February 2021 - All Clear

Hello one, hello all ...
Repeated apologies for the belated post.
If only it was for fun going out and enjoying myself in a crowd type reasons ...

Anyhow, I have - only yesterday - had a bit of good news.
So, please let your fertile fingers frolic feverishly on:


All Clear

All Clear

It was late afternoon when three saddle weary, dusty men entered the small town in Colorado. They stopped in front of the town`s only saloon after some wary glances around for anyone paying too much attention to them. Other than a few suspicious looks from a handful of people, noting the tied-down guns, they went about their business. The town was often frequented by drifters, and even cowboys with a touch of menace wavering around them, weren`t unusual in this area.

Heyes and Curry were on their way to a nearby bigger town to scout out a bank for their next job. They were accompanied by a new young member of the Devil`s Hole Gang, Curry had deemed Jake worthy of a chance to prove he could become a steady member of the gang. It was usually Curry`s job to assign the amount of men they needed for such ventures. At first Heyes wasn`t too pleased with the idea of taking him along, but the time they had spent together on the trail proved him wrong and he started to like him.

Quenching their thirst with a round of beers, they silently watched the different patrons sitting at single, makeshift tables. Some saloon girls, who seemed to have the best part of their beauty behind them, idly moved through the dim room, servings drinks where required. Nevertheless, the young red-haired man openly admired one of them. Sensing his scrutiny, she approached their table and winked at her secret admirer.

"Like some relaxation?" she said and tilted her head to the direction of the stairs leading to her private room. Blushing, the young man cast an ashamed glance to his companions.

Heyes and Curry exchanged an amused glance with each other before Curry commented, "You go ahead, Jake. Guess we`re staying overnight," he encouraged Jake with a knowing smile.

"I´ll lead the way, darling," cooed the girl and snatching a bottle of whiskey from the bar, together with two shot glasses the bartender already had prepared, they went upstairs.


The next day the outlaws continued their ride to their original destination, urging their horses into an easy-going lope. They didn`t notice the man standing on the boardwalk wearing a tin star on his vest, watching them with an evil grin.

His deputy had left town due to an urgent family business. All the better, he didn`t intend to share this easy money anyway. He mounted his waiting horse and took off into the same direction, but took a short cut which would get him a good way ahead of them.


The three men continued their journey undisturbed, Curry at the end carefully watching their surroundings. After a bend, Heyes suddenly pulled his horse to a stop, nearly forcing the following horse to bump into his bay. Ahead of them, at a point where the road narrowed, a boy sat on the ground, not older than 15 years. The boy was holding his ankle, his small chestnut brown horse grazing at some grass patches beside the trail, the reigns hanging loosely on the ground.

"Whoa, what the heck is that supposed to mean?" Kid Curry rode up to Heyes.

"Seems someone fell of his horse", Heyes stated. After taking a short look at the scene, Heyes decided to get off, and approached the boy.

He was met with frightened dark blue eyes in a handsome face. Taking an unsure glance at the rest of the riders, the boy said, " Sorry, mister, my stupid horse couldn`t watch out for its own legs. He stumbled, went half way down and I fell over his neck. Seems I kinda broke my ankle."

Curry`s right hand, which had hovered over his gun, relaxed.

Kneeling beside the boy Heyes called back, "Jake, get his horse! We`ll help you up."

Before Jake could comply, a voice behind them snarked, "Now, what have we got here?"

Emerging from behind a big boulder, a man on a horse appeared, pointing a rifle at them. "Raise your hands, nice and easy, no sudden movements. Ted, remove their guns and throw them over here."

The young boy, all of a sudden able to stand up and walk, did as he was told.

The three outlaws had no choice. After their guns were taken away, the boy tied Curry`s and Jake`s hands behind their backs with some leather throngs he had retrieved from the man`s saddlebags. Walking towards Heyes, he intended to do the same.

"There`s no use in robbing us. We only have a few dollars in our pockets. You see, my young brother here is supposed to meet his fiancee ..."

