that Jack was provoking the volatile Klugg, Staley spoke up. ‘There’s no call to get riled up, Ken. Jack’s just anxious to get some of that Yancey money in his pocket.’
‘As we all are,’ Gloria said, as a contributiontowards keeping the peace.
Though still holding Jack in a steely gaze, Klugg’s aggression abated. He addressed all three of them. ‘We need to make some changes. Without Fallon Vejar, our usual tactics won’t work at Yancey. We’ll run through how to manage with a man short in the morning, but even then we may have to alter things when we get to town.’
‘Why should that be, when the sheriff won’t give us any trouble and there is no real deputy?’ Gloria asked.
‘We are going to hit what is probably the wealthiest bank in the territory, Gloria,’ Klugg explained. ‘Even the most craven coward in Yancey won’t let us walk away with his money unopposed. We could find ourselves up against a citizens’ committee blasting away with scatterguns , and there is only five of us now.’
‘I was only asking out of interest, not criticizing ,’ Gloria said.
That was true. For all his many faults, Ken Klugg was a man whom Gloria could follow with a wordless faith. He was a natural-born leader. If serving in any army he would have risen to the rank of general. A brilliantly fast thinker, who on occasions when they had been pinned down under a hail of lead, had instantly come up with a plan that succeeded in them getting away fromtown unscathed and with the proceeds from a raid intact.
‘If any of you have any more questions, save them until the morning,’ Klugg advised. His head drooped like a tired horse, and he appeared to be staring at something that Gloria and the others couldn’t see.
All three of them knew their leader well enough to accept that this was a time to stay silent.
It was payday at the local ranches, and the saloon was full of noise and movement that night. The gambling tables were frantically busy, and half-drunken cowboys were enthusiastically jumping and foot-stamping around in what they considered to be dancing with less enthusiastic but sweating saloon girls. Fallon Vejar, his damaged face healing so that the injuries were hardly noticeable in the saloon’s flickering lighting, stood apart from the festivities, drinking at the bar with Sheriff Harker.
Using a thumb to indicate the boisterous crowd, Harker said, ‘Normally this is as bad as it gets in Yancey, Fallon. Before this night is over I’ll probably have to crack a few skulls and lock up one or two would-be hard men, but that’s it. So you can understand why I’d prefer not to have this bank raid about to spoil the quiet life for me.’
‘The quiet life wouldn’t have suited you at one time, George,’ Vejar reminded his friend. ‘Maybe it’s time you were stretched, just so you keep the old reflexes in working order.’
‘We were both wild ones in our day,’ Harker agreed. He did so looking straight ahead as if addressing the whole world and not Vejar in particular. ‘But right now I sure am ready to settle down.’
This sent a shaft of emotional pain through Vejar. George Harker would be settling down with Raya, who, for Vejar, was a dream that now would never be realized. Though he had forced himself to accept this since his return to Yancey, it still didn’t sit easily with him. Had his rival been anyone but George Harker, then things would be different, very different.
‘Whether you settle down with your memories , or have them ride the trail with you, George, they make sure that you never sleep good,’ Vejar said.
‘I’ve found myself a new philosophy,’ a slightly embarrassed Harker confided in Vejar. ‘I intend to build myself a whole new batch of happy memories to kill off the old bad ones.’
‘I sure hope that works, George.’
Draining his glass, the sheriff made no comment, but said, ‘When trouble breaks out it will be in this place, but I’d better look in on
‘As we all are,’ Gloria said, as a contributiontowards keeping the peace.
Though still holding Jack in a steely gaze, Klugg’s aggression abated. He addressed all three of them. ‘We need to make some changes. Without Fallon Vejar, our usual tactics won’t work at Yancey. We’ll run through how to manage with a man short in the morning, but even then we may have to alter things when we get to town.’
‘Why should that be, when the sheriff won’t give us any trouble and there is no real deputy?’ Gloria asked.
‘We are going to hit what is probably the wealthiest bank in the territory, Gloria,’ Klugg explained. ‘Even the most craven coward in Yancey won’t let us walk away with his money unopposed. We could find ourselves up against a citizens’ committee blasting away with scatterguns , and there is only five of us now.’
‘I was only asking out of interest, not criticizing ,’ Gloria said.
That was true. For all his many faults, Ken Klugg was a man whom Gloria could follow with a wordless faith. He was a natural-born leader. If serving in any army he would have risen to the rank of general. A brilliantly fast thinker, who on occasions when they had been pinned down under a hail of lead, had instantly come up with a plan that succeeded in them getting away fromtown unscathed and with the proceeds from a raid intact.
‘If any of you have any more questions, save them until the morning,’ Klugg advised. His head drooped like a tired horse, and he appeared to be staring at something that Gloria and the others couldn’t see.
All three of them knew their leader well enough to accept that this was a time to stay silent.
It was payday at the local ranches, and the saloon was full of noise and movement that night. The gambling tables were frantically busy, and half-drunken cowboys were enthusiastically jumping and foot-stamping around in what they considered to be dancing with less enthusiastic but sweating saloon girls. Fallon Vejar, his damaged face healing so that the injuries were hardly noticeable in the saloon’s flickering lighting, stood apart from the festivities, drinking at the bar with Sheriff Harker.
Using a thumb to indicate the boisterous crowd, Harker said, ‘Normally this is as bad as it gets in Yancey, Fallon. Before this night is over I’ll probably have to crack a few skulls and lock up one or two would-be hard men, but that’s it. So you can understand why I’d prefer not to have this bank raid about to spoil the quiet life for me.’
‘The quiet life wouldn’t have suited you at one time, George,’ Vejar reminded his friend. ‘Maybe it’s time you were stretched, just so you keep the old reflexes in working order.’
‘We were both wild ones in our day,’ Harker agreed. He did so looking straight ahead as if addressing the whole world and not Vejar in particular. ‘But right now I sure am ready to settle down.’
This sent a shaft of emotional pain through Vejar. George Harker would be settling down with Raya, who, for Vejar, was a dream that now would never be realized. Though he had forced himself to accept this since his return to Yancey, it still didn’t sit easily with him. Had his rival been anyone but George Harker, then things would be different, very different.
‘Whether you settle down with your memories , or have them ride the trail with you, George, they make sure that you never sleep good,’ Vejar said.
‘I’ve found myself a new philosophy,’ a slightly embarrassed Harker confided in Vejar. ‘I intend to build myself a whole new batch of happy memories to kill off the old bad ones.’
‘I sure hope that works, George.’
Draining his glass, the sheriff made no comment, but said, ‘When trouble breaks out it will be in this place, but I’d better look in on
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