24 Hours from Porterville

 

- 2 -

 

​

The sound of the door of the hut being opened roused Heyes from a fitful doze.  He blinked, momentarily blinded by the sudden glare of daylight, then focussed on the figure of Zeke.

 

“Time to go.” growled Zeke.

 

He crossed to Heyes and, bending, hauled him to his feet.  He propelled him through the door and then, grabbing hold of one of the ropes fastened around his arms, hauled him towards the cabin, Heyes struggling to keep his balance as Zeke tried to force him to walk faster than the ropes hobbling his ankles would allow.

 

Inside, Nate was making final preparations for the journey while Abe carefully packed the nitro into a well padded box.

 

As Zeke pushed Heyes inside the room, Nate looked up and gave him an evil grin.

 

“Well, Heyes, time to see if you can live up to your reputation.” he smirked.

 

Heyes made no reply, eyeing the preparations thoughtfully for several moments.

 

“You’d  better let me wash up.” he said finally.

 

At Nate’s hostile look he added, “The last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourselves.  You need to blend in, look indistinctive, so no-one notices you.  Less chance of anyone identifying you that way.”  Then, in a hard voice he said, “I’d stick out like a sore thumb looking like this.”

 

Nate eyed him for several moments before giving a curt nod of acknowledgement.  Then, turning to Zeke he said, “Untie his arms.”

 

As Zeke obeyed, Nate said to Heyes, “Wash up in the sink, and make it quick.”

 

As Zeke removed the ropes from around him, Heyes flexed his shoulders and arms and moved towards the sink which was situated near to the door.  He briefly contemplated making an escape attempt, but decided against it knowing that Nate would have no qualms about hurting the Kid if he did.

 

Resignedly, he pumped water into the sink and washed his face.  He asked for, and was given, a comb, to comb his hair, and also a drink of water.

 

“I need my coat.” He told Nate, when he’d finished, his eyes daring him to refuse.

 

Nate nodded, and Abe handed it over.

 

“And hat.” Heyes said flatly.

 

Nate sighed, heavily, but nodded to Abe to provide it.

 

Zeke entered the cabin, having been out to secure everything on the horses.

 

“Outside.” Nate ordered Heyes, nodding towards the door.

 

Without a word, Heyes turned and hobbled outside to where the horses were waiting.

 

Zeke approached and cut the ropes hobbling Heyes’ ankles before indicating for him to mount up.

 

Silently, Heyes mounted the horse.  Zeke then approached with another length of rope that had a loop in one end.  He secured the looped end around one of Heyes’ ankles and pulled it tight before taking it under the horse’s belly and tying the other end to his other ankle.

 

“There’s no need for that.” snapped Heyes, “I gave you my word I’d do the job.”

 

“I know you did, Heyes, but, like I said, I know you, and I know you’ll be looking for any way you can find to escape, so I’m making sure you aint got one.”

 

Heyes glared defiantly at him but, in truth, he was frustrated.  He had hoped to be able to stage some sort of escape attempt on the journey into Rawlins but, as Zeke approached and once again tied his arms down with a length of rope which he secured tightly around his body, just above his elbows, and he saw Nate take hold of a lead rope which he’d secured to Heyes’ horse in order to lead the animal himself, he realised that he wasn’t going to have an opportunity to attempt any kind of escape.

 

“Fetch Curry,” Nate barked to Abe, “and put him back in there.”

 

Abe nodded and headed back inside the cabin.

 

As Heyes flashed Nate a furious look, Nate said. “Like I said, Heyes, ‘incentive’.  You fail, or sabotage this job in any way that causes us to get caught, you’ll have his death on your conscience."

 

*    *    *

 

The Kid woke with a start as he heard the bedroom door open.  He assumed they were bringing him some food until he felt his ankle being released from the bed frame.

 

“What’s going on?” he asked, as he was hauled up off the bed, swaying on his feet as dizziness briefly engulfed him.

 

“Shut up.” snapped Abe.

 

The Kid felt the ropes binding his wrists in front of him being cut, but then his arms were pulled behind him and his wrists tied once more.

