Reining his horse to a stop in the yard of the Sweetwater Pony Express Station, Marshal Sam Cain couldn't help but wonder which of the riders would be available to help him with his newest "special" job. He also couldn't help but hope Cody wouldn't be among his choices. Not that the lawman didn't like the young rider-or respect his abilities when the chips were down. It was just that this particular assignment called for the utmost secrecy and discretion. Sam just wasn't all that sure that Cody would be able to keep his mouth shut. Sighing, the marshal conceded that Cody at his worst was better than any of the men he had available to him in town. Any of Teaspoon's "boys" had that much going for them. Still Sam found himself hoping that Buck Cross, Ike McSwain or Jimmy Hickok were around. While he would trust his back to any of the others, he knew without a doubt that these three could be counted on to do what needed to be done with a minimum of discussion or argument. As if in answer to his wondering, Ike was leaving the bunkhouse even as Sam swung down to the ground. The mute's eyes widened at the sight of the lawman but he just as quickly smiled a greeting. Noting the mochila that hung over the younger man's shoulder, Sam sighed again. "You off?" he asked. Teaspoon has a special run to Ft. Kearny, Ike signed in reply. Why? "Nothing important," Sam answered. "I was kind of hoping you could help me with something, that's all." I could talk to Teaspoon . . . "No, that's all right," Sam interrupted. "You do your ride; I'll make do with whoever else is around." Ike grinned in response, then headed for the barn while Sam continued on into the bunkhouse. "Hi, Sam. Bye, Sam," Lou said as she scooted past him. "H . . .Bye, Lou," Sam called to her retreating back. Turning back to the room, he was glad to notice that he hadn't been left alone. Hickok, Buck and Kid were in various stages of getting dressed. "Morning, Sam," Buck greeted. "You're here awfully early this morning." "Must'a heard Emma was making biscuits," Jimmy quipped. "She is?" Sam said, perking up. "Actually I've come to ask for your help." "I'm next up when Cody gets in later today," Kid responded. "I'm available," Buck added. "I don't have a ride until next week." "Me too," Jimmy agreed. "Good," Sam replied. "I really just need two of you anyway. It's probably just going to take a couple of days. I'll go talk to Teaspoon - just in case." "Leave some biscuits for us," Kid called after him.
Later, riding away from the station - a few extra biscuits tied securely in a bag on his saddle - Sam offered an explanation of why he needed the two riders.
"I got a report that a guy who's wanted for robbing a bank in Scottsbluff are heading towards Sweetwater," the lawman told the boys. "I need to see if we can find him before he gets here."
Sam hesitated for a minute before continuing. "I need to find him before the Scottsbluff posse does."
"Why's that?" Jimmy asked.
"Same reason as I had for coming out and getting you boys instead of just riding out to join the sheriff from Scottsbluff," Sam replied cryptically.
Buck and Jimmy glanced curiously at each other and then their friend.
"Sam, you wouldn't have come asking for our help if you didn't think you could trust us, so . . ." Buck pressed.
Sam interrupted, "I need to talk to him to find out what's going on before the posse catches up with him."
His two companions said nothing for a few long seconds waiting for him to give more of an explanation. Finally, when it seemed the other man wasn't going to share anything further, Buck spoke for both of them, "Where was he seen last?"
Jimmy was the first to spot signs of the trail left by the lone man once the trio had gotten to his last known location. After that it was a simple matter for Buck to follow the marks left by the man and his horse.
The trio rode on - careful to stay hidden from the posse that wasn't that far off. So far the other group was more concerned about who they were following than who was following them. Sam grew concerned at one point when the posse turned eastward while Buck directed their group to the west. "He's good," Buck commented after showing them where their quarry had eluded the posse by backtracking along a rocky outcropping.
"You lost him?" Sam asked with a touch of anxiety in his voice.
Looking up at his friend, the Kiowa smiled. "I said he was good," he answered. "He's not that good."
