SIDNEY BLOOD HAD the canyon entrance to the Hole-in-the-Wall in his sight. He had a stakeout posted, hidden, all around it. He had missed Lassiter on the trail, but if he was working with Cassidy he would surely come back here. Blood meant to waylay him as he tried to ride in.
Lassiter outwaited Blood. Camped on a ridge well back from the lead-in valley, he was in no hurry. It had taken some time for him to locate each of the Wells Fargo men. Now he watched them at leisure. While Blood was here he would not be busy getting his shipment shaped up.
He waited four days. For Hope they were the best days in her memory. She blanked out the period of terror in Spokane. She had spent her life blanking out her yesterdays, living the day, not looking to tomorrow. For her there had been no tomorrows. So, now, she put away the thought of this respite ending. It was enough to be here with Lassiter. With him everything seemed possible. Whatever he had told her he would do, he had done. She began to believe … believe in the mysterious money he talked about … believe that someday soon she could be free of people like Johno Wade.
She even began to accept the return to the Hole. She had nearly died when he told her about that. To deliberately go back under Cassidy’s domination was unthinkable. She had argued it wildly to Lassiter. He had laughed at her, promised her safety. And even this she believed.
On the fifth day Blood gave up, pulled out. Lassiter beckoned Hope up to the lookout to watch them ride, toward Bridge.
It was late afternoon. After dark he left the girl, dropped off the ridge. He thought his count of Blood’s men was right. He meant to make sure. He went to the deserted camp, from it followed each of the paths worn to the points from which they had watched for him. By daylight he knew that they had not left a lone man in ambush.
On the ridge the girl was asleep. He saddled her horse, cooked coffee and fried meat over a smokeless fire, then waked her. He saw her nervousness return as he made ready to ride. He ignored it. It could not be helped.
They rode slowly, openly. The sentry’s bullet kicked up dust in the trail ahead. Lassiter pulled up, cupped his hands at his mouth, shouted.
“Tell Cassidy it’s Lassiter.”
They waited in the sun for an hour. The girl drooped under her strain. She trembled when two men rode down toward them, shriveled visibly when they took Lassiter’s guns, tied his hands. She visualized both of them being executed, standing in the grass before the store, the camp gathered to see and take warning.
Cassidy indeed waited on the store porch, his gun on Lassiter. Without words he signaled. Lassiter was cut free. He was handed a gun by a man who ran quickly out of range. He did not keep it. He tossed it to the ground.
Cassidy’s eyes were hot. “Get down. Pick it up. I don’t shoot an unarmed man.”
Lassiter did not get down. “Armed or unarmed, shoot me and it costs you half a million. What’s sticking in your craw?”
Cassidy’s gun did not waver. “I told you not to leave here. I don’t tolerate disobedience in my men.”
“I’m not your man. I told you I wanted the woman back.” Lassiter saw Cassidy look at Hope, saw the urge to kill her in the marble eyes. “Touch her and you’ll never see that gold.” The voice was very soft.
Still Cassidy debated. It was bad for his image to let this go on in front of the camp. And yet … He holstered his gun viciously.
“Get her out of my sight.”
Lassiter winked at her. “My cabin.”
She hurried, pushed her horse. Lassiter did not watch. He eased out of the saddle, stretched his legs.
“You interested in hearing a little news?”
Butch Cassidy knew that he had lost the initiative. Knew that he was not likely to regain it in this public exchange. He cut it off with little grace.
“If it’s worth anything. Let’s go find out.”
He came down from the porch, waggled his dangling hand, walked to his cabin. Lassiter followed. He looked at no one. He wanted no more than Cassidy any lessening of the outlaw’s control among these men. They were going to be needed. They would be given temptation enough to defect. A tight rein must be kept on them.
Inside the room, with the door closed, Cassidy spun, let his anger blaze.
“If any other man pulled what you did I’d gut shoot him. Don’t ever try to put me down again.”
Lassiter’s lips thinned out. He sounded thoughtful. “Maybe you’re too edgy for this big a job.”
“Job … job. What job? I’m not even sure there is a job. All I know is some wild talk from you. How do I know there’s that much gold collected?”
“I’ve seen it. Recently.”
The man drew a ragged breath. “All right. Say you have. When does it get shipped?”
“When Sidney Blood is ready.”
“How do we know when that is?”
Lassiter sat down, crossed his knee. “You’ll live longer if you relax. I came back here to talk plans. Lay out what we have to do. You want to listen or argue?”
Cassidy still hesitated, finally dropped to a chair. His voice was too polite. “I’ll be happy to hear anything constructive. Talk.”
Lassiter nodded. “It’s time for us to move. We go to Casper and wait for a wire.”
‘Who’s we?”
“You, me, and all the men you can corral.”
“And when we get the wire, what then?”
“In Casper, we fix on a meeting place, drift out and gather again there. Hit the train, get the gold. Head down the Outlaw Trail. With that big a haul Wells Fargo would chase us clear through Mexico. So we keep going. To South America.”
Cassidy, looking at him, was like a cat seeing things invisible to human eyes. He seemed to physically follow the outlined course. He lifted an eyebrow.
“What did you have in mind about the women here?”
“Leave them in the valley. When they get tired of it they’ll filter out.”
“You know that’s going to cause a row with the men.”
“I suggest we let them think we’re coming back here. Let everybody think that.”
“For how long?”
“Until we start down the Trail.”
Cassidy’s lip curled. “And you think that crowd will stand still for going off without their broads?”
Lassiter kept his patience. “I thought you were a leader? Thought they listened to you. Wait until they’ve got their hands on the gold, then tell them. They can send back for the women they want. But remind them there are a lot of fresh ones in Mexico. You won’t have too much trouble.”
“No. I guess not. When you think of it that way.” The hazel eyes narrowed. “But what kind of a damn fool are you? You want one special woman bad enough to walk straight into Wells Fargo’s front yard to get her. Then you say leave her here.”
“I didn’t say forever. I’ll send word for her to meet me.”
The outlaw’s laugh was ribald. “And you think she’d come? First she’s Johno’s, then she’s yours. You think somebody else won’t pick her off as soon as you’re out of sight?”
“She’ll come. Now get your mind off women and let’s get down to cases. And keep all of this between you and me.”
They rode that night. Fifty men behind Lassiter and Cassidy. Outside the valley they separated, drifted into Casper by twos, threes. In the saloons of the town none of them recognized another.
They waited three days. The wire to Cliff Jones came.
“Mama arriving Thursday evening. Cattle shipped as planned.” It was not signed.
Lassiter led the Wild Bunch north. Toward their biggest strike. Their last.