sure sheâd been replaced with an angry twin.
Pap reached the door, spun in the open entry, and shouted, âBeen a pleasure, maâam!â He plopped his old battered hat atop his head and hustled on out of there, back to his waiting horses, not quite sure what to do but knowing if anything could be done to stop the robbery, it was up to him to do it.
Pap made it back to his horses and looked up in time to see Mex and Ace, leading their mounts, cut quick across the street, heading from their assigned loafing spot near the saloon over to the bank. They darted behind a barouche and in front of a man leading a mule and wagon with milk cans in the back.
The mule never slowed his pace, but the man, a middle-aged fellow, slowed his gait and lifted his face from staring at the hard-packed earth of the street. He watched them as they loped, hands on the butts of their revolvers, looking left and right as if they were being pursued.
What in the deuce are those two playing at? Pap had never seen them act skittish during a job. Of course any jobs theyâd worked had only been small-time and, he always liked to tell himself, had not caused enough bother to anyone for them to land in any real soup.
Pap didnât think Haskell had it in him to make this one work, but by gum, if they all werenât going after it with more dedication than heâd seen them show anything other than their dinner plates, especially when Big Charlie had taken over the cooking from Dutchy.
A smile had begun to creep up on Papâs grizzled maw when two things happened almost at onceâAce and Mex swung hard through the front doors of the bank. As they disappeared within and the doors settled back into place, a muffled slamming soundâcould it have been the doors?âpaused Pap with one hand on Nubâs rump.
Heâd been ready to head to the mercantile and see what his meager poke might buy for provisions. To the Devil with the lawman. Maybe the town deserved to be robbed, run as it was by fools, at least that was how that woman at the shop had made it sound.
People were gathering, beginning to stare at the bank. And that was when Pap knew that something had gone wrong. And he knew too that if he didnât get on out of there, as a stranger in town he would be pulled into the mess with the rest of them. All of a sudden Pap regretted not taking Haskell seriously. Up until they went into the bank, he didnât think theyâd really give it much of a try. Thought they might see what a big frightening mess robbing a bank was going to be and call it quits before theyâd begun.
He realized now that he was fooling himself. Realized too that they really were going after it, hammer and tong.
Pap wanted to get on his horse and get out of that town, tugging Nub behind and hightailing it. Instead he found himself moving out into the street, unsure of the sounds he was hearing, but his convictions becoming clearer with each step forward.
Those fools had opened fire. At least one of them had. And Pap knew his boys. He knew enough about Haskell too to know he didnât trust the man in any situation. He cursed himself for thinking all this would play out harmlessly.
Haskell had the look of a coldhearted killer, sure enough. Pap knew now he should have gone straight to the law, but it was Haskellâs words that kept him from doing so. The rogue had said that Pap would be regarded as one of them, no matter how much of a hue and cry he put up, no matter how much he told them that he wasnât one of them. The law dogs wouldnât believe he was innocent, not a man with a long, shadowy past such as Papâs.
But now all that lost its meaning, especially when Pap heard shouts, three sharp thudding sounds followed by rising screams. And that was when Pap knew that all hell had busted far beyond loose.
Chapter 17
The old man never should have looked at him in the first place, especially not in the way he
Pap reached the door, spun in the open entry, and shouted, âBeen a pleasure, maâam!â He plopped his old battered hat atop his head and hustled on out of there, back to his waiting horses, not quite sure what to do but knowing if anything could be done to stop the robbery, it was up to him to do it.
Pap made it back to his horses and looked up in time to see Mex and Ace, leading their mounts, cut quick across the street, heading from their assigned loafing spot near the saloon over to the bank. They darted behind a barouche and in front of a man leading a mule and wagon with milk cans in the back.
The mule never slowed his pace, but the man, a middle-aged fellow, slowed his gait and lifted his face from staring at the hard-packed earth of the street. He watched them as they loped, hands on the butts of their revolvers, looking left and right as if they were being pursued.
What in the deuce are those two playing at? Pap had never seen them act skittish during a job. Of course any jobs theyâd worked had only been small-time and, he always liked to tell himself, had not caused enough bother to anyone for them to land in any real soup.
Pap didnât think Haskell had it in him to make this one work, but by gum, if they all werenât going after it with more dedication than heâd seen them show anything other than their dinner plates, especially when Big Charlie had taken over the cooking from Dutchy.
A smile had begun to creep up on Papâs grizzled maw when two things happened almost at onceâAce and Mex swung hard through the front doors of the bank. As they disappeared within and the doors settled back into place, a muffled slamming soundâcould it have been the doors?âpaused Pap with one hand on Nubâs rump.
Heâd been ready to head to the mercantile and see what his meager poke might buy for provisions. To the Devil with the lawman. Maybe the town deserved to be robbed, run as it was by fools, at least that was how that woman at the shop had made it sound.
People were gathering, beginning to stare at the bank. And that was when Pap knew that something had gone wrong. And he knew too that if he didnât get on out of there, as a stranger in town he would be pulled into the mess with the rest of them. All of a sudden Pap regretted not taking Haskell seriously. Up until they went into the bank, he didnât think theyâd really give it much of a try. Thought they might see what a big frightening mess robbing a bank was going to be and call it quits before theyâd begun.
He realized now that he was fooling himself. Realized too that they really were going after it, hammer and tong.
Pap wanted to get on his horse and get out of that town, tugging Nub behind and hightailing it. Instead he found himself moving out into the street, unsure of the sounds he was hearing, but his convictions becoming clearer with each step forward.
Those fools had opened fire. At least one of them had. And Pap knew his boys. He knew enough about Haskell too to know he didnât trust the man in any situation. He cursed himself for thinking all this would play out harmlessly.
Haskell had the look of a coldhearted killer, sure enough. Pap knew now he should have gone straight to the law, but it was Haskellâs words that kept him from doing so. The rogue had said that Pap would be regarded as one of them, no matter how much of a hue and cry he put up, no matter how much he told them that he wasnât one of them. The law dogs wouldnât believe he was innocent, not a man with a long, shadowy past such as Papâs.
But now all that lost its meaning, especially when Pap heard shouts, three sharp thudding sounds followed by rising screams. And that was when Pap knew that all hell had busted far beyond loose.
Chapter 17
The old man never should have looked at him in the first place, especially not in the way he
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