The Two Brave Prospectors

by ChickWalker2000

The Tale of Two Brave Prospectors of Welcome Valley: In all the best Dime Novels, the outlaw hero outwits his enemies and gets away with the gold and the girl. But real life Dime Heroes can tell you - life just ain't like it is in the story books.

It has often been asked in these later days, "Who reads these dime novels?" That would have been an unnecessary question sixty years ago. We ourselves read them, hidden in the back of the doghouse, with the big Newfoundland, Ponto, sitting in the entryway as a screen. But we were in good company, for they were also read by bankers and bootblacks, clergymen and clerks, lawyers and lawbreakers, workmen and tramps, work girls and girls of leisure, soldiers and sailors, President Lincoln and President Wilson, Soapy Sam and Slippery Frank, men and boys, drummers and other train travellers, Henry Ward Beecher, Chief Justice Fuller, and a host of others; in fact by almost everyone except schoolma'ams, pedants, and the illiterate. I presume Mark Twain read them. Said Tom Sawyer...' Mark Twain - Chapter XIII, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The train lurched, throwing Kid Curry clean out of a beautiful dream about a deep, grassy meadow, a summers day and a kiss with a girl with golden hair.

He glanced balefully around, looking for the culprit who - he assumed - would be Hannibal Heyes. Whenever his sleep was disturbed, Heyes was generally at the bottom of it, but his partner was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly wary, Kid sat up sharp, right hand over his gun and stared around the carriage.

Heyes was with a couple of demurely dressed young ladies and their chaperone, a sharp faced matron in lavender and grey, watching out of the window on the other side of the train. The girls were agitated and near to tears, crying nervously.

"Aunt Bee? Is it a robbery? Are they outlaws? Are they about to rob the train?"

Heyes glanced back at Curry. They exchanged frightened looks.

A train robbery was always a danger. The brotherhood of train thieves was a small and exclusive one. The odds were well in favour that in any gang taking on the railroad, there'd be someone who'd recognise them.

Just two weeks ago, they'd left Red Lodge, Montana in high spirits.

Colonel Ambridge - the local big-shot - had taken a shine to the pair of them after Heyes had pointed out some minor points of play that had radically improved the old man's poker skills. To show his gratitude, the Colonel had passed on their names to a friend of his up in Helena, said there might be a high-paying job in it for them. It took them three days to make the sixty mile ride through thick forests on mountain trails to the town of Big Timber, where they caught the Northern Pacific train to Helena - a bustling place, rich with the gold and silver pouring in from the big strikes up the line in Granite, Garnet and Phillipsburg.

Kid and Heyes took a room in a cheap hotel, got cleaned up and well fed and headed downtown for a meeting with the Colonel's friend, O' Brian.

Joseph O' Brian turned out to be a large man in both body and soul, with flame red hair that cascaded over his face in a pair of the biggest sideburns and curled moustaches either Heyes or the Kid had ever seen. His rotund belly burst over his cream breeches and pulled hard at the silver buttons of his silk vest and heavy gold watch chain. Joe was a man who had cash in spadefulls, and by golly, he wanted the world to know it too.

"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" He bellowed, a voice that still held the faintest echoes of an Irish brogue as he clasped the two of them to his breast, one in each ham-hock arm like they were his long lost children.

"I got the wire from the Colonel more n' a week ago. Wondered if you'd been eat' by bears or taken by injuns to raise as their own," he laughed. "Them gosh darned mountain trails huh? Slower 'n molasses in January! C'mon an have a drunk with old Joe O'Brian down in Last Chance Gulch and tell me how th' Colonel's a doin down there in Red Lodge!"

Last Chance Gulch turned out to be the town's pet name for Main Street - and a pretty lively street it was too, with well heeled prospectors flowing into town flush on rich strikes and burning with the fever to blow it all on pretty girls, good liquor, and (generally dishonest) poker.

Brian took them to Big Dorothy's - a plush, red velvet whorehouse where he seemed to be well known and equally well liked, and supplied them with enough beer and good whiskey to 'oil the wheels of commerce', as Joe liked to put it, which was why they woke the next morning with heads like a nest of alligators, wondering why they'd taken the job of bringing four hundred thousand dollars worth of gold from the mines in Princeton to the bank at Phillipsburg along trails so riddled with outlaws, gunmen and no-goods of every description that even men with a reputation as rich and colourful as their own couldn't fail to balk at what they'd agreed to. Not only that, they'd both signed an all-to-pieces, water tight contract committing themselves to the job, as Mr O'Brian - who appeared not the least bit under-the-weather, despite having (apparently) drunk at least as much as they had - was quick to point out.

And so it was they found themselves on a packed train, lurching to a halt well outside of the town of Drummond

"Couple o' guys boarding," Heyes said, re-joining the Kid. "Men with badges..."

Kid glared at him - a look that said; 'what do we do?'

Heyes flashed him a glance back; 'I don't know, but I don't like it anymore than you.'

A man in a deputy's tin star passed down the carriage, barking;

"Gentlemen, Ladies... If you'd care to step off of the train a while, Mr. Jed Hawkins, the sheriff of Drummond would like to have a few words with you. No need to worry yourselves Ladies, Gents. Just need to impart a little information to y'all, but will you please take all your baggage and belongings with you off of the train."

"Heyes?" Kid asked.

Heyes returned his glance with an equally nervous look of his own.

"Couldn't be us, could it?" Kid asked.

Heyes frowned, wrinkled his nose in thought, then shook his head.

"Why the whole train? If it were us they were after, they'd just take us off at the station. No, no. Gotta be something else..."

"But what?"

Heyes shrugged. "Guess the best way to find out is to do as the man says and get off like everyone else."

"I don't like it, Heyes."

"I don't like it either Kid but I guess..." he glanced out of the window at the stream of passengers disembarking. Such an empty, lonesome spot. He shrugged. "I guess we don't have much choice."

"OK, Ladies and Gentlemen..." Sheriff Hawkins was a tall, well-built, golden haired man in his mid forties. Neither Kid nor Heyes had ever seen him before - always a relief to not-know a sheriff. "Now, I'm right sorry to inconvenience you this way, but I have to tell you there's been a robbery up the line..."

There was an outbreak of anxious murmuring, and a few faint screams from the more sensitive females amongst their number.

"Gang of outlaws took a quantity of silver that was heading out of the territory, destined for the Denver mint..."

Heyes and the Kid exchanged a look.

"Now, to stop the train, the gang took out a section of the track. That means none of you will be able to proceed along this part of the railroad..."

Heyes and the Kid both heaved a silent, imperceptible sigh of relief.

"The Northern Pacific Company has provided alternative transport in the form of a number of horses for those who don't mind riding into town. Coaches will be arriving shortly for those who can't or don't wish to ride, though I have to warn you, the roads are less than satisfactory in this part of the country. Gonna be a bumpy ride. Ain't nothing we can do 'bout that I'm afraid, just thought I ought to warn you.

"Those that wants to ride but has luggage with em, can check it in with my deputies, they'll give you receipts and your bags'll go on with the coaches. Those of you who want a horse, please step up to Deputy Rawsthorne here, and he'll sign you over a real good mount, see you to Drummond in no time. Just hand him over to Mr Sawyer the liveryman when you get into town.

"OK now, those people who want a seat in a coach..."

Heyes and the Kid stepped aside to let people clamouring for information, or simply wanting to vent a little spleen with the sheriff, pass.

"Phew!" Kid whistled under his breath. "I had a real bad feeling for a while there."

"Yeah," Heyes said, glancing around at the hoards of deputies who seemed to hem him in like a seven nation army.

"Well, it ain't over yet Kid. This is just a timely warning of what's in store for us once we get into Princeton and take charge of that gold. I gotta say, the prospect of signing up for control of almost a half a million dollars worth of gold bars don't exactly fill me with joy. What if we get robbed? They're gonna lock us up, look into our credentials..."

"Same thing been haunting my nightmares Heyes. Whatever made us get into something like this in the first place?"

It was a real relief to ride into Philipsburg. That two days trip down the Boulder Creek canyon had been the longest they could remember since being chased by a posse out of Diablo Wells. Heyes couldn't wipe the grin off his face as they off-loaded the wagon and the mules and signed the heavy crates over to the Bank.

"Two days with all that gold and we didn't even come close to getting robbed or killed," he smiled.

Kid nodded. "Yeah, well that's the last time I ever take a job like that Heyes. That was worse even than driving nitro into the mountains."

"Oh, come on Kid. Nothing's worse than travelling with nitro. I mean, with gold, if the worst comes to the worst you just throw up your hands and accept your loss. Get into a fight with a bottle of nitro and the only thing you're gonna to throw in the air's the various bits of yourself you're gonna scatter over a wide area."

Kid gave him a withering glance as they went into the President's office to collect their well earned pay from Mr Moses McFarland - who turned out to be a well heeled, white haired man with luxuriant whiskers and a suit of grey silk, looking like every man's idea of the President of a Bank.

"Gentlemen! Come in, come in! Siddown," he said, offering them each a cigar and a light. "Welcome to Philipsburg. Mr Smith and Mr Jones, right?" McFarland said, opening his desk drawer, taking out two sealed envelopes.

"Yes sir," Heyes grinned, anticipating a bath, a beer, a big steak dinner and who knows what else on the strength of what was in those envelopes.

"Mr Smith and - Mr Jones. Yesssss!" McFarland took a yellow telegram from the desk, read it and touched the corner to his lip, wetting it thoughtfully.

"O' Brian up in Helena wired me to say he'd found two smart young men to bring in that gold. Brave fellas, not a job I'd do myself, no, not even for my own salary and that's a pretty substantial sum, I can tell you," he laughed.

Kid and Heyes chuckled sycophantically along, sucking on the cigars.

"Mr Smith and - Mr Jones," he said again, tapping the telegram against his chin and giving them each a strange look. The partners shifted slightly, gun belts squeaking against the leather chairs. Both their stomachs commenced to twitch.

"Well, Gents, I have your pay here as authorised by Mr O'Brian." McFarland said, passing the envelopes over. Both immediately opened them and began counting.

"Wait a bit," Heyes said. "There's only two hundred here. O'Brian promised us six hundred a piece."