He was rudely interrupted by the man. "Don`t waste your breath, I know who you are! Your `brother` here has a big mouth after a few shots."

Heyes turned angry, flashing eyes towards Jake`s startled, embarrassed face, and a soft groan escaped Kid Curry`s lips.

Grinning, the man revealed his hidden star under his jacket and said firmly, " Hannibal Heyes, Kid Curry, you`re under arrest. That`s some fine $3000 reward on each of your heads. And I`m sure, I will find some Wanted Poster for this no-good Romeo, too."

A silent communication took place between Heyes and his partner, until Kid slightly shrugged his shoulder with an apologetic lift of his brows.

With the rifle steadily pointing at them, Heyes was also tied up and as the boy helped him on his horse, he mumbled under his breath, "I`m sorry."

After retrieving his own horse, the four men and the boy continued to ride back to town, with Ted leading and the sheriff bringing up the rear.


The group rode at a slow pace and sunset found them still some distance from town. The sheriff let them stop in a small pine grove. With Ted helping the sheriff, the two of them set camp while their captives stayed on their horses. Then they were dragged from their mounts and each of them tied to young trees, with their feet also secured with ropes.

The sheriff was tired from the long ride and hadn`t slept a lot the night before, planning his undertaking. Though the boy had dark shadows under his eyes, too, he ordered him to take the first watch.

Walking over to the outlaws, the sheriff looked from one to the other. He scrutinized Jake intently.

Seeing the sheriff`s expression, a sudden short memory long ago flashed up in Heyes but as quickly as it appeared, the quicker he pushed it to the back of his mind. Anger started to rise within his stomach. It showed itself only briefly on his face, before he managed to restore his solid poker face.

"You`re quite a young scoundrel, didn`t your parents teach you some honest work?"

Before Jake could answer, Kid spoke up, "Maybe he just prefers the company of scoundrels over lawmen?"

Within two steps, Clitterhouse moved towards Curry and kicked him hard into the ribs. Despite the restraining rope, Kid doubled over.

Narrowing his eyes, the sheriff approached Heyes again and said, "Don`t try anything, or it will be the last you ever tried in your lives. All clear?"

Heyes knew he had to pull himself together, he couldn`t let on his worry about Kid. With all his suppressed anger, he simply nodded.


Shortly after sitting at the fire, the steady crackling of the burning wood made the Sheriff`s eyes heavy and he started snoring, the rifle lying near within his reach.

"What are we going to do?" Jake timidly asked the Kid.

"You figured out a plan already, Heyes?" whispered Curry back to their leader.

"Still working on it..."

"Work faster, I can`t feel my hands anymore," urged Curry in a low voice.

"If someone would have been more on the alert, we would all sitting in a nice saloon now," came a hissed reply.

But before Curry had a fitting retort available, Heyes looked over to the young boy sitting on a boulder in the dancing shadows of the fire and called in his soft, velvet, most friendly voice eager not to disturb the sheriff, "Hey, Ted, would you mind coming over here? I could use some water."

Hesitantly, Ted rose, grabbed a canteen and squatted beside Heyes. After drinking a few gulps, Heyes amiably said, " You`re acting like a fine deputy. Rather young, ain`t you?"

"No, sir, I ain`t a deputy at all. I`m a stable hand at the local livery."

"Then how come you work for this honorable `guardian of the law`? You seem to be a smart boy."

"Guardian of the law? Oh, you mean Mr. Clitterhouse?!"

"Clitterhouse? What kind of a dumb name is that!" said Heyes with a one dimpled grin.

"Don`t ever say that to him, he`s very sensitive to being mocked. Mister, are you a real outlaw?" Big dark blue eyes searched his face. "He promised me to throw me into jail like an outlaw, if I wouldn`t help him."

"What would make him do that?" murmured Heyes under his breath, after reassuring himself Clitterhouse was still asleep.

