"I got 'em, I got 'em!" Billy Ray yelled, trotting up on his black mare,
"Jus' like you said, Ralph! They's comin'! I heard 'em! I hea-"
"Quiet!" A husky voice silenced from behind a thick wall of shrubbery. "Get off the damn horse an' hide, y'moron!"
Billy jumped of his horse and slapped it on the rear to ensure its course onward before diving behind the barricade of undergrowth. He landed next to the tall man with the black hair from the Savannah robbery. The twins sat on either side of him, and there was a short man with rust-colored hair and green eyes on the further right. He shifted uneasily on his haunches and looked to the leader.
"Are y'sure this is gonna work, Ralph?" he asked uncertainly.
"It should. If it don't kill 'em, it'll sure as hell get 'em arrested," Ralph answered.
"Well won't they get killed anyhow? Hanged or somethin'?"
"Sure. That's the point, innit? The James- no, jus' the Younger gang.. they wanna monopolize the bank robbin' industry, but we ain't gonna let 'em."
The young man smiled and rubbed his hands together thoughtfully. "Wait 'til I tell my gal I brought down the Younger gang. She'll be so impressed, I'll definitely get a lil' somethin'!" he grinned to himself while Ralph rolled his eyes.
"Keep it in your pants, Carl," he growled, "an' give 'em the signal, would you? I wanna see if followin' them paid off."
Carl pushed himself up and waved his arms quickly and fitfully, signaling to the many Pinkerton detectives that were also crudely concealed by the bushes that surrounded the clearing. There was a chorus of guns cocking in the silence of the setting sun.
One of the twins, wondering fretfully, asked, "What if the In'jun loses the trail an' they don't come?"
"They will. I pissed 'em off pretty good," Billy said quietly as he cracked his knuckles. "Hey Ralph?"
"Yeah?"
"Save the youngest one for me, hunh?"
"The one we knocked out at the bank?"
"Yeah, that one. He's mine."
"We're turnin' all'a them in, stupid."
"Not him."
Ralph sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. But if you ruin this, it's your ass."
Billy settled back, satisfied as he slipped his gun from its holster. Carl glanced at Ralph and then leaned forward, whispering, "Where'd y'find this guy, Ralph?"
The older man turned his head back to Carl. "He's my cousin," he replied, just as quietly. One of the detectives signaled that the gang was approaching and they all fell silent.
The group drew near to their rival's hiding spot. Tom requested they stop so that he could inspect the trail, having noticed that there were footprints that led off to the underbrush. He raised his brow as he squatted low to the ground, looking at the path of footsteps, and then he stood quickly, his eyes suddenly worried and wide. He made a move for his horse, gaining the attention of the rest of the gang.
"It's a trap!" he exclaimed as the Pinkerton's jumped up and revealed themselves, brandishing their guns.
"Shit," Bob groaned dejectedly. Jesse couldn't agree more. He counted about a hundred adversaries, minus the presence of Ralph and his lackeys.
"Thomas Coleman Younger!" a detective, obviously a higher ranking than the others, shouted, "You and your little band of misfits are under arrest!"
"Don't move or we'll shoot the lot'a you," Ralph added, aiming his gun at Jesse. Jesse stared at him, his eyes narrowed but unsettlingly calm.
Billy stepped up to Ralph, telling him quietly, "I changed my mind. We can turn Younger in. So long as we get my Alex back." Then he leaped forward dramatically, playing it up for the detectives. "Wait! They have a hostage! Don't shoot, don't shoot!" He motioned frantically to Alex.
"What?" Alex said confusedly, "I'm not a hostage!"
"They prolly' told her t'say that, or they'd kill her!"
"Miss, we've gotten them under control. You can get off your horse, now, and slowly walk to me. They aren't going to hurt you anymore," the same detective directed coolly.
"They didn't hurt me b'fore!" she cried angrily.
"Then where'd y'get that bruise, darlin'?" Billy inquired loudly, gaining a livid glare from Jim.
