there were tears in her eyes then and it was a mighty big temptation to back down and tell her to stay which would be just what I would want in my goddam selfish way . so instead I hardened my heart , and it was real hard work . even Matt Tompkins gave me a dirty look . I expect he figured I was a real mean hombre . I &apos;ll be here to see you onto the stage tomorrow morning , I said . meantime I should stay indoors . this town is no health resort . amen to that , said Ma Tompkins unexpectedly . it &apos;s a sink of iniquity , a real Sodom and Gomorrow . Gomorrah , I said absent-minded like . my Pa never made any mistake over words from the good book . so-long then till tomorrow , Miss Jeannie , and look after yourself . and with those weak words I walked on out , avoiding Jeannie Bain &apos;s accusing eyes and wishing I had the strength to say a half of all the things I &apos;d have liked to say to her . I stood around in the early morning sunlight not knowing quite what to do next and then of course I remembered that I had better go find Dan Maffrey and get him wised up about last night &apos;s occurrences . I ambled on from Ma Tompkins &apos;s house to the livery stable . the owner was inside rubbing down a horse . I stood around watching him and listening to him hiss through his teeth in the peculiar way hostlers have . that &apos;s a fine horse you &apos;ve got there , mister , I said at last . he broke off his hissing for a brief space and took a quick look at me . yes , he said . it &apos;s a Morgan . belongs to the town Marshal . something in his eyes as he said this , a swift flicker of double knowledge , made me think . here was someone who &apos;d known all about Bill Appleton and someone who &apos;d had enough time to let Pell and his gang know about Appleton &apos;s movements and identity too . someone maybe who &apos;d been at the meeting . this man had been at the meeting too . you heard what happened to Appleton after the meeting ? I said . yeah , he said . I heard . someone must have arranged that , I went on . mebbe so . I jest hear things . everyone talks to liverymen . yes , I said . there &apos;s too much pow-wowing going on hereabouts . he came out from behind the Marshal &apos;s horse . you want your pony , mister ? yes , I said , I &apos;ll take a little pasear around . maybe I &apos;ll hear a little more talk along the trail and maybe I &apos;ll find out who killed Bill Appleton . he went off then to get Bessie from an inner stall . she came along and whickered when she saw me . the liveryman pulled my rig off a nail and slapped it on the mare . you coming back ? he said when he &apos;d got the saddle fixed . I aim to , I said , cold as a fish . this town kind of grows on me . I climbed up onto Bessie and he watched me with resentment , fear and self-disgust fighting for possession of his face . I rode out and away from town at a quiet trot . I would circle around and try to find Dan Maffrey on the other side in the hidey-hole he &apos;d ridden off to last night . it took me an hour to make my circle of the town . I found the trail along which Dan must have come in . it was well-worn , wheel-marked and dusty . it would be the trail up to Colorado , I figured . about four miles along , it swung north-east , twisting and turning through rough country with big rocks sticking out all round . a coach , I thought , would have to slow up some on a trail like that . I trotted on . the perfect spot lay about half a mile further on , on an upgrade that was steep enough to slow any coach to a crawl . I reined in and took a look around . there were medium-sized rocks and mesquite bushes on both sides at the top , with enough cover for men and horses until the right moment . further over , about four hundred yards west of the trail , the ground rose again to a ridge . I was staring at it when I heard a voice . you got the same idea as me . it was Dan of course , bellied down on the far side . I saw him stand up and then he disappeared for a moment , reappearing seconds later on his cayuse . he rode down to where I was waiting . I was thinking what a skill he had for reading my mind . this would be as good a place for a hold-up as any , he said , reining in near me . yes , I said . it &apos;ll be here tomorrow as likely as not . I paused . Miss Jeannie &apos;ll be on that coach , Dan . yes , he said . I know . no harm must come to her , Dan . she &apos;ll be all right . it &apos;s the men who &apos;ll be after that coach I &apos;m interested in , Johnny . I know . but if lead starts flying she might be in danger . that &apos;s so . but I reckon they &apos;ll be too busy shooting at us to bother with the coach and the folks in it . maybe , I said . but we &apos;ve got to remember that girl all the time , Dan . I feel kind of responsible for her . of course , he said , giving me one of his strange looks . then he turned the conversation . let &apos;s ride over and have a look at the mining camp . after all it &apos;s them we &apos;re supposed to be working for , as well as the townsfolk and the agency detective . with something of a start I remembered the man who &apos;d brought us into this business . maybe you do n&apos;t know about Appleton , Dan ? know what ? that he &apos;s dead , I said . I watched him because I was always fascinated by the way he looked when you tried to surprise him . dead ? he said . yes . dead . shuffled out of the deck . blasted down with a shotgun outside the Palace last night . Fenton or Somers , he said . or the town Marshal , I added . his face was fixed , unreadable as a rock . let &apos;s get over to