Kitty and Kip fell headlong out onto the first layer of roof just below the second story windows. The shingles were hot from the sun and and the grainy, sandy texture scraped their bodies as they half fell and half slid the full length of the roof before toppling over the edge and flying out into mid-air.
The sudden crash of the window above caused many in the crowd to look upward. Governor Stanton, at the podium froze in mid-sentence as his gaze turned upward at the two falling bodies.
He jumped back away from the podium as the bodies dropped with a thud into the middle of the dusty street. Matt Starr was rushing to put himself in front of Stanton; drawing both of his guns as he moved.
As Kip and Kitty fell to the ground, their two bodies broke apart from one another. Kip was the first to push himself to his feet, clawing at his holstered pistol as he arose.
Kitty hit the ground rolling and all was a blur to her. All she could see was Kip Dalton rising to his feet, a determined look on his face and six-gun in hand.
Kip swiveled on his heel, bringing the weapon up to take a bead on Stanton just before Matt Starr could reach him.
Kitty shoved herself to her feet and dove into Kip’s side. He stumbled and fell to the ground, his pistol firing as he went. Two shots rang out, flame spewing from the gun muzzle. One bullet crashed into the podium just before Matt could push the governor out of the way. The other shot went wild over Stanton’s head.
Kip twisted around, Kitty at his feet. He was off balance and he shoved her violently away as he pushed himself to one knee, bringing his weapon up to bear.
Matt Starr was directly in front of him now. He drew and fired both Colts at the same time. Kip Dalton took both rounds squarely in the chest. He rocked a little from side to side, a strange cold look masking his face as realization set in.
His pistol loosened from his grasp and it turned by the trigger guard and held loose on his finger, and then he over fell into the dirt, just before he raised a little on his knee and then slumped to the ground, doing a half roll onto his back.
“Kip!” Kitty screamed as she recovered and came to her feet, just as Kip took the Marshal’s bullets.
She fell to her knees beside him, leaning close to his face.
The crowd had dispersed some, as the action went down, but was already closing back in on the scene before them.
Matt Starr strode forward to gaze down at the fallen man and grieving girl. For the moment he was forgetting where he was and the violence that had just occurred. All he could think of was Kitty and the way it used to be with them. Seeing her with another man, whom she obviously cared for, gnawed at his gut.
Kitty pushed the fallen lock of black hair gently away from Kip’s eyes. They were open to slits, but she knew he could see her. There was a hint of that old familiar twinkle in there. “I’m sorry, Kitty,” he forced the words out with his ebbing strength. “I really am. Don’t be mad at me. I really did care.....” His words trailed off as his life drained away. His body relaxed and he was gone.
There was a trickle of blood dripping from the left side of Kip’s mouth. Kitty pulled a handkerchief from her jean’s pocket and dabbed at it. Then with two fingers, she reached out and closed his eyelids. A slight breeze riffled his dark head of hair.
She lowered her face to his and kissed him. When she lifted her head, a smudge of red came away on her cheek.
She felt cold and empty, totally unaware of the crowd and the lawman standing above her. Never, had she felt such loneliness. There were teardrops in her heart but Wildcat Kitty couldn’t cry.
Kip’s buckskin jacket had fallen part way open and Kitty spotted the paper in his shirt pocket. She reached for it and pulled it out. It had been folded into quarters so when she opened it up there were four bullet holes in symmetry, throughout it. It was sticky with blood.
One glance at the paper confirmed what she already suspected. It was the manifest from loading the silver on the train. The destination said “San Francisco” not Denver Mint. She gave Kip one last wan smile, then handed the paper up to Matt Starr.
“Take this,” she said without indicating that she realized it was Matt standing there. “There’s a shipment of silver on the train. See that it gets to the Denver Mint.”
Matt nodded as if he understood, but he didn’t.
Kitty turned away from Kip’s body, groped about in the dirt and found her six-shooter. She slammed it into her holster and stood up.
Kip’s blood was on her hands and she wiped them against her jeans along her thighs and walked away toward the perimeter of the crowd.
Matt watched as she walked away, a giant lump in his throat. Old feelings were still there, but he knew he had lost Kitty forever, without once thinking that Kitty had already lost him.
Two of Matt’s deputies ran out in front of Kitty, heading her off from leaving.
“Let her go,” Matt ordered them. “Get out of her way!”
“Are you going to just let her walk away?” Governor Stanton shouted from behind him.
“Shut up, Governor,” Matt answered without turning to look at him. “She just saved your life.”
“Hey, you can’t talk to me like that,” Stanton retorted angrily.
“That’s right,” Simon Price said, pushing himself forward to stand at the governor’s side. “That’s Wildcat Kitty, Hugh. Everybody knows what goes on between Matt Starr and her. He’s letting her get away just because he’s sweet on her. He’s letting her get away!”
“Oh, stop your blubbering and shut up, Simon,” Stanton said with irritation. “She just saved my life.”
Kitty acted as though she wasn’t aware that the crowd was there in her way. She just kept walking forward as if in a trance.
As she approached, the crowd moved aside to let her pass. Matt Starr watched with bitter sorrow as she walked on. The crowd melted back into its formation and Wildcat Kitty was lost from view.
Chapter Twenty Seven
The Return of Wildcat Kitty and the Cyclone Kid Page 34