Angel Eyes stayed a week with Lee before stocking up on trail supplies and heading off toward the Stevens homestead. Jesse was in Cactus Flats, so he asked his friend to send Anna a telegram advising her that he'd be delayed arriving home.

The Stevens job had been easy and mostly straightforward, he thought while riding back to Cactus Flats. His intense stare and an implied threat to Stevens' family had been enough to make the man babble everything he knew. He knew his appearance was intimidating to many people, so he used his natural attributes to his best advantage whenever needed.

Angel Eyes had had no intention of hurting the man's family - he never killed a target's family members unless they got in his way, which was why he unfortunately had to kill Stevens' teenage son in self-defense. But he didn't touch the man's wife and younger son, leaving them alive after he'd finished the job.

Stevens had given him a thousand dollars, all his savings, in the hopes of saving his own life, thinking his thousand would cancel out Baker's five hundred. But that wasn't how Angel Eyes operated. Once he'd been paid to do a job, he always carried it out. This kind of reliability was how he always was able to find work.

He'd accepted the money Stevens had offered him, nonetheless, knowing a dead man would no longer need money. The money also gave him a valid excuse to kill Baker when he went back to report to him.

When Stevens had told him all he wanted to know, he had also told him things he'd been unaware of, things that Baker had neglected to tell him. Namely, he told him the secret all three men had been keeping. It seemed they had stumbled upon a hidden Confederate cashbox containing two hundred thousand dollars in gold.

He could retire with that much money and keep both Anna and Emma in style, he thought as the miles went by. He'd have to kill Baker to go hunt for the gold on his own. Hell, Baker deserved it for not telling him about the gold and trying to get by with giving him only a measly five hundred.

Baker was dying of consumption, anyway, so he'd be putting him out of his misery. Stevens had also implied that the thousand was a payment for him to go kill Baker. And now that he'd been paid, he'd have to complete the job.

Angel Eyes let out a sinister laugh, then spurred his horse onward, eager to return to Cactus Flats.

As he drew nearer to town, he decided to get a good night's rest, and perhaps spend a day or two with Lee before going to take care of Baker. There was no hurry; the old man wasn't going anywhere.

Emma was surprised to see him back so soon. He gave her a vague excuse, as he never discussed business with her. After eating and spending some time with Lee, he went into his own room and went straight to sleep.

She was gone when he got up the next morning. Lee had come into the room to awaken him, telling him Emma had left a pot of coffee. Angel Eyes had planned to do the job that day, but he'd have to stay with his son instead. No big deal; the job could wait awhile.

But after Baker had been taken care of, he'd need to put his tracking skills to good use to find the third member of the group: Jackson, now known as Bill Carson. He was convinced that this man knew where the gold was. He'd get the location from Carson, even if he had to beat it out of him.

He figured it would take a couple of months, at least, until he got to the literal pot of gold at the end of the trail. Angel Eyes had some money put back, so he could afford not to take regular jobs during that time.

Emma returned home early that afternoon to find Lee giggling at some funny faces his father was making. She made a late lunch for them all.

She didn't tell him where she'd been and he didn't ask. He didn't care what she did. His mind was now focused on his job, knowing his son would be cared for while he was gone.

After supper, he decided to make his move, then spend one more night before heading back to Anna for a few days before starting his quest for the gold.

As dusk fell, he told Emma, "I think I'll go to town for awhile and see what's going on. Don't wait up for me."

Angel Eyes carefully approached the old man's house from the back way, after first checking to make sure Baker had no visitors. The hitching posts were empty and the barn contained only Baker's horse, who showed no sign of recent use. He left his own horse outside the barn, but in a spot where he couldn't be seen from the road.

He quietly slipped in the back door into a darkened house. No matter, he'd had to make his way through dark rooms many times before. He carefully made his way through the house, determining there was no one in the four rooms before finding a narrow staircase.

The hired gun crept up the stairs and by the time he reached the top, he heard loud snoring. Entering the sole room at the top of the stairs, he found Baker sawing logs.

Angel Eyes found a lamp at the foot of the bed. After lighting it, he took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the light. Looking down at the sleeping man, he noted that his shirt was soaked with sweat, with a bloodstain near the top. He again thought he'd be doing him a favor by putting him out of his misery.

After waking Baker by putting the lamp close to his face, he reported to the old man what had happened with Stevens, and told him the name Jackson was using now. Baker gave him the agreed upon five hundred dollars for a successfully completed job.

Now that he had the money in hand, Angel Eyes decided to finish the job, because the less time he spent here, the less chance he had of getting caught.

Standing up, he adjusted his hat and told the coughing man about the thousand Stevens had given him. "I think his idea was that I kill you."

Baker mistakenly took Angel Eyes' light tone as humor and started laughing. He suddenly realized it wasn't a joke when the hired gun took one the pillows propping him up.

Continuing in a calm soothing tone, the killer told him, "But you know the pity is, when I'm paid, I always follow my job through. You know that." With no more talk, he moved to put the pillow over Baker's face to shield himself from blood spatter.

"No! Angel Eyes!"

Ignoring the man's plea, Angel Eyes fired four shots into the pillow, then waited briefly until the man stopped moving. There was only one large bullet hole in the pillow, showing the steadiness of his hand.

Laughing in satisfaction at a job well done, he blew out the lamp, then soundlessly left the small house. He was hungry and hoped Emma had saved some leftovers from supper.