Gideon screwed his mouth to one side as he shook his head. “I don’t like her much.” He pointed to Dix. “If she opens her mouth again, shoot the little fella there.” His fingerpost moved to Finn. “Yeah, you. And stop squirmin’. You got ants in your pants?”
“I gotta pee, mister.” His eyes darted to Jane. “Sorry, Mrs. Longstreet, but I gotta go real bad.”
Gideon said, “Good thing you got here when you did, Morgan. I learned a little about the advantages of patience while I was in prison, but those lessons are fading some in my mind. You understand?”
“Let Finn step out on the porch.”
“Jesus. Marcie, take the boy outside.” He drew his gun and held it on Morgan while Finn practically danced his way to the door. He jerked his chin at Rabbit. “You gotta go, too?”
Rabbit shook his head. “No sir, leastways not yet.”
Morgan asked, “What are you boys doing out here anyway?”
Before Rabbit could respond, Gideon raised his gun a fraction and drew Morgan’s attention back to him. “They brought you something. A crate. It’s pretty heavy. They’re speculating it’s gold.”
Morgan had an apologetic smile for Rabbit. “Sorry. No gold.”
“We didn’t really think there was gold in it. We had cookies and pie, too, like the last time, but they’re still out in the wagon.”
“Sure wished I had looked,” said Morgan. “I suspect we could use some pie and cookies about now.”
Gideon snorted. “And here I was thinking it was a real shame they were wrong about the gold. That would have squared us, and we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with the Cattlemen’s Trust.”
“So that’s your game here. The Cattlemen’s Trust.”
Before Gideon could confirm it, the door opened and Finn stumbled into the room. Morgan had to grab him to keep him from falling.
Marcie shut the door so hard it vibrated. “He pissed on me.” He pointed to his right trouser leg. There was indeed a wet stain below the knee.
Morgan quickly pushed Finn toward his chair to get him out of Marcie’s way. Marcie looked as if he wanted to club Finn, and that was probably only to make shooting him easier. Gideon’s reaction surprised Morgan, though. His brother was laughing.
“Damn, Marcellus. The boy said he had to go, didn’t he? Couldn’t you get out of his way?”
Marcie grunted and drew his gun. He pointed it at Finn. “Dix, don’t you concern yourself with shootin’ a kid. If Mrs. Longstreet says somethin’, I’ll shoot him.” With that, he turned the gun on Morgan.
Gideon holstered his weapon again and knuckled away a tear at the corner of his eye. “I don’t know what you think, Morgan, but I’m kinda wishin’ Jack was here to see this. He never did cotton to taking things too seriously. I liked that about him. It skewed his judgment some, but that was Jack.”
Morgan did not respond.
“Right,” said Gideon. “Have a seat. Time for plain talk.”
Morgan sat at the head of the table. He had a reassuring smile for Jane that encompassed the boys, and a dark, narrow look for Dix standing at Jane’s back.
Gideon stepped to the side until he had Morgan’s face in view. He leaned a shoulder against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “Here’s what I’m proposing, Morgan. There is a Barkley and Benjamin in the manager’s office at the Cattlemen’s Trust. I’ve seen it. I even had a chat with the manager after the marshal left, just to get the feel of things. Made a little deposit, too.”
Morgan recalled that Gideon had said something to Jane about seeing them coming out of the bank. Bridger might have still been inside when Gideon went in. Morgan recognized the opportunity that he and the marshal had not been able to see at the time. Under the table, his hands curled into fists.
“You know about Barkley and Benjamin safes,” said Gideon. “I remember that you’re particularly good with them.”
“I hope you brought dynamite. It has been a long time since I’ve touched one.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will matter. As for dynamite, I figure I’ve got three sticks sittin’ right here at the table, another in a bedroom, and three more hog-tied in the bunkhouse. That should be enough to blow up Morning Star and pretty much make a ruin of your life. You understand what I’m sayin’?”
Morgan nodded.
“Good. We’ll stick to what we know and to what we know works. My men have done some scouting. They had a look around Bitter Springs before they checked in with the marshal. Most folks will be in bed soon. The ones who aren’t will be at the Pennyroyal or Whistler’s Saloon. That’ll make the alley behind the bank a quiet place. We go in through the back, get you settled at the safe, you perform your magic, and we leave.”
“We? I’m leaving the bank with you?”
