Ina Claire chuckled.
Little Man followed the dialogue with a confused expression on his face, then he smiled. “Well, just so’s that you know, you’re all mighty welcome. I made up a big pot of chicken and dumplin’s today. You take a bowl o’ that ’n a biscuit, ’n you got yourself one fine meal and I got me no problem a-tall in a-tellin’ you that, even if I did make it myself.”
“Then chicken and dumplings it will be,” Duff said.
Because the chicken and dumplings had already been cooked, it took very little time for Little Man to deliver the food to the table. The food was good, and the conversation among them was quiet, mostly pertaining to the food. But as they were eating, Duff noticed that one of the men sitting at another table seemed to be paying them an inordinate amount of attention. When the man stood up and started toward them, Duff wasn’t surprised.
Duff was buttering a biscuit when the man reached his table.
“How do ye do, sir,” Duff asked.
“I know you folks ain’t just passin’ through Centennial,” the man said. “I know that ’cause folks don’t just pass through here, seein’ as we ain’t on the way to nowhere. That means if you are in Centennial, you come here of a pure purpose.”
“Aye, that would be correct,” Duff replied.
“So my question to you is, who are you, and what are you doin’ here?”
“Here now,” Duff replied. “I ask your forgiveness if I am misinterpreting your question, but it sounded to me as if there was a bit more of a demand than curiosity in the query.”
“What kind of accent is that?”
“Ain’t you never been nowhere, Sonny, that you don’t recognize a Scotsman when you hear one?” Elmer asked. He topped off his question with a bite from his own biscuit.
“Scotch, are you?”
“Nae, scotch would be the drink,” Duff replied. “If ’tis someone from Scotland, the proper word would be Scotsman.”
“Yeah? Well I’ve no need to be taught English by a Scotchman and a Chinaman. And you didn’t answer my question, so I’ll ask again. Who are you, ’n what are you doing in town?”
“Rawlins, what are you doin’ harassin’ those folks?” a stern voice called from the door. The man who called out was a fairly good-sized man with broad shoulders and a square jaw.
“Ain’t you none a-tall curious about it, Marshal Cummins?” Rawlins replied. “I mean, the last time five people come ridin’ into town, look what happened. They held up the bank, ’n ever’one in town lost money.”
The marshal pointed to Duff’s table.
“I seen ’em when they come in,” he said. “They’s two women and a Chinaman with ’em. These damn sure ain’t the same five. Now you get back to your table ’n quit botherin’ these folks.”
“I’m just lookin’ out for the town is all,” Rawlins replied.
“Lookin’ out for the town is my job,” Marshal Cummins said.
“Yeah? Well you didn’t do so damn well last time, did you?”
“One more word out of you, Rawlins, and I’ll put you in jail for disturbin’ the peace,” the marshal said.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Rawlins returned to his table, and the marshal approached Duff.
“I’m Marshal Cummins,” he said. “I’m sorry ’bout Rawlins, there, but I guess you can understand it, knowin’ that he ’n a lot of folks lost some considerable money when the bank was held up.”
“Marshal, if ye don’t mind,” Duff said, “we’d like to be for comin’ by your office soon as we finish our meal and discuss that bank robbery with ye,” Duff said.
“Oh? Any particular reason you want to discuss a bank robbery?”
“Aye,” Duff replied. “We are special law enforcement agents for the governor. I have our commission, which I’ll be glad to show ye.”
Marshal Cummins looked at the two women. “You all have appointments from the governor?”
“Aye, that we do.”
“You’ll pardon my askin’, but why would the governor appoint a couple of women to such a position?”
“I’ll explain it all when we visit with you,” Duff said.
The marshal stroked his chin for a moment. “All right. My office is about four buildings down from here, just on the other side of the street. Come along when you’ve finished eating.”
* * *
Half an hour later Duff and the others were in the marshal’s office. The marshal had found chairs for Meagan and Ina Claire. He, Duff, Elmer, and Wang were standing.
“Excuse me, miss,” Cummins said to Ina Claire. “It’s strange enough to me to think that the governor would appoint women as special law officers, but you? How old are you, anyway?”
Duff showed the marshal Ina Claire’s commission.
“As ye can see, she is old enough,” Duff said without being more specific.
“All right, all right, I was just curious is all. And you did say that you would tell me why the governor would appoint a couple of women as state law officers.”
“He appointed them because they can identify the bank robbers on sight.”
“Oh? You know who they are, do you?”
“Aye. Their names are Clay Callahan, Zeke Manning, Dooley Cooper, and Pogue Morris.”
“There were five of them,” Marshal Cummins said. “You didn’t name the fifth one.”
“We don’t know who the fifth one was.”
“How is it that you know four of them? When I sent out word of the bank robbery, I didn’t name any of ’em ’cause I didn’t have no idea.”
“Are ye for tellin’ me, Marshal, that ye have no wanted posters on the men I just named? ’Tis for a fact that I know that they have been distributed all over the territory.”
