“If the dogs are barking at
your heels,
you know you are leading the
pack.”
-
Unknown
Hannibal Heyes glanced up from tightening his
horse’s cinch to look over at his cousin and wonder if it was possible he
looked as bad as he did.
It had been a three-day hoorah after the
robbery and the cattle town they had ended up in afterwards had boasted 7
saloons and 3 brothels and they had made a point of visiting every one.
Most of the money from the bank job was gone, too many sad stories from
the women and free drinks to the men.
Now all they had to show for the job was sore heads and bleary
eyes. No that wasn’t true, it had been
a hell of a party while the money lasted.
“Heyes,” Kid said softly as
if just speaking was enough to do him in.
“I just want to let you know I am pretty sure getting on my horse is
going to kill me.”
“Saddling it just about did
it for me,” he confessed.
“You seen any of the other
boys?” Kid asked managing to get on his horse though the expression it produced
almost made Heyes smile.
“No, reckon Jim had Gravy
round them up,” Heyes said mounting and watching the earth swim in front of his
eyes.
“There’s two of them!”
The cry from the far end of
the street didn’t at first catch their attention. They were still new at infamy and hadn’t been around long enough
to worry about things like being recognized…or so they thought until the bullet
hit the water trough beside them.
“They mean us?” Kid asked
gun in hand.
“They mean us,” Heyes
groaned. “Ride!”
They took off at a gallop,
shots and shouts following them out of town, but neither one accurate enough to
slow them.
“They following?” Kid yelled
after they cleared the ridge and pulled up to oversee the path they had taken.
“No, guess $500 reward ain’t
worth that much fuss this early in the morning,” Heyes said relieved and then
looked over as his cousin fell from his horse and was quietly sick in the
bushes.
“I told you not to eat
breakfast,” Heyes sighed, but then dismounted and pulled his canteen off his
horse as he freed his bandanna. Wetting
it he handed the cloth over to his cousin, who gratefully took it as he leaned
against the tree a slightly pale shade of green.
“Heyes just shoot me. I’ll even let you use my gun,” he said
looking younger than his 21 years.
“Here take a swig of water,
wash you mouth out,” Heyes ordered.
Kid obeyed and a bit of
color returned to his face.
“You never listen.”
“Well when you told me not
to eat breakfast you forgot to mention the part about being chased out of town
at a dead gallop,” Kid said sliding down to sit against the tree.
“Where’d they come from?”
Heyes said thoughtful as he took a seat next to him. “We lost the posse from
the bank nearly 4 days ago.”
“Who cares,” Kid said
leaning his head back. “Tell me again
Heyes why the life of an outlaw is so sweet.”
“Strange them staying after
us so long for a measly $2000.”
“Heyes you didn’t think it
was measly when Jim handed you our share.”
“You up to riding?” Heyes
said suddenly.
Kid looked up knowing the
worried tone in his friend’s voice, “No, but it sounds like you want us to, so
yea. So what are we worried about now?”
Heyes smiled and offered him
a hand up, Kid knew him too well.
“I’m not sure, don’t feel
right them knowing we were here, almost like someone tipped them off.”
“Sure it ain’t just the
hangover?”
“No, I don’t think it is…”
*******************************
They reached the Hole by
sundown the next day and gratefully fired the return shots to permit entry.
Heyes still felt pleased at the system for entry Jim Santana had put into
practice on his recommendation. Jim had
begun to treat Heyes like his right hand man and he enjoyed the chance it gave
him suggest ideas and improvements.
The Santana Gang was middle
of the road by most standards. Big Jim
had a reputation for being tough, but fair and didn’t allow gunplay or stupid
mistakes that cost lives. When he had
invited Heyes though, the boy had been impressed at the prestige of being
asked, though Kid had never quite come around to feeling so grateful.