Alex touched her face gently, having forgotten that she'd taken a blow to the face earlier. "Shit."
The detective tried again, "It's alright now, come to me. They're not going to hurt you anymore."
Cole leaned in to whisper to Bob, who was closest to Alex. "Grab her, make 'em think she's really a hostage. Tell her t'play along, too. It's gotta be convincin'."
Bob tilted his body back casually, like he hadn't been conspiring moments ago. He waited a few seconds before lunging at her and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her onto his horse. He pushed his gun to her head as she let out a small yelp of uncertainty.
"What're you doin'?!" she sounded panicked.
"Don't move or I'll blow her t'Kingdom Come! They don't call me Bad Bob Younger for nothin'!" Bob addressed the detectives that were going for their guns and whispered to Alex, "Play along."
Alex had already caught on and was making a show of being terrified. It would've been more fun if she weren't doing it for the sake of their lives. Jim, out of the loop, whispered urgently to Cole, "What's he doin'?!"
"Shh, it's fine. All part'a the plan."
Billy, however, hadn't expected for his lie to turn out this way. He didn't move, unsure of if they were serious or not. "Let her go!" he demanded, but really had no power over the situation.
"Oh, be quiet, y'whiny sack'a shit," Cole said irritably. Jesse smirked, his attention not focused on Ralph, as it should have been. Ralph took his chance.
He lunged forward at a distracted (and therefore less likely to be able to counterattack) Jesse, grabbing one of his arms and yanking. Jesse fell to the ground with a thump and was pulled immediately to his feet. Ralph didn't bother to hesitate with twisting Jesse's arm painfully behind his back, nor did he falter when he raised a gun to the famous outlaw's head. The gang couldn't stop him, for if they moved they would surely be riddled with bullets. He grinned sadistically and jerked Jesse forward threateningly.
"Let her go.. or I'll blow his brains out. And I'm not lying," he said pointedly to Bob, cocking his six-gun.
"Don't do it, Bob," Jesse said bravely, trying to angle his arm so as to prevent it from breaking.
Bob completely ignored Jesse and gently lowered his gun from Alex's head. He pulled his hands back and held them up slowly to show that he wasn't planning anything. Alex looked at him in disbelief and he nudged her off his horse. Jim glowered at his older brother heatedly. She dismounted, disregarding the soft coaching of the detective to come to him.
Billy took it upon himself to sweep her up over one of his shoulders. He received one unanimous glare from the outlaws as she let out an angered cry of protest. She slammed on his back with her fists repeatedly, but he didn't fail to drag her off to the side of the action.
"Let. Me. Go!" she commanded, swinging her legs ferociously.
"Play nice, darlin'," he insisted quietly. "You wouldn't want Jesse t'get hurt or anythin', would you?" He placed her down onto her feet, and she looked at him skeptically.
"What're you talkin' about?"
"This all rides on you, darlin'. You act up, he dies."
"Y'can't do that!"
"Watch me," he nodded his head to Ralph and his cousin grinned malevolently, pointing the gun downward. He pulled the trigger and shot right into Jesse's foot. Jesse let out a yell and almost collapsed to his knees; Ralph managed to keep him standing.
"No!" she started forward but was wrenched back. Frank and Jim had similar reactions to Ralph's unnecessary violence.
"We'll take the hostage with us," Billy offered to the detective, who had no idea of the gang's ulterior motives, "an' Mr. James, here. Y'all can handle the rest'a 'em, can't you?" The detective nodded.
Ralph dragged Jesse off and towards a gaggle of horses that had been retrieved by Carl. Billy followed suit with Alex, much to her disapproval. The twins were already mounted and waiting for the departure. Billy moved his horse up to Ralph's, where Alex silently mouthed, "I'm sorry" to Jesse. He nodded, but was still in obvious pain as the gang took off riding. They really only took the two with them as insurance, to make sure that the Younger gang didn't try a daring rescue (not with a gun pressed to their former leader's head).. and maybe so they could beat the living daylights out of Jesse. They were soon out of sight, heading to God knows where, but not completely untraceable.