 

“What’s going on?” the Kid asked again as Abe took hold of his upper arm and pulled him towards the door,  “Where are you taking me?”

 

“Never you mind.” growled Abe, hauling him outside and over to where the storage hut stood, the Kid stumbling as, without his boots, stones dug painfully into his feet.

 

“Tie him.” ordered Nate, “Hands to feet, like before.”

 

“No…” the Kid shook his head, trying to pull away from Abe, but Abe forced him to the ground and began to tie his legs.

 

“Marlow, I gave you my word I’d do this job.” snapped Heyes,  “There’s no need for this.  Leave him in the cabin.”

 

“Like I said, Heyes, I know you.  If you see any opportunity to get out of doing this job, you’ll take it.  This’ll be a little extra incentive for you not to mess up because, if we get caught, you get caught, and if we don’t make it back here,” he nodded towards the Kid, “he’s dead.”

 

Heyes glared at him.  He knew Nate was intending to kill them anyway, after the robbery, once he’d had his sport with them.

 

“Then you might as well kill us both now, and be done with it,” he growled, “because if you put him back in there, I won’t do it.”

 

Nate grinned evilly.

 

“If you refuse to do it, I’ll kill you, now.” Nate told him, “But then you won’t be around to see what happens to your friend here, will you?”  He stared levelly at Heyes, who returned his sneering gaze defiantly, even though he knew he was beaten.  Letting Nate kill him now might be a blessing in disguise compared to what they might be subjected to later, but Nate was right.  If he died now, there would definitely be no escape for the Kid, only a torturously painful death to look forward to.  Even though the chances of escaping from Nate and his sidekicks on the way to Rawlins were slim at best, as was the chance of avoiding doing the robbery, at least he would still be alive and might be able to find some way out of their predicament.  If he defied Nate now, he would be condemning them both.

 

Hearing Heyes’ voice, the Kid called out, “Don’t do it, Heyes…. not for me--“

 

“Shut up,” growled Abe, cutting off the Kid’s words with a smack to the head, “unless you want to  be gagged as well.”

 

Nate saw the look of anguish in Heyes’ eyes, as he struggled with the dilemma of whether to agree to do the robbery or not, and smirked, enjoying the power he was wielding over him.

 

Abe finished tying the Kid’s legs and pulled them up behind him to secure his ankles to his wrists, causing him to groan out loud.

 

Heyes opened his mouth to shout a reply, but Nate levelled his gun on him, shaking his head.

 

Heyes sighed, heavily, turning his anguished gaze back to the Kid as Abe dragged him into the hut and then locked the door.  He handed Nate the key before crossing to mount his own horse.

 

Heyes turned back to Nate, his eyes promising revenge for what he was subjecting them to.  Nate merely sniggered.

 

“Blindfold him.” he ordered Zeke, who brought his horse alongside Heyes’ and once again blindfolded him with his bandana.

 

Nate then spurred his horse, giving a tug on the lead rope to Heyes’ horse that caused the animal to lurch forward abruptly, causing Heyes to lose his balance and almost pitch out of the saddle.

 

During the journey into Rawlins, Heyes bombarded them with various scenarios that could occur that might thwart their robbery attempt, in the faint hope of dissuading them from continuing with it, but Nate was resolute.  All Heyes succeeded in doing was riling him even more until he’d finally snapped at Zeke to gag him for the remainder of the journey, to “shut him up” and so, for the last hour of the journey, he’d had to suffer that indignity as well as being blindfolded and tied to his horse.

 

Eventually, they arrived on the outskirts of town, and set up camp a couple of miles away near the fringe of the woodland they’d ridden down through.

 

Zeke untied Heyes’ feet and pulled him off the horse since, with his arms pinned, he was unable to get down himself.

 

Zeke steered him to where they’d taken shelter, behind a group of rocks, and pushed him to sit on the ground while Abe and Nate made a small fire and set about preparing a meagre supper.  Only when it was ready did Nate give instructions for Heyes’ blindfold and gag to be removed.