Big Jim was wanted for
$2000. Riding with the Santana Gang
made them someone. The fatherly way the older man had taken him under his wing
and given Heyes for the first time in years a chance to just be Hannibal Heyes. Suddenly he wasn’t responsible for both his
and his cousin’s next meal and job and the removal of that pressure freed him.
He had blossomed under just
being one of the group and relaxed at having someone he could go to for a
change when there was a problem. The
last three years had allowed him to grow up and now he was eager to start
spreading his wings.
For if he were honest Heyes
would have had to admit he was beginning to grow restless. The routine of the same kind of jobs, done
the same way had been all right in the beginning, but he had ideas. Jim had laughed calling his plans grandiose,
but Heyes was certain if given a chance he could prove to the gang leader the
merit of imagination and a clever mind in planning what they did.
“Sure is quiet,” Kid said as
they stepped out of the stable and walked the short distance to the
bunkhouse. “Everyone must still be hung
over.”
There entrance into the
bunkhouse brought it to life.
“Heyes! Kid! You made it!” Gravy said relieved.
Heyes’s smiled at the
seasoned outlaw as his eyes quickly scanned the men present. Seven had made it back besides Gravy, but
Jim was not among them.
“Where’s Jim?”
“They got him Heyes,” Willy
said nervously, but pleased he could be the first to tell the news.
“What?”
“Jackson got caught outside
of Cheyenne, squealed on where we was,” Lobo said darkly.
Heyes thought of the cagey
gang member he had never trusted and who Kid had had several run ins with.
“Where is Jim now?” Heyes
asked.
“Awaiting trial,” Preacher
said. “He sent you a message,
Heyes. Look after the gang.”
And as one the entire room
looked at him.
Heyes let out a long breath
and sat down pushing back his hat. He
noted Kid moved to stand behind him and Heyes swallowed a smile at the
protective stance. Kid wasn’t about to
let him get railroaded into anything he didn’t want.
“What we gonna do Heyes?”
Tex said squinting.
“Give him a minute to
think,” Kid ordered and the room nodded and Heyes was grateful to have the
reprieve.
Winter was fast approaching
and supplies were low. Jim had kept
back some of the money to outfit them, but that was gone now.
“Jim will get out,” Heyes
said confidently. “When he does he’s
gonna want us to have this place stocked for winter.”
“But we ain’t got no money,”
Reynolds whined.
“So what we gonna do Heyes?”
Preacher said and the way he said it indicated his support.
Heyes straightened under the
trust the older man was placing in him.
He and Kid were just about the youngest in the gang and any of the other
men could have rightly demanded their chance to take leadership, but instead
they were all looking at him.
But then maybe that wasn’t
so strange. Jim tended to stay up at
the leader’s cabin, Heyes had slept and worked along side of them. They had played poker with him and usually lost. They knew him and they knew a lot of the
good ideas lately had been coming from him.
Not to mention Kid. His cousin was well liked, fitting in even
better than he did. If Kid backed him,
that gave him a great deal of weight.
On that thought he looked
back at his cousin who gave him a slight shrug that indicated it was his call.
“Without supplies its gonna
be a rough winter,” he said standing.
“We’re gonna starve,”
Reynolds moaned.
Kid rolled his eyes, “It
ain’t that bad, we could always get jobs.”
A hush of horror fell over
the room at the very thought.
“Well they could,” Kid said
stubbornly as Heyes pulled him aside.
“Doing what? Look at them!” Heyes said indicating the
motley looking bunch not much improved by the three-day binge they had been on.
Heyes turned back to the
group, “We’re gonna pull off a job, get money for supplies and a whole lot
more.”
“Without Jim?” Tex said
uneasy.
“For him,” Heyes replied
firmly. “We get some cash we can do
something about working on getting Jim free.”
Everyone nodded on this.
“Gonna take a decent job to
do all that,” Tex said.
“It will be,” Heyes promised
and Kid stiffened slightly knowing that look in his cousin’s eye.
