Episode 75 The reluctant deputy

by KayDee35

TV episode with added scenes to make it a good read.

The reluctant deputy

XXX

Dedicated to Henry Darrow and Cameron Mitchell,

the two wonderful actors

who made Manolito Montoya and Buck Cannon

come to life.

XXX

One beautiful Friday afternoon Buck, Mano and Blue rode into Tubac. Mano had intended to laze around this weekend and sleep all day. However, he had changed his mind when Buck had invited him and Blue to join him for a little entertainment in Tubac. Buck had had such a mischievous glint in his eyes. Mano had been confused. It could not be Blue's birthday. Then he remembered the date. And then wild horses could not have kept Mano from riding with them. They were joking on the way, and Mano waited anxiously to see what Buck had cooked up. Of course Mano was determined to add his own ideas as well. A little contest between him and Buck as to who had the best ideas was exactly to his liking.

Buck had chosen Tubac for their weekend's entertainment because the clientele and the tone there were a little rougher than in Tucson and therefore the ideal setting for a practical joke. But if nothing else occurred to him, he could always hide Blue's horse until Monday morning.

"Hey, where is everybody?" Buck complained when they rode onto Main Street.

"Don't tell me you didn't telegrah and let them know we were coming?" Mano quipped laughingly.

Buck grinned back at him. "Aw, dawg gone it, Mano, I must've forgot about that."

"You promised us a big weekend," Blue said in mock disappointment, "and there ain't anybody here to greet us."

Mano shrugged. "We will just have to make our own fiesta, compardres," he answered, tipping his hat and smiling at the two senoritas who had just come out of the general store.

"Yes, and I ain't ever heard of no fiesta without a stop to drink," Buck agreed cheerfully, suggesting the first point of their agenda.

"Not any self-respecting fiesta I ever attended," Mano added.

Blue squirmed in his saddle. "Then what are we waiting for?" he shouted impatiently as they rode past the marshal's office.

The lawman was standing in the doorway. "Hey," he called after them. The three reined in their horses, turned in their saddles and looked at him questioningly.

The marshal came to them. "Are you the Cannons from the Chaparral?" he asked. A moment later he nodded. "Why, sure. I saw in you in Tucson last year."

Manolito raised his hands, a big grin on his face. "Well, it looks like at long last you caught up with us, marshal."

Prentiss laughed. "The reason I stopped you is I got a payroll shipment from the mines coming in this afternoon, and I'm looking for deputies to take care of it until Wells Fargo comes and gets it on Monday," he explained.

Grimacing, Buck turned away and shook his head. "Deputy," he murmured. "Oh no."

Mano looked equally unwilling. "I would be delighted to help you, marshal, but I am sure you can find some public-spirited citizens who will help you," he said calmly. "I have this strange illness in my hand. I cannot squeeze the trigger finger, if you know what I mean." To prove his case, he held out his right hand, making a show of trying to bend his stiff index finger, then turned to his brother-in-law. "Is that not true, Buck?"

"Oh, true," his friend agreed. Then he went so far as to give an explanation of why he was also unsuitable for the job. "I'd help you, too, but my eyes have gone bad."

"In your case, it is old age," Mano quipped.

Buck gave his brother-in-law and best friend a sullen look. "I talked to a doc in Tucson and he said I need glasses, you know, but I can't afford the price. And it ain't old age," he countered fiercely.

"Wrong," Mano smiled cockily.

"Well, what about young Cannon here?" the marshal asked when he finally could put a word in again. "He's real poorly, I take it."

Blue touched his neck. "Yes, you know, I've got some trouble with my neck. Here." He pointed to the spot.

Buck started to speak, but Mano was faster. His eyes flashed as he thumped Blue on the back. "Oh, no," he told Prentiss. "He is in perfect health, and he has a love for the law."

Blue turned indignantly to Manolito. "Now, wait a minute!" he hissed.

"Oh, yes." Mano nodded emphatically.

"He's the perfect man for you, marshal," Buck concurred. "Do you know what he was telling me before we were coming in? 'Uncle Buck, I got nothing to do this whole weekend'. That's what he said, right, Mano?"

"That ain't true!" Blue roared.

The marshal seized the opportunity. "I'll take him. Boy, you don't even have to get off your horse. I'll swear you in right where you are. Now, raise your right hand, son."

"Wait a minute," Blue protested once more.

"It's only for one day and a night, and I'd be obliged if you'd volunteer," the marshal told him quietly. On Saturday he would look for another deputy. After all, he did not want to spoil the boy's weekend entirely.

The two elders of the Cannon clan nodded seriously. "Oh, he volunteers," they smiled.

Blue looked at his uncles in outrage, but it did not help him.

"Raise your right hand and repeat after me," the marshal commanded.

Blue was too stunned to obey. Buck and Mano grabbed his hand and lifted it.

"So, repeat after me," the marshal began once more. "I hereby swear-"

"I hereby swear," Blue repeated, flabbergasted. Before he knew what hit him, he had been promoted to deputy sheriff.

Buck and Mano grinned at each other behind their nephew's back.This practical joke had been a full success. It was fit. After all, the datum read April Fools day.

XXX

The marshal slept comfortably in his chair. Blue, on the other hand, almost burst with rage. He was stuck in the office, bored to death, while Buck and Mano amused themselves in Tubac's saloons.

It was still early in the evening. Buck and Manolito had just entered their second saloon and were making their way to the counter when a girl approached them. "Oh lala, look," Mano said appreciatively to Buck. He bowed slightly. "Buenas noches, señorita."

The girl hesitated, gave him a smile - and walked past him to the cowboy who was standing at the window.

Buck laughed. "That wasn't a nice thing. That was a terrible thing."

"Not just the women are mean," Mano replied. "That was a terrible thing we did to Blue, you know that."

"I feel awful about it, just awful," Buck chuckled. "Don't you?"

Mano looked up, a broad grin spreading over his face. A not at all tormented twinkle developed in his eyes. "Absolutly, compadre."

"But I know how we can make it up to him," Buck said as they moved to the counter.

"Listen to this," Mano commented appreciatively when they finally reached a free table near the bar. A mariachi band was playing lively tunes. "Oh. How, amigo? How?" Mano came back to the topic.

"Well, on the way home, this is what we gotta do. We remember all the good poker hands we played, all the good tequila we drank-"

"And all the pretty señoritas," Mano put in.

"Right." Buck nodded. "And on the way home-" A piercing scream interrupted him.

Mano winced. "There. I wonder what that was?" he asked in alarm. But when he saw that instead of panicking people ran to the door to see what had happened, Mano sat down quielty beside his best friend.

"It's probably ole dep marshal Blue Cannon, shooting it out with the desperados," Buck joked, laughingly clinking glasses with Mano.

At the scream Blue jumped from his seat as if bitten by a rattlesnake and ran to the window.

The marshal woke up as well and strapped on his gun belt. "Did you see where that came from, Blue?" he asked hurriedly.

"Yeah, across from the hotel, as far as I can see," Blue told him.

"oh, that's the Wells Fargo office, and with my luck-"

A stout man stormed into the room. He was wearing a chequered blue shirt and dark brown trousers. "Prentiss! Prentiss, they blew the safe in my office and got away with the whole payroll," he panted. His tie hung loosely around his neck. He had probably just been about to call it a day when he had been surprised by the attack, Blue speculated.

"Who? Did you get a look at them?" the marshal asked, still busy closing his gun belt.

The man nodded mockingly. "Sure. They held still while I took a picture of them."

"Don't you worry, Mr. Hewitt. We'll get them," Prentiss reassured him. He took his hat and hurried towards the door. "Got an extra man you can spare? My deputies ain't back yet," he explained.

The banker nodded immediately. "Connor's in."

"I'll take him. Let's go." The marshal took Hewitt by the arm and ran from the room.

Blue was left standing flabbergasted in the office.

A moment later Prentiss reappeared in the doorway. "Now, I expect to get back by morning. But don't count on it. And until I do get back, you're in charge, deputy." He tapped Blue on the chest and was gone again before the boy could open his mouth.

"I'm in charge, deputy," Blue mumbled belatedly to himself. When he had recovered from his shock, a grim smile appeared on his face. Determined, he went out into the street.

Meanwhile, Buck and Mano amused themselves by playing cards. The saloon guests had seen Prentiss storming into the Wells Fargo office with Hewitt. Soon it became apparent that there would be nothing more to see, and people had returned to their entertainment. Most were now standing around the gambling table, watching the poker game. Some had bets going as to who would win: the locals or the visitors.

Buck smiled at the girl standing behind his chair, then looked at his cards. "Well boys, Uncle Buck opens for five." He threw a five-dollar bill in the middle of the table.

"Five," Mano said, "and fifteen." He added his money to the jackpot.

