horses.â
âI know,â Webb whispered. âYou really think weâve got something to worry about from Dick Vertreesâ men?â
âIf I didnât, I wouldnât have brought it up a whileago, Deputy,â Summers snapped in reply. âThey steal guns and horses from the army and sell them to the
Federales.
They steal from the
Federales
and sell to the Mexican rebels. Do you figure they wonât try to steal these guns and horses from us?â
âThen why didnât they just rob us in the first place,â asked Webb, âbefore we got better armed?â
âBecause we came upon them all of a sudden,â said Summers. âThey saw we had some guns. Dick Vertrees saw how I didnât bring everybody in close. He saw I left us a way out in case they tried anything. Thatâs why I told you to keep the men back across the water.â He paused for a second, then asked, âHowâd they take what I said about watching out for an ambush tonight?â
âAs well as you can expect,â said Webb. âTheyâre so dog-tired from being in the saddle all day, I reckon all they could do was get some shut-eye until something happensâ¦
if
it happens.â Webb let out a breath and added, âYou might have told me before you told everybody else. Theyâre pretty edgy over it. If we get hit in the dark, I hope they donât shoot each other.â
âTonightâs as good a time as any to find out who we can count on and who we canât,â said Summers. âYouâll be surprised who sticks and who cuts and runs.â
âAll I know is Sheriff Hastings will throw a wildcat fit over me consorting with that bunch of outlaws.â
âNo, he wonât,â said Summers. âHeâll understand that the main thing is, we got what we came for.â
âI hope so,â Webb whispered. âOf course, now we got to worry about them stealing it all back from us. You figure there was more men there than Vertrees, Tunley and Baumgartner?â
âNot at that minute, no,â said Summers. But I know for a fact that Cherokee Rhodes, Bufford Gant and his brother Davis have been holing up there all summer. Thereâs others too. We happened to get there when they were all off somewhere, I reckon.â
Abner Webb shook his head in the darkness. âCherokee Rhodes, the Gant brothersâ¦Lord! The list just gets worse as it goes. I swear, Will.â
âWe needed guns, Deputy,â whispered Summers. âIf youâre that worried about the sheriff, tell him it was all my faultâ¦tell him I twisted your arm, made you do it.â
A silence passed as Summers trained his hearing to the surrounding darkness. In the distance, a coyote cried out long and mournful to the glittering night sky. âThat ainât what you came over here to talk about though, is it?â Summers whispered. As he spoke to Webb, he watched Sherman Dahl sip slowly from a tin cup and stare into the glowing fire.
âNo, itâs not,â Webb admitted. Another silence passed as the deputy weighed his words. Then he said, âWhen you and Vertrees were talking, and he asked about the sheriff being gone fishing when the Peltrys raided usâ¦?â
âYep, what about it?â Summers asked, his voice barely audible.
âIt sounded like Vertrees was saying somebody might have tipped off the Peltrys about Sheriff Hastings being out of town.â
âYou have to admit, Deputy, it sure came in handy to the Peltrys: swooping down like that, and nobody there to stop them.â
âWhat about me, Will? Donât forget I was there,â Webb whispered.
âYou werenât exactly on the job, Deputyâno offense,â said Summers. âEven if you had been, nobodyhandles things like a good sheriff. Heâs the one the town has their trust in, and heâs the one can bring a town to make a stand in a
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