 

“And I don’t want to hear any more reasons from you why this robbery aint a good idea, otherwise the gag’ll go back in until we leave.” Nate told him.

 

“In fact,” Nate continued, as Heyes opened his mouth to speak, “I don’t want to hear any talking from you at all, before we head into town, or it can go back in right now.”  He eyed Heyes, daring him to say something.

 

Heyes glared back at him defiantly, before he finally lifted his shoulders in a dismissive shrug and looked away, quietly fuming, while Nate grinned.

 

Their meal finished, the men doused their little fire and settled down to wait until the appointed hour to do the robbery.

 

They decided to take turns on watch, so that the other two could take naps while they whiled away the time, and Nate and Zeke soon drifted off to sleep while Abe took first watch.

 

Nate had tied Heyes’ legs “just as a precaution” and he sat now, with his back leaning against a rock, cursing that fact since he believed, could he have stood up, that even with his arms pinned down, he could have gotten the drop on Abe, while the other two slept, and made an escape.

 

“You know this robbery aint gonna work, don’t you, Abe?” Heyes said to him presently.

 

“Nate said, no talking.” growled Abe.

 

“I’ve only blown a P & H ’78 once, more than two years ago, and that was more by chance than design.” Heyes continued, ignoring Abe’s comment,  “I’d say the chances of me blowing this one are slim at best and, of us getting caught, highly likely.”

 

“Shut up.” snapped Abe.

 

“You don’t want to end up in jail, do you?” Heyes persisted,  “You’d be wise to walk away now, while you’ve still got the chance…”

 

The rest of his sentence was cut off as Abe got to his feet and gagged him with his bandana, pulling it so tight Heyes could taste blood as his teeth cut into his flesh.

 

As he secured the knot, Abe bent close to Heyes’ ear and hissed, “Nate said, no talking!”

 

Heyes sighed, heavily, frustrated, by his failed attempts to have any impression on their resolve, but at the same time anxious about what the future held if the robbery went wrong.

 

He was fairly sure he could open the safe, the formula he’d devised worked perfectly last time he’d done it – although there were no guarantees - but he was far less sure about them managing to escape afterwards.  The bank was only a stones throw from the Sheriff’s office and the noise of the explosion would easily be heard.  Heyes would have chosen to organise some sort of diversion, but Nate had flatly refused to listen to any input from him in regards to organising the robbery.  As far as Nate was concerned, Heyes’ only involvement was to physically open the safe.  The rest was his problem, and Heyes feared it would be a big problem.

 

Nate’s words about killing whoever they had to in order to get away were also worrying Heyes.  If they succeeded in breaking the safe, he and the Kid would be blamed for the robbery and, if anyone should be killed, murder would be added to their list of crimes and any chance for amnesty gone forever.  He was also deeply concerned about the Kid being left tied up in that hut.  They’d only been left there like that for seven or eight hours the day Nate had captured them and that had half killed them.  It would be at least fourteen hours before they managed to get back to the hideout, if at all, and Heyes was worried whether the Kid could handle that after his recent illness, and even more worried that they would get caught, or killed, during the robbery, and then the Kid would be left to die an agonising death from cold, thirst or starvation, since it was unlikely that anyone would stumble across the cabin in the near future,  and even if anyone did it was doubtful they would find the Kid, locked in the hut.

 

As much as Heyes would have liked to find a way out of doing the robbery, at this point he was praying they could pull it off, although he knew, if they did, both he and the Kid could look forward to a drawn out and painful death at Nate’s hands, unless, by some miracle, he could find some way out of their predicament which, Heyes had to acknowledge, was unlikely.

 

He wasn’t aware of dozing off until Zeke shook him roughly awake as they prepared to head into town.

 

As he tried to collect his thoughts, he was stunned when Nate struck him a backhand blow across the face that practically knocked him sprawling.

 

“I told you, no talking.” Nate growled, as Heyes shook his head and tried to maneuver himself back into an upright sitting position,  “That’s for trying to talk Abe out of the robbery.” Nate continued, “You never could do as you’re told, could you Heyes? Always have to have the last word, don’t you?” He shook his head, “If it wasn’t for the fact that it would look suspicious, I’d leave that gag in permanently.” he said viciously.

