Cat Curry sat on a stool near the counter of Glover's Dry Goods Store, surrounded by shelves neatly stocked with plain and patterned cloth, ready-made jeans and shirts, yarn, needles, and countless other things no woman could live without. She had already paid for the sizeable order that was being loaded onto a wagon out back, but she stayed to chat with the proprietress. "Well, our new place will be all the better for your good fabrics. And some of that is for Christy's Place."

"I hope you'll be very happy with everything, Mrs. Curry," said the neat, slender Mrs. Glover.

Cat nodded. "Jed will cringe at the bill, but I'm looking forward to getting the bed covers and curtains ready, and clothes and all the other things for the baby. I'll have plenty of sewing to do, when I can spare it a minute here and there between business concerns. I so appreciate your advice on what I'll need."

"I certainly do understand how busy you must be," Mrs. Glover. "I'll be happy to lend you a hand when the baby gets here, or before. I have some experience of motherhood, though it's been a few years."

Cat smiled. She had few friends in town outside of her own employees and her husband. She was glad to have one more person in her corner. "Thank you, Ma'am. I do appreciate that. You know the Louisville businessmen's organization met at our place the other day? They voted Jed in. They really ought to ask you to join up."

"Well, when," Mrs. Glover pointed down playfully, "freezes over, maybe men will see us as equals and ask us both to join. Until then, we've got to look out for ourselves."

Cat chuckled. "I'm afraid you're right there. I have tell you it's a treat to have another woman running a business just down the street, Mrs. Glover. It's been just me and the men for quite a while, other than that prim seamstress."

"I feel the same, Mrs. Curry. We're still rare creatures, aren't we?" said Mrs. Glover with a warm look in her brown eyes. "And please, do call me Charlotte."

"Thank you, Charlotte. You be sure to call me Cat. I appreciate having you be so nice to me." Mrs. Curry smiled at her new friend.

"Well, why on earth wouldn't I be nice to you? You've been nothing but neighborly to me and my employees since I moved the store into town last month," said Mrs. Glover.

Cat sighed and her smile faded. "You know as well as I do. Though you weren't in town to see it, I'm sure you know how, um, close I've been with Jed Curry for the last few years. Most folks aren't as understanding about that as you are. And the wealthy ladies don't exactly cotton to the type of business I run, or to any woman who makes her own living. You know that nearly as well as I do."

Charlotte chuckled. "The hoity-toity ladies do look down their long snoots at me, but I try not to let it bother me. As long as they give me business, I'll make it fine. Since my Thomas died, I've had to look after myself. I can think of a lot worse ways of doing that than to run a dry goods store."

"You mean like my business," said Mrs. Curry softly.

"I do not!" responded Mrs. Glover, mortified at having given her new friend such discomfort.

Cat looked at the floor as she spoke softly, "Oh, yes, you do. Or the women who ply their trade there. And you're right. Jed and I have been talking about selling out the saloon part of the business and getting a place just as a hotel. It would make a much better business to raise children around. And I'd feel a lot better about it. I've never been happy with certain parts of the saloon business, despite having grown up around it. Or because of it. I know the details too well, though I never made my living on my back. I know that's the rumor, but it isn't true. I would be very glad to have no connection with prostitution. With as fast as the town's growing and as many trains as come through these days, there's plenty of business for a straight hotel."

"I'm sure there is, Cat. I know you'd be easier in your mind, but it can't be easy to decide to cut out a major source of income." Charlotte Glover spoke with concern.

Cat nodded. "And Jed would miss his friends who come in to drink and play dominoes and cards. But they can come and visit him at our new house or the hotel, and he can step out when he feels like a poker game."

Charlotte hesitantly said, "With his past, it can't be easy for Mr. Curry to settle down to a family and an honest business. It's a real testament to his devotion to you. I hope you don't mind my saying that."

Cat flushed a little. "Of course not. You're right. It touches me to have Kid Curry give up so much to be my husband and the father our children."

"He's made a good choice – a whole lot better than outriding sheriffs all his days. I'm not the only one in town with good reason to be glad he's our sheriff," said Charlotte Glover.

"He makes a fine sheriff, doesn't he? But he does make a sort of strange husband in some ways, I must admit. When he comes back from seeing the house being built, he's as excited as a little boy with a bunch of new toys. He's never really had a home of his own and he hardly knows words like curtains and garden – and nursery. But he's learning"

Charlotte smiled sadly, "Like all new fathers do. My husband was a man's man, for certain, with a lot of history in the saddle. But you should have seen him cradling his baby sons." Charlotte, who had been widowed for only a few months, paused and got a handkerchief out of her apron pocket to wipe her eyes. "Don't mind me."

"I know he was a wonderful father. You must be very proud of your boys, the one in college and the other already doing a good job with the railroad. I only hope Jed can do as well as your husband did," said Cat, anxious to set her new friend back at ease. "But he does have a lot to learn. The only thing he's ever had close to a real home of his own was when he and Heyes lived in a sort of cabin together at Devil's Hole. They tell me that Heyes had curtains on the windows, art on the walls and even a bit of a wine cellar and some books, but Jed left all that to him."

"Despite what one reads about him, Mr. Heyes seems like a very nice man," said Charlotte, putting away her handkerchief. "Do you think he'll move to Colorado now that he's finished his degrees?"

"Heyes is nice. And real smart. He and his wife will live wherever he can get a position teaching college math, or doing something else that uses his skills," said Cat. "Did you even get to meet Heyes when he was visiting last week?"

