I FELT SICK. Was it me that had killed Jack Williams? Had the tiny ball from my Smith & Wesson finally migrated to his heart and ended his life? Could I put another “desperado notch” on the grip of my seven-shooter?

I said, “Where was he shot?”

Ping said, “In Niagara Saloon.”

“No, I mean where in his body? In his heart?”

“He was shot in his back,” said Ping. “Couple of times with thirty-two caliber ball.”

I felt a surge of relief, then a thrill of dread.

I said, “When? When did it happen?”

“A few days ago,” said Mettie, who had come to refill our coffee cups and overheard the last bit. “I think I have a newspaper,” she said, and returned with it a few moments later.

I took Tuesday’s copy of the Daily Territorial Enterprise and stared at the front page.

A DESPERADO KILLED—
A SHOOTING AFFAIR

The first-class A No. 1 murder of Jack Williams in Virginia City last night is creating a little stir among the police authorities here. Jack Williams, who has killed three or four men here and also in California, was out on bail for robbery at the time. The noted desperado was shot and instantly killed at half-past eleven last night, while engaged in a game in Pat Lynch’s saloon. Pistols were fired in the front of the room to attract attention, whereupon the rear door was opened a few inches and the fatal shot fired from a .32 caliber pistol wielded by a hidden assassin. Information leads the authorities to suspect a clue to the murderer may be found among the genteel class in Carson City.

“‘The genteel class in Carson City’!” I quoted, and looked up at my two companions. “It must have been Violetta! Have they arrested her yet?”

“What do you mean?” said Stonewall.

I said, “I reckon Violetta killed Jack Williams. She must have hired someone to fire pistols in the front of the saloon while she shot him from the rear.”

Stonewall’s ugly face contorted itself into a frown. “She didn’t even know Williams,” he said.

“Yes, she did. I saw her sparking him up at Pray’s Sawmill last Sunday. He got rough with her and she told me a man like that should be put down. She told him she was coming back here to Carson, but I reckon she followed him to Virginia City to get her revenge,” I added.

Stonewall put down his fork. “It is true that she was out of town for a few days. We reckoned she was scouting toll roads and got caught in the snowstorm. Jace was mighty worried till she got back. He is even more worried about you.”

“I am pretty sure Violetta killed Con Mason, too,” I said. “She must have snuck out while Jace was asleep. And I’ll bet she pushed Abram Benway out of that window.”

Ping looked up. “You got evidence?” he said.

I counted on my fingers: “Con Mason and Jack Williams were both killed by a thirty-two caliber bullet, threads from her gown found at the scene of Mason’ s murder, she and Benway were speaking together right before he fell to his death.”

Ping nodded.

I stood up. “Stonewall,” I said, “we have got to warn Jace. This is the evidence of her malfeasance you have been wanting.”

Stonewall put his head in his hands.

“What is it?” I asked.

He looked up at me, his bug eyes filled with tears. “Jace and Violetta are getting married tonight,” he said, “and then they are going to Sacramento. That is why he sent me to find out about you. So he could leave with his mind at ease.”

“We have got to stop him!” I cried. “And if we are too late we have to make them get a divorce.” When I said the word “divorce” the Lord sent a lightning flash of inspiration into my brain.

“Wait!” I said. “Up at the sawmill Jack Williams told Violetta to ‘Obey your husband!’ And she told me she had ‘one last husband to divorce.’ Also, she had some papers she wanted him to sign. Then there was that rumor that she was married to a Desperado. I bet that Desperado was Jack Williams. She rode up to Lake Bigler on the pretense of scouting out toll roads but her real reason was to meet him in secret and to get him to sign the divorce papers. When he refused, she pretended to go back to Carson. But instead, she followed him to Virginia City and divorced him by means of a ‘leaden messenger of death’ discharged from her Bosom Deringer.”

“‘Leaden messenger of death’?” said Stonewall with a frown.

“A bullet,” I explained.

“Bosom Deringer?” said Ping.

“A little gun she keeps between her bosoms,” I said. Then I said, “Ping, will you go back to Virginia City and see if there is a record of Jack Williams recently getting married? If so, that proves she is a Black Widow.”

I was surprised when Ping did not argue but stood up. “All right,” he said. “I just came down to see you are still alive. I got lots of cases up there anyway.” Then he pointed to the window. “There is Virginia Stage now. I go. Chop, chop!”

When Ping had left, I said to Stonewall, “We have got to warn Jace about Violetta. I am sure she intends to kill him once she has married him.”

Stonewall looked at me & then looked down at the table. “Jace said I could come live with them in Frisco after the honeymoon,” he said. “But he told me if I kept complaining about her then he would never have anything to do with me again.”

I nodded. “He said something like that to me, too. But I realized something when I was trapped in the snowstorm. You can’t abandon your friends and family. I was too late once before, but I am danged if I am going to give up without a fight. We have got to warn Jace that if he marries Violetta he might end up dead.”

Stonewall stared at his empty coffee cup. “I reckon Jace can take care of himself, ” he said.

“So you won’t go into Carson City with me to warn him?”

“Sorry, little pard,” said Stonewall. “But I can’t.”