 

“Get him up.” Nate ordered Abe, who bent to haul Heyes to his feet.

 

Nate moved to stand in front of him.

 

“I’m going to untie you now.” he told him, “But I’ll have my gun on you the whole time and if I suspect at any time that you’re trying to pull a fast one, I won’t hesitate to use it.  Got it?” He raised a questioning eyebrow.

 

“Do you understand?” he snapped, when Heyes made no response, his face inches from Heyes’.

 

Heyes gave a vague nod, his expression dismissive.

 

Nate instructed Abe to remove the ropes around Heyes’ arms and legs, while Zeke packed up their little camp.

 

Once his arms were free, Heyes reached up, intending to remove the gag, but Nate’s gun was levelled on him immediately.

 

“Not yet.” he said, shaking his head,  “You can keep that in until we get to the edge of town,” he told him, “and, when it is off, I don’t want to hear you talking about anything that isn’t related to the job, or it’ll go back in and stay in! Now, get on your horse.”

 

With a murderous look to Nate, Heyes moved to mount his horse, humiliated by having to continue to wear the gag even though he was no longer tied.  His instinct was to defy Nate, but he had to think of the Kid and not do anything to jeopardize either the robbery, or his own life, or else he would die too, and so he obediently mounted his horse and the four of them rode sedately to the edge of town whereupon Nate leaned over to remove the gag from Heyes’ mouth.

 

“Remember what I said.” Nate warned.

 

“What time is it?” growled Heyes.

 

“Midnight.” replied Nate.

 

Heyes gave a curt nod,  “O.K. then.  Let’s do it.”

 

Quietly they rode into town.  The streets were deserted.  They dismounted before they reached the bank and quietly walked their horses down an alley at the side of the building and tethered them there before moving to unload the equipment they needed.

 

They moved to one of two windows at the side of the bank, where Heyes went to work with the bar spreader, parting the bars wide enough for them to be able to climb through the window.  This done, Heyes made quick work of opening the window catch and carefully raised up the window.

 

Nate entered first, then Zeke.  While Nate lit a lamp and turned it down low, Heyes carefully handed Zeke the box containing the Nitro and then passed him the Bryant pump and the remainder of the items needed to blow the safe before unfastening the bar spreader and climbing inside.  Abe, who had been designated as look-out, moved to the edge of the alley as Heyes quietly closed the window and pulled down the shade.

 

Turning, he saw Nate and Zeke trying the reinforced door of another room which obviously held the safe.

 

Pulling a lock pick from the lining of his boot, he crossed to the door and deftly picked the lock.  Opening the door they stood in the doorway looking at the safe.

 

Heyes glanced quickly around the room, a ghost of a smile coming to his face for the first time in days, as the faintest seed of an escape plan began to form in his mind.

 

“Beauty aint she?” commented Nate, seeing Heyes’ expression and believing he was smiling at the challenge of trying to break the safe open.

 

“Sure is.” agreed Heyes. Then, drawing himself up, he moved inside the room saying, “This is where I go to work, so if you’ll both excuse me…”

 

“Excuse you?” Nate looked astonished.

 

“Look, I told you I’d try and blow this safe, and I will, but I have no intention of giving you the know-how of how to do it.  That’s my secret.  So, if you put everything down in here and wait out there in the bank, I’ll get on with it.”

 

“Now just a….” Nate began, but Heyes spoke over him.

 

“That’s the deal.” he told him firmly,  “I’ll do the job, but I’ll do it in private, or not at all.”  He stared levelly at Nate, daring him to refuse.

 

“How do I know you won’t try and pull anything funny?” Nate began to protest.

 

“And risk the Kid’s life?” Heyes shook his head, “If I was gonna do that I’d have done it before we got here.” he told him, wishing that he’d had even the slightest opportunity to try.  “Where am I going to go?” he continued, “You’re out here guarding the only way out.”

