At Wit's End

[Elegant Ella]

Dr. Alan rode along easily, staying beside Eddie. He was very glad that he had taken Ella's advice and practiced riding during the eight months he had been in El Paso. The first time he had accompanied her on a house call, he understood why she didn't use a carriage much. The carriage was fine for paying calls in town, or going out to visit the Longknives, but most of the trails she used to reach her patients were much better suited to travel on horseback. The Gladstone bag didn't attach to a saddle, but his medical supplies fit into a pair of saddlebags just fine.

Dr. Alan just hoped he wasn't going to have to apply the shooting lessons.

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet couldn't believe how Phillips slowed them down; she'd never ridden with anybody so intent on slowing down the rest of the group. She wondered what she could throw him in the jail cell for. Maybe she'd just kidnap him and stuff him in there for amusement, keeping that thought in mind she could probably smile at him now and then.

She felt better that both Fritz and Bo were back there with him, the man could probably be dangerous if he really put his mind to it. Scarlet couldn't believe Thompson had made such a poor choice as to put a badge on this man, then again some thought the same thing about here.

She slowed Lucky as she saw Jimmy leading another horse coming at them.

[Scarlet Angel]

"Is that's what's left of the bank robbers? The rest of us take to long getting out here?" Scarlet asked stopping next to Jimmy and looking at the man whose horse he was leading.

"Found 'im suckin' sand out there." Jimmy glanced beyond Scarlet. Philips was still riding towards them. "All he could say was Coatsworth and El Paso. Do you know 'im?"

Scarlet glanced over her shoulder, the one time she wished Philips was taking longer, then turned back to Jimmy.

"Met him briefly at Fort Fetterman." She said giving him a look that closed the line of questioning.

"Dr. Alan please take him back to El Paso and see that he gets care."

"I gave him some water; he's been out since then." Jimmy said to Dr. Alan

Dr. Alan shook his head yes taking the horse's reins. 

"Eddie please go with him." Scarlet said.

"I would prefer to stay with the posse." Eddie replied.

"Nobody rides alone." Scarlet said.

Eddie opened his mouth to protest again, his brother called him over "Marshal King is asking you to do something important Eddie. That man was friends with a couple of outlaws that Mrs. Coatsworth arrested at the fort, Marshal is only being polite, she's not really asking. If you want to be a deputy someday you should do as she asks and make sure that the three of you get back safely. She could send one of the other men, but she's giving you a chance to prove yourself here." Jimmy whispered in to him.

Eddie looked from Jimmy to Scarlet and Dr. Alan. "Yes ma'am. You can trust me." He replied.

"Y'all watch yerselves."  She said.

Philips rode up flanked by Bo and Fritz.

"Who is this?" Philips asked.

Scarlet and Jimmy both ignored him.

"I don't know you, who are you?" Philips said to the man he didn't recognize.

Jimmy looked him up and down but didn't answer.

"What happened? Is that man going to be alright?" Philips demanded looking at the man on the horse Dr. Alan was starting to lead away.

Jimmy stepped closer to Scarlet. "The hoof prints lead to a group that's forted up in a box canyon. They're watching."

"Everybody needs this information." Scarlet said with half a smile at Jimmy.

He turned to the group "The hoof prints out of town lead to a group that's forted up in a box canyon. They have a man on watching the back trail. There are a couple of dozen horses and half as many men. They don't look very concerned about a posse and it looks like they've been camped there a few days already."

"Thank you Jimmy."

"You're welcome" both Jimmys replied.

[Elegant Ella]

Perry was trying to figure out where he had seen the woman he'd spotted in town. Her group had gone into the barber shop before he caught more than a glimpse, but the way she moved was familiar. Max Collins had looked and said that the women were sitting watching the barber cut the boy's hair, and not paying any attention to the bank. But a feeling of familiarity had been nagging at Perry ever since.

