The late afternoon sunshine turned blue, red, and gold as it streamed through the western windows of St. Matthew's Church and onto the stone floor. Curry and Heyes walked down the long aisle, straw hats in their hands. Curry looked around the big old vaulted church curiously, but his partner knew the place well. Marie's funeral had been held here. He had been back now and again at Beth's side. So it was Heyes who knocked on a door at the back of the church that was marked "Reverend Harrah."

The door was answered by a tall, balding man in clerical garb who smiled a welcome to his visitors. "Come in gentlemen. Charlie Homer told me you were coming." The reverend shook their hands. "Please do sit down. I'm Reverend Harrah." Each man found a comfortable armchair in the reverend's cozy paneled office.

"Reverend Harrah," began Heyes forthrightly, as her perched on the edge of his chair. "I apologize for having lied to you about my name. Joshua Smith is an alias. Charlie Homer tells me that he's set you straight on that."

The reverend nodded, "Yes, Charlie told me I've had Hannibal Heyes in my congregation now and then. At first I thought he was pulling my leg, but he showed me enough newspaper articles to convince anyone. He's told me some of the story of your turn away from crime. You are very welcome here, Mr. Heyes, and so is your partner."

Heyes made the introductions, "Thank you, Reverend. I'd like you to meet Jedediah Curry. Jed, this is Reverend Harrah. Reverend, we're mighty grateful to you for helping us out in the matter of a double wedding on short notice."

"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Curry." To the notorious gunman's surprise, the Reverend looked keenly into his eyes without any censure or fear. The clergyman just looked welcoming and frankly curious.

"Glad to know you, sir. We're beholden to you." said Curry. "Professor Homer said you might take us tomorrow at 8:00?"

The reverend nodded and looked from one man to the other, making sure that they both felt welcomed. "That's right, Mr. Curry, Mr. Heyes. Mr. Heyes, I've been pleased to have you and Miss Warren in the congregation with the Homers often in the past few years. We've missed you more recently. It's good to have you back."

"Thank you," replied Heyes. "But sir, you do know where I was when you missed me, don't you?"

"Of course," answered the reverend straight-forwardly, "You were in jail in Montana and you were both in prison in Wyoming."

Heyes nodded, shame-faced. "Yes, sir. That's right. They gave us amnesty and let us out again after three of the longest days we ever lived through. And gave us a pardon for the count we were convicted on. But we are convicted felons forever. Lots of folks don't like to have us around. Do you really not mind being associated with us? We would understand if you decided to send us elsewhere."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to make trouble for you, Reverend," said Jed Curry. "At home there's one minister won't even speak to me or Cat, neither."

The minister looked warmly at the two men. "Mr. Curry, that minister seems to have forgotten something. Our Lord invited tax collectors and other sinners to be among the men gathered around him. So the others wanted to make trouble for Him, you might say. He told them:

'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!"'"

Jed said, "Sounds like you got that one word perfect, Reverend Harrah."

The minister smiled gently. "I hope so. And this time, the side of good gets two sheep. Welcome back to the flock."

"Guess we're black sheep, but sheep anyhow," joked the Kid.

Heyes ventured a small smile. "Reverend," he said, "please believe me when I say that we really are trying to do the right thing, now."

Curry added, "We mess up now and then. But we keep tryin'."

"That's all anyone can ask, gentlemen," replied the reverend. "Mr. Heyes, Professor Homer tells me that you're going to be applying for faculty positions in mathematics now that you've finished your degrees."

Heyes nodded. "Yes, sir. I just hope somebody's fool enough to hire Hannibal Heyes to teach math."

The reverend looked sympathetic and said, "I doubt they'd be foolish. Professor Homer tells me you are a very gifted teacher and mathematician. I'm sure we'd all be better off with you teaching rather than opening safes. And you, Mr. Curry? What are you going to be doing after your marriage to Miss Christy?"

The Kid looked down and twisted his new straw boater in his hands. It didn't help the hat. "I'm gonna be sheriff of Louisville, Colorado, sir. That's where we live, Cat and me."

The minister was impressed. "My! That's quite a switch. And an admirable one. Congratulations, Mr. Curry. I hope the dangers won't worry the future Mrs. Curry too much."

Curry admitted, "It does worry her, sir. I can't blame her. The four governors who gave us the amnesty, they said I got to do it. So I will."

The reverend looked at the blue-eyed man before him with respect. "That's brave of you, Mr. Curry. May the Lord keep you safe."