"Yes. I was coming to that." McFarland picked up the telegram.

"Mr. O'Brian wired me yesterday to tell me to expect the two of you and to tell you that the job's only half over..."

Heyes' eyes narrowed. Kid looked just plain angry. All at once they seemed to have metamorphosed from a pair of amiable rogues into very dangerous men. McFarland suddenly felt very uncomfortable, found himself ringing on a bell for assistance.

"What do you mean, McFarland?" Heyes asked. "We agreed to transport that gold from the Princeton mine to your bank, now, that's what we've done. Job's over far as I can figure it."

Kid stared hard at the man who began to sweat. He loosened his collar, relieved and grateful when his clerk looked in through the door.

"Is everything all right Sir? I heard the bell..."

"Fine, everything's just fine Simkins. Please could you just wait outside a while? Wait right there, stay close by, don't go away. Mr Smith and Mr Jones will be leaving soon..."

Kid slammed his palm down hard on the desk with a crack that even made Heyes jump and almost killed McFarland.

"Mr McFarland - Sir?" Simkins asked, nervously.

"Just wait outside Simkins," Kid said, never lifting his gaze from the frightened President. "Everything's fine. We just got some business to conclude with your boss here."

McFarland nodded acquiescence and Simkins shut the door gratefully.

"We ain't going anyplace till you tell us what's going on," Kid said - softly, but with terrible menace.

"We're waiting, McFarland," Heyes said with a penetrating look.

"Now look here," the man squeaked. "There's no point in taking your temper out on me. I ain't your employer, you gotta problem you gonna have to take it up with O Brian..."

"O'Brian's in Helena," Kid said.

"But you're right here in Philipsburg," Heyes said with a cold smile. "So I reckon we're just gonna have to rely on you for an explanation."

"Read it for yourself," McFarland snapped, passing over the telegram.

Heyes snatched it up and read aloud;

'Tell Smith and Jones, train robbery means payroll delayed in Drummond. Need them fetch payroll down Flint Creek Line to Philipsburg immediately. Pay them two hundred apiece for now and say will pay double if they take new job. O' Brian.

Heyes flicked the paper back at McFarland.

"That double the six hundred he promised, or just the two hundred he just paid us?"

"Oh, the six hundred, of course!"

"Of course!" Heyes nodded coldly, his eyes never leaving McFarland's. The Bank man sweated, pulled at his purple silk cravat - his face slowly turning the same shade.

Kid kept up the cold stare too. "And what if we don't want this new job?" He asked. "How do we get the eight hundred dollars O' Brian still owes us?"

"Well, I'm sorry Gentlemen, you'll..."

"Have to take it up with Mr O' Brian. Yeah, we get it," Heyes said. "Come on Mr Jones, we got honest business to attend to."

The two men stood in unison, picking up and dusting off their hats.

"So, do I tell Mr O Brian you'll take the job?"

The partners looked at each other.

"Well, we'll have to talk about that, Mr McFarland," Kid said.

"But you can wire Joe O' Brian," Heyes said, with a smile that stopped short of his eyes. "You can tell him there'd better be eight hundred dollars waiting for us here inside of two days, or not only will we not be taking this new job, we'll be making a trip to Helena to do to him what we shoulda done last week when he suckered us into bringing in that gold in the first place. Be seeing you again, Mr McFarland." Heyes said.

Kid tipped his hat with a frosty smile and the two of them left, leaving McFarland to flop down in his chair, screaming for Simkins to bring him his pills and a large brandy - "Now!"

"Whadda we gonna do Heyes?" Kid asked as they marched down the street together, blood up and raging with such barely suppressed fury that every drunken miner and dusty prospector stepped smartly off the boardwalk, eager to get out of their way.

"I don't wanna take another job like that last one. It means another three day rail ride up to Drummond. That means three nights sleeping out or staying in filthy boarding houses in dirty mining towns. I looked forward too much and too long to a nice clean feather bed right here in Philipsburg.

"'Sides which. we already know there's a gang working the railroad up there, what are the chances they've got a man on the inside passing on information 'bout everything comes down the line here."

"I know, I know. It's what I'd a done," Heyes said. "That or intercept the wires... Course!" Heyes stopped and gripped Kid by the arm. "If we don't go by rail..."

"What? Heyes, may I remind you, that road runs through a valley, overlooked by bluffs and mountains all the way! I can't think of a better place to get ourselves bushwhacked..."

"No," Heyes grinned. "Forget the road, we'll go across the mountains."

"Heyes, they do say there's a fine line between genius and madness. Well, you just crossed that line." Kid tried to walk on, but Heyes grabbed him back -

"We take the payroll on the train, but we take it up the line into Clinton. Any gang planning to hit the train's not gonna be looking for that money going the other way. Then we grab us a couple of horses and come down the pass and into Phillipsburg from the west."

"Heyes, you really are crazy. You know how high those passes are? It's gonna take us a week at least..."

Heyes shrugged. "It's still only August. Nice, long, warm summer nights to camp in. It's only cash money. We won't need pack mules."

"Heyes..."

"No, listen. It's the mules that attract attention. We ride out there with just our horses, no one's gonna bother us. And if they do, they're just gonna be petty chancers, hoping to get a few dollars off of a couple of saddletramps. And we're Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, right? What chance do men like that stand against us huh?"
Heyes grinned, tongue in his cheek, a self-satisfied grin on his face.

Kid looked unconvinced. "I don't know Heyes, sounds like famous last words if ever I heard em."

"We go back in that bank and we tell McFarland we'll do the job, but we want fifteen hundred apiece, guaranteed, on top of the eight hundred him and O'Brian still owe us."

Kid was still dubious. "It sounds awful risky. Why don't we just cut our losses, take the four hundred we got and git outta Montana?"

"Kid, it's gonna cost us at least a hundred to get a train south."

Kid put his hands on his hips and sighed. "Heyes, I can't help feeling we're letting ourselves in for a whole heap of trouble here..."

"But?"

Kid shrugged. "I guess, transporting cash down a well worn trail's no harder than any other job we've ever done."

"And no one better qualified to outwit outlaws huh?"

Kid smiled. "I guess not!"

"OK, we'll go pass on our message to our not-so-friendly local Bank President then, I reckon we've earned us a bath and a drink or two in one of the many establishments this good town has to offer while we wait for O'Brian's reply. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me Heyes. Sounds real good to me."

The first two days were like a holiday. Warm sun on their backs, cloudless skies and clear, cool mountain air that almost made them dizzy it smelled so good.

At sundown they'd strip and bathe in sparkling streams of ice water. Heyes would light the fire while Kid tracked down some fresh game for dinner. Then they'd both fall deep into the dreamless sleep of the just under jewelled skies full of fireflies and shooting stars.

They took turns sleeping with the payroll, but weren't really worried about being bushwhacked - they hadn't met a soul since leaving Clinton, didn't think they were likely to either, so far into the wilderness as they were.

Heyes was content - at ease with himself and the world. The way he used to be at Devil's Hole after a job had gone well, or when he was busy planning something new; bubbling with the simple joy of life and wishing they could find more work like this. A few days ride through the mountains, no one watching over their shoulders. Big empty land where no one knew them. Four hundred dollars in their pockets right now, over three thousand more to collect when they got back to Philipsburg. Kid hadn't seen his partner so free and easy in a long while. It was something good to see him laughing and so pleased with himself. Heyes was happy. Kid was happy because Heyes was happy.

It was on their third day out that things began to change some.

They were passing through a lonesome, rocky valley high in the mountains by Welcome Creek. The land was anything but welcoming.

Kid shivered. He saw Heyes pulling his bandanna up around his nose and hunkering into his jacket.

"Cold ain't it?" Kid said.

"Yeah. Are we still moving up the mountain? I thought we levelled off some way back."

"We did. It's not altitude, I think there's some weather comin'. Smells like snow..."

"In August?"

"I've heard sudden snowstorms can blow up this time of year, specially high up as we are."

"You think we should make camp?" Heyes asked. "Still early. Sun won't be going down for another three hours. I was hoping to make another ten or fifteen miles today."

Kid glanced around, Nothing but bare rock and some struggling stumps of sage and pine. He shook his head. "This is one gosh awful desolate spot to get stuck in if a storm blows up."

Heyes looked at the sky; blue and all but cloudless - just a few billowing softly on the far horizon.

"You think a storm's likely?" Heyes couldn't see it himself, but Kid had uncanny instincts for these things.

Kid frowned. "I dunno. I don't know these mountains, Heyes. I can't read the signs. But I'd say there's snow in that wind. And it's just so cold."

"What you wanna do?"

"The valley opens up some a few miles ahead, be a better place to camp if we have to. I say we press on, see how things look in an hour or so."

Thirty minutes later, those innocent white pillows of clouds that had billowed so prettily in the blue sky had deepened into a thick, dark blanket that rolled across the sun turning broad day to midnight and hurled a storm at them out of their blackest nightmares, neither of them had ever seen anything like it, the speed with which it blew up out of nothing! The way it overtook them, they tried to outrun it, but it swept over 'em like a tidal wave, blasting them in a freezing, choking, howling wall of wind and ice and driving snow.

"We gotta get out of this!" Heyes yelled, holding tight to his hat. The bandanna over his face was already white and encrusted with snow, muffling his words as he yelled full-on above the screaming wind. "We gotta find some shelter..."
"Shelter!" Kid yelled at him. "What shelter? This has gotta be the loneliest spot on the face of the Earth, Heyes!"

Heyes pointed to the slopes ahead. "Forest! If we can get into the trees, out of the wind, we might stand a chance!"

They spurred the terrified, whinnying horses on, right into the teeth of the gale. Rounding a corner, away from the mountain, they were suddenly exposed to the full force of the storm, wind and snow slamming into them like a steam hammer. Kid heard Heyes cry out in pain and shock, and realised he was screaming too, then Kid's horse reared in panic, tossing him down into the deep snow, taking off with the wind, back down the trail. Heyes reached down an arm to his partner, freeing his feet from the stirrups so Kid could get up in front of him. Without another word, clinging tight to his friend, he spurred the animal on, more desperate than ever to reach those trees now they only had one horse - their chances of surviving growing fainter with each second that passed. They made it to the forest, panting in shock; all but sobbing with relief just to be out of that wind. The snow was thick here too, but the air seemed almost warm compared to the hell they'd just left behind on the mountain.

