My first story - with many thanks to Penski and Missyblu for taking the time to read, correct and 'translate' it for me. You were so encouraging. Thank you.


Don’t Take What You Can’t Afford!


As it happened, snatching Hannibal Heyes turned out to be incredibly easy.

The Devil’s Hole Gang was having itself a hooray in one of their ‘safe’ towns. Having started out as not much more than a railroad stopover, Brokewood didn’t warrant a permanent sheriff, and it wasn’t very interested in the true identities of a gang which brought with it such lucrative business. It was a town that could be used to replenish supplies, carry out repairs and, of course, relax and recuperate for an evening or two when one was feeling flush; no questions asked, just as long as there was no serious trouble.

And the night was looking pretty promising. Although it was relatively early, many of the gang members were already getting well into the party spirit. The saloon girls had been paid in advance for their services for the entire night so the atmosphere was very festive indeed. Heyes, however, as was his way, felt that the night was long enough and he wanted to get some poker in before celebrating too much. He was embroiled in a game with five other men whose names he had forgotten even if their faces were vaguely familiar, and who were more than happy to celebrate with the gang whenever it came into town.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked up from his cards. It was Josie, the saloon girl who favored Kid. “Hey, sweetheart,” she whispered into his ear, “could I see ya fer a moment? I think yer partner could do with a hand.”

She smiled at him and gestured towards the opposite side of the room. Looking past her, Heyes could see the Kid leaning heavily on the bar with his head on the counter. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Sure thing, Josie.” He turned to the other players. “Excuse me, gentlemen; if you could count me out of this hand?” He stood up and Josie took his arm.

“Ya remember to come back now, won’t ya?” one of the players jokingly admonished. Heyes smiled back and nodded. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss it!” he assured them before sauntering over to where his partner stood, or rather, sagged!

Kid Curry was looking distinctly the worse for wear.

“Hey, Partner, how ya doing?” Heyes looked into Curry’s bleary eyes.

“Whadaya mean? I’m good,” came the slurred reply. “I jus’ feel a bit tired is all, so I thought I’d rest here a while.”

“Uh, huh,” said Heyes, “you’ve done a bit too much hooraying a bit too soon if ya ask me. I think it’s time for a little break. Ya can come back for some more later, huh?” Curry just gazed back at him. Heyes looked at Josie, “Can I put him in your room for a bit?”

“Sure thing, Sweetheart,” answered the saloon girl.

Heyes reached under Kid’s arm to steady him upright. “Come on, Partner, up ya go! Josie, would ya give me a hand?”

She nodded, and turning to the Kid, took his other arm and coaxed, “I got jus’ the place fer ya upstairs, Sugar. Jus’ you an’ me fer a bit. I’ll take real good care o’ ya. Come on.”

Between them, Heyes and Josie managed to get the Kid up the stairs. By the time they got to Josie’s room he was out cold and they dropped him onto the bed. “Guess this time he overestimated his ability t’ hold his whisky,” said Josie. “Looks like I’m gonna miss the party too.” She feigned a pout, but then smiled as she looked at Heyes, “Don’t ya go worryin’ yourself ‘bout it though, Sweetheart. Ya know I don’t mind at all. I’ll look after him, sit with him all night if needs be. Ya go back to yer poker, or maybe ya ought t’ go start havin’ some real fun. It’s ‘bout time. He’ll be jus’ fine with me.”

Heyes looked down at his partner’s sleeping form, and then gave her a half-smile, but she could tell he was still worried. “You’re right, Josie. It’s not like him to throw away such a promisin’ evening. Still, I guess…” He let the rest of the sentence go as his eyes rested a moment longer on the figure on the bed. Then he shrugged and turned, “You sure you’re okay stayin’ with him?”

Josie nodded and smiled again reassuringly. “Sure thing, Sweetheart; I’ll let him sleep a bit and then, who knows; maybe he’ll want t’ party after all.”

“I tell ya what,” Heyes smiled back, “I’ll come up later an’ check on him. Don’t worry,” he added, “I’ll knock, just in case you’ve decided ya want a private party.” Then he grinned and patted her on the shoulder, before leaving the two of them alone.

Heyes’ mood, however, was suddenly a bit more sober as he came back down the stairs. Kid really had gotten drunk early. Both of them were generally up for an all out, no holds-barred celebration, but they usually made the night worth the headache it would cost them in the morning. He found it odd, and decided to grab a bit of fresh air before rejoining his game. He couldn’t help feeling that something wasn’t right and his sixth sense was ringing alarm bells, although he couldn’t figure for the life of him why he felt that way. Crossing the bar-room he watched the other members of the gang hooraying it up. They didn’t even notice him. He turned, went through the saloon doors and walked towards the porch railing. He barely had time to register movement behind him when he felt a blow to the back of his neck which sent him spinning into darkness.

“Got ‘im!” Hands reached out and caught him before he hit the ground, and he was dragged away from the saloon entrance and out of sight into the darkness of an alleyway. Once there, he was put down on to the ground and rolled over onto his back. One of the figures bent over him.

“Yep, it’s definitely Heyes,” he said. Then, satisfied that he was indeed only knocked out, he gave instructions to the others to tie him up, blindfold and gag him. They made short work of it and, in next to no time, he was hoisted up onto one of the men’s shoulders and carried off in the direction of the train station. The whole operation had taken but a couple of minutes and then the street was silent again.

“Quickly!” the first man urged.

“I can’t believe it; we got Hannibal Heyes!” This from the second who was panting slightly under the weight of the unconscious man.

“Which ‘s why we have t’ move, boys!” This command came from the man who had identified Heyes, the leader of the group. “We’ve gotta get him away from here as fast as possible. Kid Curry may be outta action, but there’s the rest of the Devil’s Hole Gang still whoopin’ it up, and if they notice that their leader’s gone…” He left the sentence hanging.

With this incentive the group hurried along the back paths in the darkness making their way to the station where a freight train stood. Together they hauled Heyes into one of the cars and laid him onto the floor. He didn’t move. The leader looked at his pocket watch. “Train leaves in half an hour. Perfect timing. Let’s jus’ hope he won’t be missed tonight.”