"I appreciate that, Reverend," said Curry. "I'd a lot rather just run our little hotel. But if they need me to keep the peace, I'll do my best at it."

"Gentlemen," said the reverend, "I am glad to know that the first thing you want to do now that you have your amnesty is to get honest jobs and get married. I understand that you couldn't marry Miss Warren and Miss Christy when you were still wanted. And I know that you want to provide properly for your new wives. I'm glad you're doing the honorable thing by them. Don't worry – Charlie didn't tell me anything about how you've been living. Pardon me if I have drawn a wrong conclusion."

Heyes and the Kid looked uncomfortably at each other and then at the reverend. "No sir," muttered the Kid, studying the floor, "you didn't. Not with me and Cat, anyhow. But they're good women, both."

"I'm sure they are. So long as you and they are doing the right thing now, I will not berate you," said the reverend. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, as Jesus said. But I will gladly counsel you on avoiding sin in future, if you want to hear the advice of a happily married man."

Heyes look uncomfortable, but not surprised, "Yes, Reverend Harrah. We are going straight in every way that we can."

The Kid nodded. "We came from good parents, but it took us a while to get back to their ways after they got killed in the border wars."

The reverend studied the faces of the notorious men who had come to his office. "It sounds as if you are taking your upcoming marriages seriously, as you ought to. I hope you will treat your wives with love and respect, and raise your children in upright Christian ways. Just do your best to be patient and thoughtful. Don't act in haste or anger, but with understanding. After all, isn't that how you would like to be treated?"

Curry and Heyes both nodded. Jed said, "Yes, sir, long as it's been, we do remember the golden rule. Why do you think we went straight? It weren't fair, what we did to folks before."

Heyes added, "I really wish that we'd never joined up with gangs to begin with. That was my fault. I was the older."

"Heyes!" cried the Kid, "I sure wish you wouldn't take it all on yourself like that. That ain't fair, neither."

The reverend looked at his temporary parishioners with compassion. "I hope you don't mind that Charlie Homer did tell me a few things about you. I understand that it was very easy to be tempted astray when you were starving in the desert, and were so very young. But when you did leave the gangs behind, it must have been very hard. I respect your decision to give up that easy money and fame."

"It weren't easy, but we knew what we had to do," said the Kid. He looked at his pocket watch. "If you don't mind, Cat's waitin' for me so I got to go, Reverend. But I sure do thank you for what you'll be doin' for me and Cat."

"I'll look forward to meeting her tomorrow, Mr. Curry," said Reverend Harrah. "Thank you for coming to see me."

The Kid nodded to the reverend and stood to leave. But Heyes remained seated.

"Don't you have to be elsewhere as well, Mr. Heyes?" asked the Reverend.

"No, sir," said Heyes, awkwardly, "Or well, yes, I do. But I'd like to stay for just a moment. Do you have the time?"

"Of course," replied the Reverend.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Reverend. Thank you. And see you later, Heyes," said Curry as he left the room. He sounded relieved.

"Now what is it that you couldn't say in front of your closest friend?" asked the reverend after the door to his office closed.

Heyes avoided the reverend's eyes, "Oh, he knows. He's just heard it more than enough."

The reverend studied Heyes for a while in silence. He waited patiently for the pained brown eyes to turn his way again. "What are you so worried about?"

"About marrying a woman I might not be able to support. Do you think it's wrong for me to marry her before I know if I can get a faculty position, or any kind of job? It's going to be awfully hard for anybody to see beyond that awful name of mine. So Beth – Miss Warren – she might have to support us both for a while. Maybe a long while." Heyes studied the floor. "I promise you, I'm not marrying her for her money, little as there is. I offered to wait until I had a job and she wouldn't hear of it."

The reverend spoke kindly. "Charlie tells me you have to use your real name. And you have to look for a faculty position first thing. Those are both requirements of your amnesty."

Heyes looked up at the man who was trying to counsel him. "Yes, Reverend. It's true, I have no choice. But I really do want to teach."

The reverend asked patiently, "And is marriage really what you want? Do you want to remain with Miss Warren all your days?"

Heyes nodded, a light kindling in his eyes. "Yes. That's what I want more than anything."

"And do you think it's what your fiancé really wants?"

"Yes."

The reverend said, "I don't hear any hesitation in your voice at all."

"No." Heyes began to speak with rising passion, "But people have been paying my way for the last five years, almost six. It's about tearing me apart, Reverend. I want to pay my own way, and my wife's way, the way a man ought to do. I just got to! Friends have been helping me with room and board while I've been in school. And I don't even know who paid for my keep and my treatment at the Leutze clinic."