It was a comfort to be out of the gale, but a deadly deception - they both knew that. It wasn't warm, it was very, very cold. They were both frozen to the bone, their clothes dampening as their bodies melted the ice that had broken through every stitch they had on 'em. Both knew they would have to find somewhere to shelter, light a fire, and ride out this weather or they would surely die, and soon. They looked around - nothing but thick, dark pines pressing about them.

"C'mon," Heyes said. "We'll ride on a little, see what we can find..."

"See what we can find?"

"Gotta be somewhere we can camp. Remember that story of Mark Twain's? When they thought they were gonna die in the snow...?"

"Heyes this ain't no story. This is all too real. You saw the map. Ain't nothing round here for miles 'cept mountain and forest. There's nothing to find."

Heyes nodded. He leaned his head up against Kid's back, taking strength from his friend's closeness. He didn't want him to sense the panic starting to tear at his insides. Why hadn't he listened to Kid? He'd said it was dangerous to cross these mountains. But who could have imagined a storm like this? In August?

Kid looked over his shoulder at his partner. "Heyes?"

"Yeah?"

"You know the payroll was in my saddlebags?"

"Yeah."

"On my horse, the one that took off?"

"Yeah."
"Well, what we gonna do 'bout that?"

Heyes laughed - despite his best efforts, it came out frantic and frightened.

"Kid, I reckon that's the very least of our worries right now. Let's camp, try and get warm, and if we're still alive in the morning, you can remind me of all our other troubles. Deal?"

Kid smiled. "Deal.

"Heyes...?"

"What?"

"You got any matches?"

"I thought you..."

"In my saddlebags."
Heyes gave up, right there and then. He knew it was hopeless. No shelter, no fire. Surely it was all over for them now.

"Kid," he said. "Reckon the best thing we can do is let this poor animal rest up best he can. We'll get inside what blankets we got, hunker up together under the trees and just try to stay alive till the snow stops falling."

"Snow's gonna keep coming down a while yet, Heyes. Ain't we just gonna get buried if we stop?"

"This horse can't keep going much longer, Kid. Snow's getting deeper all the time, he can't keep pushing through this way. If the horse dies, we're dead whatever happens."

Kid nodded. "Think the horse can make it through the night, Heyes?"

"I don't know, Kid. Right now, I'm more concerned 'bout the two of us."

They both dismounted, stiff and slow. Heyes felt like he was half-way dead already. Looking at Kid, he guessed he felt pretty much the same. They took the saddle from the tired horse, leaving him his blanket in the hope he would survive. Night was coming fast now. The temperature was only going one way - and that was down.

Heyes went through his bags and bedroll - three blankets, couple of jackets, his mattress - precious little to keep the two of them from freezing to death.

"Heyes?"

"Yeah?"
"I read somewhere that the Eskimos up in Canada make little houses out of snow."

"You know how to make a little snow house, Kid?"

"No. Kinda thought you might."

Heyes smiled. "Well, I'm touched by your confidence in me Kid but, no, I don't know how to make a house out of snow. Reckon we should dig ourselves into one of these big drifts though. I heard the snow can keep you warm, like a blanket."

They dug down into the snow with their hands and lay down in the hollow, wrapped tight in a huddle of clothes and blankets, as close together as they could, shivering hard and uncontrollably, ten times colder now they'd stopped moving.

Heyes felt so tired. Dead tired. He pulled his face down inside his wet collar to shut out the wind, hunkered deep into the blankets and closed his eyes.

"Heyes?"

"Hmmmmm?" Heyes murmured sleepily.

"What happened in that Twain story?"

"Oh, Twain and a group o' men get lost in a snowstorm. Can't make a fire cos the wind blows out their matches, so they try to light one by firing a gun into some twigs..."

"Firing a gun at some twigs?"

"Yeah!" Heyes laughed. "Well that don't work..."

"Any fool coulda told em that!"

"Just blows their firewood halfway across the state and drives their horses off too."

"This Mark Twain sounds like some kind of an imbecile to me, Heyes."

"Well, they kinda give up and they hunker down in the snow together, say their prayers and resolve to die like men."

"And do they? Die I mean?"

"Well hardly, Kid, else Mr Twain wouldn't a been around to write down the story now, would he?"

"Makes sense. OK, what happened next, Heyes?"

"They wake up next morning to find they was just yards away from the very cabin they'd been looking for all night."

Kid nodded. "Well that ain't very likely now, is it Heyes?"

"No Kid, it ain't."

There was a long silence. Kid heard Heyes' breathing change it's rhythm and tone.

"Heyes. Heyes!" Kid nudged him hard.

"Huh?"

"Don't go to sleep."

"What?" Heyes asked drowsily.

"I said don't go to sleep. We fall asleep, we'll die."

"I know."

"Well, you sound like you're falling asleep to me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm trying, Kid. Really, I am trying to resist the temptation but it's awful hard."

"Try harder, Heyes."

"OK." Heyes murmured, closing his eyes.

Kid tried to stay awake but he was so, so weary. He put his arm around Heyes and pulled him close. Heyes was sound asleep, his breathing slow, deep and gentle. Kid felt his friend's head droop down against his own, his skin so cold against his cheek. He felt his own eyes closing - couldn't stop them, and really didn't want to anymore.

"Try and tayke a little cawfy." The voice seemed to come from far away - some high place he couldn't see, couldn't quite get to. "It's good and hot and plenty sweet."

Kid found a tin cup held close to his mouth and the heavenly scent of good, fresh coffee swamping his senses, he sipped at the strong brew and opened his eyes.

Holding the cup was just about the dirtiest fella he'd ever seen. The plaid of his thick woollen coat was completely hidden in a black and shining layer of grease, mud, dirt and who knows what else; his deeply tanned face covered in streaks of something black and sooty under a five day growth of dark whiskers. Looking at him closely, Kid could see he was only young, not moren' eighteen, maybe twenty? He had the biggest, bluest eyes; shone like thousand dollar sapphires out of that filthy face. Kind eyes; a good soul, Kid concluded, taking a little more of the coffee. The boy smiled - good, big, white smile.

"Shure am glad to see you a drinkin cawfy that way. Thawt you was niver gonna wayke. Thawt we'd lawst yer fer sure," he said, nodding and grinning.

"You want some mawr?" he asked, holding out the cup.

Kid shook his head. "Thanks. Later maybe. What happened? How long have I been here?"

"Jest a little over a day. Stawm blew up somethin' awful Thurzd'y night..."

"Storm?"

"Yeah! Bout the biggest, deepest, all-fired freezin' ice storm I ever seen round here this side a Christmas. You don't remember nothin'?"

A sharp pang of panic suddenly shook Kid. "Where's Joshua?" he asked.

"Who?"

"My friend!"

"Oh!" The man grinned. "Joshua is it?" He smiled. "He's right there beside yer, if that's who you mean?"

Kid looked to see Heyes, sleeping deeply and peacefully in the bed beside him. A wave of relief shook him with a tremor. He dropped his chin on his chest in a deep and heartfelt sigh.

The door swung open and an older man of about sixty with long white hair and just as dirty as his partner stepped in with a pile of wood, caked in snow from head to foot. He kicked the door closed behind him, stamped the snow from his boots and body, threw the wood down by the stove and lifted his coat tails to warm his behind.

"Howdy, Luke," the young man said. "How's it lookin out there?"

"Snow's stopped fallin' but it's layin' thick and soft as a bed in a twenty dollar whorehouse."

He beamed a broken-toothed smile when he saw Kid sitting up in bed.

"Woke up then, young fella? Right glad I am to see it too."

He came over to take a closer look at his two guests.

"See young Ben here's got yer some coffee. Ben makes the best gosh darned coffee in Montana," he said, picking up the empty cup and sniffing it. "You wanna get some whiskey in it though, Ben. Fella needs a drop o whiskey after a night in the snow, right son? T'other one still out, huh?"

Ben nodded. "Ain't so much as twitched a whisker," he said gravely.

Kid glanced back down at his partner. He was awful sound asleep. Heyes was usually such a light sleeper. Kid hoped he wasn't sick and held a hand to his forehead. He was a little warm, but no fever.

"Plum tuckered out I guess. Hardly surprising after what you both been through," the old man said.

"Does it often snow like this, in the summertime?" Kid asked.

Ben shook his head. "Always like to snow any time of year, but storm like that. That's something you don't see ev'ry day and that's a fact."

The old man nodded. "You two's gotta be the luckiest men alive, no kiddin'. Why, if it hadn't a been for that horse rolling in here like that..."

"Horse?" Kid asked. "Grey or a chestnut?"

"Chestnut. Gelding," the old man said.

Heyes horse. Kid nodded, disappointed. His horse, with the payroll aboard, was still out there someplace - maybe dead and buried in a drift. They'd never find him till the thaw, and that might not be till spring...

"Yup! Saw th' horse, figured there had to be a rider. Didn't have to look too hard neither. Come across the two of yer 'most straight away. Almost buried in them trees over yonder. Just as well too, 'cos we couldn'ta looked long 'for ya, not in weather like that, no siree."

Kid couldn't believe it. "We lay there and almost died and you guys were just the other side of the ridge?"

"'S the truth of it," The old man laughed. "Like I said, you two's some lucky sonz o'... well, you know th' rest orn it."

Kid smiled. "Either of you two gentlemen ever read any stories by Mark Twain?"

"Sure! At one time I'd read Tom Sawyer over n' over. Long time 'go, though," Ben said. "Why'd you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm sure my partner here'll be happy to explain it all. If he ever wakes up, that is."

The old man poured himself a cup of coffee and another for Kid, adding a liberal quantity of whisky too.

"Yup, I'm thinking we got to you just in time," he said, passing the cup to Kid. "You was all done in and turnin' bluer n' Young Ben's eyes. Yes siree."

"We knowd it wuz you right off!" Ben grinned. "Th'way you wuz clingin to each other like you weren't niver gonna let even Old Man Death take one without th'other un' too. We knows from the stories howz you look out for each other. Howz you'd each one die 'fore you'd let th other un be took or killed."

