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even though all pointed to Holstrum, he could be wrong. He hoped he was wrong.
He knew how a dream could die, and how futile had been the dreams of this man.
How much worse it would have been for him had he realized the dream in fact,
for what could two such people have said to each other? What could they have
done together? Sometimes it was better to keep the dream and forget the
realization.
Shanaghy rapped on the back door, and there was no response. Josh walked back
to the stable. "His horse is gone," he called.
Shanaghy took hold of the doorknob, hesitated.For he shrank at entering the
home of another, uninvited. Yet he put his shoulder to the door and the
foolish lock burst.
There was a bare, simple room.A rag rug on the floor, plus two chairs and an
old leather settee. There were two paintings on the wall, mystic, ethereal
things ... obviously originals, like something Poe might have visioned.
There were a few books, several of poetry, but only the first few leaves had
been cut as if the reader had gone that far and stopped. There were a bottle
of whiskey and a glass, the bottle half empty. There was a bottle of Chateau
LaFite with one drink gone.
The bed was made, neatly tucked in. The few clothes in the closet were nicely
hung. The drawers were half closed as if Holstrum had packed in a hurry.
The drawers were empty except for one. There was a dainty handkerchief edged
with lace ... perhaps a memento of the girl Holstrum had seen but once and
then never again. Shanaghy picked it up, glanced at it and dropped it back
into the drawer. He remembered something Holstrum had said, or that had been
said about him, about looking in a window and seeing some elegantly clad
people dancing. Well, Holstrum was still looking in windows, and he was still
standing outside.
Shanaghy swore softly, and McBane glanced at him. "He's missed the boat
again," Tom said, "I wish he could have made it, just once."
"You have compassion, my friend. One does not often find it in an officer."
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"More often than you think," Shanaghy said.
"And maybe Holstrum will make it this time."
"No ..." Shanaghy shook his head slowly. "I know the kind of people he is
dealing with and he does not. He is thinking of her, and of what they can do
in some great city. She is thinking of that money, and what she can do. And
George is thinking of the money and wondering how he can wind up with all or
most of it. And I think that otherman, I think he is the one named McBride. I
think he intends to have it all and knows how he will ... And they are all
wrong unless I can stop something here."
"Here?"
"We must get our tickets."
Shanaghy closed the door behind him, fastening it as securely as possible.
They walked back up the alley together. A few people were in the streets now,
and some were talking, pointing out where the men had stood when the gunfight
took place.
Shanaghy paused. "You said ... I killed them?"
"Both," Josh said, "dead center. I never did see better shootin'. Wilson
Drako was here on the steps. He went down right there, and Dandy, who was
clerkin' at the ho-tel... "
"The clerk was a Drako?The one with the rifle?"
"Didn't you know? Sure, he was a Drako, and he hated your guts."
They had paused on the boardwalk in front ofGreenwood 's saloon. "Judge, Josh
... where we're going isn't far, I'm thinking. But at the end of it there will
be shooting, and when there's that much money at stake they won't care who
they kill, or how many."
"I cut my teeth on a shootin' iron," the judge said dryly. "I fit Injuns
before I was dry behind the ears, and I served four years in the War Between
the States. I can stand beside any man when it comes to gunfire."
"All right."Shanaghy paused. "Judge, we're going to take that evening train
out. Josh, you go down and get the tickets for us. Don't mention where we're
going, just buy tickets forKansas City ."
Shanaghy took the money from his pocket. "And above all, don't tell that
agent or anybody else who's going along. If you want, tell them it's for the
Pendletons."
"Do you think he's in on this?" McBane asked.
"I do."
"And that engineer?And the brakeman?"
"I think they were slipped a few dollars just to act stupid with the
train.And, if anybody came along, to block the road.
"They had it all timed nicely. I think they had practiced taking that
wagondown, and I believe they had horses waiting. And I think they ran them
hard to the Holstrum place and then took off on fresh stock.
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"By now they are swinging back around to meet the railroad line-"
"What if they don't?"
"Then I'll have my work cut out for me. But look at it this way. Some of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]