"Darling!" Beth's soft voice woke Heyes from a deep sleep. He started violently and looked around frantically for a moment, forgetting where he was. He relaxed gladly as he saw soft rays of early morning sun reaching through his hotel room's curtains to illuminate a curvaceous nude Beth in the bed next to him. Heyes smiled and reached for Beth. She kissed him on a prickly, unshaven cheek. She whispered, "Heyes, I've got to get back to my own room before room service gets here with breakfast. Bye 'til later."

Heyes yawned. He kissed Beth tenderly, and lay back down. His voice was dull and hollow with sleep and his eyes had already begun to drift closed again. "Bye honey! Can't wait 'till you don't have to leave." He yawned again. "Sorry, Beth. I'm so tired I can't think straight. I can't remember when I last had a good night's sleep. Sorry, I didn't mean . . ."

"I know what you meant. I couldn't miss the nightmares." Beth ran a loving hand gently across her beloved's cheek, stopping just short of the ugly red wound that she knew would scar him for life. She kissed Heyes again and looked at him with worry in her eyes. "After all you've been through here and in Montana and New York before that, it's no wonder. Sorry to wake you so early. But I've got to go make my own bed look slept in. You and I don't need any more scandal than we've already got." Beth pulled a silk night gown on over her head. She wrapped her robe around herself and climbed out of bed. She crept through the side door back to her own room.

Heyes looked fondly after Beth, trying to visualize what it would be like to be married to her. They had wanted it for so long. But what would it be like to have amnesty, to be married, have a master's degree - maybe, to have a regular job or maybe a career, maybe even to be a father? It couldn't be more different than most of his life had been, drifting across the West, or high-tailing it with the Kid by his side and no hope of certainty. He hoped to keep the good things from his past – good friends and the beauties and freedoms of the West. But aside from that, the future he wanted involved so many new things that his sleepy brain couldn't cope with them all. He didn't know if he would get what he wanted, or if he even deserved to. But Beth thought he did. Heyes smiled as he fell back to sleep.

Meanwhile the Kid and Cat were going through much the same thing in the Kid's room across the hall, except that the Kid was a whole lot more awake than Heyes was. He had slept just fine, after the interesting events of earlier in the evening. "Ah honey, don't go yet!" pleaded Curry as Cat kissed him and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "It's our first morning with amnesty. We got to celebrate!"

"Not that way, Jed," said Cat. "I can't get caught in your bed. And you've got all those statements to make later."

Curry chuckled, saying "You're a hard woman." He ever so gently touched his fiancée's bare belly. "You got names in mind, Cat?"

Cat said, "What about Joshua? Sure can't use Hannibal."

The Kid grinned and replied thoughtfully. "Joshua. Sounds good to me. Won't be using it for Heyes anymore. I hope it'll make him happy. Though maybe he and Beth'd like the name for a boy of their own. You know it was his Pa's name. What if it's a girl?"

"Don't you have some favorite girls' names, Jed?" Cat asked as he put on her robe and started combing the tangles from her long blonde hair with her fingers.

Curry "Yeah; Catherine! But that's taken. What about Elena for your ma? It's so pretty – like her daughter.

Cat smiled warmly. "Jed Curry, how'd you get so darned sweet? You're makin' it hard for me to leave . . ."

"That's the idea." Curry kissed Cat and tried to pull her back into bed, but she stepped back playfully.

"Uh-uh, Jed, I got to go," said Cat.

Reluctantly giving up on the idea of a morning session of love-making, Curry turned to discussing practical plans in a soft voice just above a whisper. "You know Heyes and Beth don't want to get married 'til they get back to New York – where they got lots 'a friends. Or that's what Heyes was thinkin'. But I bet they ain't had time to talk about it much."

Cat understood how considerate they needed to be, as part of such a close quartet of people. "We'd better wait and talk to Heyes and Beth before we plan anything. Just so long we get hitched soon. I don't want to be showing before we're Mr. and Mrs."

Curry nodded. "You bet, Cat! We'll do what we got to here. Then we'll go down to New York so Heyes can graduate. Then we can all get married. Or us two can get married here and then just go and be with them there for their wedding. Heyes said he'd be fine either way, and Beth'll feel that way."

"If he graduates," Cat said, sounding worried, "If they don't let him, I don't know what he'll do. I mean, maybe he can't teach right off, but there's so many things he can do with those degrees. Without 'em . . . ?"