“You mean rob us a payroll
train!” Lobo said excited.
“Not big enough,” Heyes
replied.
“Bank?” Preacher asked.
“Not different enough,”
Heyes smiled secretively.
“Well then what?” Kid said
exasperated.
“Were gonna rob both…at the
same time.”
**************************
Heyes followed the sound of
shooting to his cousin’s favorite spot for target practice. He was in luck and Kid was alone. Kid’s practicing often drew the men to watch
for its pure entertainment value.
He stood watching for a
moment, letting his cousin reload and holster.
He hadn’t been down to watch him practice in months, Jim usually roping
him into coming up to the leader’s cabin in his free moments so when Kid drew
he found himself catching his breath.
He’s even faster was the
thought that came to his mind as he witnessed the cans blown away by a gun
driven at a speed the eye couldn’t fully comprehend..
Kid turned pulling out new
bullets and Heyes blurted it out.
“You’re faster.”
Kid looked up surprised,
“Just practicing.”
“I remember the first time I
ever watched you practice,” Heyes said his mouth suddenly dry. “What were you 12? 13?”
“Yup reckon so,” Kid said
sliding the bullets in swiftly.
“You were fast the first
time you drew,” Heyes went on softly remembering the picture his young cousin
had made standing there wearing that old gun belt they had made extra holes in
so he could make it stay up. “Scared
the hell out of me.”
Kid looked up again, this
time startled and at the same time amused, “Really?” Kid grinned and then
laughed. “You didn’t show it. In fact
if I remember correctly you exact comment was, ‘Jesse James don’t got nothing
to worry about.”
Heyes grinned back, “I
lied.” He shuffled for a moment. “We need to talk.”
“I was wondering when you
would get to that,” Kid said holstering his gun and securing it to indicate to
Heyes he had his complete attention.
“Let’s go up to the leader’s
cabin,” Heyes said. “I’ll buy you a cup
of coffee.”
“Oh moved in have we?” Kid
said.
Heyes looked up sharply,
uncomfortable, but was relieved to see a smile. “No, but Jim has train schedules and paper and maps and I need
all three. I also need you if I’m gonna
get us to pull this off.”
“You think you don’t have
me?” Kid said as they stepped through the door of the cabin.
Kid hadn’t been there very
often and always in the company of Heyes.
Jim and him had never hit it off in the same way Heyes and him had. But Kid respected the man and he understand
Heyes friendship with him.
“I think you worry too
much.”
“One of us has to,” Kid said
taking a seat in a rocking chair near the window and accepting the cup of coffee
handed him. He looked natural there
Heyes thought, like the chair was his and didn’t realize it now was.
“We can do this Kid.”
“Train and a bank in one
go? All right if you say it can be
done, guess it can be done. I’ll tell
the boys.”
Heyes looked at him, “That’s
it?”
“What you want a formal
letter of acceptance?”
“Thank you,” Heyes said
grateful.
“For what?”
“Believing I can do it.”
“Heyes I figured out long
before this if you say you can do something, it’ll get done. So where do we start?”
And with a look of delight
his cousin rolled out several sheets of paper and began to explain.
********************
It was a Tuesday in the town
of Grand Junction when Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry rode peaceably into
town. Heyes had picked a Tuesday
explaining it was after the weekend and before market day and the town would be
nice and quiet and there would be less men to round up for a posse.
He had gone into the bank
personally to cash a $20 gold piece and managed to swing the teller into a
conversation on the weather, the state of the roads, and the confidential
tidbit that the manager was leaving early that night and the bank would be
vacant by 5:00 p.m.
With a smile of thanks Heyes
collected his partner and retired to the saloon where poker players believed in
divine intervention concerning inside straights.
*****************************
“I brought dynamite just in
case Heyes,” Lobo said as Heyes moved to squeeze through the bars of the window
they had just spread open.
He and a couple of the boys
had drifted into town during the day and made a big point of being noticed.