The old man nodded, grinning fit to bust. "We knew youz was in the territory when we heerd 'bout that there train robbery up by Drummond."

"We don't hear much news out here but we sure heard about that!" Ben said, brimming-over with excitement.

"Sure wuz big news in all these parts," Luke said. "How much you git? Some folks is sayin' two hundred thousand..."

"I heard from Old Sacker it were nearer four hundred thou." Ben said.

"Wait, wait up there a minute," Kid said. "What are you talkin about?"

"Why, that there silver robbery up on the line into Drummond," Luke said.

"Yeah, that much I figured... You seem to think we had something to do with it."

"Well didn't yer?" Ben asked.

Kid shook his head. He wasn't sure what was going on. He did know he didn't like it. He sure wished Heyes would wake up and sort it all out.

"That weren't you?" Ben said.

"What do you mean, fellas? Why would you think me and my partner here would rob a train...?"

"Well you's Kid Curry ain't yer?" Luke said.

"And that's jest gotta be Hannibal Heyes there, right?" Ben was grinning fit to bust.

Kid's blood seemed to freeze in his veins. He gripped the cup of coffee tight enough to bend it in two. He wanted to shrug, to laugh, to spill out a stream of plausible and easy lies - wanted to do what Heyes would have done.

Instead, a nervous; "What?" - was about all he could manage.

Ben's grin widened, he dashed to the other side of the cabin, fetching a grimy, greasy, tattered yellow copy of an old dime novel and handed it to Kid, who gasped out a short, shocked laugh as he read aloud. "Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes in; The Tale of the Thieving Banker of Arrow Gulch."

"We got about two dozen old story books here, 'cloodin a couple more o' yournz, but that one's th' best" Ben grinned. "That's our favourite. We reads that wun aloud to each other most ev'ry night. Youz our fav'rite outlaws."

Kid sat there in stunned silence, book gripped in one hand, coffee in the other and couldn't think of a thing to say.

"Kid Curry stood, six-gun in his hand, a look of pure hardened steel in his eyes of blue. The fire from the burning barn reflected from that deadly gaze to flash like fiery thunderbolts against the objects of his terrible rage; The evil Corkill Gang!

All the fury contained in Heaven and Hades besides blazed like the passion in his heart - passion that must be appeased against those vicious Corkill men!

They had come to do murder against him, his partner and their dear friends - yes! Even unto the innocent children of that gentle woman and her brave, wounded husband!

Bang! Down went Parker!

Bang! Down went Dog-Face Miller!

A twist and a roll, and Bang! Alexander followed him - almost to hell, yet not quite! For though the Kid's aim was deadly, he was no killer and left the dealing of death to God and lesser men!

Bang! The Kid spun one hundred and eighty degrees to gun Lewis Smith down from the roof of the burning barn from whence he'd planned to shoot the Kid in the back!

Bang! Sutton and McCauley fell together, a single bullet piercing the two men as one!

Now there was only one man left; one bullet in the gun to dispatch him with! Curry heard the rattle of a stone move under a boot - the slightest sound above the roaring of the flames, yet it was enough to cause the Kid to turn, to fire, not needing to take aim! His gun arm, steady and true, took down Charles Corkill himself; a bullet that pierced the man just shy of his depraved and blackened heart and brought him crashing down into the dust!'

That sure was some mighty fine shooting, even for you Kid."

Kid opened his eyes to see Hannibal Heyes siting in the chair beside him, reading aloud from the well-thumbed book, a disagreeably smug smirk on his face.

"My but you're a modest man, to keep exploits like this to yourself. You coulda told me though, your partner, your best friend. I woudn'ta accused you of bragging..."

"And where were you while all this was going on?"

"Oh, I'm being held a prisoner by Corkill's partner Smythe - now there's a sneaky name if ever I heard one," Heyes said thoughtfully.

"Got yerself caught? Kinda careless of you, Heyes, if you don't mind me saying."

"Hey! I was gunned down. Hit in the leg rescuing a pair of golden haired children from the burning barn. Says so right here on page twenty seven."

"Oh well, in that case, I take it all back. I assume you get away?"

"Well I ain't got that far yet, but I'm not too worried for myself. Figure you'll come get me somewhere in these last three chapters."

Heyes put the book down with a sigh.

"Kid, where do folks get the notions for these stories huh? I mean, Maybe all of this did happen to us at sometime but I'm darned if I can remember any of it. I'll tell you one thing, I'm real glad whoever wrote this book ain't working for Bannerman or the railroads. Th' descriptions in here beat anything I've ever seen on them wanted posters."

Heyes opened the book near the start and passed it to Kid, who lay back on the pillows and read aloud;

"Kid Curry removed his hat for the lady revealing a head of curls the colour of Kansas corn. She looked up into his eyes - blue as the Prairie sky! And such a smile! It lit up the day like the sun shining down through a storm and whipping up a rainbow on the way. A smile so bright, so ripe with charm it made anyone who met him smile along too, right glad to have met this most brave and courageous man. An outlaw, to be sure, yet the noblest and kindest of men...

"Aw Heyes! This is the biggest crock of..."

"What? You don't like that?" Heyes grinned. "OK then, read out the bit on me."

"Read it yourself."

"Don't mind if I do;

'Hannibal Heyes got down from his horse with the grace and ease of a tiger..."

"What's a tiger doing up on a horse? You joined the circus now?"

"Will you shut up? I listened to the bit on you...

"He tipped his dusty black hat back on his head, the better to study the bright young lad of some seven years old that was holding a gun at his heart. The boy, seeing those dark, sharp, intelligent eyes boring into him felt the outlaw was examining his very soul.

'Son,' the man said, the faintest gleam of amusement in those clear brown orbs as he crouched down before the lad, the better to look him in the eye; 'you don't really wanna be shooting me now, do you?'

Then Heyes smiled, and whatever fear was in the heart of young Petey Hale melted away like ice cream in coffee! My, what a smile that young outlaw had! Like birdsong in December. Like a bright warm fire on the coldest, darkest night.

And dimples? Dimples deep enough to sweeten the sourest pickle in the jar! And had indeed sweetened the heart of many a shy maiden in these wild and untamed lands west of the ..."

"Heyes, that is enough!"

Heyes grinned. "Really? I kinda like it myself. Especially the bit about the Western maidens."

"Yeah well that figures, cos meeting them in the pages of that old book's about as close as you're gonna get to any girl worth lookin at."

"Don't you wanna know if things work out for you with the lady...?"

"No."

"Or if the kid shoots me ...?"

"No!"

"Them descriptions go on, you know. I mean, they kinda over-egg the pudding.."

"And then some!"

"But they sure beat tar out of any wanted flyer."

"Well then it's a good thing for us there ain't too many nine year old bounty hunters around then, ain't it Heyes?"

"I'm serious, Kid!"

"So am I. Heyes, how old is that book?"

"Urmmm... 1879," he smiled. "Huh! Goes right back to our Devil's Hole days..."

"Exactly. That book's been around four years and we've been safe enough from it's dangers all that time. You really think someone's gonna recognise a pair of two bit losers like us as the heroes they describe in them pages?"

Heyes looked hurt. "I wouldn't exactly describe us that way, Kid. I mean, we're still basically the same two guys we always were."

"Heyes, we never were the kinda men they got in that book. May I remind you we almost got ourselves froze to death in the middle of summer. Had to be rescued by a kid of eighteen and a sixty year old man. We've been suckered out of two-thirds of our pay and we've lost a hundred thousand dollar payroll that we're gonna have to somehow find or account for. We're a long way from being the white knights in that there book. Don't let a little hero worship go to your head."

"Kinda hard with these two around watching our every move with burning admiration."

"Yeah! What is it with them?"

"I don't know! I surely don't know what we did to deserve it, but they sure are enthusiastic 'bout us," Heyes said.

Kid nodded. "The young one, Ben. He was giving me chapter and verse on all kinds of wild exploits I'm supposed to have done. I never did a word of it! I didn't know what to say to the guy."

"Kinda hard to burst his bubble..."

"Kinda hard to throw off all that respect and admiration you mean."

Heyes grinned. "Well Kid, you know, it is good to have your hard work and dedication to the job so admired by a layman."

"I wonder how long his admiration of outlaws'd last if it were him and Luke gettin robbed of their hard won silver?"

"Heyes nodded. "Kinda makes you think though, don't it? Bout all the little guys who mighta lost out cos of them robberies we did?"

"I thought that was why we always went after banks and railroads. You used to say it yourself Heyes, when you was leader of the gang. We don't ever rob people. Just the safes where the big money's kept. You got yourself shot, as I recall, protecting them folks on that train way back..."

Heyes nodded. "By Bill Davis. They got that one too, in this same book."

"Well there y'are!"

"It ain't nothing like it actually happened though." Heyes shook his head. "And what about the payrolls? What about the banks where farmers and homesteaders and all the little folks kept their money, same as the rich men? No Kid, you're right. We gotta look ourselves square in the eyes and remember, we ain't no heroes..."

Three days had passed. The snow had stopped falling but still lay thick on the ground, the mountains impassable. Days and nights alike were silent, muffled - like a thick woollen blanket had been laid over the world.

Kid and Heyes kept warm and comfortable in the snug little cabin. Their hosts would not allow them to help in any way with the bringing in of wood or clearing of snow.
"You had a nasty freeze fellas," Old Luke would say. "You gotta rest up, eat up an' git strong."

The two miners never tired of asking questions, with a near desperate need to hear the truth behind the boldness, bravery, courage and all-round derring-do of their Dime Novel Heroes, they loved to hear Heyes read to them from the beat-up old novels, stories about Jesse James, California Joe, Billy the Kid. But most if all, they wanted tales of Heyes and Curry. Ben and Luke loved Heyes and The Kid with a passion that bordered on idolatry; for - as Ben loved to remind them (reciting from memory the flyleaf introduction to every edition):

They were the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West. Yet in all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone. For they were heroes through and through. The most courageous and true. The bravest, the noblest and kindest of men!

"Hannibal Heyes kneeled, his shoulder resting on the door of the Union Pacific Railroad's toughest, strongest safe. Uncrackable - or so they said.