The reverend said, "Charlie told me how you got shot in the head and had to learn to talk again. Tell me, is that why you speak so differently than your partner does, even though you grew up together?"

Heyes answered thoughtfully, "That and my studies. With the kind of men the Kid has to deal with out West, they'd think he was a sissy if he used correct English. Not that he cares about it. But if I don't speak correctly, I'll never get hired. So I have to care about it. And I have always did read as much as I could and tried to learn the right way to speak, when I was a boy. I didn't really learn correctly, in a one-room school house and a bad orphanage. So it wasn't until after I got shot that I learned better. Ironic, isn't it? It's harder for me to speak now than it was, much harder. But I know better what words to say."

"Miss Warren taught you how to speak? I mean correct English. I know it was Dr. Leutze who gave you speech therapy."

Heyes nodded. "Yes, Miss Warren was my tutor. And she was the one who urged me to try college. And to keep at it even when it was real . . . very hard."

"Do you really doubt that she would be willing to support you while you work for the culmination of all you've both worked so hard for?" the Reverend asked.

"I don't doubt that she'd do it. I just doubt if it's right. I don't want to take advantage of her love." Heyes looked intently at the reverend, probing for how he felt about this question.

The reverend raised his eyebrows. "So, do you think it would be more right for you to be a lowly clerk someplace and scrape a living that wastes your work and Miss Warren's hopes? Or maybe you should violate your amnesty agreement – use an alias to get a job? And then lose your amnesty and be imprisoned for the rest of your life? Or steal a lot of money and live comfortably until they throw you into prison? Come on, use your sense. It's clear that you have plenty of it. Forget your pride for a little while longer, Mr. Heyes. It's no sin for a woman to support a man who will, in the end, support and protect her. And who will always love and respect her. But you knew that."

Heyes swallowed hard. "Yeah. I guess. I mean, I guess I knew it would be better to at least try for an academic position and let Beth work for a while longer. I know for sure I'll always love and respect her."

The clergyman could hear the pain in the potential groom's voice. "Nothing worthwhile is easy, Mr. Heyes. You ought to know that by now. Miss Warren surely knows it. You've come so very far already, through more difficulties than I will ever know. You have hard trials ahead still, I don't doubt. You must keep having patience. Having love. Having faith. And in the end, you will find happiness. You both will. You have to believe that."

"I do. I hope so. I'll try. I guess I'd better go now. Thank you!" The still doubtful former outlaw stood and reached to shake the reverend's hand.

"You're welcome, Mr. Heyes." Heyes began to turn and stride toward the office door, but Reverend Harrah gently touched his new sheep's shoulder. "Mr. Heyes, don't wait for everything to be perfect. Stop and think about how many blessings you have already. I've spoken to Miss Warren, so I know that she doesn't merely love you. She's very proud of you. She just wants you to be happy."

Heyes stopped and took the reverend's advice. "Yes. I have amnesty. I have my partner safe and sound. I have those two degrees. And I have Beth – or I will. I know, compared to the way it was, that's real good. It's a long way from that awful day when I woke up and couldn't even understand my own name. But I still want to have a normal life – a wife and family, a job so I can support them. I still don't know if anyone will grant me that – will grant us that."

"Mr. Heyes, I am very happily married myself, so I'm speaking from experience. A good marriage isn't easy. You are right to consider carefully on what basis your marriage will begin. It is true that marriage is often about thinking of the other person first. But that doesn't mean to neglect or sacrifice yourself when there is no need for it. Your fiancé loves you, too, you know. She's worried about you. Your own happiness is the greatest gift you can give your fiancé. She will never be happy until you are. I suggest that you try to find all the contentment you can, even when you haven't achieved all your dreams quite yet. You're living in the present – not just in the future. Perfection is rare on this earth."

Heyes gazed silently at the reverend for a while. "Thank you for giving me a lot to think about, Reverend. I guess I get too . . . single-minded sometime. Or . . . selfish. I'll make sure that Beth knows how happy she makes me. 'Cause she really does." A brief self-conscious smile crossed his face. His momentary bout with aphasia betrayed his discomfort.

The reverend added, "So long as you love your wife, Mr. Heyes, you'll find the way. And it's obvious that you care for her very deeply. I'll be glad to see you and Miss Warren, and Mr. Curry and Miss Christy, tomorrow morning. God bless you all!"

As Heyes walked down the street outside the church, a song came into his mind that he hadn't heard or thought of in a long time. He wasn't even sure how long it had been since he had heard it, or played it himself on the guitar. The notes and words seemed to come out of a long silence.