 

Nate looked hesitant.

 

“Look, you know I can do this job, Nate.  That’s why you kidnapped me and forced me into it.  Now, just sit yourselves down, over there, and relax while I get on with it.”

 

“How long will it take?” asked Nate.

 

“I’ll need at least an hour,” said Heyes, “and I don’t want any interruptions, O.K?  If you burst in on me while I’m handling the nitro, we’re all liable to get blown sky high.  I need peace and quiet to do this or it’s not gonna work.  When I’m ready to blow it, I’ll come out and we’ll hide over there behind the counter.”

 

Nate looked thoughtful, before finally nodding.

 

“Alright, but don’t try anything funny, or else.”

 

Heyes held up his hands in mock surrender and flashed Nate his sincerest smile.

 

Zeke put the equipment down inside the room and Heyes jostled them outside saying,  “Remember, no interruptions, unless you want to risk us all getting blown up.” before taking the lamp from Nate and closing the door firmly on them.

 

Placing the lamp at the side of the safe furthest away from the window, to cut down on the glare from outside, he picked up the putty and began to seal the gaps around the door of the safe, half expecting Nate or Zeke to open the door to check on him, but the door remained closed.

 

Once he’d finished puttying the door, he crossed the room and, with a faint smile, picked up the bar spreader, which he’d surreptitiously placed against the wall during his conversation with Nate, hoping he wouldn’t notice which, amazingly he hadn’t -  the first slip up he’d made so far.  If he had, then Heyes would have had no choice but to blow the safe, but now, if his luck held, just maybe he might have a chance of getting them out of this mess.

 

He moved to the window and quietly put the bar spreader on the floor, before turning back to study the window.

 

On the outside, the window had bars, like all of the other windows in the bank, but on the inside of this window were a pair of ornately patterned, hinged, iron gates that fastened with a lock on the internal side.

 

Heyes got out his lock pick and made quick work of opening it.  Gently, he swung the gates apart, hoping they wouldn’t squeak.  Then he partially lifted the shade and carefully inched up the window enough to be able to fit the bar spreader onto the bars outside.

 

He attached the bar spreader and carefully began to force open the bars, working slowly, aware that  Abe was only thirty feet away at the end of the alley and would be alerted by any unusual noises.

 

Because he was forced to work so slowly, to avoid making any noise, more than forty minutes had elapsed by the time he’d spread the bars wide enough to climb through.

 

Carefully, he dismantled the bar spreader and set it down, before crossing back to the safe. 

 

Quickly, he attached the fuse wire and, crossing to the door, unravelling the wire as he went, he quietly pushed a length of it underneath the door and out into the bank.

​

He then opened the bottle of nitro and carefully stood it on top of the safe.  Returning to the window, he lifted the shade the rest of the way up, and then, very carefully, he inched the window up, praying that it wouldn’t squeak and alert Abe, on guard, outside.

 

Once the window was open wide enough for him to climb out, he gingerly stuck his head out and looked around.  Abe was at the end of the alley, his back to Heyes, watching the street, one hand resting lazily on the butt of his gun.

 

With a quick glance over his shoulder, Heyes carefully climbed out of the window, grimacing, as he did so, at the pain and stiffness in his bones and muscles after four days of being held captive by Nate and his cronies, and pressed himself flat against the wall of the bank, hoping that he hadn’t made any noise that would catch Abe’s attention.  Abe remained watching the street.

 

Slowly, Heyes crept towards him, wishing he had a weapon of some sort. He’d got to within three feet of him before Abe sensed his approach and whirled round, already going for his gun, but Heyes was prepared and, before he had time to draw, punched him as hard as he could in the jaw, knocking him sprawling. As Abe lay on the ground, dazed by the blow, Heyes quickly reached down and snatched his gun from it’s holster, and then hit him in the head with it, knocking him unconscious.

 

He straightened up and put the gun in his own holster, listening for a sign that their scuffle had alerted Nate and Zeke inside the bank, vaguely surprised when it remained quiet.