Heyes pressed his ear tight against it's impregnable iron portals. If brainwaves were made of steel the sheer stare of concentration on his young, handsome face could have pierced that machine to it's very heart!

The eminent safecracker delivered himself utterly to the job in hand. Every nerve, every fibre of his being poured itself into that safe, so that he almost became a part of it's mechanism, so dedicated was he, so completely lost in the sound of the tumblers.

His partner Curry, ever at his side, watched at the door, gun at the ready, his keen eyes alert, his ears ever open to the slightest sound that might warn of impending danger to his partner and friend. Heyes must be free of all cares. He must not be troubled by concerns for their safety. Curry knew his partner needed all his application to open a safe like this one - to do that, he had to know his friend was at his side, alert and ready should danger call.

Heyes did not fret, nor worry for he knew the Kid would never let him down.

With exquisite care, Heyes turned the combination - a tad to the right, a little more - a touch more still... heard the welcome sound of the last tumbler sliding into place. A look, almost of pain, that had stretched and taughtened his fine features, relaxed, to be replaced by a beaming smile of purest joy. He turned the handle - and the door opened!

He held wads of those homesteader's dollars in his hands! Thousands of dollars! Poor man's money, wrought from the dirt of the land in hard, sweating toil, blisters, blood and heartache! And all destined for the already groaning coffers of Wicked Charles Corkill!

Here were some of this brave land's riches that would be saved from that evil man! Returned to the poor folk to whom it rightfully belonged!
Hannibal Heyes began stuffing the money into saddlebags, quickly now, for time was of the essence. The train was overdue at Deepgrass station and soon Corkill and his hired guns would be searching the line for the men who had robbed his train!

When a sudden commotion had them both on their feet. The feeble protestations of an old man, a woman's scream, the cry of a child!
Both flew from the carriage and ran - to where Bill Davis was wresting a purse of white kidskin from a fine and beautiful lady!

Kid Curry had his gun out in a flash!

"Leave off there Bill!" he cried, anger twisting his amiable features into a deadly scowl of rage.

Hannibal Heyes dropped the homesteaders money at his feet so he too, could pull his gun - almost as fast as Curry!

"Leave the lady alone Davis!" he cried, turning in at once to hold his gun on Sammy Clusky and Gold-tooth McFee who were at that moment creeping up from behind to get the drop on the two partners.

"Drop your guns," Heyes ordered, and the expression on his face was one that few men, even these hardened desperados, would have dared question, let alone disobey. The two men did as they were bid, but did not attempt to hide their feelings on the matter from their cold, black eyes!

"Now, would someone like to explain to me exactly what is going on here?" Heyes asked these three members of his desperate gang. "Since when did we stoop to robbing helpless women and children?"

"These folks is plenty rich enough!" McFee spat. "They kin afford t' part with a little for the general good!"

The three villains enjoyed this joke as if it were the finest ever told and laughed most heartily. A laugh that drove needle shivers down the spines of every unfortunate that heard it. A laugh that made strong men tremble and women clutch their babes to their breast!

But not Kid Curry. Not Hannibal Heyes. The two men stood resolute, their guns trained still on the men who would rob the innocents of their all!

"Now Bill," Curry attempted to reason with the man. "We have more than seventy thousand dollars in these saddlebags and a posse on the way. Would you waste precious moments to rob a child of a few cents?"

"Darn tootin' I would and d**** you to h*** too Curry!" Davis cried and turned to fire! But the Kid, the fastest gun in the territory and all the West besides shot the gun from his very hand before his fingers even cleared his belt!

Davis fell to his knees, clutching his shattered wrist and weeping like a baby, the gun lying in the dust, safe enough now, bent and broken by the Kid's true aim!

"Empty your pockets, boys, for I'm taking a collection!" Heyes ordered Clusky and McFee, now cowering in the grass like rattlesnakes at what they had just witnessed! The men disgorged a veritable treasure hoard of gold and silver watches, jewels, rings and delicate ladies purses - even a child's silver thimble fell into Heyes upturned hat.

When Heyes and Curry were satisfied that all the illicit hoard had been disgorged, they ordered the men to mount and ride out, unarmed and penniless as the day they came into this unhappy world!

No words can adequately describe the joy and pleasure on the faces of the passengers as Heyes and Curry returned the stolen treasures into the hands of those happy people. Kid Curry sought out the fair haired lady in lavender and lace, returning her purse with the slightest of smiles, and a gentlemanly kiss to her be-gloved hand that momentarily ruffled that fine lady's cool demeanour and brought a pleasing flush to her pale cheek.

"Forgive us Ladies, Gentlemen, boys and girls," Hannibal Heyes announced as the two men mounted their steeds. "We would love to spend more time in your amiable company, but fear that time marches on and if we do not leave soon, a more pressing engagement in the form of a sheriff and his posse might keep us from more pleasurable appointments!"

Such laughter greeted this! And cheers besides as both men raised their hats in salute to the brave company and rode hard for the dusty horizon leaving behind only the fondest of memories to be shared and passed down generations hence."

Heyes closed the book with a shy smile.

Ben sat clutching his knees, grinning and nodding and rocking happily in his chair as Luke refreshed everyone's coffee cups. "Hoowhee! I love that 'un. That's gotta be just about my favourite bit o' that whole story!"

Kid laughed. "Ben, you say that about every bit of that book."

"Ain't it the truth!" Ben said. "That's cause ev'ry bit of the book's ma favourite! Even better when you read it out Mr Heyes. You got a fine way of tellin' a story."

Heyes smiled softly. "Well that's fine Ben, so long as you remember that's all it is. A story. Life ain't really like that."

"But you done robbed that train for them homesteaders, boys," Luke said, sitting back down in his chair by the fire. "That's a fact an' I knows it cause I remember readin' the reports in the newspaper."

"Bein' read to from th' reports in the newspaper!" Ben said with a wink.

"Well that's the truth cause I couldn't read one word till I met Ben here. It was him taught me to read an write. He's somethin' of an inteylektual is young Ben. Gonna write him a book hisself one o these days."

"That right Ben?" Heyes asked.

Ben smiled sheepishly. "Wheeel. I int no intellectual. I ain't had much lernin an all..."

"But you got brains boy!" Luke said. "Don't you go puttin yerself down so! Never met a boy s'keen to talk hisself down. This here's a boy with a mind and talent besides. He's gonna go far, you mark my words."

"I surely hope so," Heyes smiled.

"Just wanna get me a stake," Ben said. "S'why I'm here. Ifn' I kin get me enough gold an' silver outta these hills, I kin git me t' San Francisco, California, and, well. Who knows what miracles kin happen to a boy there!"

"Seems to me you two's almost as bad as young Ben here fer talking yerselves down a peg!" Luke said, turning Kid and Heyes. "Why, if I'd a done half of what you boys is done, I'd be bragging myself halfway to St Louis, Missouri and back on th'strength of it!"

"Well then you'd be deader than a snow goose in Arizona, Luke," Kid said. "One thing an outlaw never does is go about tellin' about what he's done. Quickest way I know of to get a bullet in the back or a rope round your neck."

Heyes smiled up at Kid.

Luke laughed. "Well I guess it's a good thing that I never was tempted into your line o' work then, ain't it fellas?"

"Ifn' I ever make it to Californee, maybe I kin write me a story bout you boys," Ben said with a sly smile. "Put the record straight for yers. Since you're so all-fired keen on tellin it like it is. Like, what really happened on that Deepgrass robbery?"

Heyes laughed and glanced up at Curry.

"Well Ben," Kid said. "Truth of it wasn't quite so dramatic. I mean, we did rob that train..."

"And give the passengers back th' jewels an' th' money?" Ben asked.

"Well, yeah. I guess we did do that too," Kid said, exchanging an embarrassed smile with his friend.

"How about that pile o' money? Th' homesteaders money? D'you give it back to them poor folks like th' book says?" Luke asked, eagerly.

"Never got a chance to," Kid said - deciding to gloss over the fact there never were any homesteaders and they did the robbery fully intending to keep the money for themselves.

Heyes sighed. "Truth is, boys, we was so keen to git outta there, what with a posse on the way..."

"And havin; lost so much time facin down the gang and being gallant to them passengers and all," Kid added. "We shoulda made sure we got all of the guns..."

"And the rifles..."

"Offa the rest of the gang 'fore we let em ride off like that."

"Truth is," Heyes said, "they just waited around the corner and bushwhacked us. Took all of the money and shot me in the leg besides. Taught us a lesson, Ben. Taught us that a good outlaw never puts generosity and good-heartedness before his own safety."

"Not unless he want to get himself killed that is," Kid said.

"Life ain't like the dime novels boys," Heyes said. "Outlaws ain't no heroes."

"But you just admitted yourself, hows you fought off the whole gang to save them people," Ben said. "Just like in this book! And we you knows how you stands up fer each other, protects each other. We already seen that for ourselves."

"Fellas..." Heyes began.

"No!" Ben interjected. " I know what you're trying to do boys! Some of it's just simple modesty, cos that's the kind of fellas you is. The rest is just you trying to tell us that an honest life's as glamorous and adventurous as being an outlaw. But it ain't! A' honest life's just plain hard and dirty. It don't pay good an' it don't smell good neither. And... fact is, you is glamorous. Whether you knows it or wants it - you just is, boys, and that's the plain truth on it!"

Chapter fifteen; A Night of Deadly Danger at Smythe's Camp.

Curry heard a second cry of agony and, creeping soft as a cougar, came through the scrub to the very edge of Smythe's camp. The scene he saw before him made the blood run so cold in his veins it seemed to freeze his very heart and soul as one.

The monster Smythe had his partner bound hand and foot, and was hectoring and taunting that brave fellow as he squeezed and worried at his wounded leg, asking again and again where it was he had hidden the homesteader's money.

"Come now Heyes, for you know you must tell eventually. Where have you stashed my money?"

"Ain't your money!" Heyes cried, trying for all the world not to show what tortures he was suffering. "That money was stolen from the poor and needy and by G** they will have it back!"

"Now man, tell me now where you have it hidden, for I give you this promise, I can hold out much longer than you!"

