Chapter Eight

“Where’s White?” Heyes asked, his eyes scanning the clearing in front of the cabins. The pink of the early morning sky was just beginning to fade over the mountains.

“Gone,” Kid said simply, as he continued brushing the buckskin gelding that he had been attending to for the last half hour.

“Wadda ya mean—gone?” Heyes asked sharply, “I thought you drew the early watch to keep an eye on him?”

“I did watch him—watched him ride right on out of here with Shorty.”

“But I said—”

“Yeah, I know, don’t let him leave. Tell that to Kinsey over there.”

Heyes eyes traveled to the gunman who was standing on the other side of the corral. “You have your gun back, don’t you?” Heyes asked.

Kid gave his friend a withering look. “You used to frown on me killing people before breakfast.”

“I didn’t say kill him, I—oh never mind. What else is going on around here?”

“Well, those two over there aren’t too happy,” Kid indicated two young men standing near the supply shed. “They had words with Kinsey right after White rode out. They’ve been standing over there looking scared to death ever since.”

“That red haired kid was in the poker game last night. He won a couple of hands but not too much,” Heyes observed quietly.

“I heard they both rode with the gang on the last robbery,” Kid added.

“We’ll try and get them alone later today and see what we can find out,” Heyes said quietly.

“Let’s go,” Kid said, seeing several of the men filing into the cabin where the meals were served. “I ask questions better on a full stomach.”

Heyes smiled, “Charlie always did make a good breakfast. If those chickens he’s got in that coop around the back of his cabin are any good at laying eggs, we’re in for some good meals.”

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By noon, most of the men were up and entertaining themselves with games of horseshoes, target practice or a casual game of cards. Heyes noticed that the two young men they’d seen by the corral earlier that morning seemed to missing from the group. He wandered around the small cluster of cabins and structures that comprised the living quarters for the outlaws hiding out at Devil’s Hole. There was only one way in or out of the Hole, and that trail was guarded by White’s men. He felt a rising sense of urgency to find the two young men. They looked like they were afraid of Kinsey, which meant they might be willing to make a deal. Having been part of the last two robberies, they would have more information than the other new recruits.

Walking toward the corral, Heyes saw Kinsey standing in the same spot he’d been in that morning. Must be his post, he thought.

“You seen that red haired kid I was playing poker with last night? What was his name, Cooper?”

“Why do you want to know?” Kinsey asked, suspiciously.

“He owes me some money from last night’s game. I just wanted to collect,” Heyes lied smoothly.

“Huh, funny. That’s the same thing your partner said.”

“Yeah?” Heyes commented simply. “You know where they are, or not?”

Kinsey shrugged. “The boy is on sentry duty. I think Curry went over to join some of the men shooting at rabbits up on the ridge.”

Heyes frowned, that didn’t sound like Kid. Well, maybe he had his reasons. “I’ll go look up there. Thanks,” Heyes nodded and left.

A short ride to the ridge confirmed Heyes original conclusion. His partner was not there. Returning his horse to the corral, Heyes decided to speak to his old friend, Charlie Pickett.

“Hiya, Charlie,” Heyes called out as he entered the cabin where Pickett was already hard at work preparing the evening meal.

“Oh, hi, Heyes. I was sorta thinkin’ you might come by.”

A quick glance around the room told Heyes that they were alone. “So now will you tell me what you’re doing here? I thought your days of cooking for outlaws were long gone.”

“Well, Heyes, to tell you the truth, so did I,” Pickett confessed warily.

“So what happened?”

“White.” Pickett nearly spat out the word. “Somehow he found out I spend some time up here. He came to see me one day at the ranch where I was working. He gave me a choice—show him the way to Devil’s Hole and be his cook, or have my boss find out about my past.”

“But Charlie, that was almost fifteen years ago, surely nobody would hold that against you now?”

“I didn’t get no amnesty like you did, Heyes. There ain’t no statute o’ limitations in Wyoming, in case you forgot. I can still go to prison for what I done.”

Heyes scowled, he hadn’t forgotten, it was why he and Kid had kept trying for so long to get their amnesty. “I’m sorry, Charlie.”

“But what about you and the Kid? You got square with the law and here you are back here?”

“Well, that’s sort of a long story. We’ve got our reasons. What can you tell me about White and the men he’s got with him?”

“Most of ‘em are just kids. Ridley is his right hand man, he leads the robberies. Shorty’s a pretty tough hombre, but not too bright. Kinsey keeps everyone in line—he’s always in on all the robberies.”

“What about White, doesn’t he go?”

“Nope, never rides along on the robberies.”

Seeing Heyes’ puzzled expression, Charlie continued, “White’s the only one who gets the information about the robberies and he don’t tell nobody how he does it. He rides out with ‘em sometimes, but he never goes along to board the trains.”

“I guess even if the whole gang got caught, White could just start up again,” Heyes mused.

“Kinda discourages anybody from tryin’ to take over the gang too, they’d never know how White got his information.”

“Have many of these men been with White long?” Heyes asked.

Charlie shrugged. “Ridley and Shorty have been here the longest, and Kinsey. The others come and go.”

“Go?” Heyes asked, eyebrows raised.

Charlie shrugged again. “Sometimes they don’t come back from the robberies, sometimes they don’t come back after breakfast.”

“Like those two boys last night? The ones that were guarding the trail when Kid and I rode in?”

Charlie nodded. “I don’t ask questions, I just cook their meals and they leave me alone.”

“Thanks, Charlie. I need to go find the Kid.” Heyes was becoming increasingly concerned about his partner’s whereabouts.

