"I met Henry the year his Ma died. I was living with my uncle cause my mother had up and married and my new Pa didn't want another mouth to feed. Sides he said I was 16, grown, a man. Guess I am at that. Henry says we're men and Henry, he just has him a way of saying things so you just want to believe him."

I remember the day he showed up with that gun. Don't know where he got it, stole most likely as he didn't have a dime, but I didn't care. A gun gave a man respect. So I snuck into the mercantile and got a box of bullets and we took it out behind the cemetery and dern near shot up every marker in the lot."

I stopped and swallowed realizing I had been talking straight on for nearly ten minutes. The man across from me was a good listener and knew just how to steer the conversation to find out what he wanted to know.

"When was the last time you ate," he said kindly, his dark brown eyes reading me as easily as he had the men in the poker game I had watched him winning in.

"Not long," I lied badly.

He fought a smile and gave into it and barely moved his hand, but the bar keep was right there eager to do his bidding. He ordered me a plate something hot and two beers.

I don't know what made me prouder, being ordered beer or drinking it with Hannibal Heyes.

Henry and I had heard they were in town. People talk when they think its only children around. They had just robbed a bank up north and everyone was whispering about them arriving in Lincoln County to hurrah with the money they stole.

Me and Henry had been scrounging for work up till then, but on hearing that Henry had decided this was our 'golden opportunity', we was gonna become members of the Devil's Hole Gang.

Took us three saloons till we found them. Heyes playing poker and Curry heading up the stairs with two of the girls.

Knew it was them we did, as soon as we seen them.

They were both probably the youngest men in the room, but there weren't a doubt they were either respected or feared by every man present. You could tell by the way folks laughed a little to long or loud at something they said trying to cozy up to their good side.

Heyes seemed to find this amusing and had a way of putting the men at his table at ease, even though he was out playing them by a mile.

He just had this way of drawing you in, making you want to be apart of whatever he was doing.

Curry, he was something different. You'd suspect he was too young to have done all the things people wrote about them until you caught him watching the room. He noticed everything, categorized its threat and then either dismissed or dealt with it. I realized then that any man could sit at ease the way Heyes did if he had a partner like that at his back.

He made note of us as he ambled up the stairs with the whores and I didn't miss his eyes lingered on Henry longer. I was glad, I didn't fancy having him wondering about me.

Henry, however, he just followed right up after them, his gun tucked in his belt eager to show the famous gunslinger his own prowess with the weapon. I personally had my doubts the man wanted to talk to a him right then and there, but when Henry got an idea in his head, well weren't much use in trying to talk him out of it.

So I set my sights on Mr. Heyes. Twice the bar keep threw me out, but when I came back in the third time he just swore and gave me a broom and said I could at least earn my keep.

I mostly just leaned on it fascinated. You ain't seen card playing till you seen Hannibal Heyes do it. Even then at 22 he was aces above the rest of the players and that's where the trouble started. One of the men got to thinking he was being cheated and was fool enough to mention it. Heyes talked him out of it, but he left angry and the smell of trouble broke up the game.

Heyes was picking up his winnings when I got bold enough to come over and introduce myself.

"Tom O'Fallaird," I said offering my hand like a real gentlemen.

It amused him and he shook it like I was grown.

"Hannibal Heyes."

"I know sir, I've come to ask if I can join your gang."

He had squinted at me and for the first time he looked tired.

"How old are you?"

"18."

"How old?"

"16, last week."

"Well we have a rule in the gang that you have to be at least 18, legal reasons," Heyes said smoothly.

He turned to walk away, but I guess the hopeless look of desperation that crossed my face must have reminded him of something cause he turned back and told me to sit down and tell him why I wanted to join the Devil's Hole Gang.

"What you smiling at?" I asked as I shoveled the food in afraid it might be taken away.

"Nothing, you just remind me of someone," he grinned. "Slow down there's more if you want it."

"That's right kindly of you, but I better save some for Henry," I said suddenly feeling selfish and pushing the plate away.

"Eat up, we'll make sure Henry gets fed as well. "Where is this infamous Henry anyway?"

"He went up to talk to your partner."

Heyes shot up in his seat, "Up there?"

"Yes sir."

"Tom my partner has been stuck up at Devil's Hole for two months and this is his first time, well his first in town in as long. He isn't gonna take kindly to being…"

There was a fierce racket and suddenly we all turned our eyes on the stairs where Henry was being hauled by the back of his neck by Curry wearing nothing but his trousers, his gunbelt slung over his shoulder.

"Son you wanna stay alive choose your moments to introduce yourself to a man better!" Curry growled.

I thought for sure he was gonna toss Henry down the steps or at least shoot him, but he seemed to get the better of his temper and just dropped him and stomped away muttering about a man couldn't get any peace even for two dollars.

"Let me guess Henry?" Heyes said amused covering his mouth with his hand to hide a smile that was in danger of escaping.

"Yes sir."

"Bring him over," he said motioning the bar keep for more food and eagerly I waved Henry down.

"Didn't need to get so riled, just wanted to say howdy," Henry said with a surly snarl slipping into a chair and glaring up the stairs.

"Son maybe we ought to get you a woman instead of food so you can see what the fuss is about," Heyes said dryly.

Henry finally looked up at him. "You Hannibal Heyes?"

"He is Henry and he bought us food!" I said happily.

"I can pay my own way," Henry said getting up.

Heyes rolled his eyes, "The hell you can, now sit down and eat."

Henry weren't no good at listening to anyone, but something about Heyes made him slowly back down into his chair and pick up the fork in front of him.

I knew he was as hungry as I was, but just to 'show' Heyes he took his time sampling the food and almost kept his indifference until he swallowed and then he just lost control and attacked the plate.