"If I know the sheriff," Sam cautioned, "they won't be fooled for long."
The three men from Sweetwater rode on in silence, stopping only now and then for Buck to verify they were on the right trail.
"You were right, Sam," Jimmy said a short while later. "The posse is on the trail again."
Sam cursed softly under his breath. "They've probably picked up our trail," he said. "We're going to lead them right to him."
"He's not that far ahead of us," Buck told them. "Probably holed up in those rocks."
"Why don't you and Buck go ahead and find him," Jimmy suggested. "I'll take care of the posse."
Sam considered the idea - and realized he had little in the way of options. "Don't get caught," he told the rider.
"If they catch up with me, I'm just a Pony Express rider on my way back to Sweetwater from a special run," Jimmy said, putting on his most innocent expression.
"Thanks, Jimmy," Sam said.
"Go ahead on, you two," the younger man said waving them off. "I'll cover your tracks."
The two men from Sweetwater weren't the only ones watching the posse. Their quarry's horse had fallen earlier, not only twisting a leg badly enough that he could no longer carry his rider but breaking the man's left arm - and probably a couple of ribs judging from the pain - in the process.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to outrun the posse injured and with no horse, he'd taken shelter in an outcropping of rock that at least provided him with protection from three sides - and a view of the valley in front of him. If the men from Scottsbluff were going to take him, he was going to make sure it wasn't an easy matter for them.
From his vantage point he'd seen the two groups who were following him. The first group obviously had a good tracker with them, he'd decided. They weren't fooled at all by his attempts to hide his trail.
Considering the distance, he'd not been able to recognize any of the three men but had seen them stop as one of the three pointed to the posse behind them. To his amazement, two of the three had ridden into the trees while the third had set about brushing their tracks - and his - away before riding quickly off in another direction.
The posse had come up not long afterwards, had ridden by the trees without seeing the two men who were hiding and had followed the third. Only after the posse had passed them had the two in hiding moved on, following his tracks with unerring accuracy.
The man sighed. Two was better than twelve but even two would most likely be more than he could handle in his present state. He knew any gunfire would bring the posse back so he wouldn't be able to use his rifle even if it had been physically possible for him.
The best he could hope for, he realized was to for him to get the drop on the pair and somehow get one of their horses. Gritting his teeth against the pain, the man set about preparing for the arrival of the two men,
"He's in those rocks," Buck whispered confidently.
They had come across the lame horse a few hundred yards back and had seen the marks left where its rider had fallen. There hadn't been any blood but judging from the way the man had stumbled his way across the rocky ground, it had been a safe assumption that he was injured. Sam could only hope that the man wasn't hurt so badly he would shoot first and ask questions later.
Resolutely, the marshal removed his gun belt. As he started to stand, Buck pulled him back.
"What's the matter with you?" he demanded.
"I know what I'm doing, Buck," Sam replied quietly.
"At least let me work my way up to that ledge above him so I can cover you!" Buck argued.
The lawman shook his head. "I know what I'm doing," he repeated firmly. Without waiting for further arguments, he stood where he could be plainly seen from the jumble of rocks above.
"Dan," he called. "It's me, Sam!"
Behind him, Buck started in surprise. Dan?
Dan was just as surprised at the sound of a voice he knew as well as his own. "Sam?" he called back, "Is it really you?"
"It's really me," the other man responded. "I'm coming up - and I'm unarmed."
While Buck waited anxiously for Sam to deal with the man in the rocks, Jimmy Hickok was dealing with his own set of problems. He'd kept up a steady pace, not too fast but not so slow that the posse would be able to catch him too quickly but, ultimately, he'd found himself surrounded by twelve gun wielding men.
The sheriff seemed particularly angry when he'd discovered the man they were following was not the man they'd been looking for. He'd spent the next twenty minutes by Jimmy's reckoning berating his tracker for his supposed incompetence. Finally, after the tracker had been sufficiently cowed, he'd turned his attention back to Hickok.
