“Get the lantern, Duff, let’s see what we have here,” Falcon said.
Duff hurried back to get the lantern. Then he returned and held it up as Falcon turned the creature over.
“I’ll be. It’s a man,” Falcon said.
The man’s hair hung down to his waist and he had a full beard. He was wearing clothes made of wolf skin and his fingernails were long and curled.
“Of course, I’m a man! What did you think I would be?” the man replied in a gravelly voice. “Turn me loose!”
“So you can try to kill us again?” Falcon asked.
“I wasn’t tryin’ to kill you. I was tryin’ to scare you away.”
“Like the three men you killed?”
“I only kilt two.”
“There were three, Elmer Gleason, Lonnie Post, and Sam Hodges.”
“Is that what their names was? They never told me.”
“Why did you kill them?”
“I kilt ’em ’cause they tried to kill me. They wanted me to show ’em where the gold was, and when I wouldn’t do it, they pointed a gun at me and said they was goin’ to shoot me. I got away from ’em, and when they come after me, I kilt ’em. Then I dragged their bodies outside as a warnin’ to anyone else as might come around.”
“What about Elmer Gleason? Did he try to kill you, too?”
The man laughed, a high-pitched, insane cackling laugh. Then he stopped laughing and stared at Duff and Falcon, his eyes gleaming in the light of the lantern. “What are you doin’ here?” he asked. “You got no right in here. This is my home.”
“Sure’n you aren’t for sayin’ you live here, in this mine, are you?” Duff asked.
“Yes, I am a-sayin’ that. Now I want you to turn me a’ loose and get out of here.”
“How do you live? What do you eat? What do you drink?” Falcon asked.
“Bugs, rabbits when I can catch ’em, such wild plants as can be et. And they’s a pool of water back a-ways.”
“What is your name?” Duff asked.
The man laughed again, the same, high-pitched insane laugh as before. “You already know my name. You done said it.”
“What do you mean we’ve already said it?”
“I’m the feller I didn’t kill.”
“Mister, you’ve been in this mine too long,” Falcon said. “You aren’t making any sense at all. What do you mean, you are the man you didn’t kill?”
“Wait a minute,” Duff said. “I think I know what he means. Are you trying to tell us that you are Elmer Gleason?”
“I ain’t tryin’ to tell you nothin’, sonny,” he said. He laughed again. “I’m a’ doin’ it. I am Elmer Gleason.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Cheyenne
“I think it would be ill advised of us to arrive at the bank simultaneously,” Malcolm said.
“What?” Asa Moran asked.
“He means don’t all of us show up at the same time,” Carter Hill said.
“Why not?” Pettigrew asked.
“Because if all of us ride up to the bank together, then dismount and enter the bank simultaneously, it cannot help but arouse suspicions,” Malcolm explained.
“I think he’s right,” McKenna said.
“All right. So how are we going to do it?” Pettigrew asked.
“We won’t ride up to the bank at all. Shaw, Pogue, McKenna, and Johnny Hill will be with me. We will come up Central from the south, then dismount about four buildings away and walk to the bank. Pettigrew, you, Moran, Carter Hill, and Garcia, will come down Central from the north, and you will also stop about four buildings away from the bank.
“Pettigrew, you and I will go into the bank first, but since we will be approaching from different directions, it will not appear that we are together. I will go to the table and start filling out a slip as if I am about to make a deposit. Pogue, you, Shaw, and McKenna will come together from the south; Moran, and Garcia will come down from the north. That will give us seven men inside the bank at the same time, certainly enough to take care of business. Johnny Hill will hold the horses from the south group; Carter will hold the horses from the north group. When you two see the last one of us enter the bank, both of you come riding toward the bank and stop out front, holding the horses. After we get the money we will make our exit from the bank as rapidly as possible, mount our horses, and ride away.”
“That sounds like a real good plan,” Moran said.
“I would add something to it,” Shaw said.
“What would you add to it?” Malcolm asked.
“I think as we ride out of town we ought to be shooting.”
“Certainly if we are shot at, we should return fire,” Malcolm said.
“No, I ain’t talkin’ about just returnin’ fire. I mean we should just start shootin’ at anybody and ever’body.”
“Why would you suggest such a thing?” Malcolm asked.
“You want to get away, don’t you?” Pettigrew asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“Then Shaw is right. If we start shootin’ up the town on the way out, there ain’t nobody goin’ to think about shootin’ us. Only thing they’re goin’ to be thinkin’ about is not gettin’ kilt. Near ’bout ever’one is goin’ to just try and find ’em a place to get out of the line of fire.”
“All right,” Malcolm said. “This is your country, I shall defer to your suggestion.”
When Malcolm and the others rode into town the next morning, approaching as planned from opposite ends of Central Avenue, Cheyenne was in the middle of its mid-morning commerce cycle. At the Wyoming Freight and Transport Company, three wagons were backed up against the loading dock taking on freight that had come into town by train, but would have to be delivered to the various destinations by wagon.
A boy of about sixteen was sweeping the front porch of Dunnigan’s General Store. A dog that lay sleeping on the porch made no effort to move, nor did the boy make an effort to move him.
There were two Chinese women doing laundry outside Wo Ching’s Laundry and they were carrying on a spirited conversation in their own language.
A man was standing on the porch roof of Sikes’ Hardware store, painting the false front.
Malcolm dismounted in front of White’s Apothecary, then started walking toward the bank. He saw Pettigrew approaching the bank from the other side. Arriving at the bank door simultaneously, they went inside without acknowledging each other. Malcolm stepped up to the table, while Pettigrew, holding a twenty-dollar bill, went up to the teller’s window and stood in line as if waiting to make change. There were four other customers in the bank, three men and one woman.
The others came as planned. When all seven were in the bank, Malcolm nodded at Pettigrew, who nodded at the others. Pettigrew drew his pistol, which was the signal for all to draw their weapons.
“Ever’body put their hands up!” Pettigrew yelled. “This is a bank holdup!”
“Oh, my!” Lisenby said.
“Open that safe!”
“I don’t know the combination,” Lisenby said. “Only Mr. Snellgrove knows.”
“Who is Snellgrove?”
“He isn’t here.”
“You are lying, Mr. Lisenby,” Malcolm said. “That gentlemen is Mr. Snellgrove.”
“Mr. Malcolm, you?” Lisenby said, surprised by Malcolm’s comment. “You are with them? But, you were going to make a deposit.”
“I decided I would rather make a withdrawal,” Malcolm said, laughing at his own joke.
“How the hell does he know your name?” Pogue asked.
“It’s quite simple, Mr. Pogue. I told him my name,” Malcolm said, purposely using Pogue’s name.
“That was a dumb thing to do,” Pogue said.
Malcolm looked over at Snellgrove. “Mr. Snellgrove, I appreciated the guided tour you provided for me yesterday. Now, if you would be so good, sir, please open the safe for us.”