“Whoooeee! We just snatched Hannibal Heyes from right under the nose of the entire Devil’s Hole Gang! Ain’t that somethin’?” The first man looked down at their bound and gagged captive. “Mind you, he don’t look like nothin’ special if ya ask me. He better be worth all the trouble he’s puttin’ us to.”

The leader of the group came over and looked down at Heyes as the third man quietly closed the railcar door. “Oh, he’s special all right,” he said; “Boys, we got ourselves a very valuable cargo here an’ we need to take good care o’ him. Jus’ wait an’ see.” And with that he signaled for them to sit down with Heyes lying between them, and shortly afterwards the train pulled out of the station.

**********


Kid Curry woke up with a blazing headache and wondered where he was. He vaguely registered that it must be the morning after, but he didn’t seem to be able to remember much celebrating. He looked woozily around, still not quite all there, and realized he was lying on the bed in Josie’s room still fully dressed. Josie was also still dressed and snuggled up next to him asleep. He felt awful and he had no recollection as to why. If he would have been able to hold a thought together at all, he would have found such a long blackout unusual. He typically remembered at least bits of such an evening. Still, lying down wasn’t helping. He was beginning to feel real queasy and he hoped he wasn’t going to be sick. He extracted the arm which was under Josie’s head and rolled away to the side of the bed. The movement woke her instantly and she blinked up at him as he sat up. He tried a smile as his insides churned. “Hey Josie, some night, huh?” Maybe he could bluff his lack of memory. “I guess we had so much fun last night we couldn’t do much else but sleep in the end!”

Josie, now wide awake, seemed to take a second before getting her thoughts together.

“Ya mean YOU did,” she answered him.

“Huh?” Kid gave up the attempt at a smile and held his head in his hands. “What?”

“Well, ya didn’t make it through much o’ the evenin’ at all, Sugar! Why ya were so liquored up after ‘bout an hour that me ‘n your cute friend had to half carry ya up here. An’ then ya jus’ completely passed out. I promised him, your friend that is – I can never ‘member which names you’ve given yourselves – (a sly reference to the fact that she knew exactly who they really were), that I would take care o’ ya. He said he would look in, but I guess I jus’ fell asleep right beside ya an’ missed all the fun too.”

Curry digested this information as he tried to focus his thoughts. He didn’t remember drinking that much, but he did remember beginning to feel somewhat dizzy before his memory went blank. The way his stomach felt this morning, however, didn’t feel like the symptom of a hangover. It was more like something he associated with the aftermath of the sleep-inducing pain killers that the docs gave out when you were hurt. His mind was sluggish and his body wasn’t complying. He felt too ill to make any sudden moves. Yes, he definitely felt drugged. Was it possible someone had slipped something into his drink?

“Josie, I didn’t drink that much last night, an’ the way I feel this morning is more like I’m recoverin’ from a bad cold than a good night.” He looked at her again, “Did ya notice anything strange in the saloon last night?”

“I dunno, Sugar. Why?”

“Because I was wonderin’ if I was slipped a drug or somethin’ in my drink.” Josie’s eyes widened as Kid continued worriedly, “Maybe I’d better go check up on the others.” He stood up, swayed slightly, steadied himself, and reached for his gun belt. Then he grabbed his hat and made his way to the door. Just as he was about to open the door, he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to simply knock on doors to find the other members of the gang. He turned back to Josie. “Actually would ya be able to do that for me? I reckon my partner’ll be with May-belle. Do ya think ya could go get him an’ tell him I need to speak to him–it’s urgent. Then could ya check who’s in the other rooms jus’ so I know where everyone is?”

“Sure I can, Sugar,” came the reply. “Go get yourself some fresh air. I’ll be down in jus’ a minute.”

Kid went downstairs and took in his surroundings. The saloon room was empty of people, but full of all the post-party disarray and smells. He grimaced, still feeling nauseous, and went through the doors and out into the bright sunlight. It hurt his eyes. He was sure now that someone had managed to slip something into his drink and, if he hadn’t been feeling so darned sick, he would be getting extremely annoyed about it. Maybe someone had thought it would be funny to watch him make a fool of himself. Whoever it was, was going to pay. He just hoped that the uneasy knot which seemed to have formed in the pit of his stomach was just the aftermath of the drug and not something more sinister.

**********

The first thing Heyes became aware of, apart from a throbbing head, was noise, and a rhythmic jiggling of the floor on which he lay. As his senses slowly returned to him, he realized that he was lying on his side, and the rocking movement was that of a train. From the smell and the noise he figured he was in a moving freight car. At the same time he tried to move, and realized that his body wasn’t responding because his hands were bound behind his back and his feet tied together. He also found himself blindfolded and gagged. His heart gave a loud thump, and he drew in a sharp breath through his nose as he began to struggle.

“Easy there, Heyes,” came a voice and he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, “you ain’t goin’ nowhere. ‘Bout time you woke up cos ‘n we didn’t hit ya that hard.” Heyes turned his head towards the direction of the voice. “Yeah, Heyes, we knows who ya is, but don’t ya go worryin’ nothin’ ‘bout that. Jus’ lay back still. We ain’t got far t’ go.”

“That’s enough, Deke!” A second voice, more authoritative, put a stop to any more information.

Heyes felt his heart thumping in his chest as he became fully awake. He thought about what could have happened. Had someone been able to get the drop on the gang, and what about the Kid? He remembered almost carrying him upstairs and wondering how he could have gotten so drunk so quick. He’d gone outside and then…darkness.

They had let their guard down. How could they have been so stupid! Heyes grunted urgently through the gag. He needed to communicate with whoever it was who had captured him; he needed to find out something–anything–about what was happening. The hand came back down onto his shoulder a bit more forcefully. “You quiet down now, Heyes,” came the voice again. “I don’t wanna hafta make ya. Plenty o’ time t’ get t’ know each other later.”

Frustrated, Heyes forced himself to be still. There didn’t seem to be any other options open to him. As he lay there with the hand still on his shoulder, he comforted himself with the thought that, whoever these people were, at least they didn’t seem to want to harm him; not yet anyway.

