Slip Gun (22 page)

‘
So?’
Lily challenged.

‘
Your
balance in the bank stands at eleven thousand, six-hundred and
fifty-six dollars and twenty-nine cents—’

‘
You’re
sure it’s
twenty-nine
cents?’

‘
Positive,’ Wil declared. ‘That makes you the bank’s largest
individual depositor. As its president, I’d be a fool to let such a
valuable account be run out of town.’

‘
How
does the mayor feel about it?’ Lily challenged.

‘
As
mayor, I know that you pay all your civic taxes promptly, in full
and without complaint. I also know that you contribute generously
to any worthwhile charities. You run a respectable, clean and
well-kept business and your gambling games are honest.’

‘
How
would you know
that?’

‘
I had
the Pinkerton Agency’s gambling expert brought in to check on
them,’ Wil admitted and saw the blonde’s swollen lips tighten. ‘Not
for personal reasons, I assure you. A certain prominent citizen had
been losing heavily at your tables and accused you of cheating. I
insisted that we learned the truth before taking any action against
you.’

‘
So
that’s why he never went and complained to Bert Caster!’ Lily
breathed.

‘
He
went, and complained, but I had proof that you ran straight games,’
Wil replied. ‘About that new sign of yours?’

‘
It’s
gone,’ Lily told her.

‘
And
had before I came to see you. Damn it, Shivery, what made you do
it?’

‘
I saw
that I was losing friends because of it.’

‘
I mean
why did you keep riding me?’

‘
To see
if I could get under your hide and make you stop being a lady
businessman. All my life folks have said to me, “Why don’t you act
more like Wilhemina Jeffreys?” And all along I knew that you was
Just as much of a roughneck as I am. Only you had enough sense to
hide it. You could always get the better of me, Wil. Even when I
thought I’d shoved your face in the dirt with Vendy, it came out
you’d done the smart thing. And after that son-of-a-bitch deserted
me—I’m not shocking you, am I?’

‘
I’d
decided he was a son-of-a-bitch before you did,’ Wil reminded
her.

‘
Well,
after I came back, I just had to lash out at somebody,’ Lily
confessed. ‘So I picked on you. It was your fault, coming telling
me I should have been warned by you throwing him over. Right then,
I swore I’d see if there was a woman under it all. Or if there was
any of the old Chilly-Willie left in you.’

‘
I
tossed you in the Elk Fork for calling me that,’ Wil
remarked.

‘
You
came in with me,’ Lily protested, smiling and cocking her head over
so that she could study Wil through her one open eye. ‘Are we
friends?’

‘
There’s nothing I’d like better,’ Wil said sincerely.
‘Except for one thing that is.’

‘
What?’

‘
If you
try to get your claws into Poona Woodstole, Shivery-Shakes, what I
did to you yesterday will only be the start of it.’

‘
By the
Lord, Chilly-Willie,’ Lily replied, grinning as well as her swollen
lips would let her. ‘I do believe you mean it.’

‘
You’d
better not forget it, or you’ll damned soon find out whether I do
or not,’ Wil warned, also smiling. ‘By the way. If you can hobble
that far, how about coming to my place for dinner
tonight?’

‘
Will
Stanley approve?’ Lily asked.

‘
I
think he’s changing for the better,’ Wil answered. ‘He was working
with Mr. Smith and the deputies all day yesterday and this morning
he’d left for the marshal’s office before I got up.’

‘
About
time, too,’ Lily sniffed. ‘If I come, do I need to bring a pair of
gloves?’

‘
Only
if you’ve got any notions about trying to rub my face in the dirt
with Poona,’ Wil told her. ‘Because, Shiver, I know
he’s
worth
having.’

‘
That
figures. You’ve started dressing like a gal again now I’m free to
go after him.’

‘
Will
you come?’

‘
I
might as well. Do you reckon I dare go into the Bull looking like
this and after you licked me? Damn it, Wil, you near on bust my
head. For a prim and proper business-
lady,
you sure fight dirty.’

‘
So do
you. I can hardly sit down, the way you bit my
butt-end.’

‘
I know
just how you feel,’ Lily sympathized, moving on the chair in an
attempt at relieving the pressure on her injury. ‘Haven’t we been
fools, Wil?’

‘
Bloody
fools, as Poona would say,’ Wil agreed, trying to smile. ‘You’ll
come tonight?’

‘
I’ll
be around at seven,’ Lily confirmed. ‘That’ll give us time to have
a long talk. And if I can do anything at all to help you bring off
the fair, you’ve only got to tell me.’

‘
I
will, you can count on it,’ Wil declared and glanced at the clock.
‘Now, Miss Shivers, I have work to do. We don’t all start in the
middle of the afternoon.’

‘
And we
don’t all finish at four o’clock, Miss Jeffreys,’ Lily pointed out
cheerfully. ‘Wil—’

‘
Yes,
Lily?’

‘
Don’t
you worry about Poona and me. That damned sign ruined any little
chance I might have had.’

With that, Lily rose
and walked slowly
and stiffly towards the door. Opening it, she paused and looked
back.

‘
Wil,
do you recall a gambling man who came to see you the day I left
town?’

‘
Yes.’

‘
Wax
Smith’s going to be asking you about him,’ Lily warned and walked
out of the office without enlarging upon her statement.

Wil was not granted an opportunity to ponder
on the cryptic utterance. As the blonde departed, Ryall walked
in.