Ted looked bashfully to the ground. "He caught me stealing something out of the saddle bags of a customer at the livery. Said he would tell its owner and the owner of the livery. But I would lose my job!"

"That`s a fine sheriff...I guess you are lucky he didn`t. A jail isn`t a good place for a boy like you."

Ted lowered his eyes and shifted uncomfortably.

Intuitively Heyes pressed on. "Anything else you want to say?" The boy turned his head. Not fast enough since the outlaw leader could see him blushing.

"No." Shadows cast from the fire reflected on Ted`s face. Nevertheless, Heyes could see his haunted eyes. Another uncomfortable memory tried to take over his mind, pictures and noises...He suppressed them once again.

"Mister, you are mighty nice for an outlaw. I`ve heard some rumours ....It`s the Devil`s Hole Gang you`re riding with, right? They are supposed to be quite cunning and slippery."

A sly smile crept on Heyes` face and he proudly answered, "Yeah, that`s me and my partner`s gang, a bunch of fine trustworthy men...Far better than this false lawman. In fact, Ted, I don`t figure him to be as clever as you are. What do you think, how did he recognize us?"

"Oh, that wasn`t too hard. He told me Lilly came to him last night. The saloon girls are supposed to inform him of any news they hear. He harasses them to pay protection money regularly. Lilly sure does know how to make a man to blab. In return, he promised to protect the girls from any harm. There are some rough patrons in this area."

Kid Curry, who had overheard their conversation, hissed angrily.

Ted returned to his boulder and though he struggled to stay awake, soon all the excitement took its toll.


"How far did you get?" Heyes whispered to Curry and Jake. "With what?" came the confused answer from Jake.

"Jake," replied Kid sitting next to him, "if you wanna be an outlaw, you still have to learn a lot. Work on your bonds, try to move your hands enough to loosen them."

A sudden movement and grunt from Clitterhouse made them all freeze in their efforts. After shifting in his sleep, the sheriff came to lie half on his rifle.

Finally, Kid noticed his throngs loosened up far enough to let his hands slip out of them. Quickly, he untied his feet and silently moved on to free the other two.

Heyes motioned them into the direction of their horses. Kid Curry shook his head. "I`m not going without my gun," he mouthed.

"Better make a run for it in time, you don`t know where he put them."

"If someone would pay more attention to our weapons, this said someone would know he put them in his saddlebags."

Annoyed brown eyes met stubborn ice-blue ones, a silent communication took place with spoken words only to be heard in their heads. With an exasperated shrug of his shoulders, Heyes nodded in acknowledgement.

He mumbled to Jake to fetch their horses. The young outlaw turned and hastily hurried towards the tree line, where their mounts were tied, only to stumble over an empty tin cup, which with a loud `clang` bounced towards another boulder. One of the horses spooked and whinnied loudly.

Clitterhouse woke up with a start. His arm felt the rifle and he grabbed it. Kid Curry was only half on the way to the place opposite of the fire, where their saddlebags were. From his position, the sheriff didn`t have a clear view on him. But what he saw in the turmoil was Jake running towards the horses.

In a split second his instincts took over, he aimed and before either Heyes or Kid could reach him, he pulled the trigger and fired. Jake got hit in the back, toppled forwards, and laid motionless.

"NO!" yelled an infuriated Heyes.

As Clitterhouse turned in Heyes`direction, Kid started forward in an attempt to protect his partner. Clitterhouse got his feet entangled with his bedroll and he lost his balance. To prevent himself from falling, he dropped the rifle.

Frantically, Heyes lunged at him. Straddling him, he pinned him to the ground. Clitterhouse tried to reach the rifle with his outstretched arm but Kid reached them and snatched it from the ground.

Knowing that Heyes could handle Clitterhouse, Kid turned quickly to check on Jake but the young outlaw was beyond help.


"Why did you shoot him in the back, you bastard? He didn`t even had a gun. He was still half a kid!" Heyes was outraged and gave the sheriff a blow to the jaw.

