thetwo other saloons before the night is much older. Do you want to tag along, Fallon, even though it may mean you get caught up in any bother that comes my way? Right now there is no way of telling where your allegiance lies, amigo , and that worries me.’
‘I’ll walk with you, George,’ Vejar replied, adding, ‘And if it was any gang other than Klugg’s outfit, I’d be standing right at your side when the bank is hit.’
Harker made no reply as they headed to the door together and went out into the night. They turned right, heading for the Ace of Spades saloon. The sheriff strolled unhurried and unworried, but the thought that the Poole brothers could be lurking anywhere in the shadows made Vejar vigilant. Bent on vengeance, they had a cunning that made them formidable foes.
When he and Harker were about halfway between the two saloons, he sensed that something was amiss. He slowed, edging in close to the wall of the building they were passing. Moving nearer to him, Harker whispered a question , ‘What’s up?’
‘I’m not sure, George.’
‘The Pooles?’
‘Could be,’ Vejar whispered back, as he tried to identify what had disturbed him. Had it beena furtive movement, or the click of the hammer being thumbed back on a six-shooter? He stood motionless. The night was cool, overcast, but he felt a quick dampness on the back of his shirt.
Vejar took stock of their surroundings. The street up ahead was illuminated enough by the lights of Joseph Behm’s hotel to satisfy Vejar that it presented no problem. The two-storey building across the street was in darkness. A parapet about eighteen inches high ran along the front edge of the building’s flat roof, and Vejar studied it for any irregularity in its shape that would indicate someone was crouching behind it. There was nothing unusual there.
‘What do you think, Fallon?’ Harker asked in a low voice.
Not answering while he studied the upper storey of the building across the street, Vejar asked, ‘Who owns Ned Jessup’s place over there?’
‘When old Ned died, Walter Randall bought it from Ned’s son. Randall uses it as a kind of warehouse for his surplus stock.’
‘Does Randall use the first floor that used to be Jessup’s living-quarters?’ Vejar enquired.
‘No, that part of the building is vacant now.’
Looking again at the two sashed windows of the upper storey, Vejar was puzzled. There was something out of place, but what it was continued to elude him. Then it clicked suddenly into his head. The horizontal frame dividing the upper and lower window on his left was a single length of wood, whereas even in the poor light he could see two lengths of wood at the division of the panes of the window on his right. He judged there was a distance of about six inches between the two frames. It must have been the sound of the window being raised that had alerted him.
He was about to convey this to Harker, when the perceptive sheriff hissed a warning. ‘The upstairs window on the right is open at the bottom.’
‘I’ve just noticed that, George. My guess is that one of the Pooles is up there.’
Reaching out to touch Vejar’s arm lightly, Harker informed him, ‘From here it’s impossible to see, Fallon. Keep your eye on that window. I’m going to move to the right to get a better look.’
‘Careful, George. The hotel lights reach to within a foot or so from us.’
‘I won’t move out of the shadows,’ Harker reassured him. ‘But cover me, Fallon.’
Drawing his .45, Vejar lined it up on the top window as he heard the sheriff’s furtive movements . He called in a hoarse whisper, ‘Can you see anything, George?’
‘No,’ came Harker’s reply. ‘If there’s a Poole up there, then he’s well—’
The sharp crack of a rifle brought an end to the sheriff’s sentence. Firing at the flash he had seen up at the window, Vejar heard the glass shatter and fall tinkling to the boardwalk. Then, in the new silence, there was a
‘I’ll walk with you, George,’ Vejar replied, adding, ‘And if it was any gang other than Klugg’s outfit, I’d be standing right at your side when the bank is hit.’
Harker made no reply as they headed to the door together and went out into the night. They turned right, heading for the Ace of Spades saloon. The sheriff strolled unhurried and unworried, but the thought that the Poole brothers could be lurking anywhere in the shadows made Vejar vigilant. Bent on vengeance, they had a cunning that made them formidable foes.
When he and Harker were about halfway between the two saloons, he sensed that something was amiss. He slowed, edging in close to the wall of the building they were passing. Moving nearer to him, Harker whispered a question , ‘What’s up?’
‘I’m not sure, George.’
‘The Pooles?’
‘Could be,’ Vejar whispered back, as he tried to identify what had disturbed him. Had it beena furtive movement, or the click of the hammer being thumbed back on a six-shooter? He stood motionless. The night was cool, overcast, but he felt a quick dampness on the back of his shirt.
Vejar took stock of their surroundings. The street up ahead was illuminated enough by the lights of Joseph Behm’s hotel to satisfy Vejar that it presented no problem. The two-storey building across the street was in darkness. A parapet about eighteen inches high ran along the front edge of the building’s flat roof, and Vejar studied it for any irregularity in its shape that would indicate someone was crouching behind it. There was nothing unusual there.
‘What do you think, Fallon?’ Harker asked in a low voice.
Not answering while he studied the upper storey of the building across the street, Vejar asked, ‘Who owns Ned Jessup’s place over there?’
‘When old Ned died, Walter Randall bought it from Ned’s son. Randall uses it as a kind of warehouse for his surplus stock.’
‘Does Randall use the first floor that used to be Jessup’s living-quarters?’ Vejar enquired.
‘No, that part of the building is vacant now.’
Looking again at the two sashed windows of the upper storey, Vejar was puzzled. There was something out of place, but what it was continued to elude him. Then it clicked suddenly into his head. The horizontal frame dividing the upper and lower window on his left was a single length of wood, whereas even in the poor light he could see two lengths of wood at the division of the panes of the window on his right. He judged there was a distance of about six inches between the two frames. It must have been the sound of the window being raised that had alerted him.
He was about to convey this to Harker, when the perceptive sheriff hissed a warning. ‘The upstairs window on the right is open at the bottom.’
‘I’ve just noticed that, George. My guess is that one of the Pooles is up there.’
Reaching out to touch Vejar’s arm lightly, Harker informed him, ‘From here it’s impossible to see, Fallon. Keep your eye on that window. I’m going to move to the right to get a better look.’
‘Careful, George. The hotel lights reach to within a foot or so from us.’
‘I won’t move out of the shadows,’ Harker reassured him. ‘But cover me, Fallon.’
Drawing his .45, Vejar lined it up on the top window as he heard the sheriff’s furtive movements . He called in a hoarse whisper, ‘Can you see anything, George?’
‘No,’ came Harker’s reply. ‘If there’s a Poole up there, then he’s well—’
The sharp crack of a rifle brought an end to the sheriff’s sentence. Firing at the flash he had seen up at the window, Vejar heard the glass shatter and fall tinkling to the boardwalk. Then, in the new silence, there was a
Similar Books
