sobbing against the shoulder of one of Josephine's older girls.
White and gray smoke was now pouring out of the office, and the rest of the building was catching, its dry timber and furnishings feeding the spreading inferno. Down the street a bell was ringing, summoning the volunteer fire department to its duty. Dev had almost forgotten that he'd been shot. He wasn't aware of the blood soaking the right side of his shirt or anything but a dull burning ache as he shrugged off Joe's hand and reached out for Pauly.
As Pauly tried to scramble away, Dev'shand twisted the cotton nightshirt at his throat until he was choking, his eyes bulging, and he croaked out a plea for mercy.
Dev let him dangle for a minute as he faced the sheriff and. told him of his deputy's connection with Lil, that Lil was dead, and that the girl he'd come after was gone. When the deputy backed away at the edge of the crowd, one of the ·men who'd overheard the claim drew his revolver and held it against Deputy Akers's spine. "And this ... weasel," Dev added, giving Pauly a shake, "is going to tell me where the young lady was taken. Aren't you, Pauly?
Lil's already dead. Unless you want to join her right now, you'd best tell me."
When the strangling pressure around his throat was eased a little, all Pauly could do was cough and choke, managing to gasp in a hoarse voice, "I don' know nothin'! Lil, she never tell Pauly what she plans to do----l swear it!" He squealed as the material was tightened again.
Out of the crowd, a woman's voice called him a liar, and the watchers made a pathway for Mavis to move to the front. "He was there, last night, when Lil had two of her men tie up the Bryant girl and one other of the girls who'd been giving her trouble. They left about ten hours ago, headed for Denver." Now that she no longer had to fear Lil, Mavis was glad to help Dev find Jenny.
Two hours later Dev sat on the bed of one of Chicago Joe's rooms, watching the doctor wind bandages around his chest. He'd refused the pain pill the doctor'd tried to get him to take; it wouldn't do to have his head fogged by any drug when he rode out of Helena for Denver in an hour.
Across the room Joe frowned at the stubborn attitude her friend had taken. He'd inhaled a lot of smoke, burned his hands when he'd saved Pauly's worthless hide, and now wanted to ride off on a long, tiring trip with only a tight wrapping of bandages around his cracked rib.
"Dev, you won't do this girl any good if you end up fallin' off your mount somewhere along the trail! Doc, you tell him-Dev's in no shape to go anywhere. He'll get him-self killed in his condition!"
"A man's got to do what's he's got to do, Joe," Doc Simmons replied, tearing the gauze bandages down the middle of one strip to tie them off. "Sometimes the kind of determination Cantrell's got is the best medicine around, better than doctoring. But keep that under your wig, Joe, I don't need to lose any business!"
Joe sighed. If Dev was going to be obstinate, the only thing she could do was try to help him.
"I got a friend on the Denver line, Dev. Runs a house . . a respectable place, not like this fella, Evers. You can stay there, and Bella will give you any help you need. We goback to old times together, she's got a good heart, Bella does. You'd just damned well better take care of yourself or ..."
Dev grinned, then coughed from the smoke damage to his lungs. "Or what, Joe?" he asked hoarsely.
"Or you'll have me to answer to, that's what, Devlan Cantrell!" She tried to look threatening, but ended up laughing at the effort. A knock sounded at. the door and a moment later Duke entered, suavely stroking his mustache as he offered an interesting tidbit of information he'd managed to glean from the town's gossip mill, the local dry goods store.
"It seems that right after the fire started, a gentleman made a quiet exit out of town, heading for parts unknown. A man said to bear a striking resemblance to the outlaw Starmer." Duke
White and gray smoke was now pouring out of the office, and the rest of the building was catching, its dry timber and furnishings feeding the spreading inferno. Down the street a bell was ringing, summoning the volunteer fire department to its duty. Dev had almost forgotten that he'd been shot. He wasn't aware of the blood soaking the right side of his shirt or anything but a dull burning ache as he shrugged off Joe's hand and reached out for Pauly.
As Pauly tried to scramble away, Dev'shand twisted the cotton nightshirt at his throat until he was choking, his eyes bulging, and he croaked out a plea for mercy.
Dev let him dangle for a minute as he faced the sheriff and. told him of his deputy's connection with Lil, that Lil was dead, and that the girl he'd come after was gone. When the deputy backed away at the edge of the crowd, one of the ·men who'd overheard the claim drew his revolver and held it against Deputy Akers's spine. "And this ... weasel," Dev added, giving Pauly a shake, "is going to tell me where the young lady was taken. Aren't you, Pauly?
Lil's already dead. Unless you want to join her right now, you'd best tell me."
When the strangling pressure around his throat was eased a little, all Pauly could do was cough and choke, managing to gasp in a hoarse voice, "I don' know nothin'! Lil, she never tell Pauly what she plans to do----l swear it!" He squealed as the material was tightened again.
Out of the crowd, a woman's voice called him a liar, and the watchers made a pathway for Mavis to move to the front. "He was there, last night, when Lil had two of her men tie up the Bryant girl and one other of the girls who'd been giving her trouble. They left about ten hours ago, headed for Denver." Now that she no longer had to fear Lil, Mavis was glad to help Dev find Jenny.
Two hours later Dev sat on the bed of one of Chicago Joe's rooms, watching the doctor wind bandages around his chest. He'd refused the pain pill the doctor'd tried to get him to take; it wouldn't do to have his head fogged by any drug when he rode out of Helena for Denver in an hour.
Across the room Joe frowned at the stubborn attitude her friend had taken. He'd inhaled a lot of smoke, burned his hands when he'd saved Pauly's worthless hide, and now wanted to ride off on a long, tiring trip with only a tight wrapping of bandages around his cracked rib.
"Dev, you won't do this girl any good if you end up fallin' off your mount somewhere along the trail! Doc, you tell him-Dev's in no shape to go anywhere. He'll get him-self killed in his condition!"
"A man's got to do what's he's got to do, Joe," Doc Simmons replied, tearing the gauze bandages down the middle of one strip to tie them off. "Sometimes the kind of determination Cantrell's got is the best medicine around, better than doctoring. But keep that under your wig, Joe, I don't need to lose any business!"
Joe sighed. If Dev was going to be obstinate, the only thing she could do was try to help him.
"I got a friend on the Denver line, Dev. Runs a house . . a respectable place, not like this fella, Evers. You can stay there, and Bella will give you any help you need. We goback to old times together, she's got a good heart, Bella does. You'd just damned well better take care of yourself or ..."
Dev grinned, then coughed from the smoke damage to his lungs. "Or what, Joe?" he asked hoarsely.
"Or you'll have me to answer to, that's what, Devlan Cantrell!" She tried to look threatening, but ended up laughing at the effort. A knock sounded at. the door and a moment later Duke entered, suavely stroking his mustache as he offered an interesting tidbit of information he'd managed to glean from the town's gossip mill, the local dry goods store.
"It seems that right after the fire started, a gentleman made a quiet exit out of town, heading for parts unknown. A man said to bear a striking resemblance to the outlaw Starmer." Duke
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