Slightly shaking his head after the blow, Clitterhouse sneered, "Oh, did you lose your sunnyboy? I guess I saved the world from one more critter like the rest of you."

Clitterhouse was heavier, larger and more muscular than the younger Heyes. The sheriff tried with all his experience to get his leg pulled up underneath Heyes.

Hearing Clitterhouse`s words, more memories conjured up in the outlaw`s mind, of more than one mean man he had met in his past, other fights he had to win to survive or to help his younger cousin. Everything else in his mind went blank and one blow after the other landed in the sheriff`s face.


"He`s going to kill him!" Ted shouted to Kid Curry, who stood watching attentively, rifle in hand.

"Nah, give him two or three minutes more. He deserves it." Kid Curry assured him nonchalantly.

After what seemed like an eternity to Ted, Curry grasped Heyes` arm, pulled him from the bleeding man and said firmly, "Come on, that`s enough. Let him be."

After a short while, Heyes took a deep breath and struggled to regain control. Clitterhouse rolled on the ground, groaning.


Together they yanked Clitterhouse to his feet, dragged him to a tree and secured him the same way he had done to them before.

After they took care of Jake`s body, Heyes approached the sheriff again until they stood almost nose at nose.

"Now you listen to me... I know you and your kind `honorable law-abiding`citizens. I know more than one outlaw a lot more honorable than you will ever be in your life. We`ve never killed anyone in our lives like you did, and we won`t start now. But listen carefully, if I ever find out you are blackmailing people again, who need your help, then I`ll find a way to let it be publicly known about your doings. And I`m sure Ted will be a willing witness. All clear?"

Heyes mimicked Clitterhouse`s words. All the sheriff could do was nod.

Ted stood next to Kid Curry, who could see the young boy trembling.

"Do you have family back in town we can take you to?" he asked Ted.

"No, I`m an orphan." admitted the boy. Joining them, Kid Curry turned to Heyes.

"Look Heyes, what would you say if we take Ted with us back to the Hole? We could use an experienced stable boy with lots of courage to take care of our horses. At least until he decides what to do next."

With a broad grin, Heyes nodded. "Take the rifle with you, Ted. I might know someone who could give you some pointers on becoming a good shot, that is, if said person has a good day. Some days he can barely hit the side of a barn....."

Kid gave him THE look.

"What are we going to do with the sheriff?" Ted couldn`t help asking.

"We can send a telegram from the next town to let somebody know where he is," Heyes assured him while all three mounted their horses and rode into the starting dawn.

Two dusty and tired newly ex-outlaws sat on two equally dirty and tired horses and stared in consternation at a large, brightly-painted welcome to our town signboard on the outskirts of the small town of Powell, Wyoming.

“Mighty nice sign for a small ranching town, colorful, fancy writing and all, “observed the younger of the two men.

“Mighty nice of the town to put important information on their sign, too. The Honorable Mayor Tom B. Brown and Sheriff Kenneth G. Montgomery, “Hannibal Heyes read aloud, a slender finger tapped his pursed lips as brown eyes narrowed. “Kenneth G. Montgomery…not Ken Montgomery, the guy who was a deputy in Sheridan. You think it could be him?”

Kid Curry adjusted his hat brim to better shade his eyes from the strong midafternoon sun. Blue eyes scanned the country side as if the sheriff could suddenly materialize from behind every scrubby bush dotting the flat landscape of Big Horn Basin.

“Yep, I think it could be him.”


“Kid, you can’t go in there. Montgomery knows you by sight.”

“No Heyes, we can’t go in there. He may be able to identify you, too”

“Colonel Harper is paying us $200 to deliver the documents you have stashed in your saddle bags. We need to be paid and we don’t get paid if we don’t deliver them to the land agent, whose got our money. One of us has to go in there so I guess that’ll be me. I blend in better anyway. ‘Sides I don’t think he ever got a good look at me, It’s you who got him all riled up after we robbed the Sheridan First Trust Bank.” Heyes smirked at the remembrance of Kid Curry quickly and none too gently tying up and gagging the hapless deputy, leaving him in manager’s office after the man had been alerted by a precarious placed ledger falling to the floor that Kyle had inadvertently knocked over.  The deputy squeaked his ineffectual warning in outrage mixed with naked fear upon discovering the fleeing thieves and couldn’t do a darn thing about it when faced with Kid Curry’s colt, except become silently incensed by his humiliation.

Heyes dismounted and started to pace in the dirt in front of the welcome sign announcing the unfortunate name. He tilted his hat back while he thought. Kid Curry remained in his saddle, surveying the surroundings, waiting for Heyes to come up with a plan.

“If we’re going to go straight while we’re still wanted, we’re gonna have to take a few risks. We can’t stay out of every town that someone might know us, with all the banks and trains we robbed there’s too many of them. We’re gonna have to earn money the legal way. Colonel Harper is paying good money and that means going into Powell.”

Curry interrupted, “I’m not plannin’ to stay out of every town that someone might know us only the towns that we know there’s someone who does know us.”

“Not us, you, “Heyes corrected.

“Us”

“You”

“Us”

“You”

“Us”

“You. Quit it! How old are you Kid, you’re sounding like a kid”

“Us, Heyes. We can’t take a chance.” Kid was adamant. His back stiffened, his jaw tightened and he sent an annoyed glare down at his overly optimistic partner.

Heyes took no notice of his partner’s opinion, after all, Heyes was the expert on playing the odds. “I’ve got a plan on how to get the documents to the land agent.  You see, I go into town, nonchalant-like and stay away from where sheriffs normally hang out, you know the jail, the saloon, and the post and stage depot while I scope out where in town the land office is. It can’t be too hard to locate, Powell ain’t that big. It’s getting later in the afternoon, I can slip into the land office before it closes, get paid by the agent, and get out of town fast. We’ll have to wait until we can get to the next town for a nice meal, baths, beers, and soft beds.”

The ex-leader of the Devil’s Hole Gang stopped pacing, pasted a placating smile on his face and looked up towards his mulish cohort in past recent crime. “You stay outside of town, close by, so you can keep an eye on the activity just in case I do get recognized. You may need come swooping in to save the day. You’re good at that.”

“No need to get sarcastic, Heyes. I’m watchin’ your back, as always.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know and I’ll admit you do a good job of having my back.” Heyes shone a genuine smile up at the Kid. “So, are we all clear on the plan?” he asked while studying what he could see of the layout of Powell from the small rise where the welcome sign was located.

Kid made a show of looking to the left, looking to the right, and then behind him. “Whose we? The gang ain’t here. It’s just you and me, and it’s a pretty flimsy plan if you ask me.”

“Who’s asking, I want to make sure you know what you’re supposed to do while I, and just me, go into town, delivering.” The older partner strode over to Curry’s saddle bag and proceeded to remove the packet from Colonel Harper, tucking it into the inside pocket of his brown corduroy jacket.

“You asked. You said are we all clear. I’m clear but I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it; you only have to follow it,” Heyes tossed over his shoulder as he effortlessly mounted his chestnut and gathered up the reins in his left hand. He kicked the horse into motion and trotted off down the road leading to the center of town.

Curry sat muttering to himself for a moment or two while he watched the retreating form of his partner. A small nod of the blond head signified that his decision was made and soon he guided his dark bay to leave the road in a direction that would take him to the outskirts of town along the side that stood in the lengthening shadows.


Hannibal Heyes exited the land office with a smile on his face and two hundred dollars in his pocket. He was satisfied on how easy it was that one of their first few jobs as reforming outlaws went so well. Now, if only Lom could send more of the same their way, maybe going straight while wanted wouldn’t be a hard as they originally thought. He congratulated himself for managing to avoid the sheriff, having only glimpsed the man once from a distance, especially since the jail wasn’t that far from the land office. It was the same Ken Montgomery, the former deputy of Sheridan, that was now Sheriff of Powell. The former gang leader discretely checked out the people coming and going in both directions before stepping further onto the boardwalk for the short walk to where he had hitched his horse in wait.

The brunet was scanning the opposite side of the street when he was almost knocked off his feet by a man exiting the leather goods shop with head turned slightly back into the store, finishing a conversation. Both men rocked back onto their heels and hands shot out to instinctually steady each other.

“Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“No problem, I wasn’t paying attention either.”

Brown eyes fixated on the large sheriff’s badge on the chest before him at the same time a different darker, brown pair of eyes focused intently on the face inches from his own. Recognition flashed across both faces.

Sheriff Ken Montgomery’s left hand tightened immediately onto Heyes’ right bicep as his right sought his holster, drawing his side arm
.
“Hannibal Heyes’ you are under arrest,” proclaimed the lawmen, pointing his revolver directly at his prisoner’s upper abdomen.
Heyes couldn’t believe the sudden turn of circumstances. His mind worked furiously. An expression of confusion settled on his features and he dramatically looked around as if seeking something.

“Hannibal Heyes? Where? You don’t mean me, do you? My name is Joshua Smith, you can ask in the Land Office, I just finished a transaction for Colonel Harper.” Heyes was the picture of innocence.

The dark brown eyes of the sheriff showed a brief flicker of uncertainty, which Heyes’ sharp eyes noticed. The sheriff’s gun hand drooped for a moment before coming back up and steadying the revolver. He prodded the ex-outlaw in the gut after relieving him of his Schoenfeld.

“Get moving, The jail’s down a way on this side of the street. You can see it from here. I want to get you locked up first Heyes, then we can discuss things.” Montgomery’s back suddenly stiffened visibly and he shot surreptitious glances around.” Where’s your partner, The Kid?”

“What partner? Oh, you mean Colonel Harper? Colonel Harper isn’t my partner just a friend of a mutual acquaintance, who hired me to deliver some important signed documents to the Powell Land Office. I already told you that, I’m not who you think I am, and I’m certainly not some kid or a famous outlaw. My name is Joshua Smith, recently from Porterville. You can ask Colonel Harper or my good friend Sheriff Lom Trevors.” Heyes kept talking as he slowly walked in the direction of the small brick building with bars on the windows.

An errant ray of late afternoon sunshine glinted briefly off something shiny hidden in the shadowed alley beside the land office. Soft footfalls receded to the back alley running parallel to the main street. Nobody noticed.


The sheriff pushed his dark-haired prisoner toward an open cell.

“….now wait a minute Sheriff. You’re making a mistake, a big one. What makes you so sure I’m that infamous outlaw Hannibal Heyes. Would Hannibal Heyes be walking out of the land office, having just completed an important transaction for a wealthy, upstanding member of society? What’s Heyes look like anyway.”

Montgomery took a deep calming breath and interrupted the constant stream of words from the man before him. He pointed to a prominent wanted poster hanging on the wall and read the description aloud. “See, you fit the description and…”

“Lots of people fit that description, why you could fit that description, Sheriff,” Joshua Smith countered.

“Heyes, I got a glimpse of you over in Sheridan when you robbed the town’s bank. You fit the description on the wanted poster. And even if I didn’t get a good look at you, I’d know your voice anywhere. You sound like the outlaw I remember. I’ll check out your story, in case I’m mistaken but I’m betting I’m right. Where’s your partner, if you want him taken alive, it would be best to tell me before the posse finds him that I’m gonna have combing the countryside looking for him.”

The sheriff shoved Heyes into the cell, and locked the door, pocketing the keys. He stood studying the man on the other side of the bars. A brief glance at the wanted poster for reassurance revealed the tiny doubt of his prisoner’s identity.

“I’m telling you sheriff; I’m alone in town, no partner.”

“Now, once again, where is he? Where is Kid Curry?”

“Right behind you.”

Montgomery spun around at the soft menacing drawl to come face to face with an annoyed looking Kid Curry pointing a Colt .45 right at the shiny sheriff’s star pinned on his chest.

“Don’t make a sound deputy, take the keys out of your pocket and let my partner out of the cell now, nice a slow. Don’t make my finger twitch.”

Heyes let the grin he’d been holding in surface and a dimple appeared at the Kid’s perfect timing. He relieved Montgomery of the keys, and pulled out a set of handcuffs from the sheriff’s jacket’s deep pockets as a bonus. He handed the cuffs to Curry, plucked the Schoenfeld from Montgomery’s belt and covered the sheriff.


“Go ahead Kid, make the man comfortable since you did it so well last time we saw him.”

“It’s Sheriff, Curry. I knew it! I knew you were Hannibal Heyes; I knew your voice. Now, I’ll never mistake you. I know what you look like now. You two won’t get away with this.”

Heyes put his hands on his hips and looked the sheriff in the eye. “Just for the record, Sheriff, we didn’t rob anything in town, we weren’t planning to rob anything, and we would have left you and the town in peace if you didn’t come stumbling out of that store.”

“Hah, I don’t believe that for one minute. And you are committing crimes right now, resisting arrest, jail breaking, as…mmph.”

Kid was moving quickly, pushing Montgomery down on the cot against the bars of the adjoining cell.  He cuffed one hand and then rapidly threaded the handcuffs around the bars and cuffed the other hand. He pulled a bandana out of his pocket and efficiently gagged the protesting sheriff, cutting off his ranting abruptly. He locked the cell and tossed the keys to Heyes.

Heyes located the small safe in a corner and smiled an even bigger smile of pleasure as he hurried over to it. Kid moved to the front door, locked it and stood look out while Heyes worked at the safe. The safe opened in no time.

“Tsk, tsk, you have an old model, no challenge at all, at least for any self-respecting safe cracker. I don’t know how safe these keys will be in there but I feel better knowing they’re there when we leave,” Heyes remarked.

The two partners did a quick look around and moved to the short hall leading to the back door.

Curry called out, “Bye, Deputy Montgomery, someone’s bound to come lookin’ for you sooner or later. And you might want to think about gettin’ a better lock for the back door, even I could pick it easily.”

Sheriff Montgomery could hear bickering fading into the distance before silence and darkness filled the small-town jail.

““You know you can’t keep busting out of jail, by waiving your gun in Sheriffs’ faces. We’re gonna hafta have a little more finesse. Not that I’m not grateful Kid, but the plan was for you to stay out of town. What’re doing here. You said you were all clear on the plan. He was starting to waver. I coulda had him believing me, If I just had a little more time.”

“I said I was clear on the plan not that I agreed with it, Heyes”


A very dusty and tired Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry sat on equally tired and dirty horses outside a small town just over the border in Montana. The town’s welcome sign was weathered, the letters barely able to be read. Information was minimal, only the town’s name and number of occupants.

Curry sighed, “I hope the hotel and café is better kept up than the town’s sign.” He looked up at the sky and then over the countryside behind them and added, “How do you think Deputy Montgomery made out in Powell?”

Heyes, who was appraising what he could see of the town, absently answered, “Sheriff, Kid, not deputy. I think he’s mad as hell but he should be alright. After all, if no else came that night to let him loose, someone sure must have after that telegram we sent two towns ago.”

The older of the pair turned to look the younger in the eyes. “Here’s the plan for now on, we haven’t been here before, right, so we go into town like ordinary folks, only we find out who the mayor is, who the local law is and reconnoiter the place as if we were planning a job. We don’t call attention to ourselves. We gotta know the basic layout of the town and the best routes out from the livery, saloon, and the hotel. We all clear on that? You have any better ideas? “

“Yes, Heyes, I’m all clear on that. That’s a plan I can agree with.”