Bob watched them go from his horse worriedly. "Shit! What in the hell're we gonna do now?"
"I dunno, but they better not hurt her or I swear t'God I'll kill 'em all," Jim confessed darkly. Bob glanced at him and then back at the ominous lines of gun barrels pointed at them.
"Alrigh', look, Jesse can handle himself," Frank tried to be reassuring, "We jus' gotta figure out how t'get rid'a these guys." He motioned to the detectives with his head.
"I say we ride straight into 'em, it won't give 'em time t'react. Half of 'em don't have their guns cocked anyhow," Cole observed softly. He stole a glance at the group and Frank nodded. "On three, okay fellas? One.. Two.."
Cole reared his horse on two and the gang followed his lead. He let out a yell, using that to finish his count instead of the number three, and the group galloped forward. The detectives scattered in panicked clusters, some relocating to level their firearms, some just plain hightailing it back to wherever they came from. The gang was given time to circle back around and whip out their guns before a barrage of bullets started from the barrels of the detectives' rifles.
Frank picked off two as he charged his horse back in the other direction, and he managed to down another, albeit accidentally, as he ran over the man with his horse. Cole was fairing well also, as he dashed forward with a revolver in each hand and his reins in his teeth. Detectives dropped left and right under his fire. Bob, Jim, and Tom were doing their fair share of work as well, and pretty soon, with minimal damage to the gang and almost maximum to the Pinkerton's, there were but three left.
The trio stood in a tightly knit circle, their backs pressed against one another. One of them was shaking, another completely calm, and the third looking extremely furious at the situation. The shaking one spoke as they slid off their horses and surrounded the detectives.
"T-thomas Colem-man Younger," he stuttered as the gang either chuckled or smirked at him, "You.. you're under arrest!"
Cole sighed, "Y'tried that b'fore, remember? It didn't work, an' there were a lot'a y'then, so what makes y'think I'm scared of the three'a you now?"
Bob crossed his arms and raised his brow thoughtfully. "I say we tie 'em up to a tree an' leave 'em t'roast in the sun."
Frank shook his head as he chuckled at Bob's antics. "We can do that after we get some information from 'em.. if they don't cooperate."
"They will, or we'll sick Bob on 'em," Jim announced loudly, and the stuttering detective flinched. He leaned down the detective, "Now, where're they takin' Jesse?"
"We don't know anything. We're just here as backup," the angry-looking one explained irritably.
"Horseshit," Cole spat, firing his gun into the air. The shaky detective screamed like a little girl, much to the group's amusement.
"We don't know anything! Just like he told you!"
Bob grinned and walked over to him, easily intimidating him even without the gun, which he raised and pressed to the man's chest. "Are y'sure?"
The detective nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes! Don't hurt me, please!"
He cocked the gun, "Well, if y'don't know anythin' I guess we gotta kill you. Right, Frank?"
"S'pose so," he shrugged, "nobody'll ever find 'em way out here."
"Wait, wait! We might know.. something. If you let us go, we'll tell you," the cowardly one sputtered, earning a glance from both the angry and calm detectives.
"Well tell us first, 'cause if we let y'go now we ain't gonna get nothin' from you, are we?" Cole said with a chuckle.
"N-no, of course not, sir-"
"Sir? I kinda like the sound'a that," Bob broke in.
"Quiet, Bob, he's tryin' t'tell us somethin'. Go on," Cole motioned to the craven officer.
"They're heading for Pennsylvania.. So he can be tried."
"What happened t'the 'sir'?" Bob questioned.
"..sir," he added.
"Where, exactly, in Pennsylvania?" Frank asked, glancing at Bob impatiently.
"We don't know where. They only told us they were taking him to Pennsylvania, and that they were going to take him by train, but they didn't say which one or which city," the calm one began to speak, he and the angry one had obviously had enough of the fearful blabbermouth.