"Never! I'll never tell! That money may rot where it lies before I return one cent of it to villains like you or Corkill!"

And with a gasp as might be his very last, Hannibal Heyes fell down in a faint as Smythe and his henchmen cackled and laughed like the very hounds of hell!

Kid Curry gasped under his breath - "The devils! The demons!" The picture tore at his soul like the barbed teeth of rats as they downed cheap liquor and heaped jeers and insults upon the prone form of his dear, courageous friend!

He wanted nothing more than to rush out and dispatch the fiends there and then! He took out his gun, gripping the weapon so tight it seemed the very steel of it would melt in his anguished grasp!

But Curry knew well a cool head and a calm soul is the better part of valour and fighting down the bile that rose in his throat at the sight of his partner's torments, he moved to put his plan to instant action..."

A blast of freezing air cut through the smoky fug in the room as Kid burst into the cabin, his arms full of wood for the stove.

"Looks awful cold out there," Heyes smiled from his cosy nook in the chair by the fire.

"It feels awful cold, Heyes," Kid muttered, pulling down the bandanna he'd had wrapped round his face. "You still reading that book?"

"My friend Ben here likes me to read to him..."

"Well your friend Curry here would like you to help walk the horses. Snow's thawin' fast and they're gettin stiff standin around in them stables. You spend any more time sitting there warming your hide, you gonna be so seized up you ain't gonna be able to move at all."

"Gottta let 'im finish the chapter first, Mr Curry," Ben said. "It's just about to hit the most excitin bit of th' whole story!"

Heyes grinned up at his partner. "Don't you wanna hear how you gonna rescue me?"

"Me? Rescue you?" Kid smiled, "Now why would I do a darn fool thing like that?"

"Smythe had tired of the game of kicking his captive whilst he lay in a swoon, and commenced to rouse the outlaw.

"Come now Heyes, and waken," he sneered, dashing water into his face until he stirred. "I wish to have more sport with you!"

"But, what's this?" he cried as his half - dozen horses, which he had thought safely corralled, burst in upon the further edge of the camp, rearing and screaming, led on by a man on horseback at their head! The cries of pain were on the other side now as both Smythe's henchmen went down with shrieks of agony, each with a well-aimed bullet in his shoulder!

Smythe spun upon the gunman who had sprung from his horse at the head of the stampede, more shooting warding off the horses lest they trample his friend.

"Curry!" Smythe spat with loathing. "Well I shall have the both of you now, for I know you have spent all six of your bullets!" And so saying, he snatched Heyes up from the ground and held a pistol to his head!

Which was when Sam Hale, as true and loyal a friend and father as ever trod God's good earth strode calmly into that nest of vipers and with his rifle, took aim at the head of Donald Smythe.

"Smythe!" That good man said, with not the faintest waver in his fine and manly voice. "I'm here to send you straight to H*** for you tried to run me off my land and kill my wife and babes!" Smythe turned and - shielding his body with poor Hannibal Heyes, he levelled the pistol at good Sam Hale - a distraction much appreciated by Kid Curry who at once snatched up the second gun he had put away in the pocket of his coat for just such an outcome as this! Before Smythe could do harm to Sam, or Sam squeeze off the killer shot that might have damned his soul forever, Kid Curry loosed a bullet to his murderous hand. With one shot, man and pistol fell to the ground! But still the violence and danger of that dire night was not yet over! Curry unloosed his partner and was tending to the wounded Smythe, when one of his villainous henchmen, whom Curry had thought to be injured beyond hope of inflicting further harm, roused himself and made a grab for his gun as it lay in the grass.

Before he could raise the weapon and fire, the man fell down with a cry - and this time it was Heyes who had snatched up Smythe's fallen pistol even as he lay wounded on the ground, thus saving his friend from a bullet in the back!"

"And now you're gonna tell me it dint never happen like that," Ben said.

Kid and Heyes exchanged a smile.

"Well Ben," Kid said. "There've been so many times we've had to help each other out. I'm always havin to rescue Heyes here cos he will go gettin himself into a whole heap of trouble with that mouth of his."

Heyes grinned fondly at his friend. "I guess what Kid's trying to say Ben - cos he kinda lacks finesse in the telling of a story - is that it mighta happened this way..."

"And we just forgot. Kinda thing," Kid finished.

"I don't see how you coulda forgot something like that Mr Curry," Ben smiled.

"Ben," Heyes said. "Mind if I ask you; how come you got such a high opinion of a pair of washed up ex-outlaws like us? I mean, you're not stupid, you gotta know that things don't happen like they do in the story books."

"Well, you know Mr Heyes, Mr Curry. I knows that them there novels ain't all the truth orn it. I mean, that they talk it up and exaggerate some..."

Kid and Heyes exchanged a glance.

"...But I allus reckoned they wuz based around the truth orn what really happened. I mean, these here writers, they talks to folks who knows yer, and folks who wuz there and all..."

"Ben," Heyes sighed. "You oughta know that most outlaws - and me an' Kid, we're talkin from experience here, cos we met quite a few in our time - They sure do steal from the rich but unless you count spending money on saloon girls and whiskey and poker as givin to the poor, they ain't no Robin Hoods."

"Don't always pick on the rich neither," Kid added. "Most of em'll steal from rich and poor alike. And shoot at anything that moves too."

"Like Bill Davis and th' rest onrn the gang what tried to rob them folks on the train." Ben nodded.

"Exactly!" Kid said.

"But you ain't like that are yer? I mean, you told us how youz a tryin to go straight now, despite all o them lawmen out lookin fer yer. And even when you wuz still bang-t' rights outlaws, like you told me yerself Mr Curry; you only stole from the railroads and the banks - from rich men. Thems that's already stole all their riches from poor folks with mortgages and loans an that..."

"Ben," Heyes said, glancing at Kid with a sigh. "I aint gonna lie to yer and try to pretend we didn't get a real kick outta doin what we done, cos we did. I mean, half the time I didn't really care about the money."

"You didn't?" Kid asked with a smile.

"Not really. It's kinda... it's the challenge of a safe they say can't be cracked. A bank that can't be robbed. A train that can't be stopped. There's a real hoot in that and outwittin the law and all of it. I aint gonna deny that. But..."

"There's the long hard lonely nights on the trail too, Ben." Kid said. "It's about havin to live with your gun always at your side. Checkin every town you ride into. Who's the sheriff? Who's the deputy? Whos in the saloon...?"

"Always watchin over your shoulder, wondrin if the next person around the corner's gonna recognise you..."

"Runnin from posses, gettin thrown in jail, gettin shot at..."

"Not to mention actually gettin shot. And always wonderin if this times the one where they're finally gonna catch up to yer..."

The two men looked at each other, surprised by this sudden baring of their souls. These were things they kept in their hearts, never talked of.

"Is that why you decided to go straight, boys?" Luke asked them.

"Guess that's most of it, Luke," Heyes said. "That and deciding that stealin really isn't any way to live your life."

"Even when you're taking money them rich guys stole and givin it back to the poor folks they took it from...?" Ben asked.

Heyes sighed. "Ben, we just got done tellin you it aint like in the stories. Men don't go stealing so's they can be Robin Hood."

"I'm sorry Mr Heyes," Ben said. "I guess, I just can't think badly of you and Mr Curry, 'cos you seem to me to be just as honest and brave as you are in them books!"

Heyes was lost for words for once in his life as he sat and stared in wonder at this starry-eyed young hero worshipper.

Kid gave his partner a 'whadda ya gonna say to that' look. Then, sensing his friend's utter bewilderment, ended his pain by walking to the door saying;

"Heyes, you finished with your storytellin now? Cos we need to exercise them horses."

Kid and Heyes led the horses along the rocky path with Ben tagging along behind - kinda made Heyes jumpy, wondering what unanswerable question the boy was gonna put to him next.

Water poured down off the roof and into the rain barrel, making a muddy mess of slush and water on the rocky ground. The horses pawed the sodden earth, blowing and snorting and misting up the cold morning air.

"Snow's melting fast," Kid said. "We oughta start thinkin 'bout movin' on."

"You boys thinking of leaving us? So soon?" Ben asked. "I thought we might keep your company yet awhile. You both hardly recovered from that freeze you had."

Heyes shook his head. "Kid's right, Ben. We're both rested up pretty good now."

"And we gotta find that payroll, Kid said. "If we don't, there'll be a posse headed our way sure as shootin'."

"If there ain't already," Heyes said, with a glance at his partner. "There's no saying whether or not there's any snow at all down there in Philipsburg. If they start to wondering where we've gotten to, they might start wondering if we mighta run off with that money. They'll have the sheriff check on our descriptions. And then it won't be worth a lead nickel whether or not we do find that money cos the word'll be out that Curry and Heyes are in the district."

"Posse'll be out here looking," Kid said. "Probably try to pin that Drummond robbery on us too. There goes our amnesty."

"And our necks, if they catch us," Heyes said, with a frown.

"They won't catch yer! Ain't no one caught and kept yer yet!" Ben said.

"Always a first time, Ben," Kid said. "Heyes, what are we gonna do about getting that payroll back? I mean, assuming we can find it, we're over a week late now. How can we be sure they haven't already been checking up on us?"

"I've been wondering the same thing, Kid. I guess we could always..."

The sound of horses stopped Heyes in his tracks. He and Kid exchanged worried glances. They rushed to the edge of the bluff, getting down on the wet ground to scan the valley below. A group of five men leading a saddled but riderless horse were making their way towards the little cabin.

"You expectin' anyone, Ben?" Kid asked.

Ben shook his head.

"You think it's a posse boys?" Ben asked, his voice full of concern.

Heyes glanced at Kid, a silent exchange passed between them.

Ben and Heyes ran for the cabin, leaving Kid to get the horses back to the stable.

"Luke," Heyes said, bursting in through the door. "There's a group of men headed this way. We don't know who they are or what they want but we can't take chances and we need to be ready."

Luke nodded, a little stunned by the sudden call to action. "Don't you worry 'bout me an Ben, Mr Heyes, we'd die a thousand deaths 'fore we'd betray either one o' yer!"
Heyes gasped a short laugh. "Well, thank you for that, Luke. But I'm hoping no one's gonna need to die even one death."