“I told you we aren’t gonna
need that,” Heyes whispered back harshly.
“Sure Heyes, whatever you
say,” Lobo said with a grin.
“Lobo, go watch the horses,”
Kid said in such a way the man straightened and obeyed.
“They don’t think I can do
it,” Heyes said as he and Kid moved over to the safe and Kid shielded the lamp
and then lit it.
“Don’t worry about them,”
Kid said calmly.
“Jiggers showed me how,”
Heyes said indicating the safecracker they had met a couple months back during
a hoorah in Denver. The Madame of the
bordello they were visiting had come begging his help because her partner had
changed the combination and she couldn’t open it.
Heyes had sat and watched as
the older man had lovingly caressed the dial until springing it open two hours
later.
By this time he was quite
drunk and Heyes, quite fascinated. Heyes never did get upstairs with the pouty
brunette who had been waiting for him.
Instead he had taken a turn
at it himself with Jiggers offering advice and approval. Finally in half the time it had taken the
older man the door sprung open and Jiggers had declared he, ‘had the touch”.
“I can do this,” he said and
it came out more for himself than Kid.
It was a newer model, but it couldn’t be that much of a difference.
“Way to think,” Kid said
settling down in a chair off to the side and removing his gun.
Pulling off his plain black
hat Heyes got comfortable and then suddenly looked back over at his cousin.
“You think I can do it?”
“Yup,” Kid said simply.
Smiling Heyes turned back to
the safe reassured by that one word and pressed his ear to the door. Suddenly the world all pulled away and all
that mattered was the puzzle.
“Dawn soon,” Kid said
quietly two hours later.
But Heyes merely laughed
softly and with a flourish, clicked the door open.
Kid whistled he was
impressed.
“Heyes you do astound at
times.”
“There must be $10,000 at
least,” Heyes grinned.
“Well we’ll just empty it up
so they got room for all that payroll money coming in on the train in the
morning,” Kid grinned back and quickly they filled the sack.
“Think we ought to leave
them a thank you note?” Heyes grinned.
“Seems only proper,” Kid
grinned back.
Laughing Heyes walked over
to the manager’s desk and securing a piece of his best stationary thanked the
establishment kindly for the withdrawal and then signed the note with Kid and
his names.
“Why’d you put me down you
did all work?” Kid said, but Heyes could tell by his voice he was pleased.
“No I didn’t,” Heyes said
and they both understood. “Come on lets
get those boys on their way, we got a train to rob!”
***********************
Kid and Heyes were just
stepping out of the café having had breakfast when the news went up about the
bank and people began scrambling.
“Guess the bank opened,” Kid
said with a small smile.
“Shame about it being
empty,” Heyes said back.
They both grinned.
The posse went out a half
hour later following the trail Lobo and the boys had so kindly left for them.
Both men looked up from the
porch as a train whistle blew in the distance.
“11:15 right on time,” Heyes
said snapping his watch shut.
“Reckon we better go meet
it,” Kid said rising.
**********************
It was agreed later that
actually robbing a train while it was in the station was the height of
audacity. Especially since the guards
had been so kind to unlock the safe and have the money waiting to be removed to
the bank.
Preacher and the rest of the
boys kept things nice and orderly while Kid and Heyes relieved the guards of
the payroll money they were unloading to take to the bank for the neighboring
ranches.
“Banks not safe,” Heyes
smiled at the man as he took the heavy bag while Kid kept his gun on them.
“Who are you?”
“Heyes and Curry,” Heyes
smiled.
“Never heard of your gang,”
the guard said eyes narrowing tightly.
“Just helping out Big Jim
Santana,” Heyes smiled checking the bag, there had to be at least another
10,000!
“One that just got sent up
to the territorial prison for 7 huh?” the guard sneered and Heyes looked up
surprised and worried.
“No the one on trial.”