Jim sighed, annoyed. "He said," he paused a moment to cock his gun and rest it on the scared detective's forehead, "where?"
The lawman shut his eyes tightly, tears beginning to drain slowly from the corners of his eyes. He opened his mouth, and at first didn't say anything, but he eventually swallowed hard and muttered, "Philadelphia."
Jim smiled and withdrew the gun from the man's head slowly. He straightened and looked to the others, as if to ask, "what next?" Cole shrugged in response and turned to Frank.
"Do y'think we got enough time t'catch the train?" his brows furrowed.
"I hope. It'll take us too much time t'get t'Pennsylvania on horseback. What railway are they takin' him on?" Frank directed his attention back to the group.
"The C., R.I. and P," the calm detective answered, not expecting these southerners to know which railway that was.
"Oh, really?" Frank asked, mock-surprised. "They'd go all the way t'Iowa t'ride the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific road? Huh. Seems a lil' outta the way t'me."
"He's lying!" the gutless officer spat, trying to undo his partner's folly, "They're taking the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern. Runs right through Wayne County."
"Ah, well thank y'kindly for your honesty," Frank said with the slightest hint of a smile. "I think we're all done here."
"Whad'dya suggest we do with 'em?" Bob asked.
"I say we tie 'em up to a tree an' leave 'em t'roast in the sun," Frank answered.
"Food for the c'yotes," Cole added.
"What? I thought you.." the frightened detective trailed off and groaned as he was directed to a nearby tree.
"Yeah, yeah. Siddown," Frank instructed as he performed the task. Once the three of them were successfully fixed to the tree, he straightened. "I think we gotta catch a train, boys."
Several of them nodded before Cole smiled politely to the three. "Thanks for all the help, fellas. If y'ever need a favor," he allowed for a short pause, "go straight t'hell."
The group mounted their horses collectively and Bob wheeled his horse in the direction of Wayne County, Missouri. "Let's ride!" he yelled to the others, and they took off at a gallop.
"Quiet!" A husky voice silenced from behind a thick wall of shrubbery. "Get off the damn horse an' hide, y'moron!"
Billy jumped of his horse and slapped it on the rear to ensure its course onward before diving behind the barricade of undergrowth. He landed next to the tall man with the black hair from the Savannah robbery. The twins sat on either side of him, and there was a short man with rust-colored hair and green eyes on the further right. He shifted uneasily on his haunches and looked to the leader.
"Are y'sure this is gonna work, Ralph?" he asked uncertainly.
"It should. If it don't kill 'em, it'll sure as hell get 'em arrested," Ralph answered.
"Well won't they get killed anyhow? Hanged or somethin'?"
"Sure. That's the point, innit? The James- no, jus' the Younger gang.. they wanna monopolize the bank robbin' industry, but we ain't gonna let 'em."
The young man smiled and rubbed his hands together thoughtfully. "Wait 'til I tell my gal I brought down the Younger gang. She'll be so impressed, I'll definitely get a lil' somethin'!" he grinned to himself while Ralph rolled his eyes.
"Keep it in your pants, Carl," he growled, "an' give 'em the signal, would you? I wanna see if followin' them paid off."
Carl pushed himself up and waved his arms quickly and fitfully, signaling to the many Pinkerton detectives that were also crudely concealed by the bushes that surrounded the clearing. There was a chorus of guns cocking in the silence of the setting sun.
One of the twins, wondering fretfully, asked, "What if the In'jun loses the trail an' they don't come?"
"They will. I pissed 'em off pretty good," Billy said quietly as he cracked his knuckles. "Hey Ralph?"
"Yeah?"
"Save the youngest one for me, hunh?"
"The one we knocked out at the bank?"
"Yeah, that one. He's mine."
"We're turnin' all'a them in, stupid."
"Not him."
Ralph sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. But if you ruin this, it's your ass."