The men were chatting. Fred Rico and David Jackson were praising the charms of the girls working at the Ace of Hearts saloon, while Bernie Thomas and Ed Perez were recommending the Pink Palace. Given how close Fred and David Jackson had come to blowing the whole operation, Perry had thought that the men should stay out of El Paso entirely. Ben had still given the men their liberty, but given the orders that the men going in on Friday or Saturday were to stay away from the Ace and stick to the Pink Palace. At least Eyes had come through, and released the men promptly. But that deputy had been too alert at the Ace, and the bartender too fast to support him with a scattergun.

Eyes had done a good job in Pleasanton. He had formed up a posse, and led it on a wild goose chase after the robbers, while the rest of the gang had made a second trip into town the next morning, and spent part of the bank's money on supplies and whiskey. The men were looking forward to doing that in El Paso, before starting on the 150 mile trip to the Castle.

Perry kept reviewing the job. They had approached the bank from one of the bridges over the river. A few people had still been out on the streets, showing no alarm. Everything had stayed quiet at the bank. It was well into siesta time when they left, and they had not seen anyone on their way out of town except a couple boys playing. It should have taken an hour or two for someone to get free. By then, the normal traffic on the main road would have obscured their tracks. They had left the main road by jumping off the road into a small creek, and followed the creek a good ways before heading into the camp.

Archie would have been able to distract him from this nagging feeling that something was going wrong. Why had Archie snuck off like that? That was something for him to do. Perry headed for the horses and saddled his.

"Where are you going?" asked Ezra Barnes.

"Going to find Archie's body and make sure he wasn't carrying anything."

"He was off that way when he came off the horse."

Perry nodded and headed that way. He found Archie's blood trail easily. The man had moved much farther than expected after coming off the horse. The blood stopped, but the crawl marks didn't. It looked like Archie had rested in a little cave here, maybe drank at the spring in it. Then he had moved again, staggering, but on his feet.

Perry kept following the tracks.

Here Archie had fallen down, and his horse had joined him. What were these other tracks? It looked like someone had found Archie and his horse! Those tracks headed west and south, back towards El Paso.

The nagging feeling of familiarity was back. Deputy and El Paso. That bounty hunter at the fort who worried Archie so much - she had been said to be a deputy marshal in El Paso, along with the doctor lady! Eyes had reported, "Two deputies", but Eyes would never have counted women as deputies. The doctor lady had moved just like the woman in town! If the doctor lady had recognized him, she would have summoned the bounty hunter. If the bounty hunter had arranged a posse, Eyes would not have been able to stall or mislead it, and the posse could be at the camp at any minute.

There wasn't time to get back to warn the camp. They were just hirelings, anyway. It was time for Perry to turn north, and disappear.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Bo looked to Fritz.  "Box canyon, eh?  You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Fritz nodded.  "If we can get up on the heights at either side, we should be able to cut off their escape.  Then they have the choice to either fight or give."

Bo nodded.  "Yep.  That's the way I figured it.  But we've gotta count on them having lookouts on those heights."

A sly smile scrossed Fritz's lips.  "Then we do it real quiet-like.  I wish I had something a bit more potent than the old '66."  Fritz looked to his wife to see what she carried in her scabbard.   

[Scarlet Angel]

Bo half smiled as he watched Fritz look at Scarlet's scabbard.
"Two things I can always count on Fritz."

Fritz looked his way "What's that?"

"When Scarlet is hunting men, she's got that Sharps. When Jimmy is hunting them he's got that ol' Whitworth."

[Elegant Ella]

In the office at the Starr, a couple posters were waiting on the desk. The picture on one of them matched the blond robber. Ella read both posters, and went to the files. She pulled out a dozen posters to show Bobby. It took an hour, looking at posters, then pulling out paper on known associates, but they found paper on five of the robbers they had seen.

They went out to visit the horses before heading back. Ella decided to send a wire to Deputy Hayes to report the sighting of Perry White, so she turned Bobby over to Rose, and went into the telegraph office. Patches was feeding her son, and waved Ella over to the key.

