“Don’t worry about them, Mr. Talley,” Slocum said. “I’ve never known an abler man than that Dancer. The rest of your crew is good, too. He’ll lead them through this okay.”

  The north pass was just what its name implied. It was a narrow pass between steep hills on both sides. The lookouts had been posted high with spyglasses so that they could get word back to the ranch house in time to get men back to the pass once any attackers had been spotted. Dancer and his crew arrived in time. They got up into the hills on both sides of the pass. Dancer had given his instructions that no one was to fire until he did. The Double Cross riders were getting close.

  Dancer waited, perched behind a boulder, his Henry rifle ready. The riders came closer. Still he waited. Then when the Double Cross crew was almost directly below them, he fired. His whole crew began firing. Three Double Cross hands dropped from their horses. Others dismounted and quickly ran for cover. A few fired from horseback, but they were soon picked off by the men on the hillsides. From his perch, Levi was thrilled. He had already knocked three men out of their saddles. His score was now four men killed. The blood raced through his veins.

  From Dancer’s location, he could see Levi, and though he was busy with his own killing, he managed to watch the young man, and he smiled at what he saw. The kid was doing all right for himself. Two of Talley’s men were hit, but the battle was one-sided. The Double Cross men down below began watching for chances to get back on their mounts and get away. A couple of them were killed in the attempt. Several escaped. At last the fight was over. Dancer stood up and called for a cease-fire. There was no one left below to shoot at.

  “They’re coming through the front gate,” shouted the rider approaching the house.

  Slocum, Talley and others mounted up quickly and headed for the front gate. They arrived at their ambush spot in the nick of time. Earlier preparations had placed wagons and bales of hay on both sides of the road. Everything around was flat. The riders dismounted and hid behind the makeshift barrier as quickly as they could. Slocum was to Talley’s right behind the stacks of hay. In another moment, the Double Cross riders came barreling down the road. The Talley outfit waited until they were close enough for the shots to count. Then they opened fire.

  Several Double Cross riders fell at the first volley. It was an unfair situation. The Double Cross riders had no cover. They fired back for a few moments. Then they turned and fled the scene. Slocum stood up and watched them go.

  “That was too easy, Slocum,” Talley said.

  “We caught them by surprise,” said Slocum. “Next time could be way different.”

  “I can’t see how,” Talley said. “We hit them hard this morning. Now, when they come back at us, we hit them hard again.”

  “They’ll be more careful next time,” Slocum said. “And we don’t know yet how Dancer and them made out.”

  They left a couple of lookouts to guard the way again, and the bulk of the crew went back to the ranch house. When they got there, Dancer and Levi were already sitting on the porch. Annie was serving coffee again. Slocum took his Appaloosa and Talley’s mount and put them away. Then he returned to the porch to join the others there. When he sat down, Annie said, “Coffee?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Thank you.”

  She served him a cup and then sat down facing him.

  “Uncle says you drove them off without a single loss,” she said.

  “We did,” said Slocum. He looked over at Dancer. “How’d you boys do?”

  “Two wounded,” Dancer said. “None killed.”

  “And the other side?”

  “Hell, I lost count. We peppered them good. You should a seen the kid here. He got at least three of them. Or was it more than that, kid?”

  Levi looked down at the boards in the porch, showing modesty and a little embarrassment, but also a tremendous amount of pride. “No, Dancer,” he said, “it was just them three. That’s all.”

  “Hell, kid, I only knocked four of them down myself. You’re doing real good. You’re going to be first rate. I can tell you that right now.”

  “Thanks, Dancer.”

  “How many did you get, Slocum?” Dancer asked.

  “I don’t know,” Slocum said. “I don’t keep count of such things.”

  “Well, you oughta, Slocum,” said Levi. “I mean, how else you going to build up your reputation?”

  “Kid,” said Slocum, “I generally don’t give lectures, so I’m just going to say this to you one time. The only thing a reputation like that is good for is to get you killed while you’re still young. The more men that you’re known to have killed, the more men will come around gunning for you. One of them’s going to get you one of these days.”

  Dancer sipped the last of his coffee and put down the cup. He slapped Levi on the shoulder and said, “Come on, kid.”

  The two men left the porch and walked toward the bunkhouse. Annie broke the uneasy silence by standing up to get the coffeepot. “Refill, Slocum?”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “That was an unusual lecture you gave Levi,” she said. “It’s not what one would expect from a gunfighter.”

  “I don’t call myself a gunfighter, Annie. If you recall, I came here to work as a cowhand. That’s all.”

  “But when trouble started,” she said, “you were right out in front.”

  “I don’t look for trouble, but when it finds me, I don’t run from it either.”

  “I’m not criticizing you,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad that you’re on our side. I just can’t quite figure you out, that’s all.”

  “I been trying to do that for myself for most of my life.”

  “I’m just glad to have you and Dancer with me,” said Talley. “And young Levi. Dancer’s bringing him along right well. And right now, we need all the gunfighting help we can get.”