 

Hurriedly, he crossed the street to the Sheriff’s office, his mind working overtime as he tried to come up with some kind of plausible story.

 

As he entered, the deputy was dozing in the Sheriff’s chair.  Heyes approached the desk so quietly the man didn’t wake until Heyes spoke.

 

“Deputy.” he called in an agitated whisper,  “Deputy, wake up.”

 

“Mmm …Wha…?” the deputy woke with a start.  On seeing the somewhat scruffy and bedraggled individual standing in front of the desk he made a move towards his gun, but stopped when Heyes levelled Abe’s gun on him.

 

“It’s O.K.” said Heyes, “I’m not here to cause trouble.  In fact, I’m here to help you stop some.”

 

“Like what?” the deputy looked puzzled and somewhat suspicious.  There were no prisoners in the cells who he would expect someone to try and break out, and everything sounded quiet outside.

 

“There’s a robbery going on at the bank.” Heyes told him,  “If you’re quick, you can catch them in the act.”

 

The deputy’s eyes narrowed,  “How do you know this?” he asked suspiciously.

 

Heyes sighed, “It’s a long story, deputy, and not one I have time to go into in detail right now if you’re to catch them before they finish the robbery. But, briefly, I’m a detective. I’ve been on the trail of Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, and I’ve been undercover, posing as an outlaw with these guys doing the robbery - a guy named Nathaniel Marlow and a couple of sidekicks named Zeke and Abe - because the agency had a tip that they were going to hit this bank and, knowing that the only person who’s ever opened a P & H ’78 safe is Hannibal Heyes, we suspected that Heyes and Curry were going to join up with them to rob the bank, and we hoped to catch them red handed.  It looks like Marlow must have got the low-down on how to break the safe from Heyes though, because we aint seen hide, nor hair, of him, nor Curry.  Marlow is doing the job himself.  I pretended to go along with the robbery and sneaked away while they’re busy working on the safe.  That’s why there isn’t much time.  Once they realize I’m gone, they’ll know something’s up.  You have to get them before they catch on.”

 

The deputy got to his feet, “Who are you?” he asked as he withdrew his gun and checked it.

 

“They know me as Jake. Jake Sawyer.” Heyes clutched a name out of the air, “But my real name‘s Smith. Joshua Smith. I work for a private detective agency, but I’m working with Sheriff Trevors, up at Porterville, on this particular case. He’s seen Heyes and Curry and knows a lot about their habits.  

 

“Well, Jake, you can help me arrest them then.” said the deputy, “Sheriff’s out of town.”

 

Heyes’ heart sank.  He had hoped the deputy would go and get the Sheriff, or else, in an act of bravado, attempt to arrest them alone, giving him a chance to slip away.

 

“Well… I don’t really like the idea of going back over there.” he hedged,  “Once they know I’m not an outlaw, there’s no telling what they’ll do.”

 

“Can’t be helped.” said the deputy,  “Three against one isn’t very good odds, even with surprise on my side.”

 

Heyes sighed,  “Alright.  I’ll help you.  But they’re probably going to try and incriminate me too, somehow. Hell,” he gave a nervous laugh, “they might even try to make out I’m Hannibal Heyes!”

 

The deputy nodded, only half listening to Heyes, his mind on how best to tackle capturing the bank robbers. He led the way towards the door and they quietly crossed the street, keeping to the shadows.  Abe was still out cold where Heyes had left him. The deputy quietly took out a pair of handcuffs and secured his hands behind his back. Then, the deputy signaled for Heyes to cover the side windows of the bank, while he went round to the front.  Heyes didn’t protest. He figured, if there was to be any shooting, he’d be less likely to be involved that way.

 

The deputy crept around the front of the bank, while Heyes moved to position himself between the two windows at the side of the bank.

 

He heard the deputy burst in and shout for them to freeze.  There was a scraping of furniture and angry voices before the deputy shouted, “O.K. Sawyer, you can come in now.”

 

Heyes climbed in through the window of the room where the safe was and opened the door to the main part of the bank.

 

The deputy had Nate and Zeke handcuffed and was holding his gun on them.