**********

Curry was beginning to feel impatient. He wondered again where Heyes was. He was feeling so poorly that he just wanted to hand all the thinking over to him, and then let it go. His partner would make sure everything was okay, sorting out just what had been done to him, and how. Then together, they would deal with it. Irritating as he frequently was, like not coming straight away now when Curry needed him, Heyes never failed to actually come through for him where it counted. And Kid was sure, once he got down here, that this morning would be no different. It was a comfortable thought. The two of them were real partners. They complimented each other, and together they made a formidable team. And it was this which had turned them and their men into one of the most successful outlaw gangs in the West. Curry, however, wasn’t feeling too successful right now. In fact he didn’t feel up to caring about anything; he just wanted to crawl into a hole and quietly die. “C’mon, Heyes,” he muttered to himself, “I swear, one of these days, I’m really gonna flatten ya.”

**********

The train was slowing down. “Ya listenin’ t’ me, Heyes?” It was the second voice again, commanding. He was prodded hard in the side to get a reaction. Not being able to speak through the gag, Heyes nodded in the direction the sound came from. “Right – now I’m gonna be untyin’ ya in a minute, but I don’t want no funny business from ya. We got ya covered at all times.” Heyes nodded again.

“Ok, Will, it’s almost time. Get the door.” He heard the door being pulled opened and then he felt hands hurriedly untying his legs. “On yer feet, Heyes – we gotta jump!”

He was pulled upright and, as he found his balance, he felt his hands being freed. Before he could react at all to any of this though, the blindfold was ripped off, and he was grabbed by the upper arm and shoved to the door. He had no time to adjust his eyes to his surroundings, or see where he was before the man holding onto his arm jumped off the train, taking Heyes with him. The train continued moving at a snail’s pace as it chugged up a hill. Even so, not being in control of the jump, Heyes landed clumsily as the hand that had been holding his arm suddenly released him, and he rolled away. He saw the other two men jump as he lay for a moment trying to get his breath, and let his circulation come back. Then he reached up to remove the gag.

“Leave it!” came a voice and he heard the click of a pistol being cocked. Heyes looked over and saw the man who had jumped with him sitting up and smiling, his gun pointed straight at him. He sighed resignedly and put up his hands.

Almost immediately came the sound of hooves through the darkness as a group of riders spurred their horses to where the four figures had jumped. They dismounted and Heyes found himself surrounded. Gagged, and with his hands in the air, he felt very vulnerable. He looked around at the group. They seemed to be very well organized and he tried not to let his uneasiness show.

“I don’t believe it! You got ‘im!” one of the riders smirked.

“Easy as pie,” answered Will and there was laughter.

“Come on! We need t’ move, boys!” the commanding voice of the leader once more broke through and the men reacted immediately. Hands reached down and pulled Heyes to his feet. He was hustled over to where the horses were, and ordered to mount. His hands were then tied to the saddle horn and, as he looked down, he saw his feet also being tied in place. Simultaneously, someone rode alongside him and reached over with another bandana for his eyes. And that was it! They set off. Heyes had to admit he was impressed at the smoothness of the operation.

**********

“Whadaya mean my partner ain’t with ya? Where is he then?” Kid Curry demanded of May-belle, the saloon girl who had promised Heyes she’d spend the evening with him, or so Curry had thought.

May-belle shrugged a little defensively and looked at her fingernails. “He was playin’ poker an’ said he’d come find me later, but he never did. He weren’t at the party at all far as ‘n I can remember. I did wait fer him, but, well, it’s not like we’re datin’. If he don’t show then he don’t show an’ it’s not really my business is it.” She smiled and looked at Curry, “I’m sorry but I was kinda havin’ a good time too.”

Curry nodded acceptance at this. She was right, course; he could hardly expect her to turn into a worried girlfriend when Heyes didn’t come and find her. But Curry knew Heyes hadn’t planned on doing anything but get a few hands of poker in before joining in with the rest of the festivities. He would never just go off. They had always felt relatively safe in Brokewood, but each member of the gang knew not to just disappear without letting someone know where they were. In fact it was specifically one of Heyes’ rules. More unsettling still, no one knew anything about playing any kind of trick on the Kid to knock him out. He had asked all the gang and he believed their strenuous denials. Curry was beginning to feel more than a little uneasy and it was nothing to do with the drug’s side-effects. No one remembered seeing Heyes after he had taken Curry upstairs to Josie’s room, and that was well over twelve hours ago. Heyes was missing! Curry leaned his head onto one of the posts on the porch of the Saloon. What were they gonna do now?

**********

Riding with the others to wherever they were going, Heyes had a chance to think. They hadn’t gotten the drop on the rest of the gang at least. His captors were no amateurs, though. He alone had been snatched with ruthless efficiency, and now he needed to work out why. He thought about the Kid that evening. He was sure, with hindsight, that what he had seen had not been his partner reacting to too much whiskey, but to something that had maybe been put in his drink to put him out of action. Then they had waited outside the saloon for him. He had never given a thought to going outside on his own because something like this happening had never occurred to him. He was supposed to be this big dangerous outlaw for heaven’s sake, and backed up by the fastest gun in the West, no one should have been able to get one over on him. Apart from the law, who would want to anyway? It all just didn’t make any sense.

However, it wasn’t long before the horses were brought to a stop and Heyes heard the sounds of the other riders dismounting. His feet and his hands were untied and he was helped off his horse. Then his blindfold and gag were removed and, as his eyes were adjusting, he was guided over to the camp fire and pushed to the ground. No one spoke to him but one man stood nearby, his gun held out with a casual air. Heyes knew that despite his nonchalant stance the man was watching him intently in case he decided to do something foolish. Heyes nodded to him and received a cynical smile in return. He looked around him at the well-established camp, taking in all the activity. It looked very efficient. However, a lot of the men were staring at him as they went about their chores which did nothing to take away his feelings of unease.