TO AMBROSE HAYES
US MARSHALS OFFICE
HOUSTON
FROM EW COATSWORTH
EL PASO
SEVEN MEN TOOK 5000 IN GOLD COIN FROM BANK STOP
YOUR INTERESTING PERSON WITH SIX MEMBERS OF BEANPOLE GANG STOP
BEN POLE STOP
MAXWELL COLLINS STOP
FRED RICO STOP
GUS RODRIGUEZ STOP
JUAN SANCHEZ STOP
MUTUAL ACQUAINTANCE NOT SEEN STOP

Ella dropped Bobby off at his home on the way back. The boy was full of excitement over the visit to the foaling barn and over helping to train Solomon. He had been the first person to sit on the two-year-old son of Lucky, even for only five minutes!

The sight of their shingle over the front door, with the words "Coatsworth Family Doctors", still gave Ella a thrill. She was very content with the house. Alan almost left it off the list of possibilities, because he thought they couldn't afford it and the alterations and repairs needed. But Tensleep and Becca had convinced him to include it. The house was a large single-story square around a central courtyard with a well that was perfect for Ella' herb garden. The back side was the stables, the front had been converted into medical offices and surgery, one side was rooms for guests or patients, and the fourth side was their residence.

The riders from the Starr didn't leave the sides of the carriage until Ella drove around the house and through the gate into the stable yard.

Bella took charge of the carriage and told her, "Dr. Coatsworth wanted you to see him as soon as you got back."

Alan was in his surgery examining at an unconscious man with assistance from Eddie. "James Bradbury found his horse standing over him north of town. The man roused a little when James gave him water, and mumbled something. James heard 'El Paso' and 'Coatsworth', so Eddie and I left the posse and brought him back here. I think Bo and Jimmy recognized him, do you?" he asked.

Eddie spoke up, "Marshal Phillips looked like he recognized him as well. Jimmy said he was a friend of some outlaws you arrested."

Ella looked, and remembered. "Yes. How is he?"

"He got hit by two bullets, one went clear through. He's lost a lot of blood, but the wounds are clean. I'd like him to be stronger before I remove the second bullet."

"Did you find anything in his pockets?"

"His clothes are over there. I haven't looked at them. Can you give me a name to call him?"

"Call him Archie. Can he be moved to the infirmary out at the Starr tomorrow?"

"We've room for him here. Why do you want to put him there?"

Ella looked through the pockets of Archie's clothes. Finding the old badge helped her decide to tell Alan and Eddie more of the story. "He's a Deputy Marshal who went undercover a couple years ago. The person he has been watching was one of the bank robbers this afternoon. I'm going to the telegraph office. I won't be gone long."

Tinker's office was only a couple blocks away. Tink came out from the back when the bell on the door sounded, "Good evening, Miz Ella. What can I do for you?"

"May I use your key to send a message?"

Tink nodded, and opened the counter to let her through to the desk with the key. The uncoded message went to Houston, and was acknowledged by the operator there.

When Ella was through with the key, Tink commented, "Marshal Phillips was very insistent I tell him about anyone who has me send a message to the Houston Marshals office. Since I didn't send your message, I don't see any need to mention it to him."

"Can he legally request that information?"

Tink shrugged, "He can ask anything he wants, but he can't require me to tell him anything. Kicking up a fuss about his request would just rile him up more."

-------------------------------------

Houston

Ambrose Hayes was working late, looking up the names that Mrs. Coatsworth had sent in her report on the El Paso bank robbery, when the telegraph operator brought him another message. After reading it, he decided it was worth disturbing Marshal Thompson at home.

Ambrose Hayes knocked on the door of Luther Thompson's home. When he was admitted to Thompson's sitting room, he said, "I received a couple interesting wires from Mrs. Coatsworth this evening."

Thompson interrupted, "I am not going to recall Marshal Phillips."

"She didn't say anything about Phillips. Look for yourself."