Kid came in and made for the rifle that hung over the fireplace, checked it and loaded it before putting it back.

"Kid," Heyes said. "You an me are gonna go in the other room and dirty up a little. Ben?"

"Yes, Mr Heyes?"

"You keep tellin us you want a little more excitement in your life? Well, I reckon you're about to get some," Heyes said, thrusting a shotgun into his hands. "I want you to keep hid in the store room. You're gonna need to keep alert, pay attention and listen good, cos when I give the signal I need you to be ready."

"Signal...?"

"What you thinking, Heyes?" Kid asked his partner.

Heyes smiled, a big slow smile. "I'm thinking Chapter fifteen of the Thieving Banker of Arrow Gulch."

"Heyes," Kid said, glancing out of the dirty little window. "They're here."

The five men sat on their horses, staring at the little cabin; seemed to be talking something over. Kid and Heyes watched from the window, their guns in their hands.

"You know 'em Luke?" Heyes asked.

"Uh uh," the old man said, shaking his head.

D'you think you could go out there and find out who they are, what they want?"

"Anything to oblige, Mr Heyes sir," Luke nodded.

"Just stall em a few minutes, long enough for me and Kid to disguise ourselves a little."

"Sure thing Mr Heyes," he said, lifting the bar from the door.

"Luke, you be careful now," Heyes warned him. "They look kinda desperate. Don't say or do anything they might misunderstand, OK?"

The sun was bright as Luke stepped out onto the wet porch, forcing a smile of greeting on to his frightened face.

"Howdy gents," Luke said as warm as he could muster. "How can I help yer? You, er, looking for someone or something in particular?"

A dark haired man with a thick moustache spoke out; "We been holed up fer th' last five days waitin out the storm. Darned near froze to death. We're jest looking fer a place to rest our horses awhile, maybe git some grub and coffee and warm us a spell?"

Luke nodded, uncertain what to do. It would be churlish to refuse such simple and clearly much needed hospitality. He couldn't see any badges on the men, and they sure didn't feel like a posse, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy. There was a dangerous air about them that made his heart race.

The man with the moustache, clearly the leader, sensed Luke's hesitation. "Something wrong, Old Timer?" he asked.
"Naw, naw. Nuthin' wrong Mister. You kin leave your horses in the stables over yonder. Plenty of good feed in there. I... I'll see 'bout putting some coffee and some beans on the stove..."

He turned back to the cabin, just as another man came out of the door. His face was black with dirt and he had on some of the greasiest, grimiest clothes that ever wore a man.

"Well there, Luke," he hollered. "You didn't tell me we had company now, and right welcome we is to see yer too. We don't git many visit'rs up here, no siree!"

"Mr Heyes, is that you under all that?" Luke whispered.

"The name's Joshua Smith, Luke." Heyes whispered, patting Luke on the shoulder and beaming his brightest smile. "Smile for our guests now."

Luke bared his seven teeth in a slow and terrible grimace.

"That's enough smiling," Heyes said. "Come on inside."

Back in the warmth of the cabin, Luke found Kid Curry similarly attired and blackened.

"What's going on?" the old man asked.

"Disguises, Luke," Heyes said. "We gotta pass ourselves off as prospectors like yourselves. Ben OK?" He asked Kid.

"A little nervous, but anxious to please. He's in the store room. They ain't seen him, they won't know he's here."

"I hopes you ain't relying on Ben to git yer outta trouble," Luke said quietly. "He's jest a boy. All he knows 'bout posses and outlaws and shoot-outs is what he's read in them darned books"

"It's OK Luke, we don't expect him to do anything fancy or put himself in the way of any danger," Kid said. "He's just gotta be there with the shotgun, 'case things turn nasty and we need a little back-up is all."

Luke looked the two men over in their disguises. "Me an' Ben don't never look as dirty and disreputable as that!" he said.

"Luke, I hate to disillusion yer," Kid said, "but you ever take a look in the mirror? You ain't hardly stepped out of the pages of a Sears Roebuck catalogue.

"D'you get a good look at em, Heyes?"

Heyes nodded grimly.

"Posse?"

Heyes shook his head. "I don't think so, but they got your horse with em."

Curry started. "The one with the payroll?"

Heyes nodded.

"Have they got the money too?"

Heyes shrugged. "I don't know, but the horse is still saddled, and still got the bags. I'd be mighty surprised if they ain't taken a look inside."

Kid dropped down in Luke's rocking chair. "What we gonna do about that?"

"Well, I figure, since them boys are set on coming in here for a little mountain hospitality, we get to talking with em. Try and size them up, figure out who they are, what kinda men they are and..." He shrugged.

"And what, Heyes?"

"Well, I haven't figured much beyond that yet, Kid."

The door opened and the five men came inside, bringing in more than just a cold draught and wet snow. There was a palpable air of menace about them. Heyes and the Kid recognised it immediately for what it was - they'd met so many characters just like these.

The gang leader laid Kid's saddlebags on the floor and put his feet on them as he sunk into the chair nearest the fire.

"Siddown gents," Luke said as the other four shuffled in. "Come an' warm yerselves here by the fire."

The old man poured coffee for all, apologising for the chipped glasses three of them got. "Ain't got mugs enough for all," he said. "Not used to so much company. No sir. Not at all. Not up here, not in this kinda weather that's for sure. I put some beans and bacon on the stove for yers, should be good and ready in no time at all, yes sir..."

Seeing the old man babbling nervously, Heyes interrupted him. -

"Hear you boys been holed up someplace. Where? One of them caves up there?"

"Yeah. One o them caves," the moustachioed leader growled with a smile to his men. "Damn near froze ma toes clean off," he sighed, struggling to get his wet boots off his feet. "You give me a hand here, son?" he asked Kid, who dutifully went over and helped prize the mans boots from his feet.

"What you doing way up here boys?" Kid asked. "If'n you don't mind me asking?"

"Well maybe we do mind," a huge bear-like man with a black bushy beard said, taking out his gun. "You two ask a sight too many questions."

"S'OK Hank. The man's only making conversation," the leader said. "Just bein sociable. Ain't that right friend?"

Kid nodded, feigning a nervy laugh. "That's right. That's all it is. I'm sorry if I'm being nosy fellas, it's just, we don't get a lot of company up here."

"We're just passing through," the man said. "On our way up to some of them mines we been readin about. Been up Drummond way, did a little job up the line there..." He silenced the shrill titters of a tall, overgrown blonde boy of about sixteen with a look of pure thunder.

"They do say this region is just bustin with gold and silver. We thought we might try us a little prospecting. Had some luck already," he grinned, tapping the saddlebags with his feet. "Somethin of an unexpected windfall you might say."

The rest of the gang grinned and nodded. Hank in particular seemed to take pleasure in eye-balling the three 'prospectors'.

"How 'bout yourselves?" The man asked Heyes, taking out his gun and stroking the barrel thoughtfully. "You doin OK? I'll bet the three of yous got a good sized stake put away someplace, huh?" His eyes flickered around the room.

A long tense silence followed. Heyes glanced up at Kid, who pressed his hands down deeper in the pockets of his jacket.

"I don't believe you gave us your name, friend," Heyes said. "Mine's Josh Smith, this here's Luke Llewellyn, the blonde curly one's Thaddeus Jones."

"Pleased to meet you boys," Kid said with a cold smile that momentarily froze the sneer on the leader's face.

The man nodded, accepting the need for introductions. "The name's Sam Johnson. These are my men; Dutch Van Neeler, Lou and Morris Clark. That big fella with the beard's Hank Simpson."

"Howdy!" Heyes smiled, getting leers and curt nods in return and a cold stare from Hank. Two of the men began to stroll around the little cabin, brazenly opening cupboards and rummaging through the shelves.

"You wanna take a look at them beans, Luke?" Kid said, wanting the old man out of the way if things should take a turn for the worse, as he sensed they were about to.

"Sure thing Mr Cu... I mean..." Luke stammered.

"Go to it, Luke," Heyes said, keeping his eyes locked on Johnson. He moved to stand by the fire, where the rifle was hanging.

"Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry!" the skinny kid yelled with a whoop.

Kid and Heyes snapped automatically to attention, exchanging nervous glances - but the kid was just flipping through the pages of one of the Dime books. "I read all the Jesse James tales when I wuz a boy. I int' never read this 'un!"

"Don't see how any story bout them two could be worth the trouble o' readin,'" Hank growled.

"Well it's all the same to you ain't it, Hank, niver havin' took the trouble o learnin to read," Dutch - a sallow, cadaverous man with lank black hair said, raising laughs from the others and a rabid glare from Hank.

"Mind if we take a sniff of whiskey, boys?" Dutch asked, as he uncorked and drank deep from the bottle he'd found with a grin that suggested he didn't really care much for an answer.

"What's through here?" Hank asked, rattling the handle to the store room which Ben had locked from his side.

"Why'd you wanna know?" Heyes asked.

The room grew tense and still.

Hank tried to stare Heyes down, but found the young prospector's eyes unexpectedly hard and commanding and it was Hank who looked away first.

"You got somethin hidden in there, boys?" Johnson drawled, playing with the gun he kept cradled in his hands.

"Ain't nothing in there but some sacks of beans," Kid said, hands still pressed in his pockets. "Ain't nothing of interest to fellas like you."

"Fellas like us? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Cool it Hank," Johnson said.

"I don't like the sound of..."

"I said cool it!"

Johnson turned to Heyes. "Why'd you keep it locked?"

"What's it to you?" Kid asked.

Johnson kept his eyes fastened on Heyes as he snapped "I ain't talking to you boy! I'm askin your friend here. What you got in that store that you need to keep locked away?"

He cocked his gun and levelled it at Luke. The old man stood, wooden spoon in his hand, a stunned and terrified look on his face. Kid's eyes scanned every man in the room. Heyes kept his gaze on Johnson.

"What is it?" Johnson asked. "Dust? Silver? Sapphires? I'll bet you boys has got a small fortune hid away in there, am I right? Jest like that uther fella. What was his name, Hank?"

"Sawyer, Slatter, or somethin..."

"Sacker? Old Sacker? You been up at his place?" Luke asked, fear and anger quavering in his voice.