“Well now, could be that I do, but to tell you the truth, mister, I don’t pay much attention to any dodgers that might come in here. You see, we are so cut off from everywhere else that we don’t hardly ever get no strangers come into town, so postin’ ’em, or even studyin’ ’em seems like a waste of time. Plus which, we ain’t got no telegraph service a-tall, and the stagecoach only comes about twice a month.”
“Then let me ask ye this. Do ye have a description of the bank robbers?”
“Yeah, that we do have. Rick Adams, he’s the teller, ’n seein’ as how there didn’t none of them robbers wear no kind of mask or anythin’, why he got a real good look at all of ’em. Well actually he only got a good look at four of ’em. One of ’em stayed out front o’ the bank, holdin’ on to the horses, whilest the others was all inside the bank a-robbin’ it.”
“Do ye suppose we could talk to Mr. Adams?” Duff asked.
“Yes, sure, I’ll be glad to take you down there ’n introduce you to him. Rick Adams is a fine man, as fine as any man in Centennial. He’ll be glad to tell you anything you need to know.”
* * *
“I didn’t know there were five of them until later,” Rick Adams said. “There were four who came into the bank. One was a big man with a flat nose, and sort of a scrunched-up ear. One had a real bad scar down his face, and one had red hair. To be honest I didn’t see anything that was particular about the fourth one inside, and I didn’t see the one that waited outside at all.”
Duff nodded. “It’s them, all right.”
“Except for the one with red hair,” Ina Claire said. “I don’t remember anyone with red hair.”
“That has to be the new man they picked up,” Duff said.
As Duff, Meagan, Ina Claire, and Marshal Cummins were talking with Adams, Elmer and Wang were looking at the four corners of the bank. There were bullet holes in every corner. Wang used his knife, then dug one of the bullets out of the wall and brought it back to Duff.
“It looks like a .44,” Duff said, taking the bullet from Wang.
“Yeah, that’s what I’d say as well,” Elmer added, examining the bullet that lay in Duff’s hand.
“Tell me, Mr. Adams, did I read in the newspaper article that before they le
ft the bank they shot into every corner?”
“Yes, sir, that’s what they did, all right.”
“And why would they be for doing such a thing?”
Rick Adams shook his head. “I don’t have the slightest idea unless maybe it was to intimidate me. But I tell you truthfully, sir, I was already intimidated. I was more than intimidated. I was downright frightened.”
Duff looked around at the layout of the bank.
“I don’t believe I have ever been in here before,” he said.
“No, sir, I don’t think you have. At least, not since I have worked here, and I’ve been here for ten years.”
Duff stroked his chin as he continued to look around the bank, then he shook his head. “I’ve nae been here before that’s for sure. But ’tis like sometimes you get the notion that you have seen something or been to a place ’n you know it’s not possible.”
“Yeah,” Elmer said. “I’ve done that before.”
“I’m feeling that now,” Duff said. “I know I’ve been in this bank before, but I also know that I haven’t been.”
“Now, don’t you go gettin’ all strange on me, Duff. It’s bad enough I have to listen to Wang say things like that. How can you know that you’ve been in the bank before, ’n also know that you ain’t never been here?”
“I don’t know,” Duff answered. “I just know that I have been here, even though I’ve never been here before.”
“Duff, I’m with Elmer on this one,” Meagan said, the tone of her voice indicating her confusion. “I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.”
“I don’t, either,” Duff said.
* * *
Wang cooked again and as they sat around the campfire enjoying their supper that night, Wang showed Ina Claire how to use chopsticks.
“Oh!” she said when she managed to pick up a won ton. “I did it! I did it!”
“There you go, girlie,” Elmer said. “Next time you go into a Chinese restaurant, why you’ll be usin’ them things as good as any celestial.”
“I’ve never been in a Chinese restaurant,” Ina Claire said. “I would love to go some day.”
“They’s a real good one in Cheyenne,” Elmer said. “Me ’n Wang have been there lots of times. We’ll take you there next time we’re in town. We’ll take all of you there.”
“Can we, Duff?” Ina Claire asked.
“Sure, I don’t see any reason why not. Next time we’re in Cheyenne we can . . .” Duff paused in mid-sentence. “Cheyenne!” he said aloud. “Cheyenne! That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“Cheyenne is where I was in that bank in Centennial before!”
“What do you mean, Cheyenne is where you were in the bank in Centennial before? Duff, you want to take that back to the starting line and run that by me again?”
“The bank in Centennial is smaller than the First Federal Bank of Cheyenne, but it is laid out exactly the same. That’s why when I was here I had the feeling I had been there before.”
Meagan smiled. “Well, I’m glad you finally figured that out. It’s good to see you weren’t actually losing your mind.”
“That’s where Callahan and the others will go next,” Duff said.
“What?” Elmer asked. “What makes you say that?”
“Why do you think they robbed the Centennial Bank?”
“My guess would be because it is a small bank, out of the way of ever’thing, which made it an easy target to rob.”
“There are a lot of small, out-of-the-way banks that would be easy to rob,” Duff said, “but they chose this one. Why?”
“You got me there, pard, I got no idea why,” Elmer replied.
“They were rehearsing,” Duff explained. “Mr. Adams said they shot into every corner of the bank, didn’t he?” Duff asked.