 

“You!” exclaimed Nate, on seeing Heyes standing there, obviously trying to work out how Heyes had managed to get out of the bank without them knowing.

 

Heyes obliged him with a grin.

 

“Come on, Sawyer, help me get these guys to jail.” said the deputy, taking hold of Zeke’s arm.

 

“Sawyer?” growled Nate, “His name isn’t Sawyer.  He’s Hannibal Heyes, and he’s the one who organised this robbery.”

 

Heyes looked at the deputy and raised an eyebrow in an ‘I told you so’ expression.

 

“Yeah, like Hannibal Heyes is going to come into the Sheriff’s office and expose his own bank robbery?” sneered the deputy.  “Nice try, boys, but Sawyer here warned me you’d try something like that.”

 

“It’s the truth.” growled Nate,  “He is Hannibal Heyes.  Just check out his wanted poster if you don’t believe me.”

 

“The descriptions on those wanted posters could fit a hundred guys,” said the deputy as he hauled Zeke towards the door, “and he’s already told me he’s a Private Detective.  Bring him.” he nodded to Heyes to bring Nate.

 

Heyes took hold of Nate’s arm and hauled him towards the door.

 

“I’ll get you for this, Heyes.” Nate hissed in Heyes’ ear, “I swear.”

 

“The name’s Sawyer.” said Heyes, refusing to rise to the bait, “Jake Sawyer.”

 

They hauled Nate and Zeke over to the Sheriff’s office and, while the deputy locked them in a cell, Heyes went back to get Abe, who was just beginning to come round.

 

“Good job, Sawyer.” the deputy congratulated Heyes as they moved back into the main office.

 

“Glad to be of help.” smiled Heyes,  “We had hoped to get Heyes and Curry, but…” he shrugged, “rumour has it that Heyes and Curry ‘retired’ from the business and went straight, and I know quite a few robberies that were blamed on them were proven to have been carried out by someone else, so I guess that rumour could be true.”  He feigned a look of disappointment at missing out on catching the infamous Heyes and Curry before turning to the deputy with a smile, “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be off to the hotel to get a bed for the rest of the night. After camping out with those guys for the last few weeks, I’m sure looking forward to it.”

 

The deputy nodded, “It’s a pity Heyes and Curry didn’t turn up but, if the Sheriff up at Porterville knows as much about them as you say, I’m sure you’ll get another shot at catching them.”

 

Heyes nodded, “Yeah.  He’ll be disappointed when I get back there and tell him they never showed but, hopefully, we’ll pick up some more leads on them… Well, I’ll be getting off now.” he added, heading towards the door.

 

“O.K. Come by first thing tomorrow to fill in all the necessary paperwork.”

 

“Sure thing, deputy.” smiled Heyes.

 

He exited the Sheriff’s office, a frown on his face.  He couldn’t afford to stay in town, he had to find his way back to the camp and rescue the Kid. It had already been twelve hours since they’d left the camp and Heyes was worried about his partner’s condition.  But if he didn’t show up at the Sheriff’s office the next morning the deputy was going to start wondering and maybe putting two and two together.

 

He headed back over to the bank to retrieve his horse and then headed out of town, back to where they’d made their camp before riding in to rob the bank.

 

It was a cold night, but he didn’t want to risk drawing attention to himself by lighting a fire, so he made himself as comfortable as possible, in between the shelter of some boulders, to wait for first light so that he could begin to follow their tracks back to the cabin.  At least he had his coat back now and that afforded him a little warmth.  The Kid, he reminded himself, didn’t even have that luxury.  He remembered how cold he had been that first night when they’d both been tied up in the hut, and if anything it was colder tonight and the Kid had been tied up a lot longer this time.

 

He felt his eyelids begin to droop, and shook himself.  He was dog tired, but he couldn’t allow himself to fall asleep.  He needed to get moving as soon as it was light enough to see.  He found some jerky in the pocket of his coat and chewed on that to try and keep himself awake as he contemplated all of the possible outcomes of the next twenty four hours.

​

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