"You sure you didn't see anyone else on the trail, boy?" he demanded.
"No, sir," Jimmy replied calmly. "Like I told you, I was just coming back from delivering a package up near Fort Laramie."
The sheriff's eyes narrowed as he considered the information. "What station you ride outta, boy?" he asked.
"Sweetwater's my home station," Jimmy answered.
"Sweetwater!" one of the other rider's exclaimed. "Ain't that where Sam Cain's been marshallin'?"
"That would explain . . ." a second man started. His words trailed off abruptly at a sharp look from the sheriff.
"You know Sam Cain?" the lawman asked sharply.
"Yes, sir, I sure do," Jimmy responded.
"You seen him lately?" the other man asked.
Jimmy decided then and there he'd really like to get the sheriff into a poker game sometime. The man's face revealed his suspicions as clearly as if he'd been holding a sign.
"I saw him right before I left Sweetwater," he replied truthfully. "He came out to the station for breakfast."
"He come out for breakfast, did he," the sheriff mused. "It would be pert near impossible for you to get from Sweetwater to Fort Laramie and back since this mornin', boy," he declared finally.
"Didn't say it was this morning," Jimmy reminded him.
The sheriff strode forward. Jimmy could feel the other man's hot breath on his face as he declared. "You didn't say it weren't this morning' either." "I'm saying it now," Hickok replied evenly.
Silence reigned as the two men stared each other down. Finally the sheriff turned away angrily.
"Saddle up," he ordered his men. Turning back to Jimmy, he continued with a low growl, "You better not be lyin' to me, boy. If I find out you are there'll be hell to pay."
Without a backwards glance the sheriff strode to his horse, swung up into the saddle and rode away.
Hickok stood looking after the posse, scratching his head thoughtfully. What have you gotten yourself into, Sam? he thought. He let the men from Scottsbluff get out of sight before he followed.
"Been a long time, Sam," Dan said as Sam made his way cautiously across the rock strewn ground.
"But not long enough," Sam finished for him.
"I didn't say that."
"I know you didn't - but you were thinking it," the marshal replied knowingly.
Dan winced as he shifted so that Sam could sit down. "Well I guess better you than Gallagher," he said. "You're looking good."
"You look like hell," Sam countered.
"Well, I've got to admit, I've had better days," the other man agreed. "Better months even."
Sam appraised the other man carefully. "I got the wanted poster on you this morning," he offered.
"I didn't do what they say I did, Sam," Dan declared, wincing again as his arm was jostled. "I swear to you, I didn't do it."
"All right, Dan," Sam said quietly. "What did you do that set Gallagher on your trail?"
"It's a long story - knowing Gallagher, we don't have that much time," Dan answered. "Let's just say, I got something he wants really bad."
"Bad enough to put a bounty on your head?" Sam queried.
"Oh, yeah," the other man responded. "What I've got is worth a lot to him."
"What do you have?" Sam asked.
"Proof," Dan said simply.
Hickok followed the posse as they backtracked past the point where they'd lost one trail and picked up his instead. He waited, giving the men time to get out of view, before making his way carefully to where Buck was waiting.
"Where's Sam?" he asked his friend.
Buck nodded in the direction of the rocks. "Went up to talk to the man we've been following."
"Unarmed?" Jimmy asked, noting the gun belt and pistol lying on the rocks beside Buck.
"Yes," Buck told him. "He's been acting kind of strange."
"This whole trip has been strange," Jimmy agreed.
Above them, Sam waited patiently for the other man to continue. Finally deciding it wasn't going to happen, he prodded. "Proof of what?"
"This is big, Sam," Dan replied. "Maybe too big."
"Then why were you heading for Sweetwater?" the marshal demanded.
"I wasn't heading for . . ." Dan started, then trailed off in response to Sam's look. "All right," he admitted sheepishly. "I guess I was hoping you could help me."