The pair stopped talking as they heard someone going down the hall. It sounded like the help was up and about. "I know you got to go, sweetie," said Curry. "See you in Charlie's room for breakfast." Curry kissed Cat once more and she escaped out the side door.

When everyone was clean and dressed, the two couples and Charlie got together in his room. The two women sat together talking quietly on a love seat as they ate on a low table, each glad to have the understanding of the other at what was still a tense time despite the amnesty. The ladies stayed on fairly safe topics while the men were still within ear-shot.

"You're sure you don't mind waiting until we get to New York, Cat?" asked Beth as she buttered a piece of toast. "It doesn't have to be a double wedding. We can do one at a time, just as long as we're at yours and you're both at ours."

Cat smiled, "Aw, I think the boys'd like a double wedding." She glanced across the room at her intended, who was sitting at a desk with his partner and Charlie. "They pretend it doesn't matter, but after all these years it'll mean a lot. A couple days won't make much difference to me. We've got to go to New York anyhow so we can see Heyes' graduation and your wedding. And I want'a meet all the New York folks. And Jed hasn't met a bunch of them yet, either. It'd be real nice if your sister and her husband and their kids could come from West Virginia. I don't guess your aunt is up to traveling like that."

Beth shook her head. "You're right. She'd like to come and meet my mystery man, but she's not up to it. I hope my sister and her family can come, but they sure will be surprised. You know I haven't been able to tell her who he really is, though she knows he's no regular grad student."

"That's for sure!" said Cat with a grin as she speared an egg with her fork. "I'll send word to our Colorado folks and see who can get there, once we get a time and a place. You folks got a church picked out?"

Beth nodded. "I think so. Heyes went to a Methodist church with Charlie and Marie a few times. We got to know their minister a bit. If you folks are alright with it, while the boys are doing their testifying Charlie can wire off to the minister and see if he can find time for us. I was raised Episcopalian, but I won't make a fuss about it. What about you, is Methodist alright for you?"

Cat shrugged, "I was raised Baptist, like the boys, but in Louisville, I like the Methodist minister. I've been to some services at his church and Jed's come now and then. The minister'll speak to us. That's more than most folks will do, even not knowing who Jed really is! So I'm glad to go with a Methodist if he won't kick up rough about who we're marrying."

"I hope the minister won't make trouble. It would upset Heyes," said Beth, trying to pretend that it wouldn't hurt her to be scorned by a man of God. Cat, of course, knew better. Beth had easily the most proper background of anyone in the room. Reconciling herself to being associated with an outlaw had been terribly hard for her.

Cat grinned. "Poor Charlie will have some fast explaining to do to the minister."

Beth shrugged. "Actually, Heyes thinks the minister is such a good man that he thought about telling him who he really is. Heyes never actually did it, but he thinks it'll be fine."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, the men were talking about less agreeable subjects. "Like I said before, I talked to Cole at the court house yesterday about your testimony," said Charlie, adjusting his tie. "He said be there at 10:00."

"Yeah," said Heyes, hardly paying any attention to his breakfast, "I appreciate your saving us from making a trip over there yesterday to set it up. We were both pretty tired yesterday and . . . you know."

Charlie nodded. "I understand. After what you two went through . . . I know you weren't up to talking law with Cole. I wonder if you are now. We could always put it off a day or two . . ."

Heyes shook his head. "Not on my account! I just want to get it over with, fast as we can. I want to be sure we do it soon so I can remember all those men and what they said to me while I was hanging up. That's a lot of men and they had some pretty awful stories to tell. I don't know if they're all true, but lots of them could be proven pretty easily one way or the other. The abuse they're talking about leaves marks. And sometimes bodies."

"I'll be glad to get passed it, myself," agreed the Kid, between shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. Heyes might neglect food when he was anxious, but the Kid never did.

Heyes said, grimly, "I'm just glad we could get Hardin Cole again. He'll keep it bearable, if anyone can."

"Yeah, I guess," said Curry, straightening his jacket. He felt naked to be going out into the street of this tough western town without his gun on his hip. There was no use in wearing a gun to a courthouse. "But the guy who really knows it all still ain't here." He raised his voice so the women could hear him, "Anybody got any word from Lom yet?"

"No," said Cat. "Not a peep. I sent a telegram yesterday and one the day before and got nothing back. And we never heard through the trials. Not even anything from Isabelle. I'm worried."