"Fifteen?" Buck asked, aghast. "Big man, ain't you?"

"Always, with you," Mano grinned at him.

"That make, er- let me see." Buck counted his money, looked at his cards in disappointment and put them aside.

"Quantas?" How many? Mano asked the others.

"I'll play these," one player spoke up.

"Oh, then I'll play these," Mano told him.

"Then I'll take five," Buck decided, taking up his cards again.

"You cannot take five," Mano protested, shaking his head.

"There's a new rule-" Buck broke off when he saw Blue standing beside him with a face like seven days of rain. "Hey, Blue Boy. Hey, Mano, here's Blue Boy," he told his brother-in-law.

Mano also looked up. "Hey, compadre." He smiled a little nervously. "We were just talking about you. About how much we missed you."

"Yeah, we missed you," Buck agreed with his best friend.

"Hey, Blue, you're not angry with the little joke?" Manolito asked.

"Who, me?" Blue smiled back half-heartedly.

Mano nodded with a cocky grin. "Oh, don't be," he implored.

"I told you, Blue Boy ain't angry. He don't hold a gruge," Buck insisted, waving Mano's worry aside. He pointed to Blue's chest. "Ain't that a nice badge?"

Blue smiled grimly. If his uncle thought flattery would get him anywhere, he was on the wrong track. "I just stopped by to tell you I ain't gonna forget this in a hurry. And if I can find a way to pay you back, I will. But until we leave, the two of you stay out of my way," he said without drawing breath, then turned on his heel and stalked back into his office.

Manolito looked thoughtful. He realised their practical joke could easily backfire. A really determined deputy could spoil their entire weekend.

It seemed Buck's thoughts had gone in the same direction. "Uh oh," he commented meekly.

"Poor sport," Mano added with a sullen face.

Buck nodded. "That was such a pretty-looking badge on him. Dawg gone it, Mano, I don't understand that boy," he let fly. "You'd think he'd be happy to wear that marshal's badge, even if it's only for a few days. I remember when I was a young boy, I always wanted to be a marshal. I was about three feet tall-" Buck raised his arm to indicate the height, overlooking his neighbour who had just started to raise his glass. Buck tipped the glass with his elbow, and the other poured his whisky over his shirt and nose instead of into his mouth.

"Watch it, you clumsy sheep herder," the man said angrily.

"Oh oh." Manolito smiled. This promised some excitement. He knew from experience that his brother-in-law would not put up with such talk for long.

And lo and behold, Buck was already adjusting his hat. "What was it that you called me?" he asked softly.

"You heard me," the whisky-drenched poker player retorted.

"Well, he did not believe it. Was it sheep herder?" Mano asked with a grin.

"It was sheep herder," the other roared.

"I thought so," Buck growled back.

"You would have knowed if you weren't deaf," the man snapped, unwilling to let the matter lie.

Buck took a deep breath, stood up and pushed his chair aside. "Well, I ain't deaf. I'm a little frothy around the mouth maybe, but I sure ain't deaf!" Buck swung his fist, and hit the man standing behind him. The man - a Mexican namend Jorge, and an acquaintance of Mano - swayed on his feet. His beer slopped on the shirt of the man on his left-hand side, and he got punched in the face for the second time. This seemed to be the signal for more brawlers to join the fun. Buck, meanwhile, brought his fist on track. But his opponent ducked, and the punch went awry. The two local poker players took Buck by the arms, brought him down - destroying a table in the process - and held him on the ground.

"Mano, help," Buck called out to his brother-in-law while he tried in vain to get back on his feet. "I could use a little help, Mano."

Manolito laughed, calmly collecting his winnings. "The man is right. You are a sheep herder," he told his best friend.

The Mexican Buck had struck first woke up again. "Compañero, ayudame," he groaned.

"Jorge, amigo." Mano left his money on the table, went to him and helped him to his feet. He grinned while the other rubbed his aching head. "Hey, Jorge, are you all right, amigo? You should be glad. He could have hit a nobler part."

Offended, Jorge threw himself at Manolito, and a second table broke.

"A little help, Mano!" Buck hollered again, but his friend now had his hands full as well. The next moment Buck and Mano crashed with the same table and were brawling back to back.

"Now the fun really starts," one of the spectators said cheerfully.

The saloon guests who had opted not to join the brawl began to cheer the ruffians on. At that instant Blue came in. He had just returned to his office when he had heard the noise and had gone back out to check, as was his duty as deputy. Blue saw the commotion and knew it was hopeless to try and seperate the brawlers. Instead, he drew his revolver, firing once into the air. The fight stopped; the opponents rose slowly.

"Hi, Blue. Hey Mano, there's our Blue Boy." Buck smiled uncertainly at his nephew.

"Hey, Blue Boy. You came at the right moment," Mano said in relief. "You are the law. Do your job."

Blue nodded, a grim smile on his face.

XXX

The cell door closed. Buck had risked his life for his best friend and had come to stand protectively in front of Mano. For a moment he had thought Blue would go so far as to shoot Manolito as revenge for the practical joke they had played on him.

"Mano, we're in jail. Is it all a bad dream?" Buck asked heavily when Blue had locked the door and was heading back to his desk.

"Oh yes, we are in jail, and it is also a bad dream," Mano confirmed, disappointment colouring his tone. He stepped beside Buck and went to the bars with him.

"And who put us here?" Buck demanded in an ominous tone, clutching the bars of the cell door. "Our own flesh and blood."

"Correction," Mano objected sharply, pointing his index finger at Buck as if trying to impale him. "Your own flesh and blood."

Blue sat down in the marshal's chair, gleefully playing with the keys. "You know, for the first time since I got here, I'm beginning to enjoy myself."

Buck disparagingly blew the air through his teeth.

"Oh, sí. You know what, amigo? We are gonna have one great laugh on the way back home, huh?" Mano suggested with a laugh. When Blue did not react, he laughed a little louder. "Hey, compadre, why do you not use that key and unlock the door? The night is young. Let us out, please."

Blue just smiled and remained seated.

"Blue Boy, you stop fooling around," Buck commanded, starting to sound upset. "You let us out, now, you hear?"

"No, I don't hear," Blue told his uncle firmly. "You're gonna stay right there until the marshal comes back and we leave town, even if it takes all month." Yawning, he let the keys fall into the desk drawer.

"Just you wait," Buck whispered menacingly and went to sleep. He saw no reason any more why he should make it up to his nephew. Mano stood at the cell door for a while longer. He stared menacingly at Blue until the boy began to feel uncomfortable, then he lay down as well.

XXX

On Saturday morning Hewitt went to the Wells Fargo office. A thin man in a dark green shirt, brown suede jacket and light brown trousers was sitting casually on his desk.

"We've got to move the money, Pelletier," Hewitt came straight to the point. "That's why I sent for you."

"Move it?" the other asked blankly. He slid off the desk and stood in front of it, a bewildered look on his face.

"Yes," Hewitt confirmed.

"Why? You're the one who said no one would look for it here."

The banker hung his hat on the coat rack and went to his desk. "Yes, I know what I said. But Marshal Prentice is not as big a fool as he looks."

"Nobody could be," grinned the other.

"Never mind the jokes, Pelletier," Hewitt told him sullenly. "Prentice is not gonna keep riding forever, not without tracks to follow. Sooner or later he's gonna start thinking. And when he does, he's gonna ride back to town and I'm gonna be the first one he talks to. Now, I talk a lot better with that money hidden somewhere else."

"You mean you lie a lot better," Pelletier commented dryly.

"Whichever," his companion agreed with a shrug. "But we got to move it."

They went into the back room of the Wells Fargo office. Hewitt took down a suit case and opened the trunk. Inside lay four bags filled to the brim with bank notes.

"Look at all that payroll money, Hewitt," Pelletier said dreamily, leaning one arm against the wall. "Can't you just hear it calling to us 'I'm all yours'?"

"I'd hear a lot better if this money was stashed away somewhere safe." Hewitt took the bags from the trunk and carried them to the table.

"Why don't you load it on a horse, and I'll ride out of town up to Iron Mountain and wait for you?" his partner in crime suggested.

Hewitt opened the money bags. "How long would you wait?" he asked calmly. "About two minutes?"

"That's why we make a good team, Hewitt," Pelletier grinned and came to him. "You don't trust me, and I don't trust you."

"You save your speeches. I got an idea. You don't dare leave town until Prentiss gets back and gets a statement from you. Monday at the earliest." Hewitt tied the bags again.

"So?" Pelletier asked curiously.

"So we do it the smart way. You still got that patch of scrub grass and dirt over in New Mexico?"

"I got it. Just like a saddle sore." Pelletier turned in disgust and closed the door to the back room, lest someone barged in and perhaps saw the bulging bags. "Ain't too happy about it, though. Couldn't give it away if I wanted to. Why?"

"It's gonna come in real handy. You got a ranch on that, Pelletier, and you can prove it." Hewitt handed him two of the bags, a look of triumph in his eyes. "You just rode into town with the money you got from selling a big herd over in Santa Fe."

"I did?" Pelletier looked at his partner with round eyes.

The other nodded vigorously. "You did. And naturally you would come to me to put your money away for safekeeping. I showed you the dynamited safe and said I was really sorry." The banker began to grin slyly. "And the only other safe in town was the marshal's."

"The marshal's?" Pelletier repeated, aghast.

"Hm hm," Hewitt nodded cockily. "So you and I are gonna take your honestly earned money in these sacks right here, and we'll gonna walk over to the marshal's office. Just like the two respectable, law-abiding citizens we are. We'll gonna ask the deputy sheriff to open up the safe and to put your money away, nice and legal. Until Monday morning."

"You figure that deputy will swallow that story?" Pelletier asked incredulously.

Hewitt waved his hand. "Now, you've seen him. He'll swallow it, horns, hide and tail." Hewitt grinned at his partner.

XXX

Blue was sitting at the desk in the marshal's office, cleaning his fingernails with devotion while listening with an expressionless face to the scenarios Buck and Mano came up with to get Blue to release them.

"But suppose there'd be trouble before the marshal and those other deputies got back," Buck mused.

"Sí, just suppose, compadre," Mano agreed.

"That's marshal compadre to you, bub," Blue said firmly and went to them.

"I am sorry, marshal," Mano apologised sincerely, "but he is right. Now, just suppose there was too much trouble for one man to handle, eh? You would like to have two great friends behind you, right?"

Blue smiled contemptuously. "With friends like you behind me, why would I need enemies in front?" His smile faded.

"Is that any way for a boy, I mean for a deputy marshal, to speak to his flesh-and-blood uncle?" Buck asked quietly.

Blue shrugged. "Well, it is if his flesh-and-blood uncle has busted up forty dollars worth of tables and chairs."

Mano grimaced. "Forty dollars. That is not even four dollars, and you know it."

"Besides we're gonna pay for it," Buck told his nephew.

Blue looked at him in astonishment. "You already drank up all the money you rode in with."

"True," Manolito admitted. "Buck and I thought that maybe a good friend like you might-"

"Blue, you see," Buck interrupted his brother-in-law, "we thought on account 'cause I be your flesh-and-blood uncle that you might advance us the money." He turned to his best friend. "Right, Mano?"

"Me lend you money?" Blue asked incredulously.

Buck nodded. "Sure."

"Uh-uh," Blue decisively shook his head. He knew exactly what those two would be doing with this money. They would stay in their cell - for their own good, he reminded himself.

"You ain't my flesh and blood no more," Buck roared and turned to Mano. "See, I told ya, Mano-" He broke off.

"Extraordinary-" Mano said at the same time and broke off as well when two men came in, carrying money bags.

"Howdy, deputy," the corpulent one greeted Blue. "Hewitt, Al Hewitt, Wells Fargo," he introduced himself and shook hands with Blue.

"Yeah, I remember," Blue replied. Hewitt was the banker who had stormed into the office yesterday and had reported the robbery. In the meantime, however, he had straightened out his clothes. He was still wearing his chequered blue shirt and dark trousers, but he now wore his bow tie correctly and had put on a light brown corduroy jacket over his shirt.

"This here is Mr. Pelletier." Hewitt pointed to his companion. "He needs a safe place for his money. It looks like more than it really is, deputy. You see, Mr. Pelletier runs a small cattle ranch on the other side of the New Mexico line."

"Yes," Pelletier agreed. "I sold a herd near Santa Fe and came in to put my money with Wells Fargo for the weekend." He nodded his head in Hewitt's direction.

"You can see where that leaves Mr. Pelletier," Hewitt spoke up again. "With my safe blown sky high by the bandits-" He laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah. Well, how long do you want to leave it here?" Blue asked.

"Just till Monday. Then Mr. Pelletier and I can ride over to Brighton and the Wells Fargo office there."

"Well, it's all right with me," Blue said, "but-"

"But what?" Pelletier asked nervously.

Blue shrugged. "Marshal Prentiss didn't leave the combination to the safe with me."

"What's that over there?" Hewitt smiled, pointing to a small piece of paper that had been tacked to the board behind the desk.

"What?" Blue turned around. In fact, there was a note with three rows of numbers. The deputy looked a little closer at it. "Looks like the combination," he said smilingly. "Let's try it."

Buck and Mano looked at each other, shaking their heads, but kept their mouths shut. This was Blue's business.

The deputy opened the safe, and the two men put the money bags in. Pelletier made a doubtful face. Hewitt, however, smiled contentedly. "Snug as a bug in a rug. Thank you, deputy."

"You're welcome," Blue said.

Hewitt turned to the door. "Let's go, Mr. Pelletier," he told his companion.

"Hold it," Blue held them back. The two men froze at the door and looked cautiously over their shoulders.

"Don't you want a receipt for the money?" Blue asked them calmly.

"Oh." Hewitt laughed and came back to the desk to retrieve the paper.

The visitors had just opened the door to get out when a man came in with a tray. He wordlessly put it on the desk, nodded in the direction of the cells and left again. Blue took the tin plates from the tray and pushed them towards Buck and Mano through the opening in the bottom of the cell door. His two uncles eyeballed the objects lying on their plates from all sides in disgust and grimaced.

"Tell me, stranger, what is that?" Buck said slowly as he pushed the alleged food around with his fork. He wanted to find out whether it was already dead, and if so, what had killed it.

"Something that the humane citizens of Tubac provide to kill any unsuspecting roaches that might like to spend an evening in their jail," hissed Manolito.

"Well, you can make all the jokes you want," Blue told them, unfazed. "But you know, the man at the eatin' place makes thirty cents a meal to serve prisoners. And that's what he's serving for breakfast."

Buck looked up in surprise. "No foolin'? Thirty cents a whole day?"

"That's right," Blue nodded laconically.

Buck put down his fork. "Well, how much change do we get back?"

"Twenty-five cents, I am sure, at least," Mano let fly.

Blue shrugged. "That may be, but that's all you're gonna get unless you want to starve."

Buck started poking the objects on his plate again. "What might be them white things?"

"You better not ask, Buck," Mano advised his friend.

"That's good, wholesome food. And I don't want to hear any more complaints." Blue smiled to himself as he walked back to his desk and took his hat.

"And what can you do that you ain't already done?" Buck demanded.

"Well, Mr. Uncle Buck, I can forget to serve you any meals at all," his nephew replied with relish.

"Ha, do you really think that would be a punishment?" Mano shouted angrily.

"Well, you can eat it or don't eat it. It's up to you." Blue pulled on his gloves and made to leave the office. At the door he stopped again. "Oh, listen. If anybody comes looking for me, I'll be over at the cantina. You know, I hear they have the greatest huevos rancheros and enchiladas this side of Sonora." He licked his lips with gusto, then went to have breakfast.

Buck started pacing the cell. "That young brat. To think I used to dangle him on my knee and let him pull my ear."

"That nephew of yours is a very cruel and cold-hearted hombre," Manolito sighed, poking around on his plate just as listlessly as Buck.

XXX

On the High Chaparral Victoria and Big John were also having breakfast.

"Would you like some more coffee, John?" Victoria asked her husband.

"Oh yes, please. That was a good breakfast, Victoria." John smiled at her.

"Thank you," Victoria beamed and refilled the cup.

At that moment Joe came in. "Good morning."

"Joe, morning." "Good morning, Joe.'' The rancher couple greeted him.

"Morning, ma'am." Joe bowed slightly in Victoria's direction. "I just wanted you to know I'm giving all but five of the hands the day off."

"Well, what about yourself?" Big John asked.

Joe began to turn his hat in his hand, looking uncomfortable. "Well, if you don't need me for anything special-"

"Oh, I can't say I do," Big John replied. "It would do you a world of good to get away from the ranch for a day."

"Yeah, I've been getting a little stale," the ranch hand quickly agreed with his boss. "You know, a man needs time off every once in a while."

"I wish everybody around here understood that," Victoria put in pointedly, smiling at the two men.

John immediately went on the defensive. "Now, Victoria-"

"You should go with them, relax and enjoy yourself," his wife insisted.

"I've got the ledgers to look at, have your forgotten that?" the rancher reminded her.

Victoria looked at him in annoyance. "How could I, darling, when you talk about almost nothing else?"

"Well, we'll all be back here tomorrow night. Have a nice weekend," Joe put in hastily and hurried out of the house.

"Have a good time, Joe," the rancher couple called after him.

Then Victoria turned back to her husband. "You should have gone with them," she tried again.

"I promise you, I'll take some time off real soon," Big John reassured his wife.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "I know. You will ride to Tucson to buy supplies and you will call that your day." She began to clear the table. "Why didn't you go to Tubac with Manoilto, Buck and Blue?"

"I told you why," the rancher repeated, sounding as defensive and stubborn as before.

"By Monday you are going to be tired and grumpy and out of sorts. And those three are going to ride in with their faces full of smiles. It is just not fair." Especially not to her, Victoria thought. She was the one, after all, who had to placate her husband so that he would be at least halfway fit to be around.

John, however, smiled to himself. "I'll say this for them, they sure know how to relax."

XXX

After the first bite Mano tossed his plate out of the window and began to pace the cell like a caged tiger. Like a very angry caged tiger. Buck tried to calm him down. And for a while he even succeeded. Mano leaned with his elbows on the window sill, staring morosely out towards freedom. "That is no life, Buck, condemned to spend the weekend in a cell," he exploded again. "And you know what is even worse? That a friend has got us in here. This calls for vengeance."

Buck shrugged, not knowing what to say. After all, it had been their idea to make Blue deputy.

"You are not a Latino. You do not know what it is to burn and thirst with vengeance," Manolito flared and started to pace their cell again.

Buck was sitting on his cot, trying to choke down the so-called food. It took some time, but he was making progress. "Guess not," he sighed.

"Buck." Mano turned to his friend and fellow sufferer. "I have this fire inside of me, and it will not be quenched until It is cooled by the waters of revenge." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked earnestly at his brother-in-law. "Will you consider for a moment? We had a whole weekend off in town, amigo. Lovely señoritas, a fine cantina well stocked with food and drink."

The bite stuck in Buck's throat. Jail rations really did not fit that description.

"Some gentlemen who obliged us with a friendly fight when we desired it, and here we are. In jail. Prisoners. Yeah, prisoners!" Mano very nearly shouted, furiously waving his arms.

"Right," Buck threw his fork down in disgust. "That beats all." Then he took it up again. He was hungry, and his stomach did not care about the taste.

Mano looked at his brother-in-law in outrage. "Beats all. Is that all that you can say? I tell you this, my friend. If I had that deputy Billy Blue Cannon in front of me right now," Mano pointed his index finger at an imaginary figure and went to the cell door. He turned, laughingly opening his hand, palm turned upwards, "I would go 'Blue, this way. Pow'!" Mano thrust his hand quickly against the cell door as if he would deliver a blow to Blue's chin. The door opened. Buck dropped his fork again in amazement.

Mano laughed incredulously. "Did you see that?" he asked Buck, turning to face his friend.

"I see it, but I don't believe it," his brother-in-law confirmed with wide eyes.

"Let us see if it happens again," Mano said and made to close the cell door.

Buck jumped up from his cot and hurried to the bars. "Who cares? Let's go. Wait a minute. Are you crazy?" He held Mano back by the arm.

Manolito turned around. "Trust me," he told his friend calmly.

"Nooooooooooo!" Buck shouted anxiously, clapping his hands together over his head.

"Hush." Mano pulled the door closed and tried to open it again. He pulled on the bars, but the door did not budge. Mano began to feel queasy. They had had their chance to get out and had let it slip. He considered. How had he opened the door before? He bumped his elbow against it - and it opened. They both laughed in relief and reached for their hats.

"After you, señor." Mano bowed to his brother-in-law.

"After you," Buck said, repeating Mano's gesture.

Then they both tried to go through the door at the same time.

Mano held up a hand. "Un momento, amigo," he said and went out first. Buck followed him on the heels.

"Our guns," Manolito exclaimed. They could not be seen without a gun. Every man carried one. And there were so few who did not submit to this law that they could not take a single step without being noticed.

"There, in the desk." Buck opened the drawer and pulled them out with a satisfied grin. "Vamonos."

They left the marshal's office. Buck let his brother-in-law go first again. Mano peered cautiously out of the door. When the coast was clear, he signalled his friend to follow him and to remain calm. They set out at a measured pace as if they had just passed the office and had never been behind its Swedish curtains. Mano whistled a merry tune, greeted two men who passed them on the sidewalk, then pulled Buck quickly around the next corner into a side alley.

"Do you know what I think?" Buck began.

"Hush," Mano admonished his friend.

"I think we ought to get our horses and get outta here," Buck continued in a whisper. Blue would look pretty stupid when he found out that his prisoners were gone and he could not explain how they had left their cell. That would be an appropriate practical joke for April Fools Day.

"Quiet." Mano put his hand over Buck's mouth and looked around. "Not just yet. This situation offers infinite possibilities," he laughed. This April Fools Day Blue would not forget in a hurry. Mano would make sure of that. After all, he was a Montoya, known for mischief, and had a reputation to uphold.

"Infinite poss-" Buck repeated blankly. "What do you mean, Mano?"

His brother-in-law rolled his eyes. "Look, what I mean, amigo-"

This time it was Buck who shushed his friend.

"I cannot think on an empty stomach," Manolito complained.

Buck nodded. "That's right. And the cantina is right over there." He pointed across the square with a grin.

"You know, sometimes you amaze me," Mano told his brother-in-law.

"I do?" Buck's grin broadened.

Mano again motioned for his best friend to be quiet and peered around the corner once more, then they set out.

XXX

While the two clandestine escapees enjoyed the food the cantina provided, Pelletier restlessly paced the Wells Fargo office.

"Relax, can't ya," Hewitt spoke up, sounding slightly annoyed. He was sitting in his chair, passing the time with daydreams of what he would do with all that stolen money.

Pelletier leaned across the table. "Relax. Thirty thousand of my money are in the marshal's safe, and you say relax."

"In the first place, it isn't thirty thousand of your money. It's only fifteen," the banker retorted. "In the second place, what have you got to worry about?"

"What have I got to worry about? I'll tell you. What if that deputy gets a notion to open that safe before Monday?" Pelletier nervously stared at his partner.

Hewitt stood. "He ain't gonna open that safe. Our money fills it up. So he can't put anything else inside. But even if he did open up that safe, what do you expect would happen?" He put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "You think one of those bags of money will gonna stand up and say 'Hey, deputy, guess whose little green backs we really are'?" he grinned.

Pelletier threw Hewitt an evil look. "Nonsense."

Hewitt burst out laughing. "Play cards, amuse yourself with a girl or something if you can't stand the wait. This way, time will pass more quickly and will keep you from fretting over all those things that could happen to your money."

XXX

After a hearty meal Buck left the cantina, rubbing his belly in satisfaction, and went to the hitching rack, looking carefully around for Blue. A moment later Mano came out as well. He immediately went to the lady who was sitting on a bench at the wall of the cantina. "Buenos días, señorita," he greeted her, tipping his hat. "You know, the moon should be out tonight-"

Her brothers marched her off without a word.

"My name is Manolito Montoya, in case you are interested-" Mano called after her, then gave up and went to his laughing friend.

"You know, Buck, I had almost forgotten," he sighed.

"Me, too," his brother-in-law told him.

"You forgot what?" Mano wanted to know.

"Food. I mean, what a good meal tastes like."

"Sí." Mano nodded heart-felt agreement.

"Hey, have you thought about what we're gonna do to that marshal deputy Blue Boy?" Buck asked eagerly.

Mano smiled. "Yes."

"What?" Buck secretly admired Manolito's ingenuity. He himself never got any good ideas when he was not feeling angry or under pressure. In cases where his life or someone else's life depended on him, he found that a situation always presented itself, but he could not come up with a trick like Mano just for fun.

Manolito gave his friend a sly grin. "I have a plan already in mind."

"Yeah? What's it?" Buck demanded impatiently.

Mano waved. "Follow me."

Buck held his friend back by the arm. "No no no, tell me first."

"We are going back to jail."

"Jail?" Buck asked, aghast. "That really makes no sense, Mano."

His best friend grimaced. "You really do not understand the possibilities of my scheme?"

"No," Buck admitted, shaking his head.

"We eat well. We come and go as we please, right?"

Buck nodded.

"And little by little we drive Billy Blue marshal crazy," Mano finished.

"Yes," Buck laughed. Then he looked thoughtful. "How?"

Manolito grinned. "First we begin by doing a little safe-cracking."

Buck laughed and finally followed his friend back to jail. Mano took the paper with the combination from the desk drawer, opened the safe and threw the money bags over his shoulder to Buck.

"Mano, now what?" Buck asked, keeping an eye on the window to make sure they would not be caught outside of their cell. "We can't be taking this money. I mean, revenge is one thing, but this ain't our money. It belongs to that cattleman."

Mano locked the safe again and went to Buck who was sitting astride on the desk. "Yes yes yes, I know. But we are not taking anything, compadre. We are merely going to - cómo se dice? - relocate it."

"Huh?" Buck looked at him blankly.

"We are going to hide it somewhere else," Mano explained, sounding a bit put-upon.

"But what for?" Buck asked. "It wasn't in anybody's way down there."

Manolito threw his head back impatiently and took a precautionary step backwards around the desk. "Give me patience, por favor," he exclaimed, then took a deep breath. "This money was given to Blue for safe-keeping, right or wrong?"

"Yes," nodded Buck. He understood that much.

"Now, think how foolish he is going to appear when the money is not where he put it and the cattleman comes back for it." Mano grinned at his best friend mischievously. "Think how much more foolish he is going to appear when the real marshal comes in and finds out about this whole mess."

"Oh yeah." Buck clapped his hands, still keeping an eye on the window. "Here comes Blue," he warned a moment later.

Mano turned around to look out of the window himself. "Hocus-pocus," he said and went back to the desk.

"Where are we hiding the sacks? Where do we hide 'em?" Buck asked as he grabbed two bags.

Mano took the other two. "In our cell," he decided. There was no time for something more sophisticated. They put the money sacks under their pillows. The two brothers-in-law had barely settled on their cots when Blue came in, quietly humming to himself. His belly round as a ball, he moved fairly sedately.

Blue planted himself in front of the cell. "I'm back."

"Well well well, if it is not our own deputy Cannon," Manolito said with a grim expression on his face.

"Yes sir, there he be," Buck answered just as sullenly. "Where have you been, Dep?"

"Well, I was out making my rounds," Blue said, chewing on a toothpick. "Before, I had breakfast and then I had a big, big pitcher of milk and about a half dozen eggs rancheros. Hmmm." He licked his lips with gusto.

Buck and Mano looked at him as if they wanted to wring his neck. Blue was actually quite happy that there were some sturdy bars between him and his two uncles. But he could not resist teasing them. He smiled uncertainly. "What's wrong with you fellas? You look like you just robbed a bank."

Buck and Mano looked at him, shrugging their shoulders and making innocent faces. Children and fools, Mano thought, are telling the truth, even though they sometimes do not know it.

XXX

Pelletier had spent the day worrying over the money. Hewitt had teased him mercilessly, but even that had not managed to calm him down. Never had a day seemed so long to him. He had sighed in relief when night had finally come. But as he lay in bed, he was doing no better than by day. He was turning around and around in bed, constantly thinking of the money he had so carelessly let out of his sight. Finally, in the middle of the night, he got up and made his way to the marshal's office. At a corner opposite the road he stopped. He waited until the deputy had set out to make his rounds, then sneaked into the office. He looked around cautiously. The two men in the cell did not stir. Pelletier opened the safe. He did it as quietly as possible, but the combination lock made clicking noises. Buck and Mano woke and grinned at each other. They saw the intruder staring dumbfoundedly at the spot where his money bags were supposed to be.

Pelletier went straight to the Wells Fargo office to read his partner the riot act. However, Hewitt swore on his mother's grave that he had not taken the money.

"The minute my back was turned you sneaked in there, opened the safe and took the money. Now, where'd you hide it?" Pelletier accused his partner.

"I didn't touch that money. I haven't been near the marshal's office since this morning," the banker protested again.

"Oh, I'll bet," Pelletier sneered.

"Look, if I had taken that money, do you think I'd gonna wait around for you?" Hewitt snapped.

"But the safe is empty," Pelletier grated out.

His partner in crime looked at him grimly and made his decision. "Come on," he said.

They went to the marshal's office. The deputy had just got comfortable on the cot in the free cell. When he heard someone come in, he got back up and went to the desk. Buck and Mano were of course awake as well. They were standing in their cell at the bars, listening to Hewitt and Pelletier's stammered excuses.

"We would like to see the money again," Pelletier finally got out the first intelligible sentence.

"You know how it is, deputy," Hewitt said with an indulgent look at his partner. "It's all the money Mr. Pelletier has in the world."

"And I dreamed it was stolen," the man added miserably.

The banker raised his hands apologetically. "I realise it's awful late to be disturbing you-"

Blue shrugged. "That's all right. I just got in from my rounds," he explained, sounding bored.

"We would- Mr. Pelletier especially would feel better if-" Hewitt stammered again.

"-if you saw the money for yourself," Blue finished the sentence.

"Yeah," his visitors nodded in relief.

"Just this one time," Blue told them. He took the paper and opened the safe.

Pelletier's eyes widened when he saw the bags lying there and began to smile dreamily. Buck and Mano stealthily shook hands through the bars of their cell door. They grinned at each other, turned towards their cots and went back to sleep. Blue meanwhile saw the two visitors off who stammered yet anothe apology. He stopped for a while at the door, thoughtfully watching the people who were still out and about despite the late hour. Then he came back in and leaned on the barrier. "I just don't like the idea," he muttered.

Buck immediately sat back up. "What did you say, Blue?"

His nephew waved him off. "Nothing. That's my business. Go back to sleep."

Shrugging his shoulders, Buck lay down again and pulled the blanket over his head to hide his grin. Blue went to the desk. He opened the safe, took out the money bags and put them under the bed in the neighbouring cell. Then he closed the cell door, put the keys in the drawer and left the office after a quick look at Buck and Mano's cell.

"He's gone," Buck said as soon as Blue's footsteps had died away.

"Good," Mano commented with a grin.

"I bet he's out eating again," Buck complained.

Manolito waved the comment aside. "Let him. I have an idea. Quickly!"

"What is it? What do you want? "Buck asked excitedly.

Mano opened the cell door with the proven method and went to the desk. "He will be surprised!"

"I want to know what you've cooked up again," Buck mumbled in confusion.

"You will see. Take it easy." Mano took the key and opened the neighbouring cell.

"Come on, tell me, Mano," his friend muttered impatiently.

Mano took two of the bags and hurried to the desk. "Take the other bags and bring them here," he told Buck as he hastily opened the safe. "Stow everything inside. Quickly, hombre," he commanded. Buck put the bags in the safe while Mano re-locked the cell door. They put everything in order and went back to their own cell.

"Sit down," Manolito said.

Buck sat down on his cot. "Mano, I still don't get it."

"Trust me," Manolito advised him calmly, lay down and pulled the blanket up over his face. With a shrug, Buck also lay back down, eager to see what would happen next.

Blue had made his rounds again after having dinner in the saloon, but the responsibility for the money left him no peace. When he returned to the office, he went straight to his desk. He took the keys, opened the cell and looked under the bed. The next moment he was on his knees, pulling back the covers. "It's gone. Gone!" he cried in horror.

Buck and Mano sat up on their cots in unison.

"What is the matter, amigo? What did you say? What is wrong?" Manolito asked sleepily.

"The money!" Blue repeated, aghast. "Mr. Pelletier's money. I put it here before I left, and it ain't here." He lifted the covers once more to have another look, hoping the money would be there this time.

Buck and Mano grinned at each other behind Blue's back.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?" Manolito asked again in confusion.

"You heard me," Blue shouted, looking over his shoulder to his uncles.

Manolito turned to his best friend. "Buck, did you see him take the money out of the strongbox?" he asked, pointing towards the safe.

"Who, me?" Buck stammered. He looked at his friend quizzically while Blue stared for the umteenth time under the cot. Mano slightly shook his head.

"No. No, Blue. Never," Buck said finally with conviction.

"Yes, I did. Just before I left the last time," Blue insisted.

"Buck, are you certain that he took the money out of there?" Mano asked again. "Think, hombre, yes or no?"

Buck scratched his head. "Um, I only remember that he was sitting in that chair looking up at that ceiling."

Manolito cocked his head and looked questioningly at Buck behind Blue's back. His brother-in-law winked.

Blue, still on his knees, turned to his uncles. "What?"

"And he was acting kind of funny," Buck added in a serious tone.

"Right," Mano nodded emphatically.

"Yeah," Buck confirmed, bobbing his head a few times.

Blue came to the bars. "I was sitting in that chair and was staring at the ceiling?" he stammered, stunned.

"Yes. That's it." The two men in the neighbouring cell nodded unanimously.

"You're dreaming. I aint sitting in that chair all evening," Blue flared.

"You heard what he said? He did not sit in that chair all evening, Buck," Mano said in outrage.

His face full of concern, Buck stared at his nephew. "I heard him say that. But that's not what he did."

"I'll prove it," Blue exclaimed. He ran to the desk. Buck and Mano ambled slowly to the bars, nodding to each other expectantly. Blue took the paper from the drawer, opened the safe - and saw the bags. He winced. "But I took it out," he said sheepishly. He looked questioningly at Buck and Mano.

His uncles wordlessly shook their heads.

"I didn't?"

They shook their heads again.

"Are you sure?" Blue asked, flustered.

Buck and Mano nodded in unison.

Blue rose, pointing towards the ceiling. "I sat here looking up there?" he asked again.

His uncles nodded again.

"Looking up there, yeah," Buck confirmed in a serious tone.

Shaken to the core, Blue sank onto the chair at the desk. "I- I- I don't feel good," he said softly.

"He don't look good, Mano," Buck muttered, sounding worried as hell.

"Blue, I can tell you exactly what is happening," Manolito whispered.

Blue raised his head and looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"The strain of the job. Too much responsibility. Your mind was not prepared to take it all on," Mano continued mercilessly. "It's too much."

"You mean that I-" Blue tapped his temple with his index finger.

"No," Buck soothed his nephew.

"Not yet," Mano agreed as well. "But you do need a lot of rest."

"That you do," Buck said in a tone as if he were talking to a little boy.

"And sleep. Rest, compadre," Mano added. He turned to his brother-in-law. "You know, Buck?"

"What?"

"The human mind is a tricky thing. Now, take our friend Blue over there. He needs plenty of rest and sleep because otherwise his mind might-" Mano made a movement as if he was breaking a stick in half.

Blue winced. "My- my mind will-?" His head hit the table, and he fell asleep at the desk. Buck and Mano put him on the cot in the neighbouring cell, then also went to sleep for a while.

A few hours later when Mano heard Blue snoring softly, he woke Buck.

"Huh?" his friend whispered sleepy.

Manolito indicated with his hand that they would leave. He opened their cell door as quietly as possible, took their revolvers from the drawer and left the office with Buck. The cell door and the desk drawer he left open. If Blue woke unexpectedly and spoiled their fun before they came back, he would think that someone had come into the office and had released them.

Buck threw his nephew one last look before he closed the door, then tapped his brother-in-law on the shoulder. "Mano."

"Yes?"

"Will you please tell me what we're doing up in the middle of the night when the whole town is asleep?"

"I have thought of an even better joke to play on our deputy marshal," Manolito grinned at him.

"Let me guess," Buck said eagerly, wanting to contribute something at least. "You take one side of the street and I take the other, and when you give the signal, we both run down the street saying 'the British is coming, the British is coming'."

Mano rolled his eyes, then had to smile. "That is very funny. Now, are you finished? Then let us go to the telegraph office."

"Telegraph in the middle of the night who?" Buck demanded.

"Mr. Cannon."

"Blue?"

"Yes. Don't you get it?" Manolito laughed.

"No," Buck said in disappointment but went along anyway.

Manolito led his brother-in-law to the back door of the telegraph office. He had found a lock pick in the marshal's desk drawer. He pulled it from his pocket, put it in the keyhole and turned it. The lock clicked. Mano grinned. "Hocus-pocus" he said again and turned the knob. The door did not move an inch.

Buck gently pushed Mano aside. "Let me try." He pressed his shoulder against the wood. The door still did not budge. Buck took a deep breath, glared at the stubborn door and threw his weight against it. The door opened with a creak. Buck grinned and let Mano take the lead. His friend struck a match and looked around. When the flame died, they moved forward. A moment later Mano heard a thud, then Buck began to grumble under his breath. He had stubbed his toe on a table leg. "Why is that piece of wood standing in the way?" Buck hissed. "Turn on the light so that we can see what we're walking into."

"No, we cannot turn on the light," Manolito whispered back.

Buck waved dismissively. "That's the backyard outside. No one'll see us, lights off or on. What are we looking for anyway?"

"What is one looking for in a telegraph office?" Mano retorted. He lit a lamp and began to search the drawers of the desk Buck had run into. Triumphantly, he held up the block. "Found it."

"Fine. Let's go," Buck whispered.

Chuckling in anticipation, Manolito left the telegraph office with Buck. "Now we are settled," he said, sounding pleased as Punch.

"All right. So you got the telegram. Now, do you mind telling me what it's all about?" Buck wanted to know.

Mano grinned. " Like all great schemes, it is very simple. Blue will receive a telegram."

Buck scratched his head. "What telegram?"

"The one I am going to write to him. Now, do you have a pencil?" Mano asked his brother-in-law.

"How come you didn't steal one?"

"A pencil. The one you draw pictures with. Quickly, hombre," Mano repeated calmly, holding out his hand.

Buck handed his pencil over. "I'll let you rent it," he declared.

"All right. Gracias." Mano went to the wall of the telegraph office. Light came from its window. They had forgot to turn off the lamp. That suited Mano now, since he needed to see what he wrote.

Buck rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm still not clear what you aim for," he said as he followed his friend.

"Would you turn around, please?" Mano asked, ignoring the comment.

"What for?"

"I have to have something to write on. All right now, bend over."

"Yes, amigo," Buck sighed, resting his hands on his knees.

Mano corrected his brother-in-law's stance. "Keep still," he ordered, satisfied.

"I feel silly," Buck said when he had thought over the position he was in. "I hope nobody will come along."

Manolito laughed and began to write. An instant later Buck winced. "Ouch! Mano, don't dot the I's so hard!"

"Calma, Buck, will you please," his brother-in-law grinned and continued writing. "'Tucson, Arizona'."

"What're you saying, Mano?" Buck asked impatiently.

"How can I tell you? I have not finished it yet, all right? When I am finished, I will read it to you. Entiendes?" Mano promised his friend.

"When you're finished, you're gonna read it?"

Mano nodded. "Sí. Excellente."

"You finished yet?" Buck asked impatiently after a few seconds.

"No. - I have it now." Mano rested his hands on Buck's back and began to read the telegram. "'City marshal of Tubac Territory of Arizona whereabouts of one Sen. Pelletier requested notorious bank robber and outlaw last seen in your vicinity. Signed: United States Marshal, Doyle City'. That is one fine telegram, eh?" he laughed. Then he took a step away from the wall and tore the telegram from the block.

"Yeah, but Doyle City? Where is Doyle City at? I ain't never heard of Doyle City? Doyle?" Buck tried the name again, but it still did not sound familiar.

"Well, that makes two of us. And three when Blue reads this," Manolito replied loftily.

"This is too deep for me," Buck muttered in disappointment.

"Doyle City is my invention," Mano explained.

"I see." Buck screwed up his face, thinking hard.

"Hey, Buck," Mano grinned after a moment.

"What?"

"You gonna stay bent over like that all night?"

"Oh, you're real comical. Give me back my pencil." Buck threw his brother-in-law a long-suffering look. He straightened - and froze again. "Wait a minute. Momentito."

"What is it?" Manolito wanted to know.

"Blue gets that telegram," his friend began slowly.

Mano nodded.

"So what?" Buck asked, determined to get the joke, no matter how long it took him.

"Suppose you are the deputy. You receive this telegram", Manolito tried to explain.

Buck nodded seriously. "I'm the deputy. I receive that telegram," he repeated.

"Would you not go and arrest that outlaw?" Mano suggested sweetly.

"I say, for one thing, there ain't no outlaw," Buck insisted.

"Exactly," Mano nodded with a broad grin. "Ahora tu entiendes?" He tapped Buck's forehead.

"Now," Buck confirmed. And, finally, a knowing smile appeared on his face.

Then they heard a voice. A man came up to them. "Howdy."

"Howdy, good night, buenas noches, señor." Mano waved to the man, indicating that he should go away, and turned back to Buck.

"I ain't- I ain't a-going nowhere." The man staggered towards them, hiccupping. "Where you fellas been? I waited for you half the night in the cantina and you never showed," he complained.

Mano rolled his eyes. Then he and Buck had to laugh.

The drunkard came closer and put his right arm around Mano. Then he put his head on Manolito's shoulder. "That ain't no way to treat your mining partner, is it?"

"Buck." Manolito said in a strained voice, trying in vain to escape the smelly man. "Buck, please, hombre," he almost begged his brother-in-law for help.

Buck chuckled. He went to the man, taking him by the arm. "Ole timer, I'll tell you what. You go to the cantina and you wait for us, all right?"

"I can't," the drunkard told him sadly.

"Porqué no?" Manolito asked in confusion.

"It's all closed up," the man laughed, then he fell asleep.

"Steady." Buck grinned at Mano over the man's head.

"Oh man, he is heavy," Mano groaned as they dragged the drunkard to the house and leaned him against the wall.

"Nighty night, ole timer," Buck whispered as he walked towards the street with Mano.

Manolito laughed. "He sleeps like a log."

Buck nodded, grinning. "I tell you, he'll be passed out for tonight and tomorrow. Now, about this telegram," he came back to their problem and stopped, staring thoughtfully at the ground. "Now, Blue will go to arrest Pelletier. Oh, wait a minute, he'd then be arresting a law-abiding citizen?"

"Right," Mano applauded. "And he would get into mucho trouble for false arrest."

"Yes." Buck laughed sardonically.

"Now you understand." Manolito smiled in relief. If his brother-in-law did not cooperate, he could forget his scheme.

"'Cept for one thing," Buck said with a frown.

Mano looked up suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"The telegram. Who's gonna deliver it, hm?"

"Aw." Manolito smacked his left fist into his right palm in disappointment. Buck had hit the nail on the head. Then his face brightened. Buck's as well. The two friends grinned at each other, then looked towards the wall. Laughing, they went back to the drunkard.

"Ho, wake up, ole timer. Ho, wake up." Buck shook the man's shoulder.

The drunkard opened one eye and blinked at them suspiciously. "Who are you? What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

Mano blinked as well, imitating the man. He and Buck laughed in amusement. "I am the man who is going to give you one dollar to deliver this telegram to the marshal's office," Mano told the drunkard.

"That's- that's half- half a bottle," the man calculated.

"Right. And another dollar when you deliver it to the deputy that is there," Mano continued.

"Well, you got yourself a man." The drunkard attempted to straighten, smoothed down his jacket and made to go, swaying like a leaf.

Mano held him back. "Compadre, you forgot something. One telegram." He handed it over.

"Where's the firs dollr?" the drunkard slurred as he examined the paper. He was not sure if it were not two telegrams, but as far as he could tell they looked identical and he decided not to make an issue.

"I am sorry. I was not trying to cheat you. Momento." Mano fished a bank note out of his pocket and held it up. "See? One dollar."

"Andanothr dollr aftr I dlvr- I deliver that tothe- to the deputy," the drunkard stated.

"And another one when you deliver it, sí," Mano confirmed. "But you should better wait five minutes until you deliver it, all right?"

"Five minutes?" the man asked, holding up four fingers.

"Five minutes," Buck nodded.

The drunkard turned to him. "Where you gonna be so that I can collect the other dollar after I dlvr- delivrit?"

Buck leaned back to escape the smell, but that only made the other lean forward further.

"Well, I tell you, old timer," Buck groaned, trying to speak without taking a breath. "You ask for me anywhere in town, and I'll be there. Manolito Montoya, that's me." Buck tapped his chest. Mano elbowed his friend but did not protest aloud. "We'll be watching you. Good night," Buck told the drunkard, tipped his hat and took off with Mano.

They crept back into the marshal's office. Buck stopped in front of the desk and handed Mano his revolver. After they had put their weapons back into the drawer, they hurried to their cell. Before they lay down, they shot the neighbouring cell a quick look. Blue still slept like a baby.

A few minutes later the drunkard came in. "Telegraph for the mar- marshl," he mumbled, hitting his knee on the low barrier. After some searching, he found the door to his left. "Telegraph for the marshalal," he repeated a little louder while he made his way unsteadily to the desk.

Blue jumped up from the cot. "Wait a minute. I'm the deputy. Let me see," he said. The next moment he held his breath and covertly shifted away from the man.

Buck and Mano got up and went to their cell door. As Blue read the telegram, they waved. The man saw them, grinned and looked away again. A second later his eyes widened, and he almost bowled over in surprise.

"Come here," Manolito whispered. The drunkard came to them with a skeptical face and took the dollar Mano held out to him. He fingered it for some time as if to make sure that the bank note was real and not just a hallucination.

"We kept our word," Buck whispered.

Mano elbowed his brother-in-law again and motioned for him to keep quiet. Blue was not deaf, after all. The drunkard blinked, pocketed his dollar and staggered towards the door, vowing to stay sober for a whole week if he ran into those two again.

A moment later Blue dropped the telegram, put on his hat and left as well.

"Hey dep?" Buck asked sardonically. "I hope it's not bad news, I hope?"

"Nothing to concern you, Buck," Blue calmly told his uncle before he closed the door.

XXX

"Here is my office," Hewitt said, motioning for Blue to enter. "Pelletier. I simply cannot believe it, deputy. I'm not sure you should believe it, either. Are you sure of your facts?"

"Well, I showed you the telegram, Mr. Hewitt. I came as soon as I got it," Blue replied. "The man is obviously wanted in Doyle City."

"I never heard of that place," the banker retorted.

Blue shrugged. "It's big enough to have a marshal. Anyway, are you supposed to see Pelletier again?" he wanted to know.

Hewitt hung his hat on the coat rack. "I ain't. I mean, the money is Pelletier's. Least, I always thought it was."

Pelletier was in the back room, listening at the door. Hewitt had suggested that he stay there. Otherwise, he had added sardonically, Pelletier would start to dream again. His partner had grimaced in annoyance but had taken Hewitt up on the offer. This way, he could watch the marshal's office all night to see if anyone took the money. Hewitt himself had gone back to sleep. Since Blue had been unable to find Pelletier, he had woken Hewitt and had shown him the telegram.

"I didn't stick around to count it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's not the same money stolen out of your safe," Pelletier heard the deputy say. "Did you see the men who robbed you, Mr. Hewitt?"

"Uh, no. No, I didn't," the banker stammered. "I was in the back room. Why?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Pelletier was a part of that gang."

"You mean, they'd rob me and instead of leaving town, they'd put the money right in the marshal's safe?" Hewitt laughed incredulously.

Blue also had to laugh. "Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But I've got this crazy telegram. Suppose Pelletier's staying in the hotel?"

"I don't know," the banker answered with a shrug. "You see, he's not a friend. I only met him yesterday. He's the one who said he was in cattle. The money is safe, isn't it?"

"Yes, the money is safe. Least, it's in the safe," the deputy confirmed.

"What you gonna do?" Hewitt asked as neutrally as possible.

"I'm gonna look for Pelletier, and then I'm gonna go back and count it," Blue said. "How much was in that payroll?"

"Thirty-one thousand and ten dollars."

XXX

While the deputy spoke with Hewitt, Buck and Mano were passing the time in their cell playing poker.

"Waint a moment, please," Buck said. He pulled a wad of bills from one of the bags. "It looks like I'm down to my last five hundred."

"Too bad," his friend commented.

"But I tell you what. I'm gonna bet all of it." Buck put the money on the chair that stood between their cots. They had moved the chair from the desk into their cell in order to have a decent poker table.

"All right, that is your mistake. I will bet your five hundred." Mano put his money in the pot as well.

"And this be yorn 'cause I got two beautiful pairs of tens and duces." Buck triumphantly waved his cards into Manolito's face.

"Well, I have two pairs, too. Two pairs of beautiful sixes." Mano grinned at Buck grinned and showed his cards to his friend.

"Huh?" Buck looked at him in confusion, then spoke up earnestly. "Mano, you could be killed for calling a hand like that two pairs." He shook his head. "Two pairs of sixes. That beats all."

"Momentito. Buck, count the money that's there," Mano said.

"Five, ten-" Buck took his pile and began to count it.

"Do you realise how much money I would have won if we were playing for real, hombre?" Mano asked his best friend. "How much is there?"

"Oh, I got-" Buck miscounted and started again. "I got two hundred there. My pile here is fourteen thousand and two hundred," he announced eventually.

"And I've got sixteen thousand eight hundred. That is thirty-one thousand dollars, compadre."

"And ten. This fell on the floor." Buck picked up a bank note. "That be thirty-one thousand and ten dollars. That's a bunch of money."

"Ave Maria," Mano added in amazement.

"Hey, we better put this back in the safe before ole deputy marshal comes around with that prisoner," Buck said and began to collect the money.

Manolito did not move. "Momentito. Why do I know that figure? Thirty-one thousand dollars."

"And ten," Buck added.

"And ten," Mano repeated thoughtfully. Then his eyes lit up. "Un momento. That was the amount that was stolen at the Wells Fargo safe."

"Huh?" Buck was lost again. Most of all, he wondered about the sudden concern in Mano's eyes.

"Do you not see? This Pelletier, he is no more a cattleman than you are even less of one," his friend exclaimed frantically.

Buck hit his forehead with his palm. "Then Hewitt-?"

"He is in on it. Aye Chihuahua." Manolito jumped up. "We sent a telegram for a joke on Blue, and it turns out to be a joke on us!"

Understanding dawning, Buck looked at Mano with just as much concern. "What's worse than that is that poor boy's alone against two men who won't stop at killing for this kind of money." He took his hat, opened the cell door and hurried out. Mano followed him. They ran to the Wells Fargo building, their revolvers at the ready. Under the office window they stopped.

"How many know about this?" they heard Hewitt ask.

Blue looked at the banker cautiously. "Just you and me," he answered. "And Pelletier."

"Yeah, that reminds me. I have something in my files that you ought to see," Hewitt said slowly, pointing towards the door to the back room. "Pelletier gave me some references when he brought in the money sacks. They'd be evidence, wouldn't they?"

"I suppose." Blue did not move from the spot.

"Well, you ought to have them, deputy," urged the banker. "They're in the back room. I would prefer if you would take them with you."

Buck and Mano rushed around the house to the back room. Pelletier stood beside the door, his back to the open window.

Buck ducked under the sill, ran to the other side of the window and looked in. "Hey Pelly, we got your thirty-one thousand and ten dollars," he said and disappeared again, slowly enough that Pelletier was able to recognise his face as he whirled around.

Pelletier froze, startled, just as Hewitt shoved Blue over the threshold.

"Get him, Pelletier," the banker called to his partner in crime.

But Blue already drew his revolver. "Hold it. You stay right where you are, Hewitt!" he hollered, waving his gun back and forth between the two bandits to keep them both in check.

Pelletier dropped his revolver. He meekly raised his hands, looking towards the window as if he had seen a ghost.

XXX

Blue had captured Hewitt and Pelletier during the night from Saturday to Sunday. To their sorrow Buck and Mano could do nothing more than sleep on Sunday because the deputy had put the two up in the neighbouring cell. On Monday morning Buck and Mano, still sitting in their cell, had to listen to the marshal's eulogy. A lot of people were present. Marshal Prentiss had returned to Tubac on Monday morning along with the mine owners. During the ride he had confessed what had happened and had been very pleased to see that the thieves had already been captured.

The marshal put his arm around Blue's shoulders and went with him to the desk. "Yes, sir, the smartest thing I've ever done was swore you in as my deputy, young fella. And I wouldn't be surprised if there was a reward from the mine as well as Wells Fargo."

"Don't mention it," Blue answered, feeling shy.

The marshal smiled. "Anyway, you won my gratitude."

"Right," the mine owners joined in the praise.

Blue beamed.

"Who knows what else those criminals might have stolen otherwise," the marshal continued, glancing towards the cells. Neither Hewitt and Prentiss nor the young man's uncles in the neighbouring cell were interested in the common good of his town, Prentiss thought morosely. Blue of course had had to tell him why he had thrown his two uncles into jail. Funny that such rowdies had such a neat young man as nephew.

Blue returned the badge. "I was just doing my job, you know," he said modestly.

"Well, you couldn't have done any better if you were a dozen deputies instead of one," the marshal replied firmly. "I'm going to see that the governor hears about this."

In their cell Buck and Mano threw their hands up in horror. It served them right that Blue Cannon had locked them up, Prentiss thought. To annoy the two further, he decided to top it. "And if you're ever in Tubac, you won't need one red cent of your own," he told Blue. "You won't need to buy a meal, or a drink, or a bed or anything." He clasped Blue on the shoulder. The others nodded in agreement and did the same. Buck almost jumped through the bars.

XXX

Blue sighed in relief when they finally reached the ranch. On the ride home he had felt more than uncomfortable. He had expected at any moment that Buck and Mano would pay him back. But his two uncles had neither looked at him, nor had they exchanged a word with him. Blue had finally ridden a few steps ahead to escape the frosty silence.

Victoria ran to the gate to meet them. "I'm so glad you are back. Did you have a good time?" she asked with a smile.

"You won't believe what happened over the weekend," Blue blurted out. He gestured over his shoulder at Buck and Mano who were leisurely riding in and still did not say a word. "They made me deputy, and I had to-" Blue swallowed and looked at his uncles uncertainly, "-make some arrests," he finished somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh. Congratulations." Victoria looked at her stepson in amazement. "Come in and tell us everythign from the beginning. I am sure John wants to hear this as well."

Blue nodded. He dismounted and walked with Victoria into the house. Buck and Mano followed them.

"John," Victoria called.

Her husband came from the study. "What's the matter?"

"Blue acted as deputy over the weekend and even arrested someone," Victoria reported proudly.

"So?" Big John smiled at his son.

"Come on, tell us everything," Victoria urged now. She led Blue to the chair by the fire place, sat down on a stool beside him and looked at her stepson expectantly.

John took up position behind Blue's chair. Buck leaned against the couch while Mano leaned against the wall that led to the dining room.

"Well, Buck and Mano did not want to be deputy, so they saddled me with the job instead," Blue began.

"What?" Victoria asked indignantly.

"The payroll money from the mines had been deposited with Wells Fargo," Blue continued. "Of course, someone tried to steal the money. And do you know who? Hewitt, the banker from the Wells Fargo office who was supposed to safeguard it in the first place. He blew up the safe with a partner and sent the marshal on a merry chase after some bandits who didn't even exist. And so the responsibility fell to me. Saturday night came a telegram. Hewitt's partner Pelletier was already wanted elsewhere. I went to Hewitt to question him, and Hewitt tried to trap me. He lured me into the back room where Pelletier was waiting, but I drew my revolver and arrested the two. Well, that's about it. It was mostly luck as far as I can see," Blue finished his story with a sideways glance at Buck.

"Oh, it was no such thing," Victoria said with a smile. "You are being too modest."

"No," Blue fended the compliment off. He still felt mighty uncomfortable. Buck and Mano were probably mad at him because he had not put in a word for them with the marshal. Prentiss had refused to release them without a promissory note, saying that they would have to pay all of the forty dollars, to the last cent. Buck had gone all quiet, had pressed his lips together and had said that he would never return to Tubac.

"Aren't you proud of your son?" Victoria asked her husband.

"I sure am, Victoria." Big John beamed. "You know, it took a lot of nerve to go after those men single-handed." He clasped Blue on the shoulder, then looked stonily at Buck and Manolito. "By the way, what were you two doing while Blue was running down the gang and the money?"

Buck looked around. "Us?" he stammered. "Well we was- We was, uh-"

"We were there," Mano said firmly. He leaned forward a little and threw Blue a demanding look.

"I didn't wanna bother them, Pa. There was nothing they could really do to help me," the boy promptly spoke up.

"That's right," Buck concurred. "John, you be proud of him. He did it all on his very own, that little boy."

"Right," Mano put in as well.

Victoria stood up, putting her hands on her hips in outrage. "Do you mean to say that while Blue was risking his life in a job you got him into, you were both drinking and carousing in the cantina?"

"Well, no, Victoria, not exactly," Mano defended himself and his best friend.

His sister threw her head back. "Not exactly? Very soon you're going to tell me you had a nice, quiet weekend resting and sleeping."

"Uh, Victoria," Buck said quietly, "would you believe if I told you that's exactly what we done?"

"Never," his sister-in-law replied decisively.

Buck took a deep breath. "Then I guess I better not say it. Come on, Mano."

The two friends left the house. John watched them go with a deep frown. He felt that Buck and Mano were hiding something from him, but after Victoria's words he knew he would never get them to talk. And Blue seemed to know nothing that could help clear up the mystery.

After a moment's hesitation Blue followed his uncles. He saw them walking around the ranch house. "Hold it. I want to talk to you about something."

Buck and Manolito stopped.

"Well sure, Blue. You go ahead and talk," Buck said kindly.

"Muchissimas gracias for saying nothing about us being in jail," Manolito added.

"Yeah," nodded Buck. "We wouldn't have heard the last of that for two years."

"At least." Mano put a hand on Blue's shoulder. "Is there anything we can do for you, deputy Cannon?"

Blue angrily shoved Manolito's hand aside. "You can start by stopping with that deputy stuff."

"That ain't nice, Mano," Buck admonished his best friend and turned to his nephew. "You bet, Blue."

"Yes, sir,'' Manolito agreed.

"You remember that telegram that I got?" Blue asked.

"Telegram? Oh telegram, yeah." His two uncles nodded slowly.

"Have you ever heard of a place called Doyle City?" Blue asked.

Manolito looked thoughtful. "Doyle City?"

"Doyle City? Well yeah, I think I heard," Buck said.

Mano nodded as well after a moment. "Seguramente que sí."

Blue looked at them triumphantly. "Well, you're the only ones who have."

"Is that a fact?" Buck asked perplexed.

"That's a fact," his nephew confirmed.

Buck and Mano looked at each other. "Was there something else, nephew?" Buck asked quietly.

"Yeah," Blue said. "I haven't been able to figure out how I got the drop on Pelletier so easy."

Mano shrugged. "Well, it is obvious. Er- you are the faster draw."

"Faster draw," Buck agreed with an emphatic nod.

"Yeah, I guess that's it." Blue looked doubtfully down on the ground.

"That's it, Blue Boy," Buck said firmly. "Well, you excuse us. We go wash up for supper."

"Adios," Mano said, put a hand on Buck's shoulder and left with his best friend.

Blue watched them go, flabbergasted. Then it hit him, but he immediately rejected the idea. "No, it couldn't be," he murmured. "They were in jail the whole time." Confused, he went back to the house. This puzzle would probably keep him busy for the rest of his life.