"I saw him when he and your husband were posing for those pictures. They make a very handsome pair of partners," said Charlotte. "What's Mrs. Heyes like?"

"Beth Heyes is a teacher, too," Cat said, "So she'll be looking for work as well. It's selfish of us to hope that Heyes and Beth will wind up doing something in Colorado, but he and Jed are very close. Mrs. Heyes and I are close, too. We have so much in common, after all. You'd like her, I'm sure."

"I'm sure I would," said Charlotte. "I look forward to meeting her one day."

"Well, I see my Bruce and your Tim have the wagon all loaded, so I had better go on back to the saloon. It's nice to chat, Charlotte," said Cat, getting up from the stool Charlotte had thoughtfully provided for the pregnant woman.

"I enjoyed it, Cat," said Charlotte. "You'll have to come for tea sometime soon."

As Cat left, Mrs. Wilde walked in the door, right past her. The former sheriff's wealthy haughty wife didn't give the new sheriff's wife a glance or a word. Charlotte Glover noted the slight, but put on a smile to greet her customer. She had to do what she had to do, like any businesswoman.

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That evening, Jed Curry and his wife sat side by side in rocking chairs on the porch of Christy's Place holding hands. The summer air was soft and warm. A mockingbird was running through its repertoire of stolen songs somewhere nearby. "That sure is a pretty sunset all pink and purple over the mountains, Cat, honey," said the sheriff of Louisville.

Mrs. Curry squeezed her husband's strong right hand. "It is, Jed. Seems like I never get to just sit and watch sunsets like this."

The sheriff looked fondly at his wife. "It's no wonder – you're usually inside looking after the customers this time of night. And I'm usually with you, or down at the jail."

"And I ought to be inside now, sweet heart. I'd better go back in and lend a hand." Cat began to prepare to stand, which was a little trickier than it had been only a month before.

Jed didn't let go of Cat's hand. "No. A lady expecting my baby deserves a little rest now and then. Joe, Ted and the girls can manage without you for a while. Stay here with me until the stars come out, would you?"

The answer to that required no words and took a while.

Husband and wife finally emerged, still breathing a little hard, from an embrace that had moved Cat to Jed's lap. The sound of soft voices made them both glance toward where the alley beside Christy's Place met Main Street. Jed and Cat couldn't heard what was said, only that a man and woman were talking and laughing happily together. As the couple emerged from the alley to cross Main Street, Jed and Cat could see Billy Healy holding the hand of Lori Darrow, the young woman who worked at Glover's Dry Goods Store. The pair was walking across the street just down the street from Christy's Place. "I guess his heroism got her attention," said Cat very quietly. "Not that she should have needed that – he's a nice young man and awfully good looking."

The young pair was walking slowly toward the edge of town in the twilight, under a high-flying crescent moon. A soft giggle came from Lori. "Let's go in and leave the young people the street," said Cat. "I've got work to do."

"Oh, alright," said Jed. "I still got a couple hours before I got to go down the street and take over for Al, with those robbers in the cages. I hate night shift, but I can't always stick the boys with it. I got to take it now and then."

"You're such a good, fair boss, Jedediah Curry," said Cat, kissing her husband. He sighed and struggled to get up as his wife handed him his crutches.

"Do you suppose Heyes is gonna come and manage for us this fall?" asked the Kid as the pair walked the long way around the side of their business.

"You mean do I think nobody will hire him to teach this semester? It's terribly late in the summer, from what he says. A new professor has classes to plan and all kinds of stuff to do before school starts. They can't wait until the end of August. So if he doesn't get a post in Utah then yeah, I think he might be working for us. I wouldn't mind it, if only it didn't mean defeat for him."

"Yeah, if he don't get to teach, he ain't gonna be a lot of fun to live with. He'll be awful worried about Beth and that boy, Marvin Mosley, he wants to adopt." The Kid's voice dropped very low. "We'll have to put the seals back on the whiskey store."

Cat stopped and looked at her husband in the shadows of the alley. "It's been seven, nearly eight years – do you really think that's necessary?"

"I hope not, but better safe than sorry, honey," said Jed Curry. "I just hope he gets himself a good job to support him, Beth, and that young boy Marvin. He's got a lot on his plate, and he knows it."

"He's up to it, Jed." Cat stroked her husband's cheek.

Curry sighed and put his arm around his wife. "I know he is. And being married to Beth is the best thing he could ever hope for. He needs somebody to look after him."

"So do you, Jed Curry," said Cat as she helped her husband in the back door of the business they ran together.

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"Oh my God, Harvard! At last," breathed Hannibal Heyes with some trepidation as he took the sealed envelope from his wife. He sat on the bed and stared at the formal envelope with its fancy printed coat of arms. He went on in a more normal voice. "I felt certain they'd just ignore me. As late as it is in the summer, I was sure they had." He slit the letter up the back with an efficient gesture of Beth's miniature sword letter opener. He unfolded the letter, taking a deep breath before he read it.

"You know very well that most schools ignore most applications. I think you've done a lot better than most folks that way, actually. So you don't have to go around pretending you've spotted a 'no' envelope when you know darned well that isn't what that envelope has in it." Heyes ignored the remark, so Beth gave her husband quiet.

His aphasia still made reading a process that took his full concentration. Beth waited as patiently as she could, considering that the answer might have a lot to do with her future for years to come. Heyes' face was impassive with concentration.

"Ah, well, that makes sense," said the ex-outlaw at last, setting the letter on the bed and inspecting the sheet behind it. "They're writing about a position starting spring semester - a newly endowed junior lecturer's position in applied mathematics. But they want to see me soon and they sent a form for me to fill out, as usual. I'm guessing their dream applicant for the fall pulled out at the last minute, but of course they won't say that right out."