the mining camp , he said abruptly . he wheeled his horse back off the trail and up the slope leading to the ridge . I followed . from the top you could see something of the wild hill country that lay all round Gilburg Crossing . the air was fresh and clear and you could see far over west and north for many miles . the real high country of the Rockies lifted up in the distance like a pale water-colour drawing . between us and that lay a vast stretch of hills , canyons , buttes and malpais . the mine-workings lie north of the town , said Dan . if we head west we ought to cut the trail leading from Gilburg to the north . so we swung west , making slow going over rough country , sliding on shale , climbing down into draws , circling a big mesa by a four or five mile valley , sandy-floored . it got hotter as the day wore on and we rested gratefully by a small creek where we watered the horses and drank enough to cure our thirst . an hour &apos;s riding brought us to a trail that we figured would lead to the miners &apos; camp . we turned north into it and after about four miles it led into a small canyon which opened out into a wide shallow draw . here in a dried-up creek-bed we found the miners at work . they were scattered over a fairly wide area working singly or in pairs . we did n&apos;t approach unchallenged . just short of the diggings there was a roughly-built shack and as we got near someone inside bawled out , if you come any closer , I &apos;ll sure blow your whiskers off . take it easy , mister , I sang out . we do n&apos;t aim to come any closer and we &apos;ve got no whiskers so as you can see . just you go and tell Nick Dowd we &apos;ve come to talk to him about what happened last night . oh , said the unseen guard . he blew a whistle then , loud and shrill . the gun barrel peeking out through a hole in the shack never wavered . we sat our horses , waiting . looks as though they &apos;re expecting trouble , I said . where there &apos;s gold and women there &apos;s always trouble , observed Dan , shifting about in his saddle . he was never long on patience . I saw several men running down towards the shack . they were all armed with rifles . as the nearest of them came round the shack , his rifle at the ready , I saw it was Nick Dowd , still wearing his blue check shirt . he came up close , eyeing us suspiciously . we &apos;ve come a-calling , I said . can n&apos;t see no reason for calling , he said . still long as you &apos;re here you may as well stay a while . &apos;light an&apos; come on in . we dismounted and one of the miners who &apos;d come along with Nick Dowd took our horses off to water . we followed Nick Dowd into the shack . they &apos;d rigged up a stove of sorts and on it a huge blackened coffee-pot steamed . other miners followed in at our heels . Nick Dowd found us a couple of boxes to sit on . a small man in bib overalls and a battered Derby hat fussed around the stove . ai n&apos;t exactly the Ritz Hotel but we &apos;ve got our little comforts , said Dowd . he introduced the men who &apos;d come in as Roper Smith , Shorty , Mick Golightly , Swede and the Sodbuster . this last was the little hombre in big overalls . very soon he had tin mugs filled with hot black coffee sweetened with molasses for all and for us there were two plates of beans . they gives you the wind , said the Sodbuster handing them to us , but it &apos;s all we got as of now , apart from a few sacks of gold dust . he winked at his partners . they all watched us as we ate the beans . then when we &apos;d finished and I &apos;d rolled a cigarette the man called Shorty said , you were saying when you came in that somep&apos;n happened last night . yes , I said . something happened all right . after you &apos;d left the meeting , mister - I looked across at Nick Dowd - someone cut down William Appleton outside the Palace with a shotgun . I paused and watched my words affect them in their different ways . that &apos;s sure bad news , said Dowd , sombrely . it jest about leaves everything wide open for Mr Pell and his bunch , observed Shorty . the rest of the men there said nothing but you could see they were hard hit . they were simple men who knew a lot maybe about digging for gold but were babes in arms when it came to dealing with owlhooters and desperadoes like Pell and Fenton and the rest . I guess we &apos;d better hold onto the gold right hyar , Nick , said the Sodbuster . yeah , said Dowd dubiously . mebbe we &apos;d better . suprisingly Dan Maffrey came in at that point . if you do , he said , you &apos;ll be sure asking for trouble . they &apos;ll be on your necks before you can say knife . it would n&apos;t be the first time they &apos;ve held up a diggings at gun point either . they &apos;ve done it before and got away with it . you &apos;re durned tootin&apos; , mister , said the man called Roper Smith . we &apos;ve got five rifles among us and a few six-shooters . but most of us ai n&apos;t eddicated in shootin&apos; . it &apos;d be a massacree , yessir . if you &apos;ll take a chance on getting your gold to the bank , then we &apos;ll abide by what we said at the meeting , said Dan . we &apos;ll watch the stage out of reach . I could n&apos;t quite see how all this fitted in with Dan Maffrey &apos;s aim to avenge himself on the Fenton bunch but still it was a handsome offer so I chimed in too . that goes for me , gentlemen , I said . if they do try and hold up the stage , it &apos;ll be a couple or three of them , no more . I reckon we can deal with them all right . all right , said Dowd . we &apos;ll leave it as we planned it last night . 