When everything had been taken care of, the men came over to the fire and sat down with him. They all seemed to be watching him with an air of anticipation, and he heard his name whispered. Heyes felt his silver-tongue desert him as he sat, silent, and decidedly uneasy. Someone came up to him and offered him a cup of water. It was the man who had been with him on the train and who Heyes had taken to be the leader. He took the cup and drank, his throat parched after wearing the gag. The man now sat down next to Heyes, looked him up and down and then proffered his hand.

“Hank Weybridge,” he said, “an’ I must admit, we’re all real pleased that ya could join us here, Mister Heyes.” Heyes looked at the hand before giving it a cursory shake. There was no point denying who he was. They never bothered to disguise themselves when holding up any trains and, although they used aliases in the towns they stayed in, everyone knew who they really were.

“Don’t look to me like I had any choice,” he replied. He decided he didn’t want to play games. He was tired and somewhat nervous of the situation. “What do ya want?”

Hank looked at him interestedly, “Well, we just got the first bit,” he said, “you, and it weren’t as hard as I thought it was gonna be. Reckoned your gang would keep ya on a much tighter leash, but no, even though Kid Curry was out of action, there ya were, just wanderin’ around outside all by yourself. We couldn’t believe our luck! Made our job real easy, ya did. And now the rest should be a whole lot easier still!”

The group laughed and Heyes glanced around him. “What do ya want with me?” he said, “I don’t understand.”

Hank stopped smiling and leaned closer, staring into Heyes’ eyes. After a minute he spoke, “No, ya don’t, do ya? It simply ain’t occurred to ya what you are.”

Heyes stared back.

“Such modesty! It’s almost funny. Do ya really have no idea just how valuable you are?”

Heyes continued to stare, his brown eyes puzzled as Hank continued. “You and yer partner have become two of the most famous outlaws in the West. Did ya never think that the talent ya have which has made that title possible, is also just as famous? Hannibal Heyes who can jus’ open a safe silently, no dynamite, no nitro…no noise. How rare a gift is that! Ya can break into a bank an’ be away long before any town knows it’s been robbed; too late to get together a posse to track ya down. Oh yeah, Mister Heyes, somethin’ like that is real special and it’s worth a lot. There’s a lot o’ folk out there who’d like to have a talent like that at their disposal. It makes ya the ace in the deck which a lot of people would like to own…” he smiled again, “an’ now I do.”

Heyes made a move to jump up but felt a hand on his shoulder and another on his arm. “Ya can’t be serious,” he said, his eyes black with anger. “Ya don’t own me. I’m not a thing, an’ I’m certainly not gonna come work for ya after ya kidnap me. And I’ll tell ya this too. Like ya said, I’m one of TWO of the most successful outlaws; I’ve got a partner. We ALWAYS work together. He watches my back an’ I can’t do what I do without him. I can tell you he ain’t gonna think much of this little kidnapping either. What’s more, I’m the leader of the Devil’s Hole Gang and they’re gonna be tearin’ this country apart lookin’ for me. With the Kid leadin’ ‘em, they WILL find me!” Heyes knew he was sounding slightly desperate but he felt way over his head on this one. Could it be that people really thought of him the way Weybridge described?

“No one’s gonna find ya, Heyes; not ‘til we’ve finished with ya, that is. As far as your gang’s concerned, you’ve vanished into thin air.” Hank smiled smugly, “Still, part of me wishes we could have Curry with us as well. It’d jus’ about make us invincible I reckon, but he don’t hire out his gun, an’ his talent’s not exactly somethin’ that ya can force him t’ use.” Hank looked at Heyes again before his hand snaked out and caught hold of the other’s chin. He held him tight with his thumb and his forefinger forcing Heyes to look at him.

“You, on the other hand, WILL do what we want or you’re gonna end up hurtin’ bad. And jus’ ‘member, it was pretty easy to slip that drug into yer partner’s drink. It could happen again. You’d better believe that. Now, if all goes t’ plan,” he continued, “we may jus’ let ya go back to yer partner and yer precious gang in one piece. But if ya cause me any trouble, when we’re finished with ya, I’ll haul yer sorry butt into the nearest sheriff’s office an’ collect the reward on ya. You’re worth quite a bit to the law these days. Did ya know the price on yer head’s just gone up again? No? Well, it’s ten thousand dollars now. An’ I need hardly remind ya ‘bout the dead or alive bit on yer wanted poster.” He let Heyes go and stood up.

“I’ll let ya think on it overnight. We’re all jus’ about plumb tuckered out I reckon.” Hank’s eyes went to the man behind Heyes, holding his arm, “Will, why don’t we get our guest here bedded down for the night. The rest of you boys, get yourselves sorted out an’ have a bit of rest. Mac, you’re on watch!”

Deke, who Heyes recognized from the train, came over and gestured him to his feet. After being allowed to clean up, bedrolls were laid out and Heyes was told to lie down on one situated between two others near a tree. He watched dully as, once again, his hands were tied together, and then a chain was fixed around one of his ankles and attached to the tree.

“Wouldn’t want ya t’ go wanderin’ off in the night,” Will said as he finished securing him. “We’ll stay close by too so as ‘n ya don’t get lonely on yer first night away.” He sniggered as both men then settled down onto the adjacent bedrolls.

Heyes looked around him and caught the eye of the man on watch, Mac. He looked away again and then turned over to face the opposite direction as he settled down to think. His mind was swimming. He had never, for one second, thought of himself in the way Weybridge had implied. Nor, he decided, was he about to accept his situation. As he tried to make himself slightly more comfortable, he began to think about what he could possibly do about it. He no longer had his gun, of course, but he wondered how thoroughly he had been searched by his kidnappers. He always carried a lock pick in his boot and just maybe it was still there. On the horizon he saw the first signs of the dawn.

There wasn’t time to do anything now as the night was almost over. Daybreak was only an hour or so away and Heyes let himself drift off to sleep, secure in the knowledge that he would be able to try and find a way out of his predicament later that day.