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High on the trail leading into Devil's Hole, Kid Curry watched and listened from the cover of the large shrubbery growing alongside the mountain trail. As he’d hoped, the conversation he was eavesdropping on finally turned to the subject he’d been waiting to hear.

“Do you think Kinsey knows?” The red head asked, nervously.

“How could he, Cooper, unless you told someone besides me?” his blonde companion answered.

“I think he knows,” Cooper muttered.

“Well, what if he does?”

“He’ll kill me, that’s what,” the redhead admitted, painfully.

“Well, it’d be your own fault, you knew the rules.”

“I didn’t break the rule, exactly,” Cooper hedged.

“No? What do you call leaving a witness alive?”

“I didn’t expect anybody to be in that car when I climbed in. I was going through to get to the passenger car and there she was, holding that little baby. I just couldn’t shoot her.”

Kid’s body stiffened and he leaned forward, his senses suddenly alerted. Catherine—they know she’s alive.

“She didn’t see nobody but me. I told her to hide there in that car and not come out or make a sound.”

“White said anybody who sees even one of our faces doesn’t live to tell about it, or every one of us is in trouble,” the blonde insisted.

The sound of a horse coming up the trail hushed the conversation.

“Howdy, boys,” Kinsey greeted the two young men.

“Howdy, Mr. Kinsey,” the two boys replied uneasily.

“I want to thank you for telling me about that little problem, Dawkins,” Kinsey said with a broad smile.

Cooper’s eyes went wide as he stared at his friend.

“But now I have two problems,” Kinsey’s smile faded. “That girl back in Laramie and two men that know I left a witness behind. I don’t like anybody makin’ me look bad.”

Kinsey drew his gun and pointed it at Dawkins.

Kid rested his hand on the butt of his revolver and cautiously made his way closer to the men on the trail.

Dawkins’ eyes were now as filled with fear as Cooper’s had been. “Mr. Kinsey, I didn’t tell nobody but you, honest.”

“Good, that’s all I wanted to know,” Kinsey said, smiling again. He shifted his weight as though to return the gun to his holster, but in a split second raised the gun again and fired. Dawkins stumbled backward from the impact, and stared wide eyed as a red stain appeared on his chest. Slowly, he slumped to the ground, his eyes still staring lifelessly.

“Now, Cooper, you see what happens when you don’t follow orders? You get other people killed,” Kinsey scolded, as though talking to a small boy.

“I—I didn’t mean—to get no one killed,” Cooper stammered.

“Of course not, you just didn’t follow orders, and you know what happens then,” Kinsey raised his gun again.

“Hold it, Kinsey,” a strong voice sounded from behind the man.

“What—” the gunman turned and glanced back, into the face of Kid Curry.

Kid stood facing him, his gun also drawn and pointing at Kinsey’s chest.

“Stay out of this, Curry, it ain’t none of your business,” Kinsey declared. “I keep the men in line, and if they get outta line, I take care of ‘em.”

“I think you’ve taken care of quite enough, now I’m taking care of things,” Kid stood his ground and did not waver.

“Why don’t we let White settle this when he gets back,” Kinsey suggested.

Kid remained silent for a moment, as though considering the suggestion. “I don’t think so,” he replied finally.

“Well, what do we do about this then?” the other man asked.

“You or me, Kinsey,” Kid responded.

The gunman nodded slowly, “Okay, Curry, why don’t we go back down the trail a ways to where it opens up. We’ll have Cooper count to three.” As Kinsey spoke, he slowly lowered his gun and turned slightly away.

Kid’s eyes never left the man’s gun hand, and when he saw the man suddenly grip the gun tighter, he fired—leaping to the side as he did so.

Kinsey’s bullet flew straight and unobstructed into a tree a few yards down the trail.

Curry’s bullet found its target.

“Didn’t…think…you were that fast,” the hired killer choked out, as he lay in the dirt, bleeding.

Kid stood over him and put his boot over the man’s gun, pushing it out of his reach. The precaution was unnecessary, as the man on the ground attempted to suck in a breath, and then lay still.

Neither man standing on the trail spoke for a while. Finally, Cooper broke the silence. “What are you going to do to me?” he asked simply.

Kid looked at the young man and sighed. “You know, Heyes and I never allowed anyone who rode with us to hurt the passengers, and they never did.”

“I—I know, I heard all about the Devil’s Hole Gang,” the young man said, admiration and respect showing through in his voice. “How’d you manage it?”

“We didn’t let men like him in the gang. Did you tell anyone else, besides Dawkins there, about what happened on the train? About leaving a woman alive?”

Cooper shook his head shakily. Kinsey had asked Dawkins that very question right before he shot him.

Kid nodded slowly. “Okay, forget it ever happened. Don’t say another word about it. Now help me get those two over their horses so I can take ‘em back and bury them.”

The young man let out the breath he’d been holding. “What are you going to tell White and the others?”

“Kinsey and I had it out. I was faster. He backed Kinsey and I had to shoot him too.”

Cooper looked confused. “But why would you say you killed Dawkins?”

“Do you want to explain why Kinsey killed him?”

“Well, no,” Cooper said slowly.

“Besides, White seems to like killers,” Curry added, slightly sarcastically.

The ride back down the trail into Devil’s Hole was mostly made in silence. Curry rode in front, leading the two horses that carried the bodies of Dawkins and Kinsey. Cooper followed, reflecting on the fact that he had just seen the infamous Kid Curry in action and lived to tell about it. Oddly, he felt none of the fear and uneasiness that he’d always felt in Kinsey’s presence.