Heyes threw his hand in again, third time in as many deals. Lady Luck was not smiling on him tonight. "Thaddeus, I think I'm gonna call it a night for a while. I'm gonna head back to the boarding house. You comin'?"

Kid was concentrating on the cards fanned out in his own hand. His stack of chips had grown considerably this evening. If the Lady was not with Heyes, at least she seemed to hold Kid in her favor. Winning did not seem to do much to improve his mood though. His normally relaxed demeanor had a slight edge to it, an edge that would go undetected to almost anyone who didn't know him as well as Heyes did. "Hmmm? No, you go ahead. I'm too keyed up to sleep anyway and, before you feel the need to ask, I ain't interested in your books. I'll just stay here for a while longer."

"Suit yourself. Gentlemen." Heyes nodded at the other players at the table and stood up to leave. "See you later, Thaddeus." Heyes made his way through the crowded barroom headed for the door. The place was packed, as expected for this time of the evening. They had considered themselves lucky that Winnie had not reappeared tonight to torment them. As it was, they had been greeted by shouts of "Heyes" and "Curry" as they came back into the barroom earlier. It had been a surreal experience to say the least, making the pair want to run right back out into the rain and make muddy tracks as quick and as far away as possible. But the shouts were followed by peals of good-natured, drunken laughter and assorted cowboys and farmhands smacking them on the back as though they had just shared the greatest joke in the world. Even the sheriff had enjoyed the punchline.

As he was leaving, Heyes spotted his pretty saloon girl standing near the bar, talking to another one of the working girls. She smiled at him and he stopped to talk to the pair for a minute before venturing out into the dark. After a few minutes of conversation, Heyes gave her a tight hug and left the bar, promising to come back and see her another time.

Outside, the rain had nearly stopped for now and Heyes walked alone through the misty damp night. The air smelled fresh and he was in no particular hurry to get back to the boarding house so he took his time, enjoying the crisp cool feeling of the night air. The cloud cover was lighter than it had been for a few nights and the moon peeked out to guide him on his way. He was lost in his thoughts as he rounded a corner and ran right into a wobbly Winford Fletcher. The older, drunker man would have lost his balance entirely if Heyes had not reached out and grabbed him, setting him against the side of a building to steady him.

Fletcher's bloodshot eyes widened in surprise and fear to see Heyes again. He blurted out, "Hannibal Heyes! I know it's you, you know. No sense denying it." Heyes could tell Fletcher was afraid of him, even in his beer soaked condition, as they stood nose to nose in the shadows of the building with no one in sight except the two of them. He smiled wickedly at the drunk, just to see him squirm.

Still holding Fletcher upright against the wall, Heyes said, feigning ignorance, "Winnie, isn't it? I'm real sorry, old boy, but you got the wrong fellas. Me and my friend are just a couple of law-abiding citizens, just like you. You really ought to lay off the liquor."

"You…you might fool the rest of the people in this town but you don't fool me, Mr. Heyes. And by the time I'm finished, I'll make sure everyone knows who you are!"

Heyes' eyes took on a darker tinge. He was done fooling with this man. Fletcher saw the subtle change in his appearance, even in the semi-darkness. When he spoke, his voice held an edge, hard as granite. "Listen, Winnie, if you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut. Besides, who's gonna believe you? What happened to you anyway?"

"You and your partner happened, that's what!"

"Well, take my advice, Fletcher. Get your act together. And don't do anything to make me or Thaddeus mad." The thinly veiled threat was not lost on Winford Fletcher. He stood, immobile, as Heyes finally let go of his shirt and strode off down the street. He didn't see the broad smile that slowly spread across his rugged features or hear the low cheerful whistle that issued from his lips.

Heyes chuckled softly to himself. He couldn't help having a little sport at Fletcher's expense. The man had been a thorn in their side too many times already and he hadn't forgotten the long walk into Red Gap that he and Kid had made because of him. Practically wore out a pair of boots that night. Not to mention the whole episode with the banker that nearly cost them their chance for amnesty. If it hadn't been for Fletcher identifying them then, none of that would have happened. No, he didn't feel bad for old Winnie at all.

Heyes' pace slowed a little. The boarding house was within sight now and all he wanted to do was get to his room without being seen. Walking softly, he rounded the side of the house and headed for the rear entrance that led upstairs. Bending over, he quietly removed his boots. With them in hand, he peeked around the back of the house. Seeing the coast was clear, he made for the door. Just as he grasped the knob in his hand, the door swung open and he was face to face with Molly and Miranda!