"Hard times, hard times, come again no more.

Many days you have lingered around my cabin door,

Oh hard times, come again no more . . ."

Maybe the hard times like Heyes had known in the past wouldn't come again. Or maybe they would. But either way, he would have someone he loved beside him to make it better.

A happier song came to him and he smiled. He began to whistle as he walked down the sidewalks of New York.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Wow, it's been a long time since I heard you whistling!" said Beth with delight as Heyes came into her office at the Leutze clinic.

As Heyes put his head in the door, his eyes were sparkling with joy. "One more time, honey," he said, "Just once more when we have to hide in here. After tomorrow morning, we can meet any time we like and just about any place." He kissed Beth hello. "Instead of going out to see you, I'll come home. But just for today, here we are again."

Beth smiled. "I'll kind of miss it, really. We've been through a lot together in this office, haven't we?"

Heyes looked around the room. The map on which he had pointed out Kansas when he could hardly speak was tacked to the wall. It was starting to yellow now. "I remember the first day. Sometimes I just felt like a bunch of symptoms and problems on the hoof. But you treated me like a man. You gave me respect."

Beth touched her fiancé's hand. "I remember how brave you were. And how I had a hard time catching my breath when you came in that first day. I tried to cover it up, of course. But you hit me between the eyes, hard and fast, Mr. Heyes! When you left, I watched you al-l-l-l the way down the hall."

Heyes chuckled and gave Beth one of his heart-stopping smiles. He leaned over and kissed her again. Beth found her breath coming fast as if she had only just met this incredibly attractive and exciting man. "Oh, Heyes, can it really be true? Do you really want to marry me?"

"I sure do. But I wish I had a job lined up. I hate for you to have to support me, even for a little while."

"You'll get a job, honey. I know you will," said Beth. With her academic history she knew, perhaps even better than her husband-to-be did, how hard it would be to find anyone who would trust Hannibal Heyes. "So you spoke to the minister about the wedding? And he really doesn't mind performing a ceremony that includes two former outlaws and two scarlet women?"

"Don't call my fiancé that! But yes, he understands the situation."

"So Reverend Harrah will help Jed and you make honest women out of Cat and me?" asked Beth with a tinge of bitterness.

"Aw, honey. He was more tactful than that about it. That you and I have attended services a few times didn't hurt our cause. He's a good man. He didn't duck any questions. I wish there were more ministers like him."

Beth gazed at her man. "I wish there were more people of any kind like him. I hate thinking about what you'll go through with your name and all those academic applications."

Heyes gazed back, with pain in his brown eyes. He was trying to live in the present rather than the future, but that was hard for a man about to get married. "I hate thinking of what you'll go through, telling people your new name. Day and day out, it'll be a burden for you. You're not used to it. Especially around those sheltered academics and their wives. Jed and I are already getting some ideas of what's it's like - to be snubbed and spat at. Yeah, a policeman spat at me when I was on my way over here."

Beth cringed at the image. "Oh, Heyes. I'm sorry about that. It's not like there's anything you can do about it. I'll learn to deal with it, just like you do." Beth's fiancé comforted her with his lips and his gentle hands.

As their lips finally parted, Heyes said, "Honey, I've been thinking . . ."

"Oh, what dangerous thing comes next?" laughed Beth, gently mocking her man.

"Elizabeth Warren, will you listen to me? I'm serious."

"Alright, Hannibal Heyes. What are you serious about now?" asked Beth, her voice still full of fun.

"Stop giggling, young woman! Do you miss calling me Joshua?"

"I never thought about it. I'm used to Heyes. I like it," replied Beth.

"You know how much I hate my first name. I know I've never told you all about why. Trust me, it's not a nice story. Or stories, rather."

"It's what your mother called you, isn't it?" Beth guessed.

Heyes winced as he nodded silently, then went on, "I don't want to go into it all now. It's not right for a professor just to go by his last name. It's not dignified. So what do you think about my changing my name? Jedediah Curry isn't famous, just Kid Curry. But I don't have any nick name I can drop. So I need a change."

Beth could hardly believe her ears. "Heyes, haven't you read your amnesty documents? No alias. The authorities would never allow it."