"Now I am, too." said Heyes, combining his hand through where his long hair had used to be. The habitual gesture had no practical purpose until his hair grew back long, but he had always done it when he was feeling self-conscious. "Well, Lom or no Lom, we'd better get over to the courthouse."

Beth met her fiancé at the door and kissed him. "You're a good man, Hannibal Heyes. I'm proud of you!"

Heyes caught Beth up his arms and kissed her soundly. He whispered to her, "I remember when you first told me that. Not many people agreed with you, then. Not even me. I hope we can convince some folks now."

"What about some university presidents?" said Beth. Heyes flashed his lady the brightest grin she had seen from him since well before his arrest. But after he walked out the door, the grin vanished. He was steeling himself to try to convince the law to give justice to criminals. That would never be easy.

"And I'm proud of you, Jed Curry!" said Cat. He smiled with pleasure and gave her a quick kiss as the boys left.

Curry, too, turned very serious as he headed for the courthouse. The partners faced no actual legal threat that they knew of, but there was no doubting that it was hard for them to get out of the habit of being nervous around lawmen. Even the Kid, who was about to become a lawman himself, felt his heart beating a little faster than usual. It was a bit hard for them to stop thinking that the law would turn on them yet again. The pair fell into step side by side.

As the door closed, the two women left in Charlie Homer's hotel suite looked at each other. Now they could speak more freely.

"I got to tell you, Beth," said Cat. "It seems peculiar to me that Heyes is so worked up about Columbia. He's their boy, isn't he?"

Charlie looked at Beth and she gaze back in question. Cat and the Kid came from a whole different realm than the one where Charlie and Beth were at home. It was a realm that defended itself behind high walls and a heavily guarded door that Heyes was trying to batter down against all odds. How could the academics possibly hope to explain to the westerner what Heyes faced? Heyes himself was still figuring it out.

Charlie, as Heyes' advisor, took on the ticklish job. Beth could tell that Charlie was feeling his way as he spoke, explaining to himself as much as to Cat. "It's not that simple, Cat. Joshua Smith was their boy. He came from the wrong side of the tracks and had to scrap just to start school, but he worked hard and he did real well. They got to be proud of him. Hannibal Heyes is so foreign to those top academic guys at Columbia that they might not even admit he's human. Just by being who he is – or who he was - he breaks every rule they have. They don't know what to do about him. They know they couldn't trust his past – can they trust his future? Can they be sure of what he'll do next? I mean, he killed a guy while he was a student there! That's more than embarrassing to Columbia – it could be disastrous to our standing in the academic world." Cat was watching Charlie's eyes as carefully as she was listening to his words. She could see that he was honestly distressed not only for his student and friend, but for his school, his other students, and his colleagues.

"This is all new to the president and the deans - and really scary. If they give out degrees lightly and the rest of the field disagrees, they could lose the money and respect they need to operate the whole school. They could endanger the trust on which any university is built. They have to figure out a way to go that's fair not only to Heyes himself, but to all of their other graduates and to their trustees and professors and to all of the young men and women coming along after Heyes. The degrees they grant have to mean something dependable. If a man can lie about who he is and still get credit for his work, does that destroy the meaning of his degrees and everyone else's? Or does the pure work count, regardless of the man? It's a lot to figure out."

Cat's face was filled with profound concern. "I hadn't thought about it that way, Charlie. Professor Homer, I should say. If the top guys do one thing for one guy, it could really cause all that trouble for hundreds of guys?"

"Thousands, Cat," said Beth solemnly. "And Heyes knows it. He could probably give you a pretty exact count of graduates from Columbia."

Cat's blue eyes were big. "Sounds a lot safer for the Columbia big wigs to just say no to Heyes." Charlie nodded. "But it would be wrong! He's earned those degrees! It's wouldn't be fair to him!"

"That's right," said Charlie. "They know that. So you see their dilemma. And so does Heyes. Believe me, he's given it a whole lot of thought. Some of those young guys, and women, who will be coming along to graduate after him are his close friends and even his students. What happens with him will reflect on them when they go to graduate and apply for jobs. The tie between graduates of the same school is very strong. He would never want to harm his fellow Columbians, any more than he'd want to hurt the Kid or you."

"Wow!" Cat shook her head. "Poor Heyes!"

"Yeah, but I've been thinking about Jed, too," said Charlie quietly. "If Heyes breaks the rules of academia, what about Kid Curry with sheriffs? And Sheriff Curry with outlaws? He's as brave a man as there is in the world, but he must be getting a bit antsy about wearing that badge."