It took Heyes several minutes to disentangle himself from the girls' attention. Finally, he got loose and made a dash up the stairs, closing the door to his room firmly behind him and turning the key in the lock, just for good measure. He leaned his head against the door for a moment and chuckled at his predicament. He and Thaddeus didn't make a practice of running away from pretty girls but then again, pretty girls didn't generally throw themselves at them so transparently with marriage on their minds.

He undressed down to his long johns and stretched out on the bed to read. Later, minutes or hours, having lost track of time, he heard the doorknob rattle softly as someone tried to enter. Heyes slid off the bed, grabbing his gun from his holster and leveling it at the door. "Joshua, let me in. Hurry up."

When he opened the door, he saw Thaddeus standing there, muddy boots in hand, casting quick glances around and behind him. He ducked into the room, looking relieved.

"Did you run into the girls too?" Heyes asked, smirking.

"Nope. I took my boots off and snuck up here. Didn't see a soul," Kid replied, smugly. "You?"

"No, just like you…didn't see a soul."

"Uh, huh." Kid knew Heyes was lying but didn't see much point in calling him on it.

"So…anything exciting happen at the saloon after I left?"

"As a matter of fact it did."

Heyes smiled broadly. "Really? What?"

"I won seventy four dollars at the poker table, that's what."

Heyes' smile quickly faded, "That's all?"

"What did you expect," Kid asked suspiciously.

Heyes frowned and said, sounding irritated, "I don't know. Somethin' more than that, I reckon."

Kid stared hard at his partner. "You know, Heyes, sometimes I worry about you. You're a puzzlement. I'da thought you'd be happier than that about seventy-four dollars. I know it's not a fortune, but--" He sat down hard on the edge of the bed and pulled off his soggy socks. "Turn out the light, will ya? I'm bone tired."

The next morning dawned as gray as the one just past. The men ate breakfast at the boarding house, under the increasingly watchful eyes of the other residents. Finally, Ott said, "Heard there was some excitement over at the saloon yesterday, fellas. Should we start counting the silver after every meal?" He snorted loudly, amused by his own joke.

His sister slapped Ott soundly on the back of his head, "Ott! I'm surprised at you. You shouldn't talk to our guests that way."

"No, no. It's all right, Mrs. Campbell," Heyes smiled, silently wishing he could give the man a slap of his own.

Kid said, "Yeah…good one, Mr. Howard. You oughta go on the road with that comedy act."

"But you know that those notorious and incredibly brilliant outlaws would never stoop to stealing silver. Trains and banks, those are their preferences. Your cutlery is safe…even if we were them--"

"Which we ain't," Kid finished.

Ott was still rubbing the spot on the back of his bald head where his sister had reprimanded him. Grimacing, he said, "I know that. Cain't a feller make a little joke around here without getting his brain rattled around?"

Molly and Miranda were silent through the adult's exchange. The only real acknowledgement either one made of the conversation were the exaggerated eye-rolls that followed their father's attempt at humor. But Kid did notice that both girls seemed to be appraising them more curiously than before. Their close scrutiny only made him more uncomfortable with their current living arrangements.

After breakfast, they went back to their room, mostly because they didn't know what else to do. It was still raining. Heyes picked up his tattered, dog-eared book and made like he was going to spend the next several hours peacefully reading. Before he could open its cover, however, Kid snatched it away.

"No sir, Heyes. You ain't gonna sit here all day reading this danged book. I need to have something to do too."

"You wanna read the book?" Heyes asked, teasingly.

"No. I don't wanna read the book!" A slightly pouty expression touched his boyish face. "Let's talk."

"Talk?"

"Yep."

"Kid, you're the one who's always telling me I talk too much. Now you wanna talk?"

"Yep. There's a time and place for talking and this here's the time and I reckon this is as good a place as any."

Heyes sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed, "Ok, then. Let's hear what's on your mind."

Kid crossed his arms across his chest confrontationally. "I want to leave town." If he was expecting an argument from Heyes, he wasn't disappointed.

"I told you before, Kid, Fletcher has provided the perfect cover for us. We can't leave now. It's just too easy. Besides, the rain—"

"The rain is exactly what I'm thinkin' about. What if the road goes and we're stuck here when you finally decide it's time to move on."

"That's not gonna happen. Anyway, you just let me worry about it. Go on now. Find somethin' to occupy yourself. Clean your gun, maybe. We'll walk over to the saloon later and play some poker, how 'bout that?"

Kid fumed, "I done cleaned my gun three times this week already. If it gets any cleaner, I'm likely to wear right through the barrel." With a fierce glare at his partner, who had already started settling in against his pillow, book in hand, Kid Curry yanked his gun out of its resting place on his thigh.

"Ya know, I haven't even fired this once all week—But right now, the temptation is getting pretty high."

Heyes chuckled deep in his throat—but he never did look up, not even once.