upward, hitting Jigs under the chin and coming out the back of his head. He was dead in the saddle. His head bobbled foolishly on his shoulders for a moment before he toppled to the street.
At the same time, Holmes and Old Jan had drawn their revolvers and jumped up from their chairs, moving to the sides. They were looking for a way to shoot without endangering innocent people. Bo, Limpy, and Bernie had all hauled out their own weapons, but Limpy and Bernie had turned their horses and were trying to make a getaway through the crowd. Bo was trying to aim his revolver, but his horse would not be still. Holmes moved out in the street and grabbed hold of Bo’s shirt, pulling him out of the saddle. Bo landed hard on the ground, dropping his gun. Holmes pounded Bo’s face with his fists.
Slocum fought his way through the crowd to jump on the back of Limpy’s horse. His
right arm encircled Limpy’s neck. His left grabbed Limpy’s gun hand. He wrestled with Limpy until they both fell from the saddle. Bernie had made his way through the crowd to the other side of the street, and was trying to get back out of town the way he had come in. Old Jan grabbed a rifle from a man standing nearby and squeezed his way through the crowd. Bernie was riding away. Old Jan leveled the rifle and fired, and Bernie toppled out of the saddle. The crowd was going wild. Old Jan returned the rifle to its owner. Working his way back through the crowd, he helped Slocum drag Limpy to his feet and shove him back toward the tent saloon. Holmes already had a bloody Bo huddled up there.
“We should’ve killed them,” Slocum said. “You said there ain’t no jail here.”
“We’ll tie them tight and hold them till I’m ready to ride out of here,” Holmes said. “I’ll take them back to my jail.”
Billy had discovered that Maggie had no food in her shack. He still had a little money in his jeans, and so he volunteered to go back down into town and buy some groceries. He had heard the shooting, but from up on the hill, he could not see what was happening. Finally, the shooting had stopped. The traffic seemed to be moving normally along the street, so he told Maggie to wait for him there, and he headed on down on horseback. In a few minutes, he was part of the crowd. He rode past the saloon and saw his partners. He stopped and dismounted.
“Well, Billy,” said Old Jan, “you been having yourself a time, have you?”
“Jan,” said Billy, “she ain’t what you think. She’s a good girl. I’m fixing to marry up with her.”
“You’re what?” said Slocum.
Billy told the story of what had happened to Maggie’s father and how Maggie, desperate, had gone to work in the saloon.
“That man you hit in the saloon,” he said to Slocum, “he was the first one that got after her.”
“Oh,” Slocum said. “So she’s got a place here?”
“Yeah,” said Billy. “Right up yonder.” He pointed to a small shack that was next in line to the one Sluice and Gillian had just purchased. “It was her dad’s place, but he died before he could really get started working it. She didn’t know what to do. I told her I’d work it for her. Well, for us.”