“What’s he doing there?” he asked.
Brown looked ahead and saw what Butler saw.
“Updegraff,” Brown said. “Sonofabitch. Him or Peacock—probably Peacock, cause Al ain’t got the brains God gave a fly—musta sent for somebody, and they’re comin’ in on today’s train.”
“Sent for someone,” Butler said. “You mean a gunman?”
“If I know Peacock,” Brown said, “and he’s desperate enough to do this, it’ll be more than one.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Brown grabbed Butler’s arm to stop his progress, turned to face him.
“Time to talk straight, Butler,” Brown said. “Who’d you send for?”
“I didn’t send for anyone,” Butler said. “I sent a telegram, but I don’t know if he’s coming or not. I’ve just been…checking each day to see.”
“Is it somebody who’s gonna do us some good?”
“I think so.”
“Well,” Neal Brown said. “We come this far, tell me the rest. Who is it?”
“It’s Bat,” Butler said. “Bat Masterson.”
CHAPTER 55
The air was dead still.
In the distance they could hear the train whistle.
“This could be bad,” Brown said. “Peacock’s men are probably on that train.”
“And we don’t know for sure if Bat Masterson is.”
“We don’t know if Bat’s gonna come at all,” Brown said. “Jim is gonna be…I don’t know a better word for mad.”
“Livid.”
“Is that a word?”
“It is.”
“It sounds good enough. Does Bat know who sent the telegram?”
“No,” Butler said, “I didn’t sign it.”
“What did it say?”
“‘Peacock and Updegraff are planning to kill Jim. Come quick.’ Something like that.”
“Well,” Brown said, “my money is on him comin’ after a message like that.”
“Yeah, but maybe not on this train.”
“Updegraff hasn’t seen us yet,” Brown said. “We can go around and come at the station from the other side. If Al is here, Peacock will be along. Come on.”
By the time they got into position they could see that Peacock had joined Updegraff on the platform. They were both wearing guns and carrying rifles.
“They’re not gonna waste any time,” Brown said. “As soon as the men they hired get off the train, they’ll head for Jim.”
“All this just to get rid of Jim Masterson?” Butler said, shaking his head.
“To kill him, not just get rid of him.”
The train would pull in any minute.
“If Bat is on that train he’s gonna walk right into it,” Brown said.
“Yeah, but what are the chances he’ll be on this train?” Butler asked. “That’d be some coincidence.”
“I’m goin’ back around to the other side, now that Peacock’s here. If we have to take a hand we might as well do it from both sides.”
“Okay.”
“If somethin’ happens don’t wait for me,” Brown said. “Do what you gotta do.”
“You do the same.”
As Brown left to circle back around, Butler took out his gun, checked his loads, and slid it back into his holster just as the train pulled in.
“You know what this fella Ruger looks like?” Updegraff asked.
“Yeah, I know ’im.”
“How many is he gonna have with him?”
“Three, I think.”
The train pulled in, slowed down, eventually came to a stop. A conductor stepped down to the platform first, and then other passengers. Half a dozen people disembarked—a woman with a child, a couple of men who looked like drummers, a man and his wife—before Peacock saw Jason Ruger step down. He was a tall, wide-shouldered man with a flat-brimmed black hat and a black vest. Three men stepped off right after him, and looked to him for their next step. Ruger looked down the platform and saw Peacock, who waved.
“Okay,” Peacock said, “this is it. Let’s go meet ’em. They’ll need to get their horses from the stock car.”
As they started down the platform Peacock saw a man step down several cars beyond Ruger and his men. He recognized the man, and couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Damn!” he said.
“What?” Updegraff asked.
“It’s Goddamned Bat Masterson!”
“Where?” Updegraff asked, looking around wildly. For a man who claimed not to be afraid of Bat Masteson, he was already sweating.
Butler saw the man from the back, but instinctively knew it was Bat Masterson. He saw that Peacock had recognized him as well. Both he and Updegraff pulled their guns and Peacock shouted to other men on the platform, “Bat Masterson!”
Ruger heard the word Masterson. He didn’t cared if it was Jim or Bat, all he cared about was getting paid. He saw Peacock and the man with him draw their guns, and turned to his men.
“This is it!” he said.
Well trained, none of his men complained, nor did he, about how fast they were being pressed into service.
They all drew their guns, and suddenly six men were facing a surprised Bat Masterson.
Neal Brown saw what was happening, and was too far to help Bat right away. He had to get closer. He drew his gun and mounted the platform.
“Watch out, Masterson!” Butler shouted, running up onto the platform, gun in hand.
He didn’t wait for Bat to react. He fired off a shot immediately, and one of Ruger’s men caught the bullet on the hip and spun around.
Bat heard the warning shout behind him, but his hand was already streaking to his gun. Somehow Peacock knew he was on the train, and had a welcome set up for him. He had no time to think, just to react.
He drew and fired.
Jim Masterson heard the train pull in at the end of town. It didn’t occur to him that Neal Brown might be there until he heard the shots.
“Damn it!” he snarled, and started running.
Fred Singer heard the train and shots, also, from his office. He sat behind his desk. Hands clenched into fists and eyes closed.
Ruger and his men dove for cover, as did Peacock and Updegraff. But Neal Brown came up behind the two brothers-in-law and shouted, “Peacock!”
Updegraff and Peacock turned, saw Brown and raised their guns. Brown fired, and caught Updegraff in the chest. The man immediately went down on his back.
Peacock dropped to one knee and raised his gun to fire.
Butler reached Bat and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
“Who’re you?” Bat demanded.
“A friend.”
“Ain’t gonna argue with that now,” Bat Masterson said.
They both fired until their guns were empty, then sought cover while they reloaded. Bat got back on the train, and Butler ducked behind a bench, moving it so it afforded him some cover.
“Who’s that at the other end of the platform?” Bat called out.
“Neal Brown!”
“Where’s my brother? Is he alive?”
“He was at the Lady Gay.”
“If I know Jim,” Bat yelled, “he’ll be here any minute and be mad if we don’t save him some action.”
Butler snapped the cylinder closed on his reloaded weapon and said, “Hell, he can have as much of it as he wants, for all I care!”
CHAPTER 56
Bat was wearing two guns, and reloaded both from the cover of the railroad car. From the other end of the platform there was still gunfire.
“I’m gonna jump down from the other side of the train and circle around,” Bat told Butler.
“Go,” Butler said. “I’ll keep them busy from here.”
Bat palmed both guns, moved through to the other side of the train, and dropped down to the ground.
Butler saw Ruger’s men moving toward him, moving from car to car, cover to cover, and knew he’d have to move as well. He fired off two shots, then turned and made his way to the end of the platform again. He was going to circle the depot again, then decided to go around the train and join Bat. He fired off the rest of his shots, then made for the train, once again reloading.