TO AMBROSE HAYES
US MARSHALS SERVICE
HOUSTON
FROM EW COATSWORTH
EL PASO
A MUTUAL ACQUAINTANCE JUST DROPPED IN STOP
PLEASE COME VISIT STOP

Thompson read the telegram, then looked up at Hayes, "What is she talking about?"

"You have to give her credit for discretion if her meaning is unclear even to someone who knows why I met her. 'Mutual acquaintance' means Archie. She used 'your interesting person' to mean Perry White in her report on the bank robbery."

Marshal Thompson interrupted, "What did she say about the bank robbery? Phillips didn't have any real information in his wire, and there was an odd postscript from the El Paso telegraph operator."

Hayes handed over another telegram. "She identified six of the seven robbers. White was there, but not Archie. In her second wire,'dropped in' is a significant choice of words, although I'm not sure what she means. But I think she would have said 'stopped by' if Archie had arrived under his own power. He might be injured and under medical care, or he could be dead and there is information on his person. Although she might have been clearer if Archie were dead. I think she's asking for me to visit because she won't transmit information in any way that could be intercepted. I can catch the 10pm train, and be there by Thursday evening."

"Sounds good. Maybe the case will finally crack."

After Hayes let himself out, Mrs. Thompson came into the sitting room, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but were you talking about Izzy's school friend, Perry White?"

"What!" exclaimed Thompson. "Did Perry White also attend the Morgan Academy?"

"Yes. He and Izzy were great friends, even though Perry is a couple years older. They've kept in touch over the years."

Marshal Thompson headed for the door, saying, "I need to get to the office. I'll be back in an hour or so."

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet looked at Jimmy. "A Box canyon? Are you sure there's no other way out?"

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at her "course I'm sure."

"That's just foolish." She replied.

"No it's not." Philips said.

Scarlet looked at him surprised, he'd almost sounded offended. "It's not?"

"You only have one way out to defend. You don't have to worry about getting surrounded." Philips replied.

"Well we can sit out here and wait, they got to come out for food at some point, we can ride in and burn 'em out, blow 'em out." Scarlet commented.

"Why don't we just ride in and announce U.S. Marshals and let them give themselves up?" Philips asked.

Scarlet would have laughed at the comment if he hadn't sounded so serious.

"From the description of the witnesses we are following Ben Pole's gang. They've never shot any one during a robbery. David Jackson is riding with them he is no stranger to bloodletting, and has become more active doing so in the last couple of years. They may give up easily, but don't be foolish enough to count on it. If they open fire on us, shoot to kill." Scarlet said to everyone, then looked at Philips "He rides fast and we know where we're going, we'll not wait for you, you best keep up because this is no place for a greenhorn at night."

They rode hard for about an hour before Jimmy pulled his horse to a stop and dismounted. "Ok y'all, they had a couple of lookouts not far ahead, one on each side." He looked between Bo and Fritz "One o you can take one and I'll get the other."  He said as he took the heavy rifle from its scabbard.

"After you do that we can see if Marshal Philips wants to ride in and announced us." Scarlet said.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

"I've seen what Firtz can do with a Springfield or a Berdan," Bo replied, "but I think I'm probably quieter than he is."

Scarlet knew both men.  She'd make the call.

"Bo," she said, "you and Jimmy take out the sentries.  Fritz, you're with us.  No offense."

Fritz nodded, and pulled the '66 from its scabbard.  "None taken."

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet turned to Lily. "Please hold the horses. The rest of you find good cover and get ready."

Lily looked disappointed.

Scarlet helped her lead the horses to good cover. When they were out of earshot Scarlet turned to her. "If Philips comes back alone he can take his horse, nobody else's. I don't care what he tells you. You stay here unless someone else comes for you. If he tries to take the other horses, do what you can."

"You think he's going to try and leave us out here without horses or something?" Lily asked.