"I can, Dan," Sam told him. "But you have to be straight with me."
Dan stared off into the distance for a few long minutes. Finally he sighed softly and said, "Gallagher has been running a gang for several months now. He's responsible for most of the bank and train robberies in the territory."
Sam's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You have proof of this?" he demanded.
"All the proof anyone's ever going to need," Dan replied. "I've got Gallagher's own records, showing dates and banks and the amounts they got. There's even a list in here of local lawmen who look the other way when the gang rides into town - for a piece of the take. It's all there and in Gallagher's own handwriting."
Without thinking he tried to reach into his coat with his broken arm. Gasping in pain, he turned pale and fell forward. Sam barely caught him before his face hit the ground.
Sheriff Rich Gallagher was beyond mad and rapidly approaching homicidal. His supposed "expert" tracker sat on the ground nursing a badly bruised and possibly broken jaw while the supposed "lawman" raged over him.
"My old, blind huntin' dog could do a better job than you're doin'!" Gallagher roared. "How could you lose him?"
"He's good," the grounded man mumbled over a swollen lower lip. "He's real good."
"You're supposed to be better!" Gallagher screamed as he launched a kick at the defenseless man.
Turning to his very subdued posse, Gallagher began issuing orders. "Spread out, you three to the south, you three to the north. Keep each other in sight but I want that trail found and I want it found NOW!"
Sam gently lay Dan down on the rocky ground, then stripped off his jacket to use it as a pillow for the unconscious man's head. A quick check of his right arm revealed a break just below the elbow.
Taking the chance that Dan wouldn't regain consciousness before he got back, Sam moved down to where Jimmy and Buck waited.
"You all right?" Buck asked as the lawman picked up his gun belt and fastened it securely around his waist.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied. "But he's not. He's got a busted arm. Help me find something that'll work as a splint."
With Hickok standing watch, Buck and Sam went to the nearby trees and soon found what they were looking for. Buck pulled his knife from his boot to cut two small branches from a tree and strip the leaves from them.
"We'll need something to tie those with," Sam commented as he moved to his horse and rummaged through the saddlebags. The cloth Emma had wrapped his biscuits in would do the trick, he decided.
He started back up the slope with Buck following close behind. "You're going to need help setting the arm," the Kiowa rider said firmly as Sam started to protest.
Dan was still unconscious when the pair reached him. "It's probably better this way," Sam commented. "Setting the arm is going hurt."
He knelt beside the other man and looked up at Buck's gasp. The rider had just gotten his first look at the man they had been trailing. Sam couldn't help but grin at the look on the younger man's face.
"Guess I should have mentioned Dan was my brother?"
"It would have been nice," Buck agreed.
None of the twelve men who accompanied Gallagher questioned the orders the sheriff had given them and none complained loud enough to be overheard as they worked their way along and to either side of the trail the tracker had followed earlier. Jimmy had done a good job of wiping away the tracks but while his attempts had fooled the posse earlier on, they couldn't fool the concerted effort of the men many of whom were working the area on foot.
"Over here!" one of the men called out as he found the place where Buck and Sam had waited and the trail that led upward from there.
Gallagher smiled triumphantly. His hand fingered the rope attached to his saddle horn. Soon, he decided, there would be nothing more to worry about. Dan Cain wouldn't be alive long enough to cause him any more trouble. He'd make sure of that.
Sam whirled, his pistol in his hand as the sound of someone scrambling up the slope reached his ears. "It's just Hickok," Buck told him, putting a hand on his wrist to keep him from firing. "I'm guessing the posse has come back."
"You'd be guessing right," Jimmy agreed as he moved around the last of the boulders. "They're still a ways off, but they've found the trail again so it's not going to take them long."
A moan from Dan brought Jimmy's attention to the injured man. He started, then did a double take, looking from Sam to the man on the ground and back again.