Kid held up a hand to calm the old man.

"Sacker!" Johnson said. "Yeah, that's the fella. Right hospitable he wuz when that storm blew up. Real nice cosy little cabin he's got there."

"Thought you said you took shelter in a cave," Heyes said.

Johnson laughed. "Guess I musta lied! I'm real sinful that way. That old man had him quite a stash. Guess it's true what they say about these here mountains bein almost made of silver and all kinds o' precious stuff. He told us you boys was doin real well fer yerselves down here..."

"What you done to him? What you done to old Sack?" Luke yelled at them. "He wouldn't niver have told yer no such thing! What you done with him?"

"Luke!" Kid said, in a voice that instantly silenced the old man - never lifting his eyes from the gang as they clenched fists and cracked knuckles over their holsters.

"Ain't you got enough boys?" Heyes asked, his voice low and pregnant with menace. "I mean, it was you that done that Drummond robbery now, wasn't it? You got that fat old payroll there and I reckon you've killed poor old man Sacker for his little stash. Am I right? I mean..." Heyes smiled, and lifted his hands in a mock-pleading gesture, "don't be greedy fellas. D'you you really need any more?"

"There's a posse coming out of Philipsburg on the trail of that payroll," Kid said. "I'd take what you got and hurry along if I was you."

Johnson laughed, echoed by the rest of his gang.

"If you wuz me? You ain't me, boy! And I don't take advice from no dust-grubbin dirt-shifter." Johnson turned his gun from Luke to Kid who stood dead still, poker faced, staring the man down, hands steady on the guns that he'd stashed, one in each of the two deep pockets of his filthy woollen jacket.

For a moment, it seemed as though Johnson would be the one to back off. His gun wavered slightly. The rest of his men seemed to shuffle, glance about, suddenly uncertain what to do. Miners and prospectors were supposed to be scared of them, give up their hospitality and then their haul without a murmur and wave them on their way like they was closest kin. They weren't supposed to stand their ground this way.

Johnson let out a low whistle. His face split in a broad smile.

"Well boys," he said. "We got us some live ones here! What we gonna do 'bout that?"

"Fellas," Heyes said. " Any of you ever read that book Lou's got there?"

Lou glanced down at the book gripped in his hand as Heyes went on in a loud, clear voice - loud enough to penetrate the door to the store room.

"It's supposed to be about Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, but it's really about the heroism of a common man, name of Sam Hale who's been driven off of his land..."

"What the hell are you babbling about boy?" Hank roared, his gun levelled on Heyes now.

"Just trying to explain," Heyes went on, holding his hands in the air. "Trying to tell you boys a story that might help explain some why it's high time..."

"Will you shut up!" Johnson yelled, turning his gun on Heyes.

The crack of bullets fired in quick succession burst through the ugly atmosphere building in the room.

"Posse!" Dutch yelled in panic as the sound of whinnying horses, thundering hooves and gunfire had Lou, Dutch and Morris running to the window, ducking down as bullets thudded against the roof of the cabin.

Seizing the moment, Heyes grabbed the rifle from the fireplace behind him, getting the drop on Johnson.

Kid whipped both guns from his pockets, firing on Hank, hitting him in the wrist as he turned his gun on Luke, before levelling both six-guns on the other members of the gang.

Then Ben kicked open the door to the cabin and strode in brandishing a shotgun. His voice was shaking, but he held the gun steady as he said;

"Put yer guns down!"

"Do as he says, boys," Heyes said, fixing his iciest stare on their leader.

Johnson threw his gun at Heyes feet, but as he did, Dutch turned and fired on Kid, the shot going wild, taking a piece out of the chimney as Dutch fell to the floor mid-shot, yelling and screaming, with Ben's bullet in his foot.

"Luke," Heyes said. "D'you think you can tie up these men while me an' Mr Jones here keep our guns on em?"

"Sure thing Mr Hey..."

"Luke!" Kid said, a caution in his voice.

"Oh! Right! Ermm, Josh, ermmm..."

"Thaddeus!" Kid hissed from the side of his mouth.

Ben was still holding the gun on the men, but now that the shock of what he'd dared to do was sinking in, the gun trembled slightly in his tight grasp and the steely gaze he'd affected had developed a shocked and wide-eyed rabbit quality. Heyes turned to him and gently pulled the barrel down, taking the gun from the boy with a smile.

"Ben, you did real good," he said, gently.

Ben turned a stunned look on him. "Well, I done jest what you said Mr... Soon as I heerd you say 'Sam Hale', I went out th' windy an lit the horses out, fired a full round in th' air t' git em all riled and screamin, jest like you said Mr... Josh," he smiled. "Jest like in the book. Reckon it's gonna take at least half a day to round em all back up though."

Heyes patted the boy on the back, and crouched down to where Hank and Johnson were sitting trussed on the ground, smiling at the look of smouldering rage he got back from them both in return. He looked inside the saddlebags - all the money seemed to be there.

"Well now, Mr Johnson," he said with a chilling smile, holding the shotgun on the bound man. "All we need to know now is, what'd you do with old Sacker, and where'd you stash that silver from the Drummond job?"

Kid and Heyes finished loading their bags on to their horses and prepared to mount up and be on their way.

"I still say you boys is plum crazy," Luke said, shaking his head. "To cut on back up Welcome Valley after what you been through? What if you hit another storm? What if you run into more outlaws?"

The partners looked at each other and smiled. "Well Luke. We're touched by your concern," Heyes said, "but I don't reckon our luck could really get any worse than it's been lately. Sun's shining, not a cloud in the sky."

"You seen how quick it can blow up out of nothing," Luke said.

"Well, we figure meetin up with you guys was a sign our luck's on the turn," Kid smiled.

"You surely is crazy to go ridin off without collectin all that money owed to you back in Philipsburg," Ben said. "Not to mention yer share of the reward for catching the gang and returning that silver an all."

Heyes sighed. He wished Ben wouldn't keep reminding him of how much money they were turning their backs on. That hurt enough already.

"Like we already explained, Ben, we don't really have much choice on that one," Kid said. 'We been gone too long. The folks back in Philipsburg's sure to think we ran off with that payroll..."

"Chances are, they already checked up on us," Heyes said. "Might be a posse heading this way right now. Thing is, we can't take the chance. We gotta be riding on, sooner the better. Leastways," Heyes added as he mounted up, "you got your stake now, Ben. And you got our signatures on that piece of paper there authorising you to collect our pay. If you can get it, we know you'll wire it on to us like you promised."

"And we will Mr Heyes, Mr Curry. You kin count on us!"

"Well, don't feel too bad if you can't get a hold of it," Heyes said. "O' Brien and McFarland are a tricky pair of customers who don't like parting with other folks money."

"And if the sheriff down there did find out who we were, they ain't gonna be too pleased to discover who it was they trusted their gold and that payroll too neither," Kid said, exchanging a smile with

Heyes. "But that reward should be enough to see you both to California."

"That and the thirty thousand in gold we got stashed out back of the cabin," Ben said.

Heyes and the Kid were momentarily struck dumb.

"Thirty thousand in gold?" Kid asked

"Uh huh," Ben said. "This here's been a good strike and we been done workin it now a year come September."

Kid and Heyes exchanged a look of pure astonishment.

"Well then boys, I reckon you earned yourselves a trip to San Francisco," Kid said with a smile.

"Least you got a story to tell now, huh Ben?" Heyes said.

"I surely have Mr Heyes, and I'm a gonna write about it too!"

"And don't you worry none about that there posse," Luke said, "cos we'll make sure them folks down there in Philipsburg knows it weren't you had anything to do with that robbery."

"I don't care what you says fellas, you is heroes." Ben said. "More so, now you're going straight and all - that takes real guts. More'n any train robbery."

"Well, you could be right there, Ben," Kid smiled. "You be careful with them men now. You've seen what they're capable of. Make sure they're tied good, and be sure you keep em covered all the way back to town," Kid smiled, tipping his hat and turning his horse to go.

"Oh, we will Mr Curry, don't you worry 'bout that. And - Oh! Just you wait up one minute guys! Don't you be leavin' yet!" Ben yelled, rushing back into the cabin.

Heyes shifted impatiently in the saddle. "Kid, we gotta get going. I wasn't joking about a posse. Snow's all gone. If they do know who we are they're gonna be out lookin for us right now."

Ben came running back out of the cabin, waving Kids saddle bags. "You don't wanna be going without this now. Them's good bags, cost good money I reckon."
Kid laughed. "Well thank you Ben, Luke; and now, we really do have to get along, Been real nice knowing you boys. Good luck to you both!"

Later that evening as they made camp, Kid looked into the saddlebags.

"What you got there?" Heyes asked him as he walked over to warm himself by the fire. Kid passed over the wad of money.

Heyes looked at it carefully. "Gotta be six, seven hundred dollars here," he said. "And a note."

Heyes read:

"This should go someway to helpin you over your losses. Sorry it ain't more but it's all we have right now. Be sure we will wire your pay to the Bank in Missoula, ifn we can."

"Think they'll get our pay outta old McFarland, Kid?"

"Not if he sees em coming first," Kid smiled. "Oh! Here's that box of matches! And this." Heyes laughed as Kid passed him the battered old Dime Novel. "There's an inscription:

'To Joshua and Thaddeus; heroes through and through! The most courageous and true. The bravest, the noblest and kindest of men.

That though snow might fall and the winds might blow, the fire in your hearts burns bright enough to keep the world aglow.'

From your most fervent admirers, Ben Taylor and Luke Llewellyn."

"That's kinda nice ain't it?" Heyes said with a smile. "That's almost poetry."

He turned the book over to look at the cover; 'Heyes and Curry in the Tale of the Blue Eyed Maiden of Knickerbocker Creek!' You ever been in Knickerbocker Creek, Kid?"

"Not that I remember."

"I think you'd remember a town with a name like that, with or without a blue eyed maiden in it. Wonder if this tale's as good as the last one?"

"Couldn't hardly be any worse now, could it, Heyes?"

"Oh I don't know Kid, maybe this time you catch the bullet and I get the girl."

"Well Heyes," Kid smiled. "You want a miracle like that, reckon the best place to find it's in the pages of a dime novel."

The End.