‘
Counselor Yorck wishes to see you, Miss Jeffreys,’ the
teller said, in a tone which showed his feelings about the visitor.
‘Marshal Smith and Mr. Frith are here, too.’

‘
Has
Counselor Yorck said why he wants to see me?’

‘
Only
that it’s in your capacity as mayor.’

‘
Then
ask them all to come in, please,’ Wil said, having heard from her
brother of how Smith had dealt with Yorck and the
agitators.

‘
Yes,
ma’am. Er—Will it be all right if I leave the bank for a short
time?’

‘
Of
course.’

‘
I’ve
something to attend to at home. It won’t take more than half an
hour.’

‘
You
don’t need to explain, Mr. Ryall,’ Wil smiled. ‘Show the gentlemen
in and then go.’

Withdrawing, Ryall stood aside
to let the lawyer, Smith and Frith to enter. The teller closed the
door as the three men approached Wil
’s desk. From his scowl, Yorck did not
care for the other two being present. His opening words made that
even clearer.

‘
I
wished to see you in private, Miss Jeffreys,’ Yorck declared. Is it
necessary for these men to be present?’

‘
That
depends on you,’ Wil replied and her normal business attitude had
returned. ‘I believe that you wish to lay a complaint against
Marshal Smith and his deputies. In which case, I consider that they
have every right to hear and answer it. Bringing them in saves all
our time.’

‘
Very
well!’ Yorck growled. ‘I have come to state my complete
dissatisfaction with this man’s,’ he indicated Smith,
‘behavior.’

‘
In
what respect?’ Wil inquired.

‘
Yesterday they arrested two young men of good family and
held them in jail all night.’

‘
With
your permission, Counselor,’ Smith pointed out. ‘After they’d
admitted to being drunk and raising a fuss for the hell of
it.’

‘
It was
merely a foolish prank—’ Yorck boomed.

‘
And
has been treated by Marshal Smith as one,’ Wil replied. ‘Despite
the fact that it might easily have caused a tragedy. I don’t need
to tell you, Counselor, just how delicate the situation is between
the ranchers and the homesteaders. So I called a meeting between
the leaders of both sides to work out an amicable settlement. Those
two young men’s drunken prank might have ruined our chances of
doing it. Mr. Smith acted in a manner which met with my complete
approval.’

‘
He
might have crippled one of my clients for life.’

‘
And
your clients could easily have caused men to be killed,’ Wil
countered. ‘The way they broke into my private office gave the
marshal no choice but to take the drastic measures. I will repeat
that he acted in a manner which has my complete
approval.’

‘
Do you
know that your marshal is a wanted man?’ Yorck demanded.

‘
Only
if I go back to Texas,’ Smith corrected. ‘And get caught
there.’

To placate the Mexican Government, without
yielding to its demands, the Governor of Texas had agreed that
Smith would be arrested and handed over if he should be caught
within the boundaries of the Lone Star State.

‘
I know
all about that,’ Wil told the lawyer. ‘And I am satisfied that Mr.
Smith is a honest, respectable member of the community. Yesterday,
his prompt action averted a dangerous situation. If you wish, he
will re-arrest the two young men and bring them to trial on a
charge of inciting to riot—’

‘
While
under the influence of drugs,’ Smith went on.

‘
That
won’t be necessary,’ Yorck answered stiffly ‘I came here to lodge a
protest and have done so. What action you see fit to take is your
concern, Miss Jeffreys.’

‘
You
may rest assured that I will deal with it,’ Wil replied. ‘Is there
anything more, Counselor?’

‘
Nothing,’ the lawyer answered. ‘Good morning.’

‘
There
goes a man I could easy get to dislike,’ Frith commented as the
door closed behind Yorck.

‘
Don’t
sell him short,’ Wil warned. ‘He has some influence in Cheyenne and
we may hear more of this affair. I’m sorry, Mr. Frith, but we
haven’t had time to be formally introduced.’

‘
I
fetched Ric along for you to swear him in,’ Smith remarked, after
performing the introduction. ‘He made the rounds with me last
night, but he still needs a badge. Your brother and Ottaway are
going around collecting them from Bert’s boys.’

‘
How is
Stanley shaping up?’

‘
Raw,
but willing to learn, ma’am. It’s none of my never-mind, but you
could do worse than have him kept on after we’ve gone.’

‘
He
certainly doesn’t show much aptitude for banking,’ Wil smiled.
‘I’ll be pleased to swear Mr. Frith in, but I think he would like
to talk terms first.’

‘
Yes,
ma’am,’ Smith grinned. ‘I reckon he would. I’ll wait outside until
you’re through. Then, if you can spare the time, there’s things to
be talked about.’

Across the river, the tall and
the short man met outside the office of the
Widow
’s Creek
News. Again, to a casual observer, their coming together would have
appeared accidental and their only mutual interest to be the poster
in the window giving details of the fair.

‘
I
can’t stay long,’ said the taller.

‘
Do
they suspect you?’ asked the other.

‘
There’s no reason why they should, after yesterday,’ the
taller man stated. ‘But I’d sooner not take chances.’

‘
Have
you learned when they arrive?’

‘
Not
yet. But something else’s come up.’

‘
What
is it?’

‘
Smith
and C. B. Frith are friends,’ warned the taller man, pointing at
the poster as if indicating something on it.

‘
I know
that already,’ growled the shorter. ‘It’s why Dilkes didn’t try to
kill Smith last night. They were covering each other all the time
they made the rounds and he daren’t make a move.’

‘
Frith
got one of the fellers we sent after him—’