**********

Kid Curry didn’t know what he would have done without Josie. She had been nothing less than a godsend. Realizing that he was in no state for any kind of leadership, she had smoothly taken the reins. She sent everyone–the saloon girls and the Devil’s Hole Gang–to get themselves cleaned up and then report back to her in the saloon bar. Then she took the Kid back inside and up to her room. She sat him down and administered some sort of medical remedy which she promised would make him feel better. It seemed to be working too because he could feel his head clearing. Meanwhile she’d got him a bowl of water and some towels, and she ordered him too, to clean up before coming downstairs again. By the time he returned to the bar she had coffee organized and everyone was sitting awaiting their next move. The room had the air of a town committee meeting!

Josie, for her part, was more than a little concerned for the welfare of the missing outlaw. She knew exactly who she was dealing with. Although they had never openly said anything, everybody in town knew that it was the Devil’s Hole Gang headed by Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry who came in from time to time to stock up with supplies and let off steam. The gang had never abused the good faith of the town and, what was more, they had always treated the saloon girls with respect. That was worth a lot in her book. Although she only had a ‘working’ relationship with the Kid, she had decided a while ago that she cared about his well-being, and that of his partner. She was therefore determined to help any way she could. She’d done a bit of nursing in her life. Her chosen profession being what it was meant that she was not shy about handling bodies unlike ‘real’ ladies, and so she had helped the doctor out sometimes and, in turn, she had learned a few useful things too. She used this knowledge to help get the Kid back on his feet, something that was essential if his partner was going to stand a chance.

The short interval had given Curry time to gather his thoughts together and he was now ready to take control. His worry for his partner and his fury at being drugged had spurred him into action; in next to no time he had organized the boys to start searching the town and the surrounding area. Wheat and Kyle were sent to check the horses at the livery, Preacher was sent to the hotel, and Lobo and the rest of the gang were ordered to look around for anything out of the ordinary. Josie, meanwhile, sent the saloon girls out to ask around the town about whether anyone had seen any strangers hanging around the night before. She then came over to Curry.

“I need to talk to ya…honey…uh…Kid!”

That got Curry’s attention and he looked up sharply. “Yes,” she said, “I really need to talk to YOU.”

Kid stared hard at her but she held his gaze. “Ya know somethin’, Josie?” he asked but he wasn’t smiling.

“I’m not sure,” she replied, her eyes concerned but unafraid, “Me ‘n the girls, well, in our line of work we hear things – ya know. Most of the talk isn’t worth a dime – just braggin’ and such – but there’s been a couple o’ things recently. Folks have been goin’ on and on ‘bout the success of the Devil’s Hole Gang.” Kid stiffened. “Well that’s nothin’ new, but this talk centered around the gang leader. It seems there’s a fair bit of envy over the way the gang can rob banks without anyone realizing it, due to Hannibal Heyes jus’ bein’ able to open the safes. We’ve heard rumors of plans to get a hold of him for that reason, I mean; so he could do it for whoever was able to get a hold of him.”

“Who?” demanded Curry.

“It weren’t anything specific, Kid, or I would a told ya.” Josie seemed to have given up pretending she didn’t know who he was, “It was jus’ saloon talk, an’ we didn’t really pay it no mind.”

The Kid’s mind reeled. Could that really be it? It certainly sounded like it could be a logical explanation for his partner’s disappearance where nothing else made sense. He suddenly realized how careless they had been up to now. Exuberant over their own success, they’d never kept Heyes’ unique safe-opening ways a secret. In fact they even used their reputations to make people work for them. They never imagined it would be the subject of envious eyes.

Wheat and Kyle returned from the livery. “Heyes’ horse is still there. Looks like he just upped and vanished, huh?” reported Kyle. Curry glared at him; they may as well announce to all of Brokewood that the Devil’s Hole Gang was in town.

“But there’s three other horses there that don’t belong to the locals,” said Wheat, trying to distract Curry from his irritation with Kyle. “The stable boy says they belong to the group that was camped outside the town up ‘til a couple a nights ago. He thought they’d all left ‘bout the time we arrived, but then three o’ them came in last night and put up their horses. The horses are paid up for a few days but no one’s seen their owners in town.”

“Ya know this group, Josie?” the Kid asked.

“Yeah, sure I do, Honey!” she replied. “They bin hangin’ ‘round the town for a while now; been in the saloon a few times. I didn’t notice they’d upped and moved out.”

“Okay, boys, I reckon you’d better go get the others an’ find this camp, or what’s left of it. Maybe you can trace which direction they left.”

“Sure thing, Kid,” Kyle answered, and Kid rolled his eyes.

After they had gone Josie wondered out loud, “Why d’ya reckon they left three horses here?”

“If it was them that took Heyes, then they must have headed out of town another way.” Kid replied. Then he looked at Josie. “The train!” he said.

They went straight to the station and found that the previous evening a freight train had left town heading East. Curry asked the station master whether it would be possible to show where the train ran on a map. The man looked at him puzzled, but sketched a rough outline of the route that it had taken. It seemed the train tracks went pretty much straight East before curving upwards and around a range of hills.

Wheat, Kyle and the rest of the gang returned a short time later and reported finding the remains of a camp and tracks, a couple of days old, headed out in an Easterly direction towards the distant mountains.

Curry started to feel that they were maybe getting somewhere. If the men in the camp had gone East, and so had the train, he was willing to bet that that was the direction to go to start looking for Heyes. He was pretty certain his partner had been kidnapped, but here was no reason to assume he had been killed. If that had been all they had wanted, then they wouldn’t have gone to all the bother of drugging him. It seemed logical, too, that someone could indeed want Heyes for his safe opening skills, and what better time to snatch him than when the gang had their guard down. He hoped fervently that they weren’t putting two and two together to make five in their desperation to find their leader. Heyes, after all, had always been the planner. But for the first time that day he began to feel he had something to work with.

**********

Meanwhile the camp where Heyes found himself an unwilling guest was slowly coming back to life. It had been a late night after all. Heyes was released from his bonds, and he got up and walked around rubbing the circulation back into his limbs. He noticed someone was keeping a close eye on him as he did this. Discretely, he looked around trying to get his bearings. They were in a small clearing tucked away between some rocks and trees with hills surrounding them. He couldn’t see much with which to orientate himself. Hopefully later he would be able to learn more about where he was and what was going to happen.

Over breakfast Hank came up to him again.