“Well yeah. Me ’n Wang dug out one of the bullets, remember?”
“Why do you think they did that?”
“Mr. Adams said it was to intimidate him,” Meagan said.
Duff shook his head. “No, it was to practice. At the First Federal, there are guards in every corner. I think Callahan intends to kill them.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
“You actually think that Callahan plans to rob the First Federal Bank?” Sheriff Sharpies asked.
“Aye, ’tis as sure I am that he’ll do it as I am of my own name.”
“What makes you think this?”
“I think this because they robbed the bank in Centennial.”
The expression on Sheriff Sharpies was one of total confusion.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “How is it that because he robbed a bank in Centennial that you feel he is going to rob the First Federal?”
“I believe the Centennial robbery was naught but a rehearsal,” Duff said. He explained how the layout of the Centennial Bank was a smaller but exact copy of the First Federal Bank. He also told the sheriff how Callahan and the others had shot into the corners of the bank.
“Damn! You may be right!” Sheriff Sharpies said.
“I believe he will be coming here, and when he does, my friends and I will be ready for him.”
“If he does come here, and you see him, what do you plan to do?” Sheriff Sharpies asked.
“I’ll give him the opportunity to give himself up.”
“He and Manning have already been tried, convicted, and sentenced. If we arrest him now, there won’t be any need for another trial. We can take him right to the gallows, and he knows it.”
“Aye.”
“Don’t you see what I’m saying? If he knows he is going to hang as soon as we catch him, he isn’t going to give himself up.”
“I don’t expect he will.”
“So what you are really saying is, when you see him, you’ll kill him.”
“It may come to that,” Duff agreed.
“When do you think he’ll come?”
“It depends upon whether or not we can get cooperation from the railroad, the bank, and the newspaper.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I intend to set a trap for him. But any trap needs bait. And if I can get the railroad, the bank, and the newspaper to go along with my idea, we can not only bait the trap we can establish the time.”
Bristol, Colorado
For almost a week now, Callahan and the others had been waiting in the small town of Bristol, just south of the Colorado-Wyoming line. They had taken all their meals in the finest restaurant in town, they had taken rooms in the Colorado Queen Hotel, and they had spent their spare time and no small amount of money on drinks, women, and gambling at the Silver Dollar Saloon.
Callahan had explained their relative wealth by saying that the five of them had brought a herd of their own cattle up from Texas.
“One hundred head at thirty dollars a head,” he told the curious patron. “That’s three thousand dollars, split five ways, and that comes to six hundred dollars apiece. There ain’t none of us ever had that much money at one time before.” Callahan laughed. “And the way these boys is spendin’ the money here, we ain’t likely to have none of it at all left by the time we get back down to Texas.”
“Well you just don’t worry none about that, cowboy,” Sally said. Sally was one of the bar girls who worked at the Silver Dollar. “There’s no need for you to be goin’ back down to Texas anyway. Me ’n the other girls can give you everything you need right here. Right girls?”
“Right!” the others shouted, each of them making a personal claim on one of the “Texas cowboys” who had money to spend.
It was over supper that night that Callahan saw the newspaper article.
“Damn!” he said. “Look at this article, Red! This is better than we hoped!”
LARGE CASH TRANSFER
The Union Pacific announced today that it will be building a spur line railroad north to Chugwater.
“There are some fine cattle ranches in that area, and we plan to build a rail head closer to the source,
” C.L. Crawford said. Crawford is in charge of expanding the UP. “I believe such a facility would be mutually beneficial to the cattle ranchers, and to the railroad.”
Crawford said that building the new railroad will require an immediate outlay of funds, both for the material needed and for the right-of-way. To that end the railroad is bringing three hundred thousand dollars in cash, which will be held in their account at the First Federal Bank of Cheyenne. The money, which will arrive by special armored rail car Wednesday morning, will remain in the bank for that day only.
“What is today?” Callahan asked.
“Monday.”
“Good. That gives us time to get the others out of the saloon and sobered up in time to hit the bank on Wednesday. Sixty thousand dollars apiece!”
“Once we get that, you know every sheriff and marshal in the entire West will be looking for us, don’t you?” O’Leary asked.
“Yeah, well, we’ll go east. I figure our best bet will be to break up as soon as we have made the cut, then go our separate ways. There are some fine saloons in St. Louis. I figure to buy me one. Hell, this will set me up for the rest of my life.”
“I’ll be goin’ to Ireland,” O’Leary said.
“Ireland? Why the hell would you want to go there?”
“I was born there,” O’Leary said as if that were explanation enough.
Cheyenne
“I don’t know,” Robert Dorland said. Dorland was president of the First Federal Bank.
“What is it you don’t know?” Duff asked.
“I don’t know if it was a good idea, putting a story in the newspaper that said we had three hundred thousand dollars in cash. Seems to me that is setting up the bank as bait.”
“Aye, that is exactly what we are doing.”
“It could be dangerous.”
“It could be,” Duff agreed. “But if all goes well, they won’t set foot inside your bank.”
“How will that be?”
“The other state marshals and I will stop them on the street as soon as they come into town.”
“You can promise me that, can you?”
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