Beth tried rather ineffectively to hide how excited she was by even the mildest possibility of her husband's becoming a member of the world-famous Harvard faculty. "Of course not. But oh, Harvard!"

Heyes grinned nervously. "You couldn't ask for better libraries or classrooms or any of that kind of stuff. The students are as good as any in Europe, or nearly. And the faculty's top rate, of course. That's why they won't call someone with just an MA more than a lecturer. A professor at Harvard has to have a doctorate. It's quite a place." His voice grew very soft. "But it's a long way from home."

The tired former outlaw took off his shoes and gave a low groan as he put his feet up on the bed next to his wife. She scooted over to give him his accustomed right side. "And Harvard's sure not in any of the states where the governors asked me to apply in my amnesty papers."

Beth snuggled up to her husband as he put his left arm around her. Beth tried to encourage the uncertain westerner next to her. "It's not all that far from New York City, Heyes."

"About 200 miles," murmured Heyes.

"You and your numbers! But the governors and Senator Warren couldn't possibly stand in your way about such a great opportunity."

"I hope not. But I'd be a fish out of water," Heyes muttered.

"You'd adjust just fine. There's no doubt of that – you've done so well here. Is your friend, what's his name, the guy that you met at the conference still there?"

Heyes gave Beth a kiss and said, "George Jones. Yeah, he's doing his PhD. I saw him at the Drexel conference. He forgave me for lying to him. It would be nice to have a friend already there in a new place."

Mrs. Heyes could feel the tension in her husband's body. "You don't sound very enthusiastic about Harvard."

"I'm tired, honey," Joshua yawned and leaned down to take off his shoes.

Beth rubbed Heyes' shoulders to try to relax him. "You must be. It was a long way on the train and multiple interviews."

"And the train was robbed," Heyes added as if this was dull routine.

Beth sat up and stared at her husband in concern. "Good lord, Heyes! Was everybody safe?"

"No – they shot a conductor for no reason at all. And they blew open the safe, just like somebody in your family used to do."

Beth asked, "That's horrible! Were the robbers people you knew?"

The former outlaw remained casual about something he had experienced more times than he liked to mention. He stood up and took off his pants as he spoke. "Yeah, the leader was. It was Luke Benton. The Kid and I taught Luke the business about ten years ago. I saw him clearly through the window, though I'm sure he didn't see me. There would have been a lot of reflections on the glass. I hate to think of all the folks who've lost money to Luke and his gang over the years. At least some of that is my fault. He was too good a student in some ways. But he forgot all about no killing rule real fast."

Beth watched her husband in concern. "Honey, you can't take the blame for what a man did when he wasn't even working with you any longer."

Heyes took off his white shirt and tossed it in the wicker laundry hamper. "I hope the law doesn't see it that way, but I kind of do."

"Did they get away?"

Heyes' voice was impassive. "At first they did. But I told the railroad how to stop Luke and his boys from getting the take back to their hideout. I knew where they'd be going and what road they'd likely take. The law got all the gang and the money, too. Luke and his boys won't be killing again."

Beth sat up and said, "Thank goodness! You ought to be proud of coming to the aid of the law, Heyes, but you don't sound like you are."

Heyes sat down on the bed in his underwear. "I'm too scared to be proud. What if the word gets out on who ratted out Luke Benton? If every outlaw west of the Mississippi thinks I'll spill my guts about him, I won't live long. Sorry, I shouldn't have told you that." Heyes gazed sadly at his wife, wondering if he had made a serious mistake in revealing this to her

Beth tried not to look too anxious. From discussing an appointment with Harvard to being hated by deadly criminals was a tough transition for her to make in less than five minutes. She had always known that her husband was still in danger even after he went straight, but this made the situation even plainer. The former outlaw's wife said, "I'm just glad you aren't hiding important things like that from me. I'm glad I can trust you. The railroad must be learning that they count on your word, too. They wouldn't let the word get out about who told them about Benton's hideout, would they?"

Heyes put his arm around his wife protectively. "They said they wouldn't. I was riding next to a railroad security guy who swore up and down he'd keep it quiet. We kind of got to be friends on the trip. I did my best to win over the conductors and guys like that, even if most of them weren't totally certain of my first name. But my railroad friend said he had to tell the law exactly who ratted Benton out or they wouldn't act on it. Some of the law out there is ex-outlaw, as you know. Lom and the Kid aren't all that rare. And there aren't many railroad men who exactly care about keeping me alive."

Beth kissed her husband. "I respect you for doing the right thing, and so should the law and the railroad men."

"I hope so. And there are some decent sheriffs and three governors and a senator on my side. And the President." The reformed outlaw tried to sound more positive, remembering how much his wife cared about him – and how important his safety and his future were for her and their family.

Heyes put his arm around Beth again. "So, what's been going on with you here? I've missed you an awful lot. I've been gone so long. It seems like forever."

Beth leaned against her husband. "Yes, it does. Heyes, I wasn't feeling my best while you were away. I've been kind of tired. I went to the doctor."

Suddenly Beth had her husband's complete attention in a new way. He took her hand. "Beth, honey, are you alright?"

Elizabeth Heyes began to smile as she said, "I will be. Come the middle or the end of February, 1892, Mr. Heyes, there's going to be a new little Heyes in the world."

Heyes stared silently at Beth with his mouth opened for a long moment. Tears came to his eyes and he put his arms around his wife. She could feel him trembling for at least a minute before he could speak at all. "Oh, Beth, that's wonderful!" He hugged her again. "Honey, I'm so happy, I don't know what to do. I've never been so happy in my whole life!"