  Slocum sipped his coffee. He had several things he wanted to say, but he decided that they were best left unsaid. He finished what he had in the cup and set it down. Standing, he said, “I don’t think we’ll be hit again today. I’m going on over to the bunkhouse and try to get some sleep.”

  He touched the brim of his hat and left the porch. Walking slowly, he went past the corral and on over to the bunkhouse. Inside, he found Dancer and Levi sitting together on the edge of a bunk. Levi was cutting notches into the handle of his six-gun. Slocum gave him a disapproving look as he walked by on the way to his own bunk. He took off his gunbelt and hung it on the wall beside his bunk. Then he sat down and pulled off his boots. Lying back, he tilted his hat to cover his face, and soon he was asleep.

  Levi finished his carving and held the gun out to look at it. He looked up at Dancer with pride in his expression. “How’s that?”

  “Looks good, kid,” Dancer said. “Hey, let’s get out of here.”

  “Where we going, Dancer?”

  “To town, boy. Whiskey and women.”

  “All right.”

  They saddled their horses and were in town at the saloon in a short while. They sauntered inside and bellied up to the bar. “Whiskey,” Dancer called out. The barkeep poured them a couple of shots, and Dancer took hold of the bottle. “Leave it,” he said.

  “Wonder where Sugar is at,” said Levi.

  “It’s a little early in the day,” said Dancer, “but she’ll be around. Don’t worry, kid.”

  “Aw, I ain’t worried. Hell. We got us a good bottle of whiskey here, ain’t we?”

  “Yeah. You’re catching on.”

  The doors swung open, and two cowboys walked in. Dancer punched Levi on the shoulder. In a low voice, he said, “See that?”

  “What?” said Levi. “Them two that just came in?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What about them?”

  “They’re Double Crossers, boy.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. Be ready for trouble, kid.”

  “I’m always ready. They want any trouble, I’m right here.”

  He said that last in a loud enough voice to be heard. The two Double Cross men turned to face Levi and Dancer. They walked slowly toward them. Drawing closer, one of them took note of the freshly carved notches on Levi’s six-gun handle.

  “Hey, you,” he said.

  Levi turned to face the men. “You talking to me?”

  “Them notches all come from shooting Double Cross men from ambush?”

  “I got room for two more,” said Levi.

  “You think you can take the two of us?”

  Dancer stepped out to stand beside Levi. “It’s two against two,” he said. “Make your play.”

  “Keep out of this, Dancer,” Levi said. “He asked me can I take the two of them. Well, I can.”

  “You sure, kid?”

  “Stay out of it.”

  Dancer held his hands up and backed away. “Have it your way. I’m out of it. Unless they kill you. Then I’ll take my turn.”

  “That’s fair enough. Well, you two. You gonna make a play or stand there with your thumbs up your asses?”

  Both Double Cross men went for their guns at once, but the kid was fast. His first shot shattered the sternum of the man on the right. His second tore into the other’s shoulder. The first man dropped to the floor. The second yelled out in pain and anger and raised his revolver. The kid fired a third shot, which struck the man in the forehead. He stood there for a moment, marveling at his own work, not quite believing what he had done or what he had become. Casually, he ejected the empty shells from the chambers of his Colt and reloaded. Then he put the six-gun away. Dancer stepped up to him and threw an arm around his shoulders.

  “Kid, that was fast. As fast as I’ve seen. You took them both, and you took them fair. They drew first. Both of them.” He looked around the room. “You all seen it, didn’t you?”

  “We did,” said a man at a table. “It was self-defense, all right.”

  Several other voices joined his in defending Levi. In another minute, Sheriff Harman came into the saloon, but all who were present backed up Levi. “I’ll just get someone to clean up,” Harman said.

  Dancer poured out two more drinks, and the kid drank his down in a hurry and poured again. “Kid,” said Dancer, “you got two more notches to carve now.”

  “Yeah,” said Levi.

  “And, kid, these two are different. These two are for men you took out fair, while they was facing you. There won’t be any question now. You’ve become a top gun, kid. A real gunfighter.”

  9

  Several days passed without much happening, and Slocum went back to working as a cowhand. He hoped that the war was over. He wasn’t damn fool enough to quite believe it though. He stayed alert, and old Talley did keep the lookouts posted. Slocum could tell that Dancer and Levi were getting restless. They were longing for more action. Neither of them had chosen to go back to cowboy’s work. They were happy being paid gunfighters. Slocum tried to put them out of his mind, but he was worried about young Levi.

  While Slocum was riding the range, Dancer and Levi passed the hours checking at the various lookout stations, practicing with their weapons, or drinking and looking for fights in town. One quiet afternoon, Dancer proposed to Levi that they take a ride. “Where we going, Dancer?” Levi asked. “Just come along with me,” Dancer said. They rode out of the Talley ranch and onto the road. Levi thought that they would be going to town, and that was all right with him. However, it soon became apparent that they were heading elsewhere.

  “Hey, Dancer, are we going to the Double Cross?”

  “You figured it, kid.”