“Trial lasted a day boy,
man’s behind bars at this very moment.”
Heyes looked over at Kid
stunned.
“Come on back inside,” Kid
said indicating everyone should get back on the train. “Don’t you got a schedule to keep?” he asked the driver.
“Yes sir Mr. Curry!” the
engineer said having seen Kid draw when a man had come around the corner
unexpectantly.
“Guess we better be going
too,” Kid said signaling the boys to ride.
“Jim,” Heyes said feeling a
little lost, he had been so eager to tell the leader about the job and show him
the money, and now there would never be chance.
“Heyes we gotta ride,” Kid
ordered.
“Yea,” he agreed trying to
shake off the news.
And swinging up onto his
horse he followed his partner out of town, but all of the fun had gone out of
the game.
*****************************
“Don’t let it eat at you
Heyes, nothing you could have done,” Kid said quietly as they dismounted safely
back hours later.
“Seven years,” Heyes looked
up hearing the shouts of celebration from the bunkhouse.
“Boys ain’t gonna want to
see you all depressed Heyes, you had them pull off quite a job,” Kid advised.
“Yea we’ll tell them about
Jim tomorrow, no point in spoiling their fun tonight. Ya know Kid I was thinking.”
“When aren’t you?”
Heyes grinned. “Maybe we ought to take our share and go
visit Silky till the snow melts.”
Kid nodded, “And?”
“What do you mean and?”
“Heyes I know you like Silky,
he did us fair turn taking us in when we hit Frisco that first time, but your
up to something, what?”
“Just that Silky might know
someone who could teach me a thing or two about safecracking.”
“You need lessons after
today?”
“Yup, banks got different
kind of safes, I want to know how to open them all.”
“I’ll say this for you Heyes
you sure don’t let no grass grow under your feet,” Kid said and opening the
door to the bunkhouse to a flood of light and cheers.
“Heyes you son of a gun you
did it,” Preacher laughed hugging him and putting bottles of whiskey in his and
Kid’s hands.
“We big time now!” Lobo said
delighted.
“You all did just fine,”
Heyes smiled.
“We got you something
Heyes,” Gravy said and the room got quiet.
“We heard about Jim and we know what he meant to ya and well we just
wanted to let you know were proud to follow you like we did him.”
And with that the man pulled
the silver ornate hatband out of his pocket and handed it to Heyes.
Heyes looked back at Kid
surprised, “How did they know?”
“I told em you had been
admiring it,” Kid grinned as Heyes slipped it around his plain black hat. It looked right. The band had been expensive and as much as he had liked it he had
decided not to afford himself the luxury.
“Thank you,” he smiled and
for a moment everyone didn’t know what to say.
“A toast,” Kid said knowing
for once the right thing to say instead of Heyes. “To Big Jim Santana and…” he
added with a small smile to his cousin.
“Our new leader, Hannibal Heyes.”
***************************
“All right folks settle
down, settle down,” the sheriff said as he was swarmed upon by people as he
returned from his futile chase.
“They’ve gone into the Hole, no way to get them out now.”
“Sheriff is it true they
robbed the train and the bank?” the newspaperman asked excited.
“Yea its true.”
“We got a name of the
leader?”
“Note said Hannibal Heyes
and Kid Curry, they’ve been known to ride with Santana.”
“Opening a safe without
dynamite and then sticking around to rob a train? Sounds more like the devil himself,” one man snarled.
“Looks like catching Big Jim
was a mistake if this is his replacement,” laughed another man in the crowd.
The sheriff went on to
promise the culprits would be caught, but the newspaperman didn’t’ hear. He was all ready across the street hurrying
into his print shop.
Pulling down the letters he
smiled excited, he had a story that would be all over the wire when it
hit. Eagerly he began to set the type;
the headline all ready forming. Finished
he looked down and smiled at the banner…
DEVIL’S HOLE GANG STRIKE
TWICE
And a legend was born.