“Sure we can.”
“What?”
“I passed a town on the way here that’s got a bank that’s ripe. One of us could go back and pull the robbery off easy.”
“It’s too soon, Brent,” Brian said, shaking his head. “It’s not safe.”
“When has anything we’ve ever done been safe?” Brent said. “I don’t agree.”
“And that’s why we’re sitting here staring at each other, isn’t it?” Brian asked. “Because we can’t agree.”
“I don’t want to leave this area, Brian,” Brent said stubbornly.
“And I do,” Brian said. “I know it’s the right move Tomake, Brent, and we’re gonna stay in this town until I can convince you of that.”
“In that case,” Brent said, waving to Sam, “I need another drink.”
Brent got up to get the drink and Brian watched his brother’s retreating back. He could feel the split coming, and he didn’t want it to happen. If they separated, he knew that Brent would make a mistake and get caught or be killed.
He couldn’t let that happen—but how was he going to stop it?
Chapter XIV
Decker knew a little about the Utah region, especially the fact that it was short on water. He usually carried an extra canteen, and while he was in Utah it would come in even more handy than usual.
He knew that the early settlers of Utah were the Mormons, and that they had emigrated from New York by way of Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. They were not welcomed in those places because of the peculiarities of their religion—not the least of which was the fact that men were allowed more than one wife—and for that reason they had decided to try and settle in Utah.
He knew that when the Mormons first came to Utah it had been owned by Mexico, but that it had since passed into the hands of the United States. Statehood, however, had been denied it, again because of the religious beliefs of its prime inhabitants. Salt Lake City had been the headquarters of the Mormons since 1847, but Decker did not fore-see getting to that part of the region.
Indian problems—mostly with the Utes—had been solved as early as 1857, and the Utes were presently on a reservation.
Utah was peaceful now, but animosity still existed between the Mormons and the outside world, which would prevent Utah from becoming a state of the Union for years to come.
Two days after leaving the town of South Bend, Decker was certain that the sheriff had not gathered a posse and was not on his trail.
Seven days out of the town he suddenly became aware that somebody was on his trail, but whether or not the person was from South Bend was another story.
Ten days and he was still being trailed, although whoever it was had not chosen to close the distance between them.
Decker decided it was time to find out who was following him.
That night, instead of camping, Decker started a fire, then moved into the darkness and mounted John Henry. He started to backtrack, testing the air for signs of a campfire. Finally he caught the scent of coffee and followed it. When he felt he was getting nearer the fire, he dismounted and left John Henry standing alone, untethered. He knew the old gelding was not going anywhere, and he wanted the horse to be able to respond to a whistle.
He crept closer to the campfire and saw some-body hunkered down by the fire, his back to him. Off to the right a horse was picketed, a big gray mare. Decker moved into the circle of light quietly and, approaching the figure, discovered how small the person was. He left his gun in his holster and decided to just use his hands.
He grabbed the man around the chest and straightened up, lifting him up off his feet.
“All right, friend, let’s have a talk.”
The man kicked and struggled and then said, “You ain’t lettin’ me breathe, damn it!”
Startled, Decker opened his arms and let his captive drop to the ground. The voice had not been a man’s but a woman’s—or more to the point, a girl’s.
Felicia Wheeler.
“Damn you, Decker,” she swore, getting to her feet, “you trying to kill me?”
“You little whipper!” he said, staring at her. “What the hell are you doing dogging my trail—and if you swear again I’ll cuff you.”
“You—” she said, and cut herself off.
“Come on, explain yourself.”
“I want to be there when you find Brian Foxx.”
“Why?”
“Two reasons. I told you I’m interested in people like him—and you. I want to see who comes out on top.”
“And the second reason?”
“When it happens, I want to write about it.”
“Write about it?”
“But not for my grandfather’s paper. Nobody would see it. I want to write about it and send it to someplace big—someplace like Denver, or San Francisco…or maybe even New York.”
“And you’ve been following me all this time?”
“I followed your trail to South Bend, and then trailed you from there for a few days until I spotted you and laid back. You ain’t found nothing yet, have you?”
“No—except you, and you’re going home.”
“I am not!”
“What about your grandfather?”
“Grandpa can eat out for a while. All he lets me do is cook and clean.”
“Isn’t that what a woman is supposed to do?”
“Well, at least you admit I’m a woman!”
“Half a woman, anyway”
“I’m fourteen!”
“Like I said, half a woman. All right, come on.”
“Where?”
“Gather up your stuff. We’ll go Tomy camp and spend the night there. In the morning you’ll start back.”
“I ain’t.”
“You will or you’ll wish you had.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll run your ass off trying to keep up with me.”
“I can travel as fast as you can.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s collect your gear, junior. You just might get a chance to prove that.”
When they got back to his fire, they reheated her coffee and each had a cup.
“What are you gonna do when you find Foxx?”
“Take him in.”
“Where?”
“Wherever we’re closest to where he’s wanted.”
“Did you think any about what I said back in town when you left?”
He knew what she meant, and he really hadn’t thought about it that much.
“Two men, Decker. Think about it. How else could they pull jobs in different places at the same time?”
“But they’d have to look the same.”
“You never heard of twins?”
“Twins!” He shook his head. “That’s farfetched, Felicia. You been reading too many dime novels.”
“Then you explain it.”
“It might be two men, one made up to look like Brian Foxx.”
“Made up?”
“Like an actor.”
“But how would they be identical? Wouldn’t somebody notice something different?”
“Maybe they’re not identical. All we have are some physical descriptions to go on. Lots of people can sound identical that way.”
“Why don’t you want to admit that I might be right?”
He frowned, not liking the idea that she might be right. Twins! It sounded silly.
“You’d better get some rest, youngster,” he said, instead of answering. “I’m gonna run your tail off tomorrow.”
She grinned and said, “You’ll try, but don’t forget, I tracked you this far.”
As she rolled up in her blanket, he admitted to himself that he was pretty damned impressed with this fourteen-year-old—and a girl, at that!