  “We gonna shoot the place up some?”

  “Not today. I got something else in mind.”

  “Well,” Levi said, “you gonna tell me about it?”

  “The Double Cross ain’t come back at us, have they?”

  “No.”

  “I think we hit them bad. I don’t think they can come back at us.”

  “You mean we whipped them?”

  “Damn near. But I think if they had a chance to hire on a couple or three good gunslingers, they’d jump at it, and they’d pay better’n ole Talley, too, on accounta they’re desperate. You follow me?”

  “You mean—us?”

  “Sure. Slocum, too, if he’s a mind.”

  “He won’t be.”

  “Well, that’s his problem. What do you say, kid?”

  “Quit ole Talley and go to work for the Double Cross,” Levi mused.

  “There ain’t nothing happening right now, is there? And the money’d be better.”

  “How do we know the money’d be better?”

  “Well, if it ain’t, we don’t do it. So what do you say?”

  “We might have to face down Slocum, Dancer.”

  “Does that worry you, kid?”

  “It don’t worry me, but I thought he was your pard.”

  “Hey, we rode together awhile, but you’re my pard. Don’t forget that.”

  “Well, hell, Dancer, in that case, I’m with you. All the way. Let’s ride on in there and talk to ole George.”

  They moved on, and when they came to the gateway to the Double Cross, they found a guard there.

  “Hold it,” he said.

  “We wanta talk with your boss,” Dancer said.

  “I ain’t sure about that,” said the guard.

  “You want to shoot it out?” said Levi.

  “Well, there’s just the two of you,” said the guard. “Ride on in. I’ll ride along with you.”

  At the ranch house, Roy George had heard the horses approaching. He stepped out the front door. He recognized Dancer and Levi immediately. “What do you want here?” he said.

  “Don’t get hostile, George. We didn’t come to fight, and we didn’t come to make no demands. We just come to have a little chat. That’s all. Can we get down?”

  “You got a lot of balls riding in here like this,” George said. “I know you’re fast, but you’re way outnumbered. I could have you shot down easy.”

  “I could kill you before I dropped,” said Levi.

  “Yeah, well, climb on down and talk,” said George.

  Dancer swung down out of the saddle, and Levi followed him. They hitched their horses to the rail there in front of the ranch house, and George opened the front door. “Come on in,” he said. They stepped into George’s large front room, and he indicated some easy chairs. Dancer and Levi took seats. George got a box of cigars and offered them. Each man took one and lit it. Then George sat directly across from Dancer. “Now,” he said, “what’s on your mind?”

  “We’ve been waiting for a counterattack,” said Dancer. “None’s come.”

  “You come here to gloat?” asked George. “I could have you killed easy enough.”

  “We done went over that,” said Levi. “Likely you’d go with us.”

  “Yeah. Well. You talk. I’m listening.”

  “It’s been several days now, George,” said Dancer. “How come you ain’t hit us back yet? Could it be you’re shorthanded? We killed too many of your men?”

  “Say that was the case,” said George. “What makes you think I’d tell you?”

  “We ain’t here to spy on you,” Dancer said. “Me and Levi here, we’re professional gunfighters. It’s beginning to look like there ain’t no more work for us around here. We’re just wondering if we have to pull up stakes and move on.”

  “Has Talley cut you loose?” asked George, his eyes opening wide.

  “Well, he seems to think he’s gone past our kind of work. Thinks there won’t be no more need of gunfighters.”

  “What are you getting at?” asked George. “Are you getting at what I think you’re getting at?”

  “We’re just a couple of gunfighters looking for action, Mr. George,” said Dancer. “That’s all. Nothing very complicated.”

  “You’d change horses in the middle of the stream? You’ve killed a number of my men already.”

  “We kill for pay,” said Dancer.

  “Nothing more,” said Levi.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. You want a come to work for me?”

  “If the pay’s good enough.”

  “What about that Slocum?”

  “I figure we’ll ask him if he wants to come along with us.”

  “I don’t want him. I want you to kill him.”

  Levi gave Dancer a look, but Dancer ignored it. “That would be most of the job right there,” he said. “Without us two and Slocum, Talley wouldn’t have anything.”

  “I’ll pay you a thousand dollars to kill Slocum,” said George.

  “A thousand apiece,” Dancer said.

  George thought for a moment. “All right. All right. A thousand apiece. After you get rid of Slocum, we’ll talk about more permanent arrangements.”

  Dancer and Levi were riding back toward the Talley spread at a leisurely pace. They rode for a while in silence. At last, Levi spoke up. “Dancer,” he said, “I thought Slocum was your friend.”

  “He helped me out of a jam once,” said Dancer, “but that don’t make me his keeper.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Kid, if you want to make a living with that six-gun of yours, you can’t let sentimental thinking get in your way. Slocum’s worth a thousand apiece to us right now. That’s good pay. You ever seen a thousand dollars, kid?”

  “No. I ain’t. Never.”

  “Did you ever expect to?”

  “No, I didn’t. A thousand dollars.”

  “