"He's Sam's brother," Buck offered with a grin.
"No kidding?" Jimmy replied sarcastically. "I never would have guessed."
"I guess I should have told you both sooner," Sam said apologetically.
"Doesn't matter now," Hickok told him. "We have more important things to worry about."
Sam rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "I don't think they're going to fall for another false trail," he mused.
"Yeah, I don't think they'll believe the 'I'm a Pony Express rider on my way back to Sweetwater' story a second time," Buck agreed.
"We've got a pretty good position here," Jimmy suggested. "We could hold them off."
"For how long?" Sam countered. "All they have to do is wait us out. We don't have enough food or water to last very long. We might be able to defend this place but we'd be trapped up here too."
"So what do we do?" Buck asked.
"You could leave me here," Dan suggested weakly.
"Not a chance," Sam replied adamantly. "We leave you here and you're a dead man."
Buck and Jimmy nodded in agreement. "After what I've seen of Gallagher, I wouldn't leave you here if you weren't Sam's brother, let alone since you are," Jimmy added.
"So what are we going to do?" the injured man asked.
Sam stood peering cautiously over the boulders that blocked them from the view of the men below. The members of the posse were spread out as they made their way through the trees. The man on the western edge of the group was actually out of view of his companions almost as much as he could be seen. An idea came to the lawman then - and idea so bold that it might just work.
"You're out of your mind!" Hickok declared after Sam outlined his proposed escape plan.
"It'll work," Sam countered. "There's no way for Gallagher or his men to know that Dan's my twin. They'll think they're following him when they'll be following me."
"And if they catch you, they'll do to you what they would do to Dan," Jimmy argued.
"If they catch me," Sam replied. "Besides, I'm counting on you two to go for help before they have the chance."
Buck had been watching the posse member that Sam had determined was the most vulnerable. "He's right," the Kiowa said softly. "That guy is far enough from the others, Sam just might be able to pull it off."
"All right then, it's settled," Sam declared. "I jump the guy, take his horse and then take off like the devil himself is after me."
"He will be," Dan agreed. "Gallagher makes the devil look like an angel."
"As soon as I lead them off, you three will get out of here," Sam continued, ignoring his brother. "One of you will stay with Dan and the other will ride for help. I'll head north for a while and then swing back towards Sweetwater. We should meet up somewhere in between."
Hickok shook his head in disgust but realized there was no changing Sam's mind now that he made his decision. "You're still crazy," the rider muttered under his breath.
"I've got one change in the plan," Buck suggested. "Let me jump the rider. It'll give you a little bit more of a head start."
Sam considered the change and nodded his agreement.
"Do I have any say in this?" Dan asked as he watched Sam pull on the jacket the lawman had helped him remove a few minutes earlier.
"No, you don't," his brother replied firmly.
"Sam, you don't know Gallagher," Dan tried anyway. "He wants more than the proof I have - he wants me dead. If he catches you . . ."
"He's not going to catch me," Sam interrupted.
"IF he catches you," the injured man continued. "You won't stand a chance. He'll shoot first and ask questions later."
"That's why I'm counting on Buck and Jimmy to get help before Gallagher even comes close to catching me," Sam insisted. "You just worry about yourself. I'll manage just fine."
"You should take this with you," Dan suggested, holding up the book he'd taken from the inside pocket of the coat Sam now wore. "Just in case."
"No!" Sam told him again. "If something does happen, you need to get your proof to the Territorial Governor. It won't do me any good anyway."
"Sam . . ."
"Save it, Dan," Sam interrupted again. "Save it for when we're both fat old men sitting in rockers on some front porch somewhere."
"Just make sure that time comes," he heard his brother whisper as he turned away.
The posse member assigned to the outermost end of the arc Gallagher had ordered was muttering under his breath as well. He swatted at yet another cloud of gnats that circled his head.