"Look Lil, if tries anything funny, threatens you in anyway and you feel just cause, shoot him." Scarlet said.

"I knew you didn't like him but this goes beyond that."

"I don't trust him at all Lil, be aware of what he's doing."

Lily smiled knowing she was doing more than just holding horses.

Scarlet took her rifle and disappeared. Lily listened and kept a sharp eye out.

Scarlet made it back to cover just before she heard Philips yell out "Give up, U.S. Marshals". She knew Bo and Jimmy had made it into place but just barely. He had not waited for any sign from them.

He was fired at by one of the outlaws for his trouble, to which he replied "Ben Pole, give up, this is Marshal Philips my posse has you surrounded."

"Ride on outta here Philips and take your posse with you." One of the outlaws replied.

"Give up it'll go easier for you." Philips yelled back.

One of the outlaws fired in his direction.

Scarlet leveled her rifle and squeezed the trigger.

She heard the man scream, she knew the bullet had found its mark in the man's shoulder. She saw Philips looking to see where the gunfire had come from. She could see his face, he was mad but he had no clue who had taken the shot.

"Throw down your weapons and give up!" Philips yelled.

Scarlet couldn't tell if that tone in his voice was anger or panic.

More shots rang out from the outlaws who had now started to find cover.

Scarlet heard the roar of Jimmy's rifle from above them followed by other members of the posse.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Fritz could distinguish between the loud reports of the Sharps and the Whitworth.  Even today he could tell the difference between the two.  Each time one of those rifles boomed, a man fell.  His '66 was liquid-smooth.  It was the proginy of 'that damned Yankee rifle you load on Sunday and fire all week.'  His job was to keep the robbers from slipping into the woods beyond the canyon.  Men flee from the light into the darkness.  Fritz's job was to keep them in the light.  He was sure that he hit the men he aimed at.  He wasn't so sure if they fell.  As he worked the lever of his rifle, Phillips' comments about his choice of arms came back to him.  Maybe it was time to replace the obsolete arms in his collection with something more modern...or at least of larger caliber.  He thought of the Walkers strapped about his wife's shapely hips and laughed.  It sounded strange under the current circumstances.          

[Scarlet Angel]

Ben Pole winced and gagged when the spray of blood hit his face as David Jackson fell and twitched.

He couldn't believe what was happening, there shouldn't have even been a posse following them, now half of his men were wounded and three were dead. They were pinned down and shot at every time they made a move to escape. Perry had deserted them just before the posse showed.

He looked around; Fred Rico laid dead, blood running from his mouth. Owen had his shoulder blown apart for his trouble of trying to fire back at the posse and Ezra would die before long with the bullet in his gut.

"What we gonna do Ben? Are we going to give up or die here?" Rodriguez said.

"Have we hit anybody out there?" Ben asked.

"No, we are not that good of shots and killing people is not what I signed on for. I don't want my mother to watch me hang for shooting some other mother's son."  Rodriguez remarked.

'Hold your fire." Pole yelled out. "Philips do you hear me?!"

The gun fire died on both sides.

"Throw down your guns and come out into the open." Philips yelled back.

[Elegant Ella]

After Archie was settled into a patient bed and comfortable, Ella and Eddie went over to the Marshal's office. Ella opened the door with the key that Tensleep had insisted she keep so she could take care of feeding prisoners in the cells. There weren't any prisoners at the moment. Those arrested on Friday and Saturday night for being drunk and disorderly had all been released by noon on Sunday.

They went into the back office, lit the lantern and started searching for a book that could be the key to the telegrams. There were several dime novels on the bookshelf, but none of them were printed in the right format. There was also a stack of issues of "The Fireside Companion", which was printed in 3 columns. They divided up the stack, and started looking for pencil marks or any other sign. After a few minutes, Eddie exclaimed, "Most of these papers have some pages taken out!"

"Any idea what was on those pages?"

"It looks like all the serials written by Old Sleuth are removed. At least, that's what the tables of contents say."