"Joe make sure they have enough and bed tonight," Heyes said getting up and tossing a coin at the bartender who nodded.

"So when can we join the gang?" Henry said wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Don't have any openings right now, but if your looking for work talk to Lancaster at the stable and tell him I sent you."

"Henry McCarty don't work in no stable," Henry said standing and I stared horrified. He looked like he was challenging him.

Heyes exhaled and before Henry could move he had pulled the gun from Henry's waistband and pulled him up to face him.

"Listen McCarty I don't like being threatened not by a man or a boy. I'm in a good mood tonight and I got me a woman waiting upstairs so I'm gonna forget what you just tried. But don't ever think you didn't get lucky tonight."

And emptying Henry's gun he tossed the bullets across the room and dropping the gun trotted up the stairs looking every inch like a man who could not only rule the world, he could afford the time to retreat from it.

"Damn him," Henry swore falling back into his chair furious, his hunger forgot as he slammed his plate across the table.

"Henry he could have killed you!" I said terrified.

"He made a fool of me, no man makes a fool of me."

"Aw Henry he weren't like that at all. Come on Henry don't look like that," I said scared. "You know what happened last time."

"Yea," Henry said proudly. "I killed him." He said it loud liking the way it sounded.

"Hush Henry you wanna get caught!"

"Don't care…hey what's that?" he said suddenly alert and interested.

The man from the poker game had re-entered and I didn't like the look of him at all. His gun was tied down and he had slaughterhouse smell about him, like death was never far behind.

"That's Black Heart Derringer!" Henry whistled excited. "Why he's the fastest gun in the west!"

"No he ain't, Curry is," I said feeling some loyalty for the food in my belly.

"Well we sure gonna find out!" Henry said happily.

"I'm calling you out Heyes," the man yelled up the stairs. "Lessin yer too yeller to face me!"

There was a long heavy silence and I found myself afraid to exhale for fear I would draw attention to where Henry and I sat.

Suddenly Curry was standing at the foot of the stairs. He had pulled his Henley and gunbelt on and he looked worse annoyed than when Henry had interrupted him.

"My partner's busy," Kid said unhooking his gun. "What's your problem."

"Calling him out," Derringer said. "But on second thought I think I'll take you first. People been saying yer faster than me, that's bad for business."

Kid blew out a breath but not from fear. More like he was resigned he was gonna have to see this thing through before he could get back to pleasurin.

"Well you gonna talk me to death or draw?"

It came out slightly cocky and definitely annoyed, which didn't do a whole lot to help Derringer's temper.

Heyes meanwhile had come out of the back now pulling on his own gunbelt and stopped just behind his partner ready to back him.

"You just wait there Heyes, I'll be ready for you soon as I kill your partner," Derringer said spitting out his chaw.

Neither of them said anything and again I was startled by their absence of fear. In my short life I had seen a fair share of fights to the death, everything from knives to pistols, but never once had I not been able to smell the fear on at least one of the men.

I think it got to Derringer too cause he clenched and unclenched his hand and then suddenly went for his gun.

He cleared his holster, he was fast, no doubting that, but not fast enough. Curry's bullet cut through him and sent him down and his gun firing harmlessly into the air.

Well I guess unless you had the room above.

The spectators reacted different than I'd ever seen after a fight. It was almost reverent how they looked up at Curry and the gun still in his hand.

Then slowly the saloon came back to life as someone let out a low whistle and people began talking excited.

But my eyes never left the two men at the top of the stairs. It had unnerved me how Heyes had never backed up or moved away from his partner even though it meant if Derringer got off the first shot he could have been hit.

"I could do that," I heard Henry say behind me and I turned to see him licking his lips energized by what had just happened.

For once his bragging wore on me and I turned away annoyed, but he didn't notice. They were carrying out Derringer, don't know if he was dead or not and part of me didn't want to know.

Curry and Heyes stood at the top of the stairs talking, everyone giving them a wide berth. I got the impression Curry didn't like people congratulating him for shooting a man, which was odd for my world. Most men would have gone down to the bar and be bought drinks all night and let the hanger ons tell them how fast they were.

But maybe when you’re the best you don't need that or maybe that's part of what makes you the best.

The two disappeared into the back and came out fully dressed a few minutes later. They stopped to say something to a couple of men I took to be in their gang and I heard the word hotel.

I saw Henry follow them out and groaned and ran after him reaching him just in time to see him yell after them and Kid Curry turn and draw stopping just short of pulling the trigger when he saw who it was.

Heyes swore something eloquent and I thought for sure Curry was gonna beat Henry for sure this time.

But the look on Henry's face was enough, I swear I ain't never seen him look so scared and it made him look younger than 15. So Heyes finally muttered something about just a kid, but his partner, well I think he saw something more cause he didn't turn his back on Henry and waited till he slunk away.

I never did find out if Henry meant to call him out or just wanted to talk to him. I do know he never called a man out again preferring, as he called it, less foolish ways of killing a man.

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

New Mexico

1881

"What's all that about?" Heyes said getting off his horse in front of the stable and noticing a crowd hovering in front of storefront. "Hey what's going on?" Heyes said stopping a man hurrying over.

"Sheriff Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid, they got his body on display!"

The two ex-outlaws let out long sighs in silent acknowledgement that there for the grace of God could have gone them.

"I need a drink," Kid said firmly stepping on to the porch and Heyes nodded digging out a coin for a paper from a boy hawking them like hot cakes.

"Says he was only 21, just a kid," Heyes said reading fascinated and paused on the alias's listed for only a moment and then followed his partner into the saloon.