“Sleep well, Heyes?” The outlaw just looked back at him saying nothing. Hank chuckled, “Well, it don’t matter none. Today you can rest up before we set off out again tomorrow.”

“Where are we goin’?”

Hank sat down. “A town called Kirtly. It’s under a day’s ride from here an’ not far from Brokewood. Don’t see no point in wasting time. There’s a bank there that’s used by almost all the local landowners–a real bunch of rich folks who can afford to give to the needy. I’m certain the safe in there’s jus’ stuffed to the brim.” He laughed, “Ya see me ‘n the boys, we ain’t ‘bout to go bein’ all greedy ‘bout this. We jus’ want ya to do the one job. Then we can retire an’ disappear. The robbery’ll be blamed on the Devil’s Hole Gang. After all, they’re in the area, and the safe’ll obviously have been opened by you. Clever, huh? Let’s face it, Heyes, what’s one more robbery pinned on you and your boys? An’ then you’ll be free t’ go an’ everybody’s happy. What do ya say?”

“I don’t think the Devil’s Hole Gang’ll be too pleased ‘bout having a robbery blamed on ‘em when they don’t get nothin’ for it,” answered Heyes. “An’ I’m not too happy ‘bout the way I was asked to help either. What’s more, I’ve got no guarantee that you’ll let me go.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Heyes. You’re gettin’ somethin’ outta this too. Ya can consider yourself forewarned that it’s not only the law that’s after ya these days…and others might not ask ya so nice as we have. We ain’t harmed no one; we need your gang around to take the blame, but ya know we could’ve taken out your partner last night. We reckoned it’d help if he’s seen in the open while searching for ya, but it certainly weren’t essential. I don’t think ya got any reason t’ complain. All ya have to do is ride into Kirtly with us tomorrow night an’ open one little safe. Ya do that fer me an’ I promise you’ll be allowed t’ go free.”

Heyes’ eyes darkened as he glared back at Hank. He didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him, and he had serious doubts that he would be released. Hank wasn’t stupid. He knew that by freeing Heyes he would, in next to no time, have the Devil’s Hole Gang after him. No, he was pretty certain that, after the robbery he’d be killed and, if there wasn’t as much in the safe as Hank figured, handed in by some go-between for the ten thousand on his head. And the Devil’s Hole Gang would need to run for it with all the local landowners after them. Heyes realized with certainty that he needed somehow to get away from here. He wasn’t sure how yet, but this morning he had managed to check in his boot and the lock pick was indeed still with him. It was a start.

**********

Curry decided to concentrate his search at first on the nearby Eastern range of hills. He’d talked it through with Josie and the boys, and together they had decided that the group which had been camped on the outskirts of the town was definitely responsible for Heyes’ kidnapping. They figured that most of the group had gone ahead leaving three men to actually carry out the abduction. They would then have used the train to smuggle Heyes out of town. The gang didn’t have that much of a head start, though, so Curry reckoned they had probably gotten off the train not too far away…just about the time when a train would have to slow down to negotiate a steep climb. The three with Heyes would then probably have met up with the rest of the group and gone on into the hills. There was no real proof that this was what had happened, but it seemed to be pretty logical and Curry was anxious to begin the search.

In the back of his mind he wondered why he had been left alive. They must have known that he would immediately come looking for his partner. In fact, it was another reason for thinking that Heyes was not too far away. If they were going to use Heyes for a job, it would have to be pretty soon because Curry would be breathing down their necks as soon as he realized his partner was missing. By leaving him alive, they must have been reckoning with this. For some reason this thought bothered him but he couldn’t work out why. Heyes would know. Meanwhile, he had a starting point in his search and it was time to get going.

The Devil’s Hole Gang rode out of Brokewood in the late morning. They arrived in the area where the hills began by the early evening. Then they split up and spread out in order to begin the search for their missing leader.

**********

That evening, as Heyes got ready to bed down for the night, he surreptitiously palmed the lock pick from his boot. He was secured in the same way as he had been the previous night, and now he lay quietly and listened as the camp slowly went to sleep. He waited a good long time to be absolutely sure no one but the guard was awake, and he kept an eye on him through half-closed lids. When the man looked away, Heyes moved to curl up on his side and quickly went to work on the chain which secured his ankle. He had the lock open and his foot free within a minute. He knew that unfortunately there was not much he could do about his bound hands right then, but at least now he could get away. Luck seemed to be with him when suddenly the man seemed to have heard something on the other side of the camp and moved away to check it out.

Quick as a flash, Heyes slipped out of his bedroll and made a dash from the camp. He knew his chances of successfully getting away were less than slim. None the less, he was determined not to make things easy for his captors. He thought he would try and find somewhere to hide and get his bearings. He had no idea how far away he was from civilization, if indeed it was possible to reach somewhere on foot. He knew he couldn’t risk trying to take a horse, but at this moment he didn’t much care. He was determined not to be a pawn in their robbery plans. Vaguely he wondered how long it would be before his absence was noticed as he looked around at the clear moonlit night.

As if in answer, he heard a cry go up from the camp and he began moving more quickly. He was concentrating on the voices behind him and trying not to trip over anything in his path. It wasn’t easy to run with his hands tied. As a result, he was taken completely by surprise when a hand reached out and grabbed him pulling him to the ground. He struggled as someone tackled him and held him down, and a hand covered his mouth preventing him from crying out. He looked up at his attacker, and into the face of his partner. Curry lifted a warning finger to his lips and Heyes nodded. Neither of them moved until they heard the sounds of the search getting further away. Kid relaxed, and then realized he still had his hand over Heyes’ mouth. He removed it hurriedly and got off his partner. Pulling Heyes up into a sitting position, he began to untie his wrists.

“You okay?” he asked with concern.

“I am now,” came the reply. “How on earth did ya find me? I don’t even know where I am.” Heyes was so relieved to see the Kid he felt like laughing out loud.

“Well, we’ve got quite a search goin’ on, but once we realized you’d probably been shipped out by train, we knew roughly where to start lookin’,” said the Kid. “Heyes, just what is goin’ on? What do they want ya for?”