"Ain't worth it," he muttered. "Nothin's worth this . . ."
His words ending in a grunt as Buck leaped from a boulder knocking him from his horse. Sam didn't waste any time checking on the outcome of the very brief struggle. Instead he leaped into the now vacant saddle and turned the horse back in the direction from which he'd come. With a yell designed to draw the attention of the man's companions, he kicked the horse in the ribs, spurring the beast off at a fast run.
Buck stood back in the shelter of some trees, a grim smile on his face as the rest of the posse took up the chase. He waited just a few minutes to make sure the bait had been taken before turning back to where Jimmy waited with Dan and their horses.
For all of Sam's bravado in front of Buck, Jimmy and his brother, he knew the odds were slim that he'd be able to outrun the entire posse - especially when the lives the men of that posse had come to enjoy were dependent on catching the man they believed to hold their futures in his hands. Not to mention the reward Gallagher had offered to the man who caught Dan Cain was more than most of them would make in a lifetime.
Still he'd succeeded in doing what he'd intended to do. He'd led Gallagher and his men away from Dan and the boys. After heading north towards Fort Laramie for a couple of miles, the lawman had begun making a long sweeping turn to the west.
Sam realized his mistake too late. The land where he now rode was far too open. The few clumps of trees dotting the landscape gave him little cover from the men who thundered after him.
The last straw was the large gully that appeared suddenly and directly in front of him. With sides too steep to ride down and a gaping hole too far across to jump, he'd had no choice but to turn his rapidly tiring mount south again.
He heard the shot just seconds before the horse had broken stride and fallen to his knees. Sam felt his body leave the saddle as he literally flew over the horse's head and landed heavily on the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs.
Darkness closed over him even as his mind registered the sound of laughter coming from above him. "Gotcha!" was the last thing he heard before he dropped into the merciful blackness of unconsciousness.
The sound of fabric ripping came through the fog as Sam fought to regain his senses. Ripping fabric followed by cursing and then by the command, "Wake him up!"
He had no time to prepare as water splashed across his face. Instead he inhaled sharply and immediately began to sputter as the liquid coursed into his windpipe.
Strong hands grabbed him by the arms and pulled him to his feet. His head lolled for a moment until yet another hand grabbed a fistful of hair and jerked his head back.
Squinting through eyes blinded by the sudden sunlight, he attempted to break free only to receive a punch to the stomach. Only the hands supporting him kept him from falling face first into the now muddy earth.
"Where is it?" a deep voice in front of him growled.
Gasping for air Sam wasn't able to respond immediately. The delay earned him another punch and his legs buckled.
This time, as his captors pulled him back to his feet again, he let them do all the work, conserving what energy he had for what he was sure was coming.
"I'm not going to ask you again, boy," the angry voice spat.
Looking up, Sam realized the voice belonged to none other than Rich Gallagher himself. The sheriff held what was left of Dan's coat in his hand. "What did you do with the book?"
"I threw it away," Sam gasped before the fist could be thrown a third time.
Gallagher stepped forward until he was inches from Sam's face. "I don't believe you," he intoned harshly.
Buck, Jimmy and Dan were riding as hard as Dan's injuries would allow but were still a long way from any kind of real help. Finally Dan reigned in his horse and brought the trio to a halt.
"This isn't going to work," he said. "We can't just ride off and let Sam take all the risks."
"That's the way he wants it," Buck countered. He continued before Dan could respond. "But you're right. We not going to get help soon enough."
"The nearest town with any kind of law is at least two hours away," Jimmy agreed.
The three men looked at each other for a minute, then, as one, turned back the way they had come.
Gallagher's rope now hung from the branch of a long dead tree. One of his men had tested the branch, guaranteeing it would serve its purpose.
"You got yourself two choices, boy," Gallagher said angrily. "You can either tell me where you put the book - or you can take your 'secret' to your grave with you."
Laughing, he walked back to where the noose was being tied by another of his men.