Billy settled back, satisfied as he slipped his gun from its holster. Carl glanced at Ralph and then leaned forward, whispering, "Where'd y'find this guy, Ralph?"
The older man turned his head back to Carl. "He's my cousin," he replied, just as quietly. One of the detectives signaled that the gang was approaching and they all fell silent.
The group drew near to their rival's hiding spot. Tom requested they stop so that he could inspect the trail, having noticed that there were footprints that led off to the underbrush. He raised his brow as he squatted low to the ground, looking at the path of footsteps, and then he stood quickly, his eyes suddenly worried and wide. He made a move for his horse, gaining the attention of the rest of the gang.
"It's a trap!" he exclaimed as the Pinkerton's jumped up and revealed themselves, brandishing their guns.
"Shit," Bob groaned dejectedly. Jesse couldn't agree more. He counted about a hundred adversaries, minus the presence of Ralph and his lackeys.
"Thomas Coleman Younger!" a detective, obviously a higher ranking than the others, shouted, "You and your little band of misfits are under arrest!"
"Don't move or we'll shoot the lot'a you," Ralph added, aiming his gun at Jesse. Jesse stared at him, his eyes narrowed but unsettlingly calm.
Billy stepped up to Ralph, telling him quietly, "I changed my mind. We can turn Younger in. So long as we get my Alex back." Then he leaped forward dramatically, playing it up for the detectives. "Wait! They have a hostage! Don't shoot, don't shoot!" He motioned frantically to Alex.
"What?" Alex said confusedly, "I'm not a hostage!"
"They prolly' told her t'say that, or they'd kill her!"
"Miss, we've gotten them under control. You can get off your horse, now, and slowly walk to me. They aren't going to hurt you anymore," the same detective directed coolly.
"They didn't hurt me b'fore!" she cried angrily.
"Then where'd y'get that bruise, darlin'?" Billy inquired loudly, gaining a livid glare from Jim.
Alex touched her face gently, having forgotten that she'd taken a blow to the face earlier. "Shit."
The detective tried again, "It's alright now, come to me. They're not going to hurt you anymore."
Cole leaned in to whisper to Bob, who was closest to Alex. "Grab her, make 'em think she's really a hostage. Tell her t'play along, too. It's gotta be convincin'."
Bob tilted his body back casually, like he hadn't been conspiring moments ago. He waited a few seconds before lunging at her and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her onto his horse. He pushed his gun to her head as she let out a small yelp of uncertainty.
"What're you doin'?!" she sounded panicked.
"Don't move or I'll blow her t'Kingdom Come! They don't call me Bad Bob Younger for nothin'!" Bob addressed the detectives that were going for their guns and whispered to Alex, "Play along."
Alex had already caught on and was making a show of being terrified. It would've been more fun if she weren't doing it for the sake of their lives. Jim, out of the loop, whispered urgently to Cole, "What's he doin'?!"
"Shh, it's fine. All part'a the plan."
Billy, however, hadn't expected for his lie to turn out this way. He didn't move, unsure of if they were serious or not. "Let her go!" he demanded, but really had no power over the situation.
"Oh, be quiet, y'whiny sack'a shit," Cole said irritably. Jesse smirked, his attention not focused on Ralph, as it should have been. Ralph took his chance.
He lunged forward at a distracted (and therefore less likely to be able to counterattack) Jesse, grabbing one of his arms and yanking. Jesse fell to the ground with a thump and was pulled immediately to his feet. Ralph didn't bother to hesitate with twisting Jesse's arm painfully behind his back, nor did he falter when he raised a gun to the famous outlaw's head. The gang couldn't stop him, for if they moved they would surely be riddled with bullets. He grinned sadistically and jerked Jesse forward threateningly.
"Let her go.. or I'll blow his brains out. And I'm not lying," he said pointedly to Bob, cocking his six-gun.
"Don't do it, Bob," Jesse said bravely, trying to angle his arm so as to prevent it from breaking.