"Let's check the desk."

"The bottom drawer is locked."

Ella tipped over the bookend, and removed the spare desk key that Tensleep had stuck to the hollow in the bottom. The drawer opened. They put the cash box aside. There was a leather folder, containing a few working papers, including Marshal Phillip's written instructions, and the information about his deputies that Tensleep had sent with his resignation. Underneath that was a handmade book, containing pages from "The Fireside Companion". Each serial had been collected and sewn together into a pamphlet. The pamphlets were tied together and into the leather cover. The pages had been numbered by hand, with each serial starting with page 1.

Two loose papers at the front of the book were telegraph flimsies. One from Castle to Phillips dated Wednesday morning said, "DABA DABG DADA DAAD DAAN DACLZ CBAH CBAE CBAF CBAP CBBA CBBHZ". Underneath was the decoded message, "M O N D A Y  S I E S T A". Another from Castle to Phillips on Thursday morning said, "DCUAZ AAAJ AAAE AAAD AABG AAAQ AABF AAAM AABA AACE AACBZ EADCZ OAJBZ". Underneath it said, "no R E S I S T A N C E no harm".

A third loose piece of paper had been torn from a notebook, and tucked at the beginning of a story titled "Old Sleuth, Badger & Co." It had
D 4 1 1 4  
E 4 1 1 3  
P 4 1 2 20  
U 4 1 2 2  
T 4 1 3 1
I 4 1 3 8
E 4 1 3 3
S 4 1 3 6  
1  3 1  9 7
2  3 2 20 11
3 15 1 94 5
4 15 1 24 8
5 15 1  5 3
6 25 2 69 5
7 21 1  7 4
8 17 2 65 1
9 21 3 21 9
10 9 2 19 9
20 3 2 10 4

"This looks like he was planning a message while traveling, maybe to report how many deputies were here!" exclaimed Eddie. He pulled out his copy of the first message Phillips had sent, "CBTKZ DAAD DAAC DABT DABB DACA DACH DACC DACFZ" to compare. He converted the letters to numbers and said, "It matches. Why did he say there were only two deputies? There are six: Mr. and Mrs. King, Dr. and Mrs. McDowell, Jimmy and Lily."

"Well, you remember that the McDowells walked out of his first meeting, and he told Mrs. King and Lily to go home. It looks like he only counted the two men he had left. Check if the message was coded using 'Old Sleuth, Badger & Co.'"

Eddie went back to work, and reported, "It was, and Marshal Phillips's other message reads, 'no harm to people', but the messages he got back don't work."

"They might be coded with one of the other stories. How many stories are in that book?"

"A couple dozen."

"That's going to take us too long to figure out tonight. Copy down the titles of the serials and the issues of the paper they were in, and we'll put Mrs. McDowell to work collecting the right issues for us to make our own copy of the book."

"Mr. Reynolds has some recent Fireside Companions in the barber shop, for people to read while they're waiting. Maybe he's got older ones put away somewhere."

"You can ask him tomorrow, when you go get a haircut. I wonder who else might subscribe to it. It contains stories for women to read, as well as detective and adventure stories for men."

Once Eddie had made his list, they carefully put everything back the way they had found it, and locked the desk. Ella pocketed the desk key, and they returned home.

[Scarlet Angel]

Ben looked at his men, he would stand and fight if they wanted to but he wouldn't like it. "What do you boys want to do?"

Rodriguez looked a little ashamed for wanting to give up but he preferred not to die.

"Dave would have told us to fight." One of the men said.

"He killed men before, and now look at him, I'm wearing his damn brain and Bernie has a hole in him we could walk through. Who the hell is out there and what are they shooting at us?!" Ben growled pointing at David's lifeless body. "We either die here, we could try ta ride out with a stampede, we might make it or we give up before the rest of us get killed or we give up and hope they go easy on us for never killing anybody."

The men looked at one another. Ben dropped his pistol. "You can shoot me in the back if you want but I'm giving up."