“They wanna use me to open a safe.” Curry finished releasing Heyes’ wrists and nodded. They had been right. He looked his partner over and took in that he was indeed unharmed. Then he sat back and listened.

“Jus’ one big robbery so they can retire down to Mexico or somethin’,” Heyes rubbed his arms as he explained about the job that was planned for the following night, and his part in it all.

When he finished Kid was thoughtful. “Ya know, Heyes, that don’t sound bad.” He paused again and then looked at his partner seriously. “I think maybe ya should go ahead an’ do it.”

“What!!” said Heyes somewhat louder than he meant. There were, after all, people looking for him. He glanced around him and then grabbed the Kid’s shirt front. “I’m comin’ back right now with you,” he whispered fiercely. “To hell with them and their bank robbery.”

But the Kid’s blue eyes were serious as he calmly removed Heyes’ hands from his shirt. “Think about it, Heyes,” he said. “I’m alone. The boys are all out searching for ya everywhere. I stumbled upon this camp and sneaked up to see if ya were here at all. I didn’t reckon on meetin’ up with ya havin’ a night-time stroll. I don’t know how I could get ya outta here without being noticed, and then they’d get me too. And ya know, this time I don’t think they’d be too fussy about lettin’ me stay alive to interfere with their plans.” Heyes stared at his partner taking in what he meant. “But what if I go an’ round up the boys. I know now what your new friends have planned, an’ I reckon I can arrange a surprise reunion. Who knows, at the same time we might even be able to get ourselves a reward for findin’ ya into the bargain.” He watched the emotions playing across Heyes’ face, and went on. “By that, I mean that safe they’re so interested in. It just might be worth it for us to have a look at too. Ya can’t tell me that, when ya heard about it, ya weren’t even a little bit tempted by it.”

Heyes sat back and looked at his partner. “You’re serious, aren’t ya.” It wasn’t a question.

“Do ya have a better idea? Huh?”

A pause before, “I don’t wanna go back. There must be another way,” but it was said only half-heartedly.

With that Curry knew that he had won, and, as proof, even though his brown eyes took on a slightly reproachful look, Heyes allowed him to take his hands and, once more, tie them together. Although he could understand his reluctance to rejoin his kidnappers, Kid saw that his partner had recognized that he was right and had accepted it as their best chance of getting away in the long run. He knew Heyes would now concentrate on turning the situation as much as possible to their advantage. Theoretically he would still be a prisoner but, armed with the knowledge that he had his own gang’s back up, it would now be under his conditions.

Meanwhile, Heyes grudgingly admitted to himself that the Kid did have a point. He didn’t really have a plan except for staying alive and then generally make Hank’s life as difficult as possible. He knew that he had never really had a chance to get away on his own, and he certainly didn’t want anyone to know that Kid Curry had tracked him down. What is more, if he thought about it, the Kid was right; he could hear the safe’s siren song calling out to him, and it did indeed sound like it was worth having a look into. He wasn’t going to back down without a grumble though. “Ya just wanna be able to get away,” he complained sulkily.

Curry finished tying his wrists and hauled him to his feet. “That’s right, partner,” he said. “You let me get away now and then later I can come back an’ rescue you.” Then before Heyes had time to reply he hissed, “They’re coming this way. Get goin’!” He gave his partner a sharp prod in the back which, with his hands tied, caused him to stumble, dislodging some rock. Heyes turned crossly as he regained his balance, but the Kid was already out of sight.

“You’d better be watching my back from now on, Partner,” he muttered to himself, although in reality, he never doubted it for a second.

The searchers heard Heyes’ fall and it took them almost no time to find him. Heyes quickly found himself surrounded yet again and, none too gently marched back to the camp. Curry watched him being taken off and then set back off in search of the rest of the Devil’s Hole Gang. He was sure Heyes would be okay. After all, they needed him healthy enough to take part in a robbery and open a safe. He needed to move fast, though, for what he’d planned to work.

On his return Heyes was immediately and very thoroughly searched. The lock pick was found and confiscated. Hank Weybridge came up to him angrily and glared at him. He backhanded him hard across the face and Heyes fell down onto his knees.

“That was stupid,” he snarled, “and a plain waste of time! I said ya couldn’t get away. Count yourself lucky that we need ya at yer best tonight, or right now you’d be payin’ hard for that little stunt. As it is, I’m jus’ not gonna give ya the opportunity to even try it again!” He turned to his gang, “Come on, boys; let’s get us some shut-eye. Night’s short enough as it is. Jus’ make sure our guest don’t go sleepwalkin’ again, will ya?” And with that he turned and walked away.

Heyes was taken back to his bedroll but he spent the rest of the night unpleasantly, with his hands tied behind his back, his feet bound together and chained to the tree, and the guard sitting next to him, gun at the ready. However, as he tried to get to sleep in this uncomfortable position, he found himself thinking with a half smile that his captors might think differently, but the evening’s excursion definitely hadn’t been a waste of time for him.

The following day left Heyes in no doubt that the gang meant business. Hank Weybridge had obviously planned this for a long time and had been waiting for him to turn up so the gang could go ahead with it. After breakfast they broke camp, saddled and bridled the horses, and everyone mounted up. There was a sense of urgency and anticipation in the air and they kept a very close eye on Heyes. He was never left alone, and was only untied in order to clean up and eat breakfast. He spent an uncomfortable day in the saddle, once more tied hand and foot. His only consolation was that at least they didn’t see fit to put on a blindfold and gag this time. He thought he wouldn’t give them any reason to change their minds about this either, so he didn’t talk, and tried not to be obvious about watching where they were going, or if they were being followed.

They rode fairly hard all day taking only short breaks to rest the horses and it was obvious to Heyes they were in a hurry. In the early evening they made a small camp just outside Kirtly. Heyes sat leaning against a boulder, his hands and feet tied together, ‘just to be safe’. Hank came up again.

“I’m gonna untie ya now, Heyes,” he said. “But don’t be gettin’ any ideas. Will and Deke here’ll be doin’ nothin’ ‘cept keepin’ an eye on ya for the rest of the evenin’. Everythin’ goes to plan an’ ya don’t cross me, in a few hours we can all be goin’ our separate ways.”