Bob completely ignored Jesse and gently lowered his gun from Alex's head. He pulled his hands back and held them up slowly to show that he wasn't planning anything. Alex looked at him in disbelief and he nudged her off his horse. Jim glowered at his older brother heatedly. She dismounted, disregarding the soft coaching of the detective to come to him.
Billy took it upon himself to sweep her up over one of his shoulders. He received one unanimous glare from the outlaws as she let out an angered cry of protest. She slammed on his back with her fists repeatedly, but he didn't fail to drag her off to the side of the action.
"Let. Me. Go!" she commanded, swinging her legs ferociously.
"Play nice, darlin'," he insisted quietly. "You wouldn't want Jesse t'get hurt or anythin', would you?" He placed her down onto her feet, and she looked at him skeptically.
"What're you talkin' about?"
"This all rides on you, darlin'. You act up, he dies."
"Y'can't do that!"
"Watch me," he nodded his head to Ralph and his cousin grinned malevolently, pointing the gun downward. He pulled the trigger and shot right into Jesse's foot. Jesse let out a yell and almost collapsed to his knees; Ralph managed to keep him standing.
"No!" she started forward but was wrenched back. Frank and Jim had similar reactions to Ralph's unnecessary violence.
"We'll take the hostage with us," Billy offered to the detective, who had no idea of the gang's ulterior motives, "an' Mr. James, here. Y'all can handle the rest'a 'em, can't you?" The detective nodded.
Ralph dragged Jesse off and towards a gaggle of horses that had been retrieved by Carl. Billy followed suit with Alex, much to her disapproval. The twins were already mounted and waiting for the departure. Billy moved his horse up to Ralph's, where Alex silently mouthed, "I'm sorry" to Jesse. He nodded, but was still in obvious pain as the gang took off riding. They really only took the two with them as insurance, to make sure that the Younger gang didn't try a daring rescue (not with a gun pressed to their former leader's head).. and maybe so they could beat the living daylights out of Jesse. They were soon out of sight, heading to God knows where, but not completely untraceable.
Bob watched them go from his horse worriedly. "Shit! What in the hell're we gonna do now?"
"I dunno, but they better not hurt her or I swear t'God I'll kill 'em all," Jim confessed darkly. Bob glanced at him and then back at the ominous lines of gun barrels pointed at them.
"Alrigh', look, Jesse can handle himself," Frank tried to be reassuring, "We jus' gotta figure out how t'get rid'a these guys." He motioned to the detectives with his head.
"I say we ride straight into 'em, it won't give 'em time t'react. Half of 'em don't have their guns cocked anyhow," Cole observed softly. He stole a glance at the group and Frank nodded. "On three, okay fellas? One.. Two.."
Cole reared his horse on two and the gang followed his lead. He let out a yell, using that to finish his count instead of the number three, and the group galloped forward. The detectives scattered in panicked clusters, some relocating to level their firearms, some just plain hightailing it back to wherever they came from. The gang was given time to circle back around and whip out their guns before a barrage of bullets started from the barrels of the detectives' rifles.
Frank picked off two as he charged his horse back in the other direction, and he managed to down another, albeit accidentally, as he ran over the man with his horse. Cole was fairing well also, as he dashed forward with a revolver in each hand and his reins in his teeth. Detectives dropped left and right under his fire. Bob, Jim, and Tom were doing their fair share of work as well, and pretty soon, with minimal damage to the gang and almost maximum to the Pinkerton's, there were but three left.
The trio stood in a tightly knit circle, their backs pressed against one another. One of them was shaking, another completely calm, and the third looking extremely furious at the situation. The shaking one spoke as they slid off their horses and surrounded the detectives.
"T-thomas Colem-man Younger," he stuttered as the gang either chuckled or smirked at him, "You.. you're under arrest!"
Cole sighed, "Y'tried that b'fore, remember? It didn't work, an' there were a lot'a y'then, so what makes y'think I'm scared of the three'a you now?"