The other men followed his lead. "We're coming out Philips. Don't shoot!"

"Come out with your hands up." Philips replied.

"We got some dead and wounded." Ben yelled back.

"Drag 'em out with you." Came a woman's voice that surprised the outlaws and Philips too.

They drug the dead and dying men out with them.  "Here we are." Ben said raising his hands in the air.

Philips started to move but heard Scarlet yell out "Your missing somebody, where is he?" and froze in his tracks, maybe this was some kind of trick. There could be more waiting in the rocks to cut down the posse when they showed themselves.

"We ain't missin' nobody!" Ben replied.

Philips watched, it was better than the novels he read, he could feel his heart racing at the thought there might be another fire fight while he wondered just how Scarlet knew how many outlaws there were, and who was missing.

Scarlet took a shot with the rifle spraying Ben with dirt and rocks. "The next one goes in your knee cap Ben Pole. Tell me the truth." She yelled back.

These people are crazy Philips thought to himself. He could have sworn he'd seen Fritz laughing during the gun battle and now this! Not to mention the one whose name he really wasn't sure of.

"I swear lady this is everybody but the two you have!" Ben replied. "We even drug down our dead."

There was an eerie silence that fell in the canyon followed by the sound of the hammer of the big rifle being pulled back.

Ben fell to his knees "This is everybody!! Don't shoot me!!"

"There was one other; he rode out before you got here!"  Rodriguez yelled back.

"Gus Rodriguez you know what lying will do to you?" Scarlet yelled back. It was obvious from the sound of her voice she had moved to a different position.

"I am sure I will already meet the devil in the afterlife senorita." He replied.

"Then why should I believe you if you're already going to hell?"

"I'll be going to hell for stealing and not earning an honest living and that is all. You have the advantage on me and know who I am, so you should know that to be true."

It was quiet again. Scarlet had made her way to Jimmy who confirmed there was indeed a horse missing but the rest were accounted for.

Scarlet and Jimmy worked their way down from the rocks with Max Well Collins in tow. Followed closely by Bo and the man he had with him.

The posse was starting to pat down the outlaws for weapons.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

While Scarlet negotiated terms from cover, Fritz topped off the '66's magazine from his dyer pouch.  Now that they were moving close in, he would have an advantage in firepower.  As the posse moved from cover to conduct searches, he moved in with the rifle to shoulder, slowly sweeping from left to right.  He'd stopped laughing, and his face was deathly grim. 

"I got 'em," Fritz said.  "They move and they're dead."   

[Elegant Ella]

The victors were gentle enough. Once the weapons had been taken from his men, they were allowed to care for their wounded. Ezra Barnes stopped breathing before the crescent moon set, and his body was put to the side with the corpses of David Jackson, Fred Rico, and Bernie Thomas. Owen Brown could still die from his wound, if fever set in. He probably would never have much use of his left arm if he survived.

Dinner was prepared by the younger man who answered to 'Jimmy' and a woman who had come in with the posse's horses and answered to 'Lil' or 'Lily'. Ben's men weren't physically constrained much, just handcuffs, but the cold eyes of the older 'Jimmy' were always watching. Ulysses Evans muttered about making a break for it until Ben asked him, "Do you have that much credit with St. Jude Thaddeus, Uly?" Everyone else recognized a lost cause when they saw it. After dinner, they sat or lay on their bedrolls, each lost in his own thoughts.

Ben Pole knew he had been close to losing control of his men. He had let the surviving friends of Jim Hoss hook up with him, and in repayment, they had been slowly but steadily undermining his authority. Fred Rico was a born follower, and David Jackson looked like a more exciting leader, with Owen Brown and Ezra Barnes backing him to the hilt. Ben was sure that the first time he let David Jackson accompany him into a bank would also have been the first time they killed someone in the course of a robbery. So far, David had been willing to settle for scouting the town ahead of time.