It was a relief to be able to get up and stretch his legs. Heyes walked up and down as he took in the preparations being made for the evening. They were only going to be taking what was absolutely necessary for the break-in; everything else would be left hidden close by ready to be picked up on the way back out of town. The robbery itself would be done as early as possible giving the gang the maximum amount of time to get away clean. No one would be looking for them, anyway, with the Devil’s Hole Gang and Kid Curry making their presence felt in the area with their search for Heyes. No one would believe that they weren’t responsible for the robbery. They could hardly use the excuse that they had mislaid their leader.

Just after dark the gang set off into town in small groups so as not to be too noticeable. The streets were pretty empty after dark, and there was no one at all in the side street where the gang met up again under the barred window of the bank. Mac produced a bar-spreader which made short work of the window. One of the youngest gang members was left on guard outside while the rest climbed into the bank. The curtains were drawn and a lantern lit. Heyes was then given his lock pick back.

“Good thing that ya had this!” Hank declared. “We need ya to open the door to the safe room.” Heyes looked around the bank. Behind the counter was a back room which had bars right across it. It looked like the front of a cage with a door in it. And in this cage sat the safe. Heyes could already hear it sing. He made short work of the door and they all went inside.

“Go on then, Heyes. Your moment of glory has come,” Hank prodded him forward. “Open the safe.”

Heyes carefully examined the safe. Taking note of the make and model he didn’t think he’d have a problem. As long as Hank and the others let him work in peace he should have it opened fairly quickly. He wished he had Curry with him. When he was there to back him up, he could completely tune out to everything but the sweet noise that those tumblers made, without having to worry about anything else.

As if in answer he heard the unmistakable click of the Kid’s pistol being cocked. He looked up and into the steely blue eyes of his armed and dangerous partner.

“Howdy boys!” said Curry. “We heard that the Devil’s Hole Gang would be robbin’ this here bank tonight so we thought we’d better be here for it.”

There had been no time to react. Heyes’ gang stood there smiling, guns at the ready. Hank and his group threw down their weapons and put their hands up. They had been taken completely by surprise. Under Kid Curry’s instructions the group was herded into a corner of the room and tied up.

“Well now, Heyes,” Curry’s eyes twinkled, “wanna take a look at that safe? After all, you were yappin’ about it enough last night!”

Hank’s eyes widened as he realized the implication of this, and Heyes grinned.

“Sure, Kid,” he said, “why not. Appreciate ya watchin’ my back here. Don’t work so well when you’re not around.”

Curry acknowledged this compliment, together with the hidden ‘thank you’ that it held, with a smile.

“You were with him last night?” Hank almost shouted and Heyes nodded while Curry gave him an icy stare which told him in no uncertain terms to keep the noise down.

“Told ya I had a partner, Hank,” said Heyes, “an’ I seem to remember tellin’ ya he would find me. It shouldn’t come as such a surprise to ya. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.” And with that he settled down in front of the safe, closed his eyes and, with a half smile, began the process of losing himself to the safe’s song.

It didn’t take long before Heyes breathed a heavenly sigh and the safe door swung open. Hank had been right. There was a nice pile of bank notes sitting inside. Heyes quickly filled the carpet bag that had been brought along. Then he stood up and looked at the group of restrained outlaws.

“You know, Hank, robbin’ this bank was a mighty fine idea. Can’t think why I didn’t think of it!” He grinned at them.

“I think you’ll be safest sleepin’ in here for the night, boys,” said Curry. “I’m sure the sheriff will be real pleased to make your acquaintance in the mornin’. You’ll be able to tell him that the Devil’s Hole Gang robbed the bank. And ya know, ya wouldn’t even be lyin’ anymore!”

“’Course, aidin’ and abettin’ us won’t exactly endear ya to the townsfolk,” Heyes added, “but that’s the price ya pay for forcin’ this robbery on me. I’m sorry if ya feel ya can’t afford it, but ya see, I can’t afford to have ya try an’ abduct me again.”

And with that he closed the cage door, and followed the rest of his gang back into the front and out of the window. Wheat and Kyle were waiting outside with the young gang member who was supposed to be taking care of the horses and keeping a look out. He looked very frightened and sorry for himself. He really wasn’t much more than a kid.

“If you’re smart, you’ll get outta here an’ ya won’t have seen anythin’,” said Curry to him. “This means I have just saved your hide from bein’ arrested, so be properly grateful an’ disappear.” The youth stared back at Curry dumbstruck.

“Go on, Junior,” said Heyes, “before we change our minds. ”The young man needed no more prompting. He ran away as fast as his legs would carry him.

“Nice to have ya back with us, Heyes!” said Kyle. “Tell ya the truth, we woz all real worried ‘bout ya.” Heyes smiled back at him as Kyle went on. “We would ‘a come into the bank to gettcha too ‘cept ‘n I had t’ keep watch, an’ Wheat couldn’t fit his-self through that there winda!”

Wheat glared at Kyle as Heyes choked back a laugh. “It’s good to be back, Kyle,” he said. “In fact, I’m so happy to be on my way home I brought you all a present.” He held up the carpet bag.

Wheat suddenly looked much more cheerful. “Come on, let’s go,” he said, “we’ve got what we came fer,” and Heyes wondered whether he meant the money, or himself.

They hurriedly made their way to where the horses were waiting for them.

“Not bad for an evening’s work, eh Kid?” said Heyes proudly as they rode off. “I jus’ hope you and the gang will start to appreciate how valuable I am now.”

Kid shot his partner a cynical look. “That’ll change soon, Heyes,” he replied. “Jus’ about the time when everybody finds out that ya tried an’ failed to open that Pierce an’ Hamilton ’78 in Denver last month.”

Heyes stopped smiling. “I haven’t finished with that safe yet. Just you wait. She an’ me still have a date to keep an’ she’s too beautiful to ignore. I am, after all, the best.”

Curry snorted but was too happy to have his partner back to disagree. “Whatever you say, Heyes. Let’s just go home!”


*****************************************************************