Cat nodded. "Yeah. He doesn't say much about it, but I know he's thinkin' about it. He's thinkin' a whole lot and doin' what he can to be ready. He sure knows there'll be guys gunnin' for him. Not every sheriff would stand up for Kid Curry. He can look after himself. He's still real, real fast for all he's gettin' near to 36 years old. He'll have some good deputies in Louisville – men he trusts and they trust him. But nobody can watch Jed's back all the time. Nobody but Heyes. And nobody knows where Heyes is gonna be, come September."

Beth nodded. "Not even Heyes."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Heyes and the Kid walked slowly and reluctantly down to the hotel lobby and across the ambitiously over-decorated space, with its potted palms and ornate chandeliers. As they headed toward the door the bell captain called to them. "Mr. Heyes, Mr. Curry!"

"What?" asked the Kid, turning on a dime and coming to a sudden halt with his right hand instinctively reaching for where his gun usually was. "We got to get down to the courthouse." Heyes stopped at his partner's side. He looked back to check the time on the hotel's big lobby clock. It was 9:35. His own old pocket watch was still someplace back in New York along with the effects that had been taken from him after his arrest at the dance in Central Park. It seemed years ago to him now.

The grey-haired bell captain said, "There some press out there with a camera. I'm guessing they're waiting for you gentlemen. We would be happy to take you over to the courthouse in the hotel's surrey, if you like. It wouldn't hide you much, but it might spare you some awkwardness in the street. I can't imagine that you want to be interrogated by the press while you're trying to look after your private business."

Heyes looked quizzically at the man. "What do you care? I mean thank you very much, but why, considering who we are?"

The bell captain drew himself up with dignity. "Whatever else you may be, Mr. Heyes, you are both now guests at this hotel. It is our job to do all we can to help your stay to go well."

The Kid smiled. "Thanks! That's how Cat and I see it, too, sir. We got a hotel in Colorado, I mean, so we try to do the same. I'm sorry if we're botherin' you folks. We can't help bein' who we are. We've gone straight and got amnesty, but I guess it'll take time for folks to stop makin' trouble over us. We're right grateful to you for helpin' us out."

"Yeah, thanks," said Heyes, regretting his earlier assumptions. "Sorry – we just aren't used to anyone but close friends doing anything for us once they know our names. Being, as Mr. Curry says, who we are. We do appreciate it."

"It is our pleasure, sir!" said the bell captain with a proud smile.

A camera's flash powder went off as the notorious former outlaws rode by in the surrey, but the driver hurried the horses and they were gone before anyone from the press could harass them any further. Soon the boys arrived at the courthouse steps. Heyes and the Kid exchanged uneasy glances as they climbed the stairs.

As they walked down the long entry hall, the Kid ran a finger inside of his shirt collar and asked his partner, "It ain't that hot in here really, is it?"

"Last time we were in a courthouse was more than hot enough for me, Jed," said Heyes with a nervous grin. "I guess we're safer now and we aren't in chains, but it still makes me sweat."

"Don't worry, Heyes!" said a friendly voice. Hardin Cole came out of a hallway door and gave the partners a brilliant smile. His hazel eyes glowed with gladness as he shook their hands. "Congratulations on your freedom! Justice at last!"

"Thanks, Cole!" said Curry with a sparkle in his blue eyes. "We're pretty tickled to be out."

"And right glad to have a good lawyer to look after us." said Heyes. "This kinda' place still makes me a little edgy. Law men all over, you know." A pair of marshals walked down the hall as they talked, making Heyes take a deep breath out of old habit.

The Kid followed the men nervously with his eyes. "When I think of how we used to run the other way when we saw a badge!"

"And that," said Heyes, "was up until yesterday. We haven't had a lot of time to adjust to the new situation."

Cole led the two partners into a meeting room. "You'd better adjust soon, gentlemen, since Mr. Curry's going to be wearing a badge of his own real soon.

"I know. Oh, I know," said Heyes with a playful grimace.

"Well, havin' a teacher in the family makes me kinda' nervous, too, Heyes," joked the Kid. "Never been my favorite profession. Teachers done me more damage than anybody but lawmen and outlaws!"

Heyes chuckled. "We don't hit people with rulers in college, Jed. If you don't have self-discipline, you don't make it that far."

"Speaking of self-discipline, it's time for us to get down to business, gentlemen," said Cole. "Do you have your statements thought out?"