The brown-eyed ex-outlaw spoke earnestly. "Well, maybe, and maybe not. I've given this some thought. I wasn't thinking of changing my first name, much as I'd like to. I'm sure you're right; they'd never allow it. And, of course, I wouldn't want to touch my last name – that's all I have left of my family. I was thinking of taking a middle name. I've never had one. I'd tell the governors and the senator and everybody all about it so they'd have no trouble tracking me. So long as I tell any potential employer or anybody who signs a contract with me what my first name is and about my criminal record, maybe the governors will let me take on a new middle name. I know some guys who're called by their middle names 'cause they like them better than their first names. Like Ev Carter. His real first name is Darrell. He can't stand it, so he's officially D. Everett Carter. And some guys just use their initials. I could be H. Joshua Heyes or H. J. Heyes. What do you think?"

"Hm." Beth slanted her head as she thought about it. "Maybe. I can't imagine calling you H.J., but Joshua I think I could take to again. You'll have to get a lawyer to manage it. I mean other than Hardin. I assume he's not admitted to the bar in New York. Too bad. He's good and he's nice. He's cute, too." Beth's eyes sparkled as she teased her husband to be.

"Do I need to be jealous?" Beth grinned and shook her head.

Heyes said, "But maybe Charlie or somebody can recommend a local guy who does that kind of thing. I know we can't do it in time for tomorrow. There no way I can get out of having the minister say 'Do you Hannibal . . .'" Heyes shivered in distaste. "But maybe we can fix it up before I turn in all the faculty applications for the fall."

"Maybe. Good luck . . . Joshua." Beth kissed her man softly. "Now, we've got to go our separate ways until dinner. We're got reservations for 6:30 and I need to change."

"Not too much, Mrs. Heyes-to-be." joked Heyes. "I love you just the way you are."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Cat and Jed were talking avidly to Sheriff Wilde, and Lom and Isabelle, when Heyes arrived at the Italian restaurant an hour later. The friends already there exchanged warm greetings with Heyes as he came in.

As the hugs were finished, Cat looked at Heyes. "I was just thinking about the first time I saw you. Those guys from the bar carried you in, out cold and with blood all over you. And then you woke up all scared and couldn't talk or even understand. You sure have come a long way. Now we can hardly stop you from talking!" As everyone laughed, Cat stood up and kissed her cousin-in-law to be on the cheek. Beth came in while Cat was talking. Despite the laughter, Beth smiled sadly at the thought of her fiance's sufferings.

"Cat, I'd never have made it without you," said Heyes, giving her a peck back. "I remember how much I wanted to say 'thank you' when I couldn't even think the words. But I can say them now. Thank you!"

"And you ought to thank Clay!" joked Jed Curry. "He carried us both a long way. Come on, Heyes and Beth, sit down. I'm hungry!" Everyone laughed again. The Kid's appetite was legendary. Only Heyes really understood why; he knew how often his cousin had gone hungry. Jed was glad when the waiter came and took their order. He ordered a big plate of spaghetti with meatballs.

"Say, Beth, is your sister gonna make it to the wedding?" asked Jed after the waiter had left.

"Yes, Barbara will be there with her husband, Corey Dunham. They wired me. They'll be in on the train late tonight. They'll get a cab to the hotel and meet us at the church in the morning."

"Good," said Heyes. "I'm looking forward to meeting them. Cat, Corey and Barbara run a hotel, just like you and Jed. You'll find plenty to talk about, I'm guessing."

"Oh?" asked Cat, "How big a place?"

Beth answered, "Just ten rooms. It's a little town and not a lot of folks go through there. They keep some cows and sheep, too. But there's a new mine opening up nearby, so they're thinking of adding a few rooms."

"A gold mine?" asked Wilde, who had married a gold miner's widow.

"No, Harvey," chuckled Beth. "Coal. It's in West Virginia. That's coal country."

Lom commented, "They say that's a hard way to make a living, coal mining. I'd hate to be underground all the time."

"Huh!" grunted Cat bitterly, "And what's harder than being a sheriff? You know it and so does Harvey. We're all so glad to see you alive, Lom! And to have Isabelle well, too. Are you finally gonna tell us what happened to you?"

Lom said in his rough baritone, "Sure. Like I said before, it was the Teasdale brothers – the younger ones. They and their boys hit a mine payroll train just outside Porterville. Got away with a lot of dough. My boys and I went after them. They shot me off my horse and got away. They're still on the run. It's as simple as that."

"Simple!" said Isabelle angrily. "Nothing simple about it! Poor Lom got shot in the back. His horse ran off and Lom fell on some rocks. He got a concussion and a broken arm – or shattered more like – and some broken ribs. He lost a bunch of blood while his posse was looking for him. He was unconscious for a long time. He was so bad off they had to take him to the hospital in Cheyenne. Wasn't that long ago we thought he might not make it. Took him weeks to get in good enough shape to travel. I'm sorry to be so long answering your wires, but we were away from Porterville all that time."

