"Marshal, I ought to tell you that Jules Kincade has a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun and he ain't walking around this town looking to shoot ducks."
"How is Lester armed?"
"Six-gun on his hip, probably a derringer up his sleeve."
Longarm checked his own six-gun. "After the brothers left here, which direction did they go?"
"Up the street," Frank said, pointing. "Probably have a few drinks for courage at the Delta Saloon, then come back down to your hotel. I'd not want to see either you or that pretty woman hurt."
"Thanks," Longarm said, heading off in the direction the Kincade brothers had gone. Longarm could see the Delta up ahead. It was a notorious saloon, known to be frequented by the worst kinds of men. The word that Longarm had heard was that Marshal Putnam gave the Delta a wide berth because his predecessor had been shot to death there while trying to settle an argument between two drunks.
As Longarm marched down the street, he sensed that everyone along the boardwalk knew that there was about to be a showdown. Some merchants dashed inside and closed their doors; others fell in behind at a discreet distance. curious to see what would happen when the showdown took place.
Longarm ignored everyone and kept his eyes riveted to the doors of the saloon. He saw one man run inside, no doubt to sound the warning to the Kincade brothers that Marshal Custis Long was on his way.
As he walked along, the street became very quiet. Longarm had faced a lot of hard and dangerous men, and he had a feeling that the Kincade brothers would not try and ambush him, but would let their anger and hatred dictate their moves. Most likely, they'd come straight at him and hope to get close enough to give them a big advantage with the ten-gauge. Longarm knew that he stood little chance of surviving this confrontation if he allowed them to lure him into a shotgun's range.
Jules stepped outside, and froze on the boardwalk when he saw Longarm. He hesitated a moment, then stepped into the street and came sauntering toward Longarm. When he was about fifty yards distance away, Longarm planted his boots down solidly, shaded his gun butt, and yelled, "that's far enough!"
Jules kept walking and Longarm's eyes skirted the Delta, trying to catch a glimpse of Lester, who must have decided to try and get in a good potshot from a hiding place. "Jules!" Longarm yelled. "I said halt!"
Jules finally came to a stop. He was a tall, stoop-shouldered, and slack-looking man who wore a leather vest over a filthy shirt. He had a potbelly, and his pants were torn and crusted with mud. His hat was a derby and he was chewing a cigar.
"Hello there, Marshal Long!" Jules called up the street. "I hear that you're passin' through town with a handsome woman. Thought it might be real interestin' to come pay her a visit and tell her what a hard-nosed sonofabitch you really are."
"I expect that she already knows," Longarm replied, his eyes roaming the dark shadows between buildings and then flicking up to the rooftops. "Where's your brother? The one whose shoulder I ruined?"
Jules's wicked smile went stale. "Yeah," he said, "Lester ain't never forgiven you for that, Marshal. I expect he wants to repay you in kind."
"Where is he?"
Jules shrugged, the shotgun swinging ever so slightly back and forth along his leg. Longarm knew that it would take less than one second for Jules to whip that shotgun up and unleash a load from both barrels.
"Where is he?" Longarm repeated, his voice taking on an edge of polished steel.
"I'm afraid that he's... well, he's with a woman. Maybe he's even humpin' that prisoner of yours right this very minute."
"And maybe," Longarm said, "you're about to enter a place called Hell!"
Jules choked a curse and swung the shotgun up so fast that Longarm didn't have time to do anything but react. His hand flashed down to his gun and it came up with the Colt bucking in his fist. Jules staggered with a bullet to the chest. Then he lifted to his toes like a puppet pulled from above and the shotgun roared, sending a load into the earth about halfway between them. Longarm felt shot ricochet off the hardpan and cut through his pants. White-hot pain flashed across his eyes and he fired twice more, eyes locked on Jules, who took both bullets and sat down hard. Jules tipped the shotgun toward the sky, and as he died his fingers squeezed off the second load.
"Marshal, look out from above!" Frank screamed in a hoarse warning.
Longarm threw his head back and saw a flash of gunmetal in the sun. He dove headlong toward a wagon even as a pair of bullets stitched into the street where he'd been standing only an instant before.
Rolling under the wagon and out the other side, Longarm came to his feet in time to see Lester flying off the rooftop of a saddle shop and vanishing into shadow. Longarm went after the man.
Lester was on the run. Longarm could hear the pounding of his boots as he shot down a back alley, probably running for a horse that was hidden somewhere. Longarm sprinted into the dark shadows between the buildings and when he emerged in a back alley, he saw Lester tearing the reins free and struggling to vault onto the back of his horse. But he was in such a panic that he had spooked the animal and it was spinning crazily.
"Lester!"
The man fell off his horse, popped back to his feet, and threw himself headlong behind a rain barrel. "Come and get me, Marshal! Come and get me!"
"Throw out your gun or I'll kill you like I killed your brothers!"
Lester fired rapidly, but missed Longarm by ten feet. The man was badly rattled. Longarm moved forward, hammer cocked back and ready. "Lester, this is your last chance! Throw out that gun!"
"And go back to prison for trying to kill you? Fat damn chance, Marshal! If you want me, then you're going to have to come and get me!"
Longarm stopped and fired into the water barrel. If it was full, then his bullet might not penetrate both sides. But if it was empty, he was sure that his slug would find Lester.
The water barrel was empty. Longarm heard Lester cry out in pain even as he fired two more bullets into the barrel and sent splinters flying. A moment later, Lester rolled out from behind the barrel and went to his knees. He tried to raise his six-gun, but it seemed much too heavy.
Longarm stopped and watched as the man struggled with two bullets in his chest. Lester gagged and then he pitched forward, knocking the empty water barrel over. It had contained about two inches of rainwater, and now it leaked into the dirt, just like Lester was leaking.
Longarm reloaded his weapon, and he kept it clenched in his fist as he moved over to the dead man. He stared at Lester a moment, and then he walked over to the man's spooked horse and calmed it with a soothing voice.
"Easy now," he said, taking up the animal's reins and climbing into the saddle. "Easy."
Longarm rode back up the alley, avoiding the main street until he was behind the Buckboard Hotel. He dismounted, tied Lester's horse to the stairs, and hiked up to the second floor. He walked quietly down the hallway and knocked on the door.
"Lucy?"
There was no answer.
"Lucy!"
Still no answer. Longarm fumbled in his pocket for a key, and when he got the lock turned, he shoved in the door.
"Lucy!"
She yawned and raised her head. "No need to shout, darling. What do you want?"
Longarm closed the door with a deep sigh of relief. "I was thinking that I'd enjoy another bath."
Lucy pushed herself up on her elbows and brushed a tendril of hair from her eyes. "This morning?"
"Sure," he said. "Right now."
She smiled sleepily. "All right, Marshal. Call for the water, and I'll join you just as soon as I am fully awake."
"All right," he said, feeling the tension drain away as he locked their door and unbuckled his six-gun.
CHAPTER 6
Longarm and Lucy kept steadily moving westward for the next week. The country was littered with lava rocks for about seventy miles, and Longarm was very glad that he had had the shoes replaced on their horses. This was wild country, with a few isolated ranches and rancherias, most of which had, at one time or another, been pillaged by the Apache Indians who still ran free between here and the sanctuary of Northern Mexico.