“We’ll get some whiskey,” Henry said. “Women’ll come soon enough. But first, we need a big score.”
“What kind of score?” Turpin asked.
Dog, as usual, just sat there, staring at them, breathing through an open mouth studded with broken teeth.
“This town’s full of silver money,” Henry said. “We’re not talking pennies and nickels, either. There’s millionaires here. Loads of them. Where do they keep their money?”
“Banks?” Duncan guessed.
“Wrong. Sure, they might keep some of it in banks, but banks get robbed. And banks know it, so they hire guards, men with shotguns that make our job dangerous. No, what we’re gonna do is figure out who these millionaires are. Then we’re gonna hit their houses.”
The men blinked at him.
“Won’t they have guards, too?” Duncan asked.
“Nothing we can’t handle. Banks are always ready for men like us. They got stuff we don’t even know about. Ways to lock us in. Ways to hose us down with lead from behind cover. They think about these things. It’s big business. Especially in a town like this.”
They just stared at him, mesmerized. He really had them now.
Which was exactly the way he’d always pictured running a gang.
“But these others, these big wigs, they don’t really expect trouble. They might hire a couple of security guards, but the guards mostly just answer the door or take naps. When have you ever heard of someone trying to rob a silver baron’s house?”
“Never,” Turpin said, a grin coming onto his face. “That’s smart, Henry.”
“That’s right,” Henry said. “I’m chock full of good ideas. You don’t believe me, ask Conn Sullivan and Bill Sheffield.”
This got laughs from Duncan and Turpin.
After that, Duncan said, “What about Mayfield?”
“What about him? We’ve been all over this state. No way he could find us here. Next few days, we’ll study the situation. Then we’ll hit one of these rich men and skedaddle, and Mayfield can read about it in the papers.”
“Where will we go next, boss?” Turpin asked.
“You just wait and see,” Henry said with a knowing smile. Truth be told, he had no idea where they would go next, hadn’t even considered it. But that didn’t matter. He was never short on ideas. When the time came, he’d know where to go. “You just stick with me, and everything will be okay. Now, who’s going to go to town and get us some whiskey?”
“I’ll go,” Turpin said.
“All right,” Henry said. “Get a few days’ worth.”
Turpin nodded and stood, ready to go.
“And Turpin?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“Don’t start any trouble. We got a lot riding on this. And bring back a newspaper.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
42
Mary bounced along in the wagon, looking forward to getting home and getting out of her dress. It was pretty enough but uncomfortable, the first store-bought dress she’d worn since learning to sew when she was just a girl.
People had been nice at church, very welcoming and not too gossipy, which was a relief. Mary would go back again next Sunday.
When Cole had been alive, they had never bothered to attend. They had spent the sabbath quietly. They would read and pray and sometimes sing hymns together.