Everyone looked concerned, but Lom shrugged with his one good shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'm fine now, folks. Or nearly. The arm still needs some time. Isabelle made me turn in my badge. Truth to tell, it wasn't hard to convince me. It's been enough years. Pretty tough ones. Now it's Jed's turn to be the bad guy turned sheriff."

"Well, I guess I got to. So you're gonna retire, Lom?" asked Jed. "Will you just sit on the porch and whittle?"

Lom smiled. "Can't even whittle right now, so I'm not sure. The town voted me a little pension. But it's not much. I'll fill in with some kind of safe job Isabelle won't object to. Couldn't stand to just sit around. Maybe we'll get a spread near town and raise a few head of cattle, when I can ride and rope again. Haven't given it a lot of thought."

"Or maybe we could travel some, when you're up to it, Lom," said Isabelle. "I've got money we could use."

Lom looked thoughtful. "I'd consider it. Maybe go to San Francisco or Chicago."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Well, if the thought of Paris or London scares you that much, Lom."

Lom looked at Heyes and Curry as if to say, '"Watch out for marriage, boys!"

Aloud Trevors said, "I'm not scared. First things first, Izzy. Right now we're in New York. That ain't half bad."

"No, it isn't," agreed Isabelle. "We can get to the museums and concerts and parks. And I'm sure the boys can show you to some good bars, if you insist." The aristocratic western lady winked indulgently at her ex-sheriff husband.

"We'd be glad to show you around some," said Beth. Soon they were deep in discussions of interesting places to go in New York. Everyone had their favorites.

"You got to see that Statue of Liberty!" said the Kid. "You won't believe how big that lady is!"

"Yeah, and then I want to see the stuffed animals at the Natural History Museum," said Wilde.

"And we can't miss Madison Square Garden," added Lom eagerly.

"You mean the one with the big nude lady spinning around on top?" asked Curry playfully.

"Of course he does," crowed Isabelle, giving the Kid a wink, "You know he has an eye for a handsome woman."

Only Heyes stayed pretty quiet. He knew that no one but Beth would enjoy his favorite place, the Astor Library, as much as he did. He said, a bit wistfully, "I'm gonna miss New York kinda, when I get to go someplace and teach. If I do. But really, I want to go back out West."

Soon the ladies got the topic onto the upcoming wedding. "I can't wait to see the ring you picked out, Cat!" said Beth with excitement. Heyes gave his partner and best man a private little smile. Beth still didn't know about the ring he had for her.

As they finished up talking about their marriage plans and all the attractions they wanted to get to in New York, the dear friends finally prepared to part. "Good night, Isabelle! Good night, Lom! And Harvey!" said Beth, kissing them all three. "See you all in the morning. Are you coming, Jed and Cat?"

"Sure we are, in a minute," answered Curry. "You folks go on and we'll catch you up in a bit. I know Cat wants to stay with you tonight."

Heyes came to take Beth's hand. "Well, honey. I've got one more night to walk you home – and have to leave afterward," he said.

Beth looked toward where Jed and Cat were still talking to Sheriff Wilde and Lom Trevors. "See you in a little while, Cat. It'll be treat to have you stay with me, like we talked about. We can primp together in the morning. And there'll be no chance of your running into Jed accidentally in the hotel. You know how having the groom see the bride before the wedding is bad luck."

"You two go on," said Cat. "We're gonna meander along behind you."

"See you in a little while then," said Heyes to Jed. "Good thing I convinced those Columbia boys I could get along without a stag party! If they'd done what they wanted to, I'd never have been able get up for 8:00 in front of the minister."

Beth and Heyes slowly walked along the street in the warm summer air, silently, arm in arm. Eventually Heyes looked up. "Say," he exclaimed and pointed, "there's the evening star and the moon." The pair paused and enjoyed the sight.

"It's a pretty gold crescent tonight, isn't it?" asked Beth, snuggling against Heyes.

Heyes put an arm around her shoulders. "Do you know, is it waxing or waning?"

Beth thought for a moment. "Waxing, I think."

Heyes laughed. "Hope so! It's good luck. You know - for a new venture. Ai – isn't it strange that I have to ask? Out West, the Kid and I slept under the moon an awful lot, or rode by it. Sometimes I planned jobs around a full moon, or a new moon. Here, there are too many buildings in the way, or clouds or always something."