"Shut up and kiss me, Daddy," said Beth, blinking back her own tears.

The couple hugged and kissed and wept together. Finally, Heyes said, "Elizabeth Heyes, that baby is going to be my closest living relative in the whole world. Our very own baby. Our very own child." Then Heyes caught his breath and said, "Gosh, you must have conceived just about on our wedding day."

Beth laughed, "Is there anything you won't do math about? More like our wedding night, lover. But yes, that's the way the doctor and I figured it." Beth kissed Heyes again.

Heyes touched his wife's belly delicately. He asked anxiously, "Honey, what do I need to know? What did the doctor say? What do we need to be careful about? I mean, other than that I damn well better get myself a good job and now."

Beth took a deep breath. "Well, I am kind of old for a first-time mother. I'll have to be careful to get the proper sleep and food and so on. There could be problems. They think older mothers have a higher percentage of some kinds of difficulties, like multiple births. It's too early for the doctor to know about that in this case."

Heyes' brown eyes grew a little wider. "Oh my God, I never thought about it. One would be hard on you – two or three - I hate to think how hard that would be."

Beth looked serious, "It would be, and it would be hard on you once they got here. But I don't want to borrow trouble. It's probably just one baby. That's plenty. Twins or more would be a low percentage chance." She smiled and poked teasingly at her husband's chest. "And no, my beloved mathematician, they can't give us an exact percentage."

Heyes brushed off the teasing. He stated solemnly. "So, come February, we may be a family of four. Or more, if Marvin gets more than just one little brother or sister. I damned well better get a really good paying job. If not teaching, then engineering or full time bookkeeping."

Beth snuggled up next to Heyes. "It would be a help, honey. But we'll find a way, no matter what. I trust you. And the most important thing is that we love each other."

Joshua squeezed his wife's hand, "I don't know if the grocer or our landlady care about that. But it's important to me, and it will be to our baby. And to Marvin. But how are feeling now? Are you still tired? Does the doctor think the baby's coming along alright? Are you well?" His voice was full of concern.

Beth smiled gently, "Yes, Heyes, the doctor said the baby's fine and so am I. I'm a little more tired than usual. But that's normal. The doctor gave me some advice that should help. I'm trying to get more sleep and to eat really well – plenty of green vegetables and that kind of thing. I think it's starting to help."

"That's good to know. And I can do more around here so you can rest when you get home from work."

Beth laughed. "Thanks. But I don't want you cooking. I'm supposed to eat well – and a diet of charcoal doesn't fill the bill." Heyes only pretended to look deeply offended at this. His wife wasn't the only one who had criticized his cooking over the years.

A shy smile grew on Heyes' face as he looked in wonder at his wife and gave her another gentle hug. "Oh, honey, I can hardly believe it! We'll have some exciting news for Curtis – he'll have a new cousin. And I'll need to write to Marvin, and we'll have news for Barbara and Corey, and your aunt Bertha, of course, Cat and Jed. And Charlie, and Dr. Leutze, and Jim, and Polly . . ."

Beth held up her hand. "Slow up there, Heyes. We need to tell Cat and Jed straight off, of course, and my sister Barbara, Aunt Bertha, and I guess Charlie, but for the rest, I want to wait a little. It's very common with babies, at this early stage, especially with an older mother, to well . . ."

Heyes knew immediately what his wife meant and he took a firm line about it. "You aren't going to lose the baby. We aren't, I mean. Absolutely not. But if you want to keep this a little private at first, I understand. I think Dr. Leutze ought to know, though, in case there's some medical reason for you to miss work. And because he's so much like a father to you."

"Yes, you're right, Heyes. But I'll tell him to keep it to himself." Beth paused, then she asked, "Heyes, you don't suppose our baby might have a half-sibling or two out there, someplace in the West, do you?"

When Beth saw the distress this question caused her husband, she said, "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's not like you can do anything about it now."

Heyes turned away from Beth and his eyes looked distant for a moment. As his eyes focused again, he looked thoughtful and apologetic. "I don't want to hurt you, either, Beth, but I want to be honest. You know I've never been a saint and I don't like to be lonely. I always kind of wondered if I was shooting blanks, since no woman ever came to me with a baby and said it was mine. But Jed never heard from any woman claiming to have his child either, at least not that he told me. And we know he's, you know, normal. The Devil's Hole wasn't exactly easy for strangers to approach. Even before we were there, we weren't easy to track, of course. No woman I ever slept with knew my real name, or not after I started using aliases when I was about 18. So just because we haven't heard doesn't mean there isn't such a child. I'm afraid, doing the math, the chances of our baby's having a half-brother or sister or more than one out there – well, there's a very strong chance. Those professional girls are careful, but nobody's ever invented a birth control method you can bank on. So I just don't know."

Beth held her husband's hand. "I'm so sorry I brought it up. I really didn't mean to hurt you like that. But it's a fact we have to keep in mind. I suppose it's the same with Jed and Cat's baby."

"Yes," said Heyes flatly. "It has to be. I'm sorry to put you and our children in that position. Like with a lot of things, I wish I could turn back the clock."

Beth put her arms around her husband. "Come on, darling. One could hardly ask virginity of an outlaw, or even just a virile young man."

Heyes laughed. "No. Not likely. Well, speaking of, um, that . . . is it safe for us to, um, do a little celebratory getting together under the covers?"