"Yeah, Cole," said Heyes. "I got to admit, it's gonna be long. I'm real eager to get everything we can on Johnson. But I hate the thought of writing it out with these sore hands."

"And I never was good at a lot a' writin'," said Curry.

"Don't worry," said Cole. "I've got a stenographer lined up to take down your dictation."

"A what?" asked the Kid, who had never encountered this four-syllable word before.

Heyes explained, "Somebody who can take real fast, accurate notes on what we say and write it out all correctly for us, Kid. I mean Jed. I know you want to stick with your real name now, but it's a long habit to break."

"I know, Heyes," said Curry.

Heyes said, "I am glad hear about the stenographer, Cole. I've got statements to make about more than 60 men. I was worried this was gonna' take all week."

"So you really did get every man at the Pen to make a statement to you, Heyes? That's incredible!" said Cole.

"Remember who you're talking to and what I told you about myself." said Heyes, "A confidence man works by creating confidence. I got them to trust me."

"How'd you do that, Heyes?" asked the Kid. "I been wonderin'. I mean, I know guys like that don't trust easy."

"But it was easy, Jed," said his partner. "I just told 'em I'd take Johnson down no matter what. They all said they'd be glad to have him gone, but he'd kill me. And I said I was more than willing to take that chance. Somebody had to take a chance or he'd be in charge forever. All I asked was for every single solitary man there to give me evidence against the man, if he had any to give. And they all did. Even Harry Wagoner came through. He's stupid, but he's not lookin' to be that unpopular. He could see I had everybody else on my side, so he went along."

"But Heyes," asked Cole, "how'd you ever get all those desperate criminals to believe that you were willing to die to get them justice?"

"Because I was," said Heyes forcefully. And the look in his eyes made it plain to the lawyer that his client was perfectly serious.

Cole opened his brief case and brought out a stack of forms for the boys to fill out. When they had finished that, they went to a waiting room while Cole checked on the office where they would give their testimony. The boys sat in a pair of worn leather armchairs while Cole went into the office and asked a secretary when someone would be ready to swear in his clients. He soon came out again. "Sorry gentlemen, there are a few folks ahead of you and nobody available to swear you in yet. They don't have a lot of staff here."

"No problem. I ain't hoppin' up and down to get in there anyhow," said Curry, putting his feet up on an ottoman.

"I'd rather get it over with," said Heyes, "but if we've got to hurry up and wait, at least we've got nice company." He smiled at a very pretty young woman who was with them in the waiting room. She was wearing an engagement ring. She had come in with a young man who had gone into the door marked "Wedding Licenses."

The young woman smiled shyly at the two handsome men with whom she was waiting. "I hope you'll be very happy, Miss!" said the Kid.

"Thank you sir!" she said. "I hope so, too!"

"You live here in Laramie, Miss?" asked Curry.

"Yes, sir," she said, "and do you?"

"No, Miss. My partner and I kinda' had to live in Laramie for a while, but I'm goin' back to Colorado. And my partner here'll be back to New York City, least for a while." Heyes looked at his partner with irritation. He often felt that Curry entrusted strangers with way too much personal information.

"Well, good luck to you!" said the young woman happily. Then her fresh-faced fiancé looked out of the office and beckoned to his sweetheart to join him and sign their license.

At that moment, a clerk put his head out of the office the boys were waiting for and called aloud, "Mr. Heyes, Mr. Curry, we're ready for you!"

The engaged couple stared open-mouthed at the men they had taken for ordinary, law-abiding citizens. That pair of names had been in the papers way too recently and way too prominently. Now the engaged young lady knew all too well why the boys had had to live in Laramie for a while – behind bars.

The young man put one arm protectively around his wide-eyed bride-to-be. They looked particularly frightened of the Kid, who certainly retained his fame as a gunman. Heyes put on a grin he didn't really feel and winked at the young couple. "Don't worry 'bout my partner. He's harmless!"

"Didn't bring my Colt." smiled the Kid.

But the engaged paired hurried to close the door behind them, without a trace of a smile. As the office door closed, Heyes' face went very serious and he shook his head. He'd never seen their charm fail so dismally. Heyes didn't know what people had been reading in the papers during and after the two trials. He'd had no opportunity to read the papers. It must have been worse than he had thought. If regular folks didn't feel safe around the partners, what university would ever trust Heyes to teach their students and what town would trust Curry to enforce their laws? There was one thing for sure. It wouldn't be long before they had to find out.