"I will," Milly promised, winking at Longarm.
"By yourself!" the doctor ordered sternly.
Milly tried to giggle, but it was too painful. It hurt Longarm to see Milly in pain. He should have acted quicker.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"The bald truth of the matter is that I've completely messed things up. First I lost Eli Wheat; then I shot one of the gang instead of arresting him and getting a handle on the others; then finally, I couldn't climb out from under a bed fast enough to save you from a beating."
"No one could have known that they were going to derail a train to free Eli Wheat and rob the mail car," Milly argued. "And you saved a lot of people that otherwise would have died on that su-"
"Maybe so," Longarm said, knowing it was the truth.
"There is no maybe about that," Dr. Wilson said. "I heard what you did after the train wreck. That's why I know that you would not have thrown Blake Huntington through that window to his death on purpose."
"Thanks," Longarm said.
Doctor Wilson smiled. "Milly, I'll return tomorrow to see how you are feeling."
When they were alone again, Longarm moved back to the window. He did not open the shade, but lifted it slightly and peered down at the angry crowd. He saw the doctor emerge and then begin to try to argue with the crowd, only to be met with a good deal of anger and resistance. Some of it was coming from none other than Sheriff Ike Cotton.
Reaching a decision, Longarm turned back to the room and said, "Milly, you haven't been just kidding me in the past about having money, have you?"
Milly was clearly taken aback by the abrupt question. "I wouldn't kid about that. So why do you ask? Are you thinking about marrying me or something?"
Longarm noted the mirth in her eyes and grinned. "No," he said, "I just wanted to make sure that you are going to be all right."
She reached out and took his hand. "You sound like a man who is about to leave town."
"I've just decided to remove myself from this case," Longarm admitted. "I've done everything wrong."
"No you haven't!"
"Sure I have. I had two members of the gang identified and I killed them both."
"In self-defense! Custis, what else could you have done short of getting yourself shot or brained by a water pitcher?"
"I should have been able to anticipate and capture them alive," Longarm replied. "If I had I'd now have other suspects, and this case might already have been broken open and resulted in the arrest of Eli Wheat and that gang-"
"You're much too hard on yourself," Milly said gently.
"Back in Denver, Billy Vail is probably catching hell right now from Clarence Huntington's powerful friends. Billy is not only my boss, but a good friend. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I should have handled things better."
Milly took his hand. "Listen," she said gently, "you saved lives on Laramie Summit. Maybe more lives that one night than you've saved over the entire span of your fine career."
"I did what needed doing."
Milly wasn't listening. "And I might have been killed or beaten senseless by Blake if you hadn't been hiding under his bed. You were brave to be there instead of taking off before we arrived."
"You both caught me by surprise," Longarm confessed. "I didn't think you would be coming up so soon."
"Blake wanted me before we had lunch. I tried to talk him into waiting but the more I resisted, the angrier and more passionate he became. Finally, there was no choice. I just prayed that you were in and out by the time we arrived. As it turned out, it's a good thing you weren't."
"I'm sorry he broke his damned neck, and I'm at a dead end in this case again, Milly."
Longarm shook his head and continued. "Now I've got to wire Billy and tell him I think it is best that I resign from this case and report back to Denver."
"Do you have to leave right away? I was hoping you could stay with me for a while. If not here in Laramie, then somewhere else."
"I'll ask for a week without pay," Longarm said. "But I can't make any promises."
"And I'm not asking for any." Milly straightened the covers over her and said, "Go on. Send that telegram and then come back and tell me when you get an answer."
Longarm nodded and headed for the telegraph office.
Longarm received a reply from Billy Vail in less than three hours. It read:
TO HELL WITH CLARENCE HUNTINGTON STOP DERAILMENT AT DONNER PASS CALIFORNIA STOP SEVENTEEN DEAD THIRTY-EIGHT INJURED STOP PROCEED WEST AT ONCE STOP CAPTURE NOT KILL FUTURE WITNESSES STOP GOOD HUNTING STOP
Longarm looked up at the telegraph operator. "That's it, huh?"
"That's it, Deputy. Do you think that it's the same gang that derailed our train?"
Longarm studied his telegram. "I can't say for sure, but from the tone of this message, I think that Marshal Vail believes that there might be a connection."
"Donner Pass is what? A thousand miles from here?"
"Close to it. Do you know when the next westbound train passes through Laramie?"
The telegraph operator looked up at a big wall clock with a swinging pendulum. "Next train is coming through in about eight hours."
"Are you sure?" Longarm's luck had been so rotten lately that he found it difficult to believe.
"Would I risk givin' wrong information to someone who fought and killed two tough men in less than an hour?"
Longarm had to grin. "I hope not."
"Damn right I wouldn't."
The telegraph operator, a skinny man in his forties with wire-rimmed glasses and a scraggly beard, spat tobacco juice on the floor and said, "You want me to telegraph your boss and ask for some more travel money?"
"Sure," he said, "why not? I can't be in any more disfavor than I am already."
"Then stop on by before you climb aboard that train," the telegraph operator suggested. "Mr. Vail might even surprise you."
"He can do that," Longarm said on his way out the door.
Longarm returned directly to the Outpost Hotel. The moment he walked into his room and saw Milly, he knew that something was amiss.
"Custis!" she cried in alarm. "They came here wanting to arrest you!"
"Who?"
"Sheriff Cotton! He's got a couple of men and they're looking to put you behind bars."
Longarm didn't wait to figure out the whats or the whys, He was pretty sure that Clarence Huntington must have paid a judge to get an order for his arrest. Whether it was legal or binding meant nothing. Longarm knew that Cotton was just fool enough to try to arrest him and that the more people involved, the more likely people would be killed.
"What are you going to do?" Milly asked.
"If I stay and get arrested, I'm cooked," Longarm decided out loud. "I can't catch Eli Wheat and I can't do my job."
"Then you should go."
"I hate the idea of leaving you alone."
"Who said that I'll be alone?" Milly replied, with a wink of her long eyelashes.
"You'd get a man in here after-"
"No, silly! Not at first anyway. I've got a lot of girlfriends that owe me favors for one thing or another. It might even surprise you to know that I've got some respectable women as close friends."
"Nothing you say or do surprises me," Longarm confessed.
He kissed her cheek and then grabbed his Winchester rifle and bags. "I'll be back again when all this blows over and I've brought the outlaws to justice."
"Don't get caught!" she pleaded. "Now hurry up and go!"
Longarm guessed that he had better scoot. He'd killed two men already in this town, and he sure didn't want to spill the blood of a couple more fools.
CHAPTER 10
With Ike Cotton and a group of deputies looking to arrest him, Longarm knew that the railroad depot would be covered and that there was no chance of escaping on the train. That meant that he needed to reclaim his horse from Jimmie and leave on the run.
Longarm kept to the alleys most of the way to the livery, hoping to avoid any confrontation. When he saw Jimmie working with a pen of horses, Longarm hurried over to the man.