The two men holding Sam had begun to shift nervously. "I didn't sign up for no lynching party." Sam heard one of them whisper to the other.
"Neither did I," his partner responded.
"Then let me go," Sam whispered to the pair.
His captors stiffened slightly but their hold on him didn't tighten. "Gallagher'll kill us," the first man argued.
"Not if he doesn't know," Sam countered. "Just give me some slack when you tie my hands and I'll do the rest."
The second man grunted as he considered the option. All three of them went silent as Gallagher looked in their direction and motioned them forward.
It hadn't taken nearly as long as they had thought it would for Buck, Jimmy and Dan to catch up with the posse and discover, to their dismay, that the posse had caught up with Sam. They were still too far away for them to be of any help when they realized what Gallagher was intending to do.
"I'd give a lot for Cody and his long rifle right now," Hickok sighed.
"We've got to do something!" Dan declared.
"We will," Buck said firmly.
Even as he said it, the rider knew there was little hope. Too much distance stood between them and the men below. Their horror grew as they watched their friend being dragged forward and forced up on a horse.
"We'd better do it now! " Jimmy said as he mounted his horse and started forward at a gallop.
The distraction of three men riding hell-bent-for-leather towards them was all Sam needed. He pulled sharply on the ropes that bound his hands and, while he had hoped it would happen, he was surprised when the knots parted and he was free.
Jerking the reigns from the hands that held them, he urged the horse forward, scattering men and other horses in its wake.
Gallagher reacted faster than any of his men and a lot faster than Sam or his friends had hoped. Pain flared in Sam's left arm even as his ears heard the sound of the shot. The lawman fell forward - an action that probably saved his life. Gallagher's next shot was high and before he could re-aim, Sam was out of range - and Hickok was close enough for a shot of his own.
The pearl handled pistol exploded with sound as it spit its payload of lead in the direction of the sheriff and his men. Luck was on his side as the bullet found its mark in Gallagher's shoulder.
Roaring in pain and anger, the sheriff spun around and dropped to the ground - his pistol flying from his numbed fingers. His men, already scattered, jumped for their horses and rode off.
Buck and Dan reigned in next to Sam's horse bringing the beast to a halt. "I thought I told you go find help," Sam gasped.
"Why don't you just shut up and be grateful," Dan countered.
"I guess I shou . . ." his brother started, then stopped as his eyes rolled back and he slid in slow motion to the ground.
Gallagher's posse had disappeared after their leader had been shot. The riders had made sure they were truly gone and then Buck had ridden the distance to the nearest town for help.
The big man himself had survived Jimmy's shot but had still been unconscious when the local sheriff and his men had arrived to take charge.
Sam and Dan had been tended to by the town doctor and had decided to return to Sweetwater by wagon. Quickly recovering from the facts that Sam not only had a brother but a twin brother, Emma had taken charge and was making them rest - and heal.
Two weeks later, Sam and Dan walked from the courtroom where the Territorial Judge had passed sentence on Rich Gallagher and the men who had helped him. Between Dan's book and Sam's testimony the now-disgraced lawman would not be seeing the outside of a prison cell for many years to come.
While the legal victory had been satisfying to both the Cain brothers, it had paled in comparison to the response of the big man when he'd finally seen the two of them together. Pure shock didn't begin to cover it.
"You could stay, you know," Sam commented.
"I don't think Sweetwater is ready for the two of us," Dan replied.
"You're probably right," Sam laughed, remembering the looks on Teaspoon's and Emma's faces as Buck and Jimmy had ridden up with the pair of them in tow. He hadn't been sure how to take the fact that even Emma hadn't been able to tell them apart.
Dan tightened the straps on his saddle one last time, then prepared to mount his horse. "Sam . . . I want . . . " he started.
"Save it, Dan," his brother interrupted.
"I know, I know," Dan laughed. "Save it for the rocking chairs."