Bob crossed his arms and raised his brow thoughtfully. "I say we tie 'em up to a tree an' leave 'em t'roast in the sun."
Frank shook his head as he chuckled at Bob's antics. "We can do that after we get some information from 'em.. if they don't cooperate."
"They will, or we'll sick Bob on 'em," Jim announced loudly, and the stuttering detective flinched. He leaned down the detective, "Now, where're they takin' Jesse?"
"We don't know anything. We're just here as backup," the angry-looking one explained irritably.
"Horseshit," Cole spat, firing his gun into the air. The shaky detective screamed like a little girl, much to the group's amusement.
"We don't know anything! Just like he told you!"
Bob grinned and walked over to him, easily intimidating him even without the gun, which he raised and pressed to the man's chest. "Are y'sure?"
The detective nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes! Don't hurt me, please!"
He cocked the gun, "Well, if y'don't know anythin' I guess we gotta kill you. Right, Frank?"
"S'pose so," he shrugged, "nobody'll ever find 'em way out here."
"Wait, wait! We might know.. something. If you let us go, we'll tell you," the cowardly one sputtered, earning a glance from both the angry and calm detectives.
"Well tell us first, 'cause if we let y'go now we ain't gonna get nothin' from you, are we?" Cole said with a chuckle.
"N-no, of course not, sir-"
"Sir? I kinda like the sound'a that," Bob broke in.
"Quiet, Bob, he's tryin' t'tell us somethin'. Go on," Cole motioned to the craven officer.
"They're heading for Pennsylvania.. So he can be tried."
"What happened t'the 'sir'?" Bob questioned.
"..sir," he added.
"Where, exactly, in Pennsylvania?" Frank asked, glancing at Bob impatiently.
"We don't know where. They only told us they were taking him to Pennsylvania, and that they were going to take him by train, but they didn't say which one or which city," the calm one began to speak, he and the angry one had obviously had enough of the fearful blabbermouth.
Jim sighed, annoyed. "He said," he paused a moment to cock his gun and rest it on the scared detective's forehead, "where?"
The lawman shut his eyes tightly, tears beginning to drain slowly from the corners of his eyes. He opened his mouth, and at first didn't say anything, but he eventually swallowed hard and muttered, "Philadelphia."
Jim smiled and withdrew the gun from the man's head slowly. He straightened and looked to the others, as if to ask, "what next?" Cole shrugged in response and turned to Frank.
"Do y'think we got enough time t'catch the train?" his brows furrowed.
"I hope. It'll take us too much time t'get t'Pennsylvania on horseback. What railway are they takin' him on?" Frank directed his attention back to the group.
"The C., R.I. and P," the calm detective answered, not expecting these southerners to know which railway that was.
"Oh, really?" Frank asked, mock-surprised. "They'd go all the way t'Iowa t'ride the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific road? Huh. Seems a lil' outta the way t'me."
"He's lying!" the gutless officer spat, trying to undo his partner's folly, "They're taking the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern. Runs right through Wayne County."
"Ah, well thank y'kindly for your honesty," Frank said with the slightest hint of a smile. "I think we're all done here."
"Whad'dya suggest we do with 'em?" Bob asked.
"I say we tie 'em up to a tree an' leave 'em t'roast in the sun," Frank answered.
"Food for the c'yotes," Cole added.
"What? I thought you.." the frightened detective trailed off and groaned as he was directed to a nearby tree.
"Yeah, yeah. Siddown," Frank instructed as he performed the task. Once the three of them were successfully fixed to the tree, he straightened. "I think we gotta catch a train, boys."
Several of them nodded before Cole smiled politely to the three. "Thanks for all the help, fellas. If y'ever need a favor," he allowed for a short pause, "go straight t'hell."
The group mounted their horses collectively and Bob wheeled his horse in the direction of Wayne County, Missouri. "Let's ride!" he yelled to the others, and they took off at a gallop.