Beth stroked her husband's hair. "Of course it is, darling. Things will be a bit different when the baby's bigger, but right now it's not a problem. The doctor said to go ahead as long as I feel like it. I thought you were tired."

"Not that tired. Not now. I surely do love you, Elizabeth Warren Heyes. You and our baby." Heyes touched his wife's belly very, very delicately.

Beth smiled fetchingly. "Yes, that's just the first of those little Heyeses we talked about. With the father who's a great professor."

"Yeah, maybe." Heyes smiled at his wife and took her in his arms.

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After dinner, Heyes went down to his landlady's apartment. He said apologetically, "Mrs. Westmoreland, I'm sorry to bother you another time. But I do need to use the telephone again. I'm sorry Mrs. Heyes and I lead such eventful lives. Or talkative, anyhow."

Mrs. Westmoreland smiled at him, almost as if she knew what news he was conveying. "Well, you're young and famous. And you have a close friend far away. So it's to be expected."

Heyes grinned. Especially right now, it was kind of nice for someone to refer to him as young. He felt awfully old to have a baby or more than one in his future when he was all of 38 years old and would be turning 39 just about the time the baby was due.

As his landlady disappeared into her bedroom, the expectant father picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, Central? This is Joshua Heyes. If you can please get me the sheriff's office in Louisville, Colorado, I'd be much obliged." There was a long wait while operator patched through to another operator and so on across the country.

Finally, Heyes heard the phone in the sheriff's office 1,600 miles away ringing. "Hello, Louisville Sheriff's Office," came the voice of Billy Healy, loud out of habit using the new device.

"Hello, Billy. This is Heyes," said the ex-outlaw. "Can you get my partner on the line?"

"Sure, Heyes. He's in the back with a prisoner right now. I'll go get him. Is everything good with you and Mrs. H?"

"Yes, Billy, very good. No job yet, but it'll come. I've done some interviews and they haven't all said no."

"Heyes?" said Sheriff Curry in the raised voice one had to use on a telephone across over 1,500 miles of wires. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Heyes replied. "Are you alone?"

Jed answered, "No, but I'll send Billy out on patrol. It's about time."

"Do that. There's nothing wrong, but I'd like privacy for this."

"Sure, Heyes." The former outlaw in New York could hear his partner in Colorado in the background directing his deputy to take a good, long turn around the town.

Then the sheriff was back on the telephone. "He's gone. What's the news?"

Jed could hear the smile in his partner's voice. "Beth's gonna be a mommy. In February, we think."

The Kid was ecstatic at the news. "Wow, that's wonderful, Heyes! Congratulations, Daddy! Why do you want to keep it quiet?"

"Come on, Jed. Beth's not the youngest mommy in the world. The chances of something going wrong are higher at her age and she knows it." Heyes was glad to have his partner be happy, but he couldn't hide his own concern.

Jed replied, "I get it, Heyes. You wouldn't want it to get into the papers or anything. But I can tell Cat, right?"

"Of course. How's she coming along?" Heyes had to inquire about his partner's wife.

Heyes could hear the pride in his partner's voice. "She's getting pretty big. And, I swear it's true, she's more beautiful every day. She really is."

"I don't doubt it. Beth's already kind of glowing. She's real happy and she hasn't had any morning sickness at all. But she'd be happier if I had one of the jobs I'm after." The underemployed ex-outlaw gave mild vent to his frustration.

Curry made about as supportive a speech as he could ever manage. "Heyes, you're going to get something one of these days. If you can't teach this time around, you'll get it next session. There's a bunch of stuff you can do real good and you know it. We'd be right happy to have you manage for us. Not just floor manage – run the whole shootin' match until you get something better."

Heyes said, "That's nice of you, Jed. It's a high complement. If I don't get an offer from Utah or Harvard, I'll probably take you up on it."

"Harvard? That real good school in Rhode Island?"

"Massachusetts, Kid. I forget to tell you. Harvard wants me to interview for a position for the spring. The job would start in late January. But it's Harvard, so the competition is gonna be extra hot. It's tough for me to picture myself teaching at a school that excellent, with all those big name professors."

Jed was skeptical. "What, better than Charlie Homer?"

"Nobody's better than Charlie Homer!" The recent graduate rose to his advisor's defense.

The Kid said supportively, "So already know you can teach with the best guys there are, Heyes."

"When did you start believing in me so much, Kid?"

Curry ignored the comment and instead changed the subject. "Heyes, was it you ratted out Luke Benton on that train through Missouri?"

"You damn well better be alone in that office, Kid." The darker ex-outlaw was very nervous about saying anything aloud over as unsecure a device as a telephone. Any number of operators could be listening in. And deputies could be worse.

"I said I was and I still am." The sheriff understood his partner's caution.

"Yeah, it was me. I was on the train." Heyes admitted, sounding rather annoyed at himself.

"Are you trying to get yourself shot in the back, partner? And maybe me while you're at it?" Jed Curry let his own worries show.

"No. But they killed a man right in front of me and I could see they weren't gonna stick at doing it again. And you know they've done it before a bunch of times. They had to be stopped, Kid." Heyes said with regret.

"That's my job, Heyes."

The reformed outlaw stoutly declared. "That's the job of an honest citizen. And I am one, now, just like you, sheriff. I was there. I had to do it. I was riding next to a railroad security man, so I just told him."

Jed sounded more than annoyed. "Alright, Heyes, alright. You can get off your soap box. But I know to watch my back extra careful. I was the one who set up the hideout that gang was using and they know it. They'll be thinking the guy who turned lawman turned them in."

Heyes said with regret, "I know. Sorry to do that to you, Jed. But I had to."