He had not wanted to tackle the El Paso bank. The marshal and deputies there just plain had too much of a reputation. But he had David breathing down his neck. It had been perfectly clear that turning down the job would have meant the end of his leadership, and probably his life. Perry's skill at organizing jobs had mostly recovered from a slump a couple of years earlier, when many of his jobs had failed. Either the local law had been too alert and caught the robbers almost before they left the bank, or had been too fast to follow with a posse. Ben had insisted on Perry accompanying the robbery team for insurance, but he had escaped before the posse showed up.

Marshal Phillips wanted to be in charge, but the other six seemed to know what they were doing without orders. He suspected that any orders he gave would be ignored or laughed at. The curiosity over how Scarlet had known who they were chasing was driving him crazy. Knowing that one was missing could be explained by the scouting done by the other Jimmy. But how did she get identities out of the descriptions of masked gunmen given by the witnesses in the bank, when she didn't even talk to those witnesses as far as he knew?

"Deputy Washington!" he called. Jimmy got up and came over to where Phillips was sitting. "How did Mrs. King know who we were after?" he asked quietly.

"You'll have to ask her. I saw some of these men at the Pink Palace on Friday and Saturday night, but they weren't involved in either of the fights with Emmett Mitchell. You know, I think Emmett does it on purpose. He comes to town on Friday night, drinks up half his money, then starts a fight so that he can spend the night in the jail instead of paying for a room. Then on Saturday night, he drinks up the rest of his money and picks another fight. The Pink Palace is the only saloon in town that still lets him in the door at all, and they send someone to fetch me to be on hand to break up the fight before it does much damage."

[Scarlet Angel]

Scarlet sat down next to Ben. "Where are the rest of your men Pole?"

Ben eyed her for a moment "You got them all but the one Gus told you about."

"You are missing a few or maybe they just drifted off when Hoss' men joined up with you."

"They are waiting for me across the border." Ben replied.

"I'm not going to be seeing them riding up the canyon?" Scarlet asked.

"No, besides if they were why would I tell you?"

Scarlet stood up and smiled down at him. "Because I gave you a fair chance to tell me, now I'm going out there and make sure and I'm leaving my friend here with you." She said pointing in Jimmy Bradbury's direction "If he hears the sound of my gun I suspect he will start torturing you for lying." She said softly.

She walked over and whispered something in the ear of the man she had pointed at, an evil grin crossed the man's lips. 

Ben had not been lying and he highly doubted Perry was going to come back for them, still he didn't like what she had implied.

"Lily and I are going on watch. You going to bring someone and relieve us in a few hours?" She said with a soft smile walking up to Fritz.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

He had stood guard the whole time, the stock of his '66 against his hip.  Truth be told, his knee was starting to hurt again.  He'd either have to sit down, or take some time in the saddle. 

"Bo and I can come out after awhile.  Sound good?"

Scarlet smiled sweetly.  It was a smile she kept only for him.

"You'll know where to find me," she said, and turned towards Lucky.

[Elegant Ella]

Jimmy Bradbury nudged Jimmy Washington awake when it was time for them to take over on watch.
Young Jimmy yawned and stretched, then picked up his rifle and headed for Fritz's post.

"All quiet, boss?" he asked.

"All quiet."

"You know, it bothers me that Marshal Phillips is likely to claim all the credit for himself. I just don't see him admitting to anyone that he wouldn't have been involved at all if Scarlet hadn't shamed him into riding with the posse."

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Fritz thought about it for a moment.  "I really don't care who gets the credit.  If he wants to be a glory hound, let him.  It'll catch up to him in the end.  My only concern is that his thirst for glory will get others killed.  Last year, George Custer got over 200 troopers killed in his quest for glory."

Fritz looked off into the blackness.  It was as if he could see a thousand yards away, in the pitch black.

"There are more of us than there are of him, Jimmy.  And our testimony matches up.  I suggest you write down what happened, in your own words.  I'll swear you to it, and it will stand in a court of law."