Finally, they got to the brownstone building where Beth lived. Beth and Heyes embraced at the base of the steps, sharing one last, long unmarried kiss. "Goodnight honey!" whispered Heyes, grinning, and snuck another kiss. "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, honey. Joshua, if you like," said Beth softly. "Just this once more. Tomorrow, we get to go in together. It'll be hard to fit us both in my place till we can find a bigger one. I'm glad we've got hotel reservations tomorrow night. With a nice, big bed."

Finally, Beth climbed the stairs and waved back to Heyes. He blew her a kiss and turned to walk home alone one last time. He puts his hands in his pockets and meandered along thoughtfully, wondering when he would meet up with Jed and Cat. When Heyes was only a few yards away he heard a scream behind him. He had never heard Beth scream before, but the sound was unmistakable.

Heyes turned and darted back to Beth's brownstone as fast as he had run in his life. He looked up to see Beth struggling with someone in the doorway of the building at the top of a short flight of steps. Heyes grabbed the iron railing of the stairs and vaulted up onto the landing in a single motion. He threw a powerful punch at the male figure who was chasing Beth out the door.

Beth cringed as she heard her assailant's nose crunch under the violent blow from her fiancé's fist. She was splattered with the stranger's blood. A long knife flew from the thief's hand and clattered onto the sidewalk. Then the thief who had been trying to get Beth's purse looked up. With his speech slurred with drink and muffled by the hand he cradled around his broken nose, he inquired in wonder, "Heyes?"

"Ryder?" asked Heyes, struggling to remember where he had last seen the drunken, bedraggled man before him.

Ryder dabbed at his bleeding nose with a dirty handkerchief and said in nasal voice, "Yeah, Heyes. Glad it's you. Thought I was in real trouble for a while there."

"Huh? Ryder, you . . ." Heyes left out what would have been a salty curse if Beth hadn't been there. "You just tried to rob my fiancé! You think I'm going to let you go? You got another think coming, boy. Hands up! You alright, honey?" Heyes had pulled out his small pistol and aimed it at the would-be-robber.

"I'm fine, thanks to you. But my God, Heyes! You know this man?" Beth was in shock from being suddenly assaulted, but perhaps was even more horrified that her husband to be would know such an unsavory character.

"Yeah, honey, Heyes and I rode together with Devil's Hole!" laughed Ryder drunkenly, "Come on Heyes, let me go! What did you call this lady?"

"Speak respectfully to this lady, you . . . No way you're going free, Ryder. Get going. There's a police station just a couple of blocks away and you're going there with me."

"What? Oh geez! I try to rob one gal in New York and she's Hannibal Heyes's girl!" said Ryder loudly, looking shaken. "I'm in worse trouble than I thought!"

Heyes' voice was filled with scorn. "I doubt she's the only one you've robbed, Ryder. We're going to the police station, and we're going now. Move it! Don't be scared, Beth. He's harmless – now."

"You're talkin' funny, Heyes. What the heck happened to you?" asked Wilde as held his hands up shakily and stumbled down the sidewalk in front of Heyes. Beth followed at a distance.

"Went straight. Got amnesty. And just got a couple of degrees from Columbia University. And tomorrow morning I'm marrying this nice lady, as I said."

Ryder whistled. "Wow! That's one tall tale, Heyes. And I've gone about far enough. Haven't I, Blakelock?"

"Yeah," said a low, gruff voice from the shadows. "Drop the gun, Heyes. And get ready to turn over that purse, lady," said a roughly dressed man as he stepped into the light of a street lamp with a cocked pistol in his hand.

"I thought you were talking that loud to somebody besides you and me, Ryder," said Heyes, keeping his gun in his hand, "Figured your partner might be around someplace. But what about mine?"

"Come on, Heyes, drop it. Everybody knows the Kid's in Colorado. I don't want to shoot you – or the lady next," growled Blakelock. Beth gasped in terror.

"Then don't, or I'll shoot you myself," said a familiar voice. "Drop it, Blakelock, and I mean now."

The pistol hit the sidewalk and two pairs of hand went up, fast. Heyes laughed, "Boy, you took your time, Kid! I was about to start worrying!"

"Well, I was more than worried!" said Beth in a voice that was still shaking, "How do you stay so cool, Heyes?"

"Lotta practice, honey, and a good partner," said Heyes, putting his left arm around Beth's waist as his right hand still held his pistol trained on the thief, Ryder. "You're safe now. We're here."

"Cat, help us out here," said the Kid. "You know where I keep my thongs."

"Yes, Jed," said Cat, reaching into his back pocket while the Kid and Heyes kept their pistols trained on the pair of old western thieves who had tried to rob Beth. "Here they are. Now mister, put your hands behind you and hold still while I tie you up. There you go, now you go next, Blakelock or whatever your name is. My Jed's about to be a sheriff, so we know how to deal with thugs like you. All secure now, Jed. Let's get them to the police. And I thought New York was safer than out West! Guess it shows you how little I know about the big city." Cat gathered up the dropped pistol. She looked disdainfully at the battered and ill-kept weapon. "Look at this, Jed. Wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't even fire." Beth looked at her future cousin-in-law in open awe.

Soon, two robbers, two former robbers, and two women were climbing the steps of the local police station. "What's this with the guns?" asked the police sergeant behind the desk.

"These boys tried to rob my fiancé," said Heyes. "My friend and I were a bit too slick for them. Miss Christy's got the gun this guy over here was pointing at me. I'm betting you'll find stolen currency and maybe other stuff on them both. I doubt that we were their first job of the night."

A pair of policemen patted down the robbers, took a couple of knives and some suspicious currency and wallets from them, and shoved them into cells. The pair howled protests all the way, but the policemen knew them too well by sight and reputation to doubt that they'd been caught in the act once again.

"So you just happen to go around with a gun each and thongs?" asked a sergeant as they went back to the office. "Who are you guys?"

"Yeah. My name's Jed Curry and this is my partner, Hannibal Heyes," said Jed over his shoulder as he and Heyes started to fill out complaint forms. "These are the tools of my trade. I'm the new sheriff of Louisville, Colorado."

"No kidding!" exclaimed another policeman. "Can you prove that?"

"Sure," said Heyes. "Do you know an officer by the name of Tryon?"

"Yeah. He arrested Hannibal . . . – you!" answered the sergeant.

"That's right. Grabbed me in Central Park at a dance. My gal here, Beth Warren, could tell you all about it. But since then the Kid and I've gotten amnesty. We're all four getting married in the morning – early in the morning – by the way, so we want to get on out of here."

Jed pulled the folded up form naming him sheriff out of his pocket and Heyes pulled out a certified copy of his amnesty document. The original was far too precious for him to carry in the street. Once Heyes and Jed had given information about where they could be found and they had filled out the proper forms, the police laughed as they let them and Beth and Cat go.

"Congratulations and good luck to you miss, and miss, and Heyes and Curry!" called the sergeant after them. "And I'll convey your best wishes to officer Tryon!

As the four walked back to Beth's place, they stayed close together. "Sure don't want that to happen again!" said the Kid. "New York's a dangerous place!"

"I can't believe how cool you were! It's like you were enjoying yourself!" said Beth to Heyes.

Heyes chuckled and the Kid joined in. "Sure, honey. Easy as pie, dealing with dirt like that. I knew the Kid would be along any time to help out."

"What if he and Cat had stopped to smooch some place or gotten lost or something?" Beth was still shaken.

Heyes shrugged. "Then that might have been a bit more challenging."

Cat laughed at her cousin-in-law to be. "Come on, Beth. These guys aren't just the most famous outlaws in the West, they're the best! They eat cheap goons like that for breakfast!" laughed Cat, giving Jed a proud squeeze. "I guess you haven't gotten to see them at it like I have. Get used to it. Won't be the last time." They were arriving at Beth's place again as Cat spoke.

"But it will be the last time for saying goodnight like this" said Heyes. He leaned down to kiss Beth. "Come on, don't worry. Jed and I can handle ourselves. And so can you. You did great."

They kissed again. "Good night honey! See you in the morning!"

Jed and Cat shared a long kiss, as well. "Good night! Don't let the bed-bugs bite!" joked the Kid.

"Ain't funny – there's plenty of those things in New York, they say!" said Cat.

"But not at my place," said Beth. "Come on in, Cat. For one more night it's boys in one direction, girls in another." But the boys stayed and watched this time until they were sure that nobody was hidden in the shadows by Beth's doorway and that the girls were safely inside.

"When will those men ever be safe?" whispered Beth as the two brides got ready for bed.

"Never, I guess," said Cat matter-of-factly.

"It might not be so bad for Jed, so long as he doesn't get hurt. But Heyes had better learn to at least give the illusion of safety, or he really never will get to teach," answered Beth with a yawn as she pulled up the covers on the bed she was sharing with Cat.

"Don't tell me you don't find the danger just a little attractive," said Cat in the dark.

"I've never denied it," said Beth with a little smile that no one could see.