Ralph Cory wondered if Bloody Dave Macky was really gone for good. Had he ever been gone at all? With all the names he’d chosen to live under, was Ralph Cory the one that was going to stick? Or, after these weeks on the trail—back on the hunt—would he be able to go back to working in a store, or could he go back to being Dave Macky—not Bloody Dave, but just plain Dave?
While Thomas and Cory cleaned their guns and searched their minds—or their souls—Ben Cardwell led his men into Denver, after a long day’s ride from Colorado Springs.
He reined his horse in and turned in his saddle to look at the rabble behind him. They stopped, except for Dolan, who rode up on him and waited for orders.
“Tell them to spread out and get lodgings for the night,” Cardwell said, “and only for one night. We’ll be leaving right after we hit the bank.”
“Right.”
“Tell them not to stay anywhere in more than twos,” Cardwell went on. “I don’t want anyone rememberin’ us. Understand?”
“I understand.”
“All right,” Cardwell said.
“What about the bank?” Dolan asked. “Can you tell us where it is?”
“Sure I can,” Cardwell said. “After waitin’ this long, I remember exactly where it is.” He gave Dolan the intersection where the largest of the Bank of Denver branches was located.
“So do we meet there?”
Cardwell nodded. “Right in front. At noon.”
“We’ll attract attention that way, for sure.”
“We’ll have the element of surprise on our side,” Cardwell said. “You boys dismount, five of you come inside, six of you cover the street, watch for the law.”
“And where will you be?”
“I’ll already be inside the bank, waitin’ for you,” Cardwell said. “I’ll already be there. You boys come in with your guns out, and we’ll clean the bank out.”
“Right.” Dolan put just the right amount of enthusiasm in that one word.
Cardwell leaned over, put his hand on Dolan’s shoulder and said, “This will be the biggest haul any of us has ever seen.”
“Sounds good to me, Mr. Cardwell.”
“Get the boys bedded down, Dolan,” Cardwell said, “and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
He watched as Dolan rode back to the others, gave them their instructions, and then rode off with them. He hoped they’d split up before long or else they’d attract too much attention. He just needed them to stay out of trouble until tomorrow, and then the hell with them. They’d be on their own, and so would he—with more money than he could spend in one lifetime.
69
Dolan led the gang of riders up to the front of the Bank of Denver. As agreed on, he and four others dismounted while the remaining six men remained mounted, but turned their eyes in every direction—except up.
Dolan led the others to the front door and they drew their guns. People on the street saw what was happening and scattered for cover. Dolan looked at the other men, they all nodded to each other, and he slammed the door open so they could all run into the bank.
Once inside, the six men looked around, but there was no sign of Ben Cardwell. Dolan was confused as to what to do next. While he was trying to decide, a security guard drew his gun and the bank employees hit the floor.
“Watch it!” Dolan shouted, spotting the guard, but before any of his men could do anything, four uniformed policeman stood up from behind the teller’s cages and let loose with shotguns.
Outside, three policeman stood up on the roof and let loose on the six mounted bank robbers with shotguns.
When the shotguns were empty, inside and out, the policemen picked up rifles and continued to fire.
The bank robbers got off a shot or two, but the element of surprise worked against them. By the time the gunfire stopped, every last member of the gang was on the floor of the bank or on the street, good and dead.
Lieutenant Peter Masters thought that it had been incredibly easy, considering he and his men had only gotten into position a half an hour before. As usual, the chief had been right, hadn’t he?
In another part of the city, Ralph Cory stood in a branch of the Bank of Denver, knowing instinctively that he was in the wrong place. He realized it was young Thomas who was going to have to face the music, because that was just the way things happened.
He was staring out the front window when a security guard sidled up beside him, hand on his gun, and asked, “Can I help you with something, sir?”
“I don’t think so,” Cory said. “I’m just waitin’ for somebody.”
“I see,” the guard said. “Well…I’ll just keep an eye out.”
“You do that,” Cory said. “After all, it’s your job, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir,” the guard said. “It is.”
Ben Cardwell rode up to the front of the bank and dismounted nonchalantly. About now the rest of the gang were getting themselves shot to hell, or maybe they were holding the bank up without him. Either way, didn’t matter to him. They could keep whatever money—or lead—they collected. This was the bank he wanted. It didn’t have the largest deposits, but it had enough to last one man a long time.
He looked up and down the street, on the lookout for any sign of a policeman. He didn’t expect to see any, but if he did, he would have called the whole thing off. Whatever was happening at the other branch, it must have been holding the attention of most of the police in Denver by now.
Satisfied that he was in the clear, he opened the door of the bank and entered. It had one security guard, who gave him a bored look. He wouldn’t be a problem.
There were a couple of customers at the tellers’ windows, and some other employees sitting at desks. The only one he had to worry about was the guard, and he figured the element of surprise should take care of that.
He waited, pretending to fill out a deposit slip, or a withdrawal slip, while the customers finished their business and left. The guard’s back was turned, and the moment was right.
He started to approach the guard when a door slammed open—the door to the manager’s office—and Thomas Shaye stepped out….
Thomas wanted to wait longer, but knew he couldn’t afford to. He didn’t know what Cardwell meant to do to the guard, knock him out or shoot him in the back. He couldn’t take the chance.
He hadn’t tried to convince the people in the bank that a robbery might take place. If everybody had believed him and left, Cardwell would have been suspicious when he walked in. Everything had to look normal.
He had, however, gotten the bank manager to agree to let him stay in the office.
“One day,” the man said, “that’s all I can give you. I’ll be checking in with the chief of police at the end of the day.”
“You do that,” Thomas said. He had a feeling they’d gotten to Denver just ahead of Cardwell, anyway. “I’ll take the one day.”
And that had been all it had taken, after all….
Thomas stepped out of the manager’s office quickly and shouted, “Cardwell!”
The bank robber holding his gun stopped, and the guard turned quickly, going for his own gun. With his bare hand, Cardwell hit the man quickly, just once, knocking him out.
“Are you one of the deputies?” Cardwell asked, his back to Thomas, as the bank employees dropped to the floor.
“That’s right,” Thomas said. “From Vengeance Creek.”
“You tracked me all the way here?”
“Got here ahead of you, actually.” Somebody moved, and Thomas shouted, “Everybody stay down!”