The sheriff was going to fight about it cross country. "Yeah, well . . . I got to go, Heyes. See ya! And congratulations!"

"See ya, Kid. One of these days, anyhow. Give my love to Cat and the little guy."

"And you kiss Beth for me, extra nice."

Heyes was grinning as went back to his own apartment. His partner had gotten mighty close to saying how proud he was of Heyes. That was a rare thing. Then the uneasy applicant sighed and looked very serious again.

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The next day, Heyes got up even before his wife and made sure that she got a good breakfast. They kissed, and Beth set off for the clinic while Heyes headed to the Levy factory.

"Good morning, boss," said Heyes as he came in the door to the factory's little office. He brushed the thick layers of fabric dust off of his chair and sat down to see what had been going on with the sweat-shop's books during his absence.

Mr. Levy came in. He took off his yarmulke for a moment to wipe the dust out of his grey hair, then returned his black skullcap to its place.

The kindly factory owner said in his thick Yiddish accent, "Welcome back, Mr. Heyes. And how did you find the wild West on your journey?"

"Not too awful wild, Mr. Levy. I had a couple of good interviews and one of them might lead to a good position." Heyes didn't mention either his possible foster son or Beth's pregnancy; no matter what happened, he wouldn't be working here long enough for either one to be any of Mr. Levy's business. "And I'll have to set up another interview soon, up in Massachusetts. So I'll work hard today and tomorrow to catch up for the weeks I missed."

Heyes put on his black sleeve protectors and the visor that helped him to avoid the glare of sun coming in through the window. He was soon hard at work digging through a pile of receipts and notes, and then making entries in the business ledger with his fountain pen.

Levy checked on his production and later returned to the offer to peer through his glasses at Heyes' work. He commented, "At least Massachusetts is not so far away as Wyoming, Texas, and Utah. You'll not be gone so long. Tell me, where in Massachusetts do they want for you to come and speak to them?"

Heyes dotted an i and said, "Harvard. It's in . . ."

Young Mr. Levy had come into the office while his father was talking to their notorious bookkeeper. "Merciful heavens, Heyes, Harvard! Perhaps the best school in this country, and they want for you to interview?"

Heyes grinned. "Yes, Mr. Levy, they do. I'm surprised, too, that they would consider a man with my past. But as I always tell you, I do know my mathematics."

"Best of luck to you, Mr. Heyes," said the younger Mr. Levy, coming over to shake Heyes' hand.

"What, my foolish son, you are wanting for us to lose a good bookkeeper? Never will I make a good businessman of this boy!" kvetched the elder Mr. Levy sourly. But then the old man winked smilingly at his bookkeeper.

After he got a corned beef sandwich at a nearby deli for lunch, Heyes walked to the Leutze clinic. It offered a telephone closer than his home and without the terrible guilt of constantly asking favors of their landlady.

"Heyes! Welcome back!" said Polly happily as she spotted the ex-patient coming down the hall. "Beth said you had a good interview or two."

"We'll see, Polly," said Heyes, giving his friend a peck on the cheek. "Maybe Utah will work out. Texas pulled out and Wyoming said no. Right now I've got to set up an interview with Harvard. May I please borrow your telephone?"

Polly smiled brightly at the handsome former outlaw. "Harvard! Goodness, Heyes! That is impressive. Best of luck to you. The room with the phone is free right now."

"I'll pay the clinic back one of these days, I promise," said Heyes.

"Heyes, good afternoon!" said Dr. Leutze as he came out of his office and spotted his former patient. "Beth told me about Harvard. Good luck! No one ever deserved such a fine opportunity more than you do."

Heyes said modestly, "Well, I don't know about that, but I'm trying. I'm just about to do another evil thing, if you don't mind. May I borrow your telephone to call up and arrange the interview? What did we ever do without all these modern conveniences?"

Dr. Leutze chuckled fondly at his former patient. "Heyes, you know you can use our telephone any time it's free and you need it. Don't ever worry about that. But if you get a position at Harvard, I fully expect you to buy me wine when we go out to dinner."

"At the very least, Doctor," said Heyes with a warm smile.

Leutze returned the smile with particular joy and shook Heyes' hand. Though the doctor didn't say anything in mixed company, it was clear to the father-to-be that Beth had already shared her happy news with her boss.

Heyes walked into the little office devoted to the clinic's lone telephone. He was almost getting used to making telephone calls. He was soon put through to the secretary of Harvard's dean of mathematics. "Hello, this is Joshua Heyes," he said. "I'm calling from New York City to make an appointment for an interview with Dean Paulson about the new endowed lecturer position. This is in answer to a letter from the dean."

The answering voice sounded like that of a bright young woman. The eager applicant couldn't help envisioning her as pretty. "Hello, Mr. Heyes. This is Miss Ritter, Dean Paulson's secretary. What does your schedule look like for late this week or early next?"

"Any time Thursday or Friday or next week would be fine for me," said Heyes, gazing down at his opened journal on the little desk in the telephone office. He held his fountain pen poised to take down information.

The secretary suggested, "What about Friday at 11:00 AM, sir?"

Heyes said, "That would work excellently for me. I'll make the travel arrangements right away. Where on campus is the dean's office, please?" He wrote down the time in his neat handwriting.

"Have you been on campus before?" asked Miss Ritter.

The ex-outlaw answered, "Yes, I have, but only once at a symposium a few years back. So I don't know the quads well - you'll need to give me detailed directions."

"At least you know there are quads – that's better than most new applicants. Alright, when you come from the train station . . ." The secretary soon had Heyes feeling as if he could see every step of the route to the dean's door.

"Thank you very much, Miss Ritter. I look forward to the interview. I'll see you on Friday." Heyes was ready to hang up.

But the secretary quickly asked, "Pardon me, but are you really Hannibal Heyes the outlaw?"

Heyes spoke with heavy emphasis and clear annoyance. "Ex-outlaw." He added, trying to sound less fierce, "Now I'm a mathematician, which is much nicer. Nobody shoots at me or tries to lock me up."

The secretary was apologetic. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Heyes. I didn't mean to be offensive. But it is a question I had to ask, so I could be sure of the arrangements I need to make. And could you please tell me what you look like?"

"Pardon me, but why do you need to know that before I get there?" The reformed outlaw was irritated by the question.

Miss Ritter regretfully explained, "I'm afraid we're worried about possible press attention or word about you getting out in other unwanted directions."

"I see. I'm an embarrassment. Are you sure the d-dean really wants me to come?" Heyes was doing little to disguise his irritation. He was even more upset to have his aphasia show itself even more clearly than it normally did.

Miss Ritter said, "Mr. Heyes, I beg your pardon, I truly do. You are not an embarrassment. Quite the contrary. I am told that you are an extraordinary scholar in whom this University is very interested. But you are also a considerable celebrity and we don't want to cause you any trouble with people reporting your interview to the press before you know the results. So if our staff can identify you as quickly as possible when you arrive on campus, we can perhaps head off trouble. You will need to be cautious of high-spirited students, of whom we always seem to have an extraordinary number. We will do our very best to keep your interview completely private. And I . . . I'm sorry if my questions are unpleasant for you."

Heyes answered, "I guess I can understand that you're only d-doing your job. I'm sorry to be prickly. It's just, well, in the past, my appearance was something of a secret. It helped me to avoid bullets in the back. The fact that no photographs ever appeared on our wanted posters was no accident. So it feels very strange for me to describe my appearance accurately to a stranger." Now the applicant spoke more lightly, hoping an improved attitude would help him to avoid further stuttering, and help to make a good connection with the secretary. Such people could make a lot of difference on campus. "Now, inaccurately describing myself, that's something I've done a few times to detectives and bounty hunters who didn't realize who was talking to them. I was sprouting moles, scars, and gold teeth every which way when those guys were around."

Heyes felt better as he heard Miss Ritter laugh. "I can just imagine. If you can report your appearance accurately this time, I'll make sure the information is confined to those of us who need to know and can help you keep the press and other troublesome folks at bay."

Heyes chuckled. "Thanks. I do understand. Though as you might have guessed, I am quite adept at defending myself."

"I'm afraid guns are not permitted on campus, Mr. Heyes," said Miss Ritter.

"Too bad," said Heyes. "Not that that's the only way I know how to keep safe. Far from it. Anyhow, I'm about 5 foot eleven, or just a hair less. Slender. My wife says I need to eat more. I've got straight brown hair with a little grey these days. The eyes are brown. I wear wire-rimmed spectacles when I need to see distances." He paused and chuckled. "Why am I getting into details? All you really need to know is that I have a prominent, diagonal scar on my left temple where I was shot. And there's also a scar on my left cheek where the guards in the Wyoming State Pen hit me over and over again. That ought to do it right there. It's a good thing the big scar never got onto the wanted posters or I never would have made it to amnesty as a free man. Anybody who can't spot me with that description is blind as a bat."

The secretary was laughing as she heard the vain outlaw trying to get past the embarrassment of this description. "I'm told by people who heard you speak at the Drexel conference that you're very good looking and totally charming. We'll see about handsome, but charming I can attest to."

Heyes chuckled. "Thank you, Miss Ritter. Oh, and could you please ask George Jones, the PhD student, to give me a call? I'm hoping he might let me stay the night with him on Friday. You've got my phone number or he can send a telegram to my home in the evening or to my wife at the Leutze Clinic during the day. I'll see you on Friday. I shall attempt not to disappoint, but I ought to warn you that neither gun shots nor advancing age have improved my appearance." Heyes, buoyed by thoughts of his impending fatherhood and upcoming interview, was enjoying exercising his silver tongue even at his own expense.

"Good-bye, Mr. Heyes. Have a good trip. I look forward to meeting you."

The phone clicked. Heyes wondered if Harvard might actually be seriously interested. Miss Ritter certainly was, despite knowing full well that the notorious ex-outlaw was married. The interest of both the woman and her employer provided a boost to the ex-outlaw's ego. He had his hands in his pockets and was whistling happily as he walked back to the Levy Shirt-Waist factory to begin his afternoon's work.

At the end of a grueling day of figuring, Heyes headed in a slightly different direction than his home. He had some news to convey. Heyes was limping a bit with weariness as he climbed the steps to Charlie Homer's front door.

The door opened slowly and the tall mathematics professor looked out. "Heyes! Come in!" called Homer, sounding exactly as he had when his most famous advisee had first met him five years before.

"Hello, Charlie," said Heyes brightly. "I'm back again." He followed Professor Homer into his parlor. "I don't want to stay long – I'm tired and I'm sure you are. But I have news for you."

Charlie Homer leaned forward in his overstuffed chair. "Yeah, tell me about it, Heyes. How'd it go, son?"

Heyes couldn't wait to give Charlie the biggest news. The father-to-be's eyes were shining with happiness. "Forget my trip, for the moment. Dad, if you want to see it that way, you're going to be a grandpa."

"Heyes!" exclaimed Charlie Homer, leaping to his feet. "Congratulations!" He shook Heyes' hand joyfully. "Is Beth well?"

"She's a little tired, but she looks great. The doctor said she and the baby are both fine. They just hope it's only one. With older mothers, there's more of a chance of more than one baby."

Charlie nodded and looked suddenly solemn. "Yeah. That's what happened with Marie. After she had our son, she lost twins. She couldn't have any more children after that."

Heyes hadn't ever heard this sad story. "I'm sorry to remind you of it, Charlie."

Charlie smiled, eager to hear more happy news. "Don't worry about it, Heyes. That's a long time ago. I'm so happy for you and Beth! When is your son or daughter due?"

"Sometime around the middle or end of February. She's due pretty close to my birthday, actually. That would be something to share a birthday with my own child. And by the way, Charlie, Beth asked if you'll please keep it quiet for the moment. When she starts to show is time enough to tell my other friends."

Charlie nodded. "I understand. Now, those job interviews are extra important. Tell me about what happened."

Heyes said, "Before we get to that, you might be a grandpa in another way, too. You remember that boy Mosley I mentioned to you that I'd met in prison?"

Charlie was curious at the mention. "Yeah. He sounds like quite the boy."

Heyes gave a little rueful laugh. "Quite the handful, you mean. He's been released but he needs a foster family. The state of Wyoming asked Beth and me if we would think of taking him on. He said he trusts me. I hope he's right. If I can get work that pays enough, we want to do it."

"You're a brave man, to take on a teen-aged boy along with a new baby and a new job, if you're lucky." Charlie looked at his former advisee with concern.

"Well, we didn't know about the baby when we said yes. So I hope we can handle it alright. It won't be easy."

"No, but I'm sure you're up to it. Hey, you handled a whole gang of outlaws for seven years. One boy and one baby, and a few classrooms full of undergrads ought to be a piece of cake."

Heyes gave his former professor a lop-sided grin. "Very funny, Charlie. But we'll figure it out. I do wish Colorado was hiring. If we could have Jed and Cat just down the street with their own baby while we're figuring out how to be parents, the whole thing could be kind of fun. Anyhow, I interviewed fine at Wyoming, but they said no. I think it must have been the board, or maybe the university president. Things went pretty well at Utah, but I haven't heard back yet. The new normal school in Texas pulled out before I even met the head man. They've got money trouble. Too bad – it's a nice town. Our old friend Judge Hanley is county judge there."

Charlie nodded. "Well, it's better to have them run out of money before you get there than after. It wouldn't be great to move to a place and then be stuck without income."

"Yeah, could have been a narrow escape. But Charlie – out of the blue, there's a lecturer spot at Harvard – they want me up there on Friday. The position starts with the spring semester."

Charlie was obviously surprised. "Harvard! I heard they'd written you off as a bad gamble with their board. Sorry I didn't tell you, but my source asked me not to. You know how it is. But if they've extended a new invitation, then all bets are off."

"Yeah. Well, any advice, Pa?"

Charlie rubbed a hand across his furry eyebrows and furrowed brow. "About which thing? On fatherhood, I'll say what Marie's mother always said. You can't do perfectly no matter what. But you just have to do what you think is right as each decision comes up. And there will be a lot of them. I think you'll be a wonderful father, and Beth was born to be a mother. After all, a parent is a lot like a teacher. You just don't get evenings, weekends, and summers off!" The grey-haired professor winked at the man he saw as a son.

Charlie sighed and continued. "About Harvard, well, it's as full of high-money politics as you'd ever guess. I'd say be humble with the money men and assertive with the faculty and students. Don't sell yourself short. You're as good as anyone there. You don't have as much academic experience as most of the top men, so take every opportunity to learn from them. But don't let them intimidate you. A place that large, as a whole, can seem kind of cold. But there are a lot of good individuals."

"But, Charlie – me, at Harvard? Do you think they could take Hannibal Heyes seriously?"

Homer nodded. "You bet. They wouldn't be interviewing you if they didn't respect you and think you could do a good job for them. Of course, a lecturer isn't the same as a professor. The work is just as hard, you just don't get as much pay and respect. They'd expect you to start a doctorate as soon as possible, I'm betting. Or that's what they would expect of a man who wanted to stay on."

Heyes nodded thoughtfully and tapped the arm of his chair nervously. "Yeah, that's what I'd expect. I want to go for the PhD, of course. But when I'll have time and money is another question. Especially with a couple of kids at home. Or more."

Charlie considered this. "I think you could assume a full scholarship, and perhaps some kind of assistantship or fellowship to help with expenses. Ask, if it gets that far. On the children, I think you have to mention Marvin Mosely. In fact, I think having the state of Wyoming trust you to raise the boy, and that you want to do it, is a major point in your favor. The baby, of course, you can stay quiet about for the time being. But if they ask if you're planning a larger family, and they might ask a newly married man that, you'll have to be honest. If you get it and they do the math when the child comes, you don't want them to think you were holding out on them."

"Yeah. I need to be straight with them. Straight. Me. Man, it's another world, Charlie. When I was with the Devil's Hole, I'd have thought you were crazy if you'd told me I'd ever go to college, much less teach there. Do you really think I can make it at Harvard?"

"I know damn well you can, Heyes." Charlie stood up and gestured toward the door. "Now go home and hug your wife. She'll be worrying over you. Give her my love."

Heyes smiled as stood up. "Gosh, to think anybody but me, and maybe the Kid, would ever worry over me. I've got a wife, and soon I'll have a son, a baby, and an interview at Harvard. It's another world, Charlie. I tell you, it's a whole new world."