street.â
âThey could all end up dead, Bill.â
âIf they donât give up.â
Neither of them discussed the possibility that it might be them who ended up dead.
That was not an option.
*Â *Â *Â
They did come.
They still had not seen the sheriff come out of his office, but as dusk came, so did five riders, coming right down the center of the main street.
âBill,â Clint said.
âI see âem,â Hickok said. âI ainât blind yet.â
âHow do you want to do this?â
âJust sit tight,â Hickok said. âLetâs see what they do.â
There was a saloon right across the street. It was not surprising to see the men rein in their horses in front of the place.
*Â *Â *Â
âOne drink,â Rafe Jenkins called out to his brothers, âthen we take care of the horses and get some hotel rooms.â
âOne drink?â Orville asked. âHow about one bottle?â
âOrville, if you ainât gonna do as I say,â Rafe said, âthen you ainât goinâ into the saloon.â
âYou canât stop me from goinâ into the saloon, Rafe,â Orville shouted.
âBut we can,â Wild Bill Hickok said.
The five brothers turned to see who had spoken. They saw Hickok in the center of the street, recognizable because of his mustache and hair, the brace of Navy Colts he wore. Alongside him was another man they didnât recognize.
âHickok,â Rafe said.
The Jenkins boys knew Hickok was in Cheyenne when they hit the bank, but it never occurred to Rafe that Wild Bill would take out after them.
âWhat are you doinâ here?â Rafe asked.
âWaitinâ for you and your brothers,â Hickok said.
âAnd whoâs that with ya?â
âOh, meet my friend, Clint Adams.â
âAdams,â Rafe said.
âJeez,â young George said, âitâs the Gunsmith, Rafe.â
âI know who he is, George,â Rafe said. âWhat do you boys want?â
âWeâre takinâ you back to Cheyenne to stand trial,â Hickok said. âYou killed a lot of people during the bank robbery, including a young boy.â
âThat wasnât our fault,â Orville said. âHe got in the way. He shouldnâtâve been in the street.â
Orville was the one who had ridden the boy down.
âYou boys shouldnâtâve been robbinâ the bank,â Hickok said.
âI know who you both are,â Rafe said, âbut youâre still only two against five, Bill. Why donât you walk away?â
âAnd why donât you call me Mr. Hickok?â Hickok said. âWe ainât friends, so you ainât got the right to call me Bill.â
Clint kept quiet the entire time, but he kept his eyes on Rafe Jenkins. The others would move when he didâexcept maybe the one called Orville. He seemed to be the wild card in the deck.
âWell, okay, Mr. Hickok, what do we gotta do to make you and your friend go away?â
âWe ainât goinâ away,â Hickok said. âDrop your guns and come along quiet-like.â
Rafe squinted at Hickok and Clint and then said, âI donât see no badges on you fellas.â
âNo badges,â Hickok said, âjust guns. Itâs all we need.â
THIRTY-THREE
âHow you wanna do this, Mr. Hickok?â Rafe asked.
âThe choice is yours, Jenkins,â Hickok said. âYours and your brothers. Why donât you give them a vote?â
âI ainât gotta,â Rafe said. âMy brothers go along with me.â
âThen weâll do it right here in the street,â Hickok said.
âYou ainât got the law on your side, Hickok,â Rafe said. âThis ainât right.â
âThis is right, Jenkins,â Hickok said. âThatâs why weâre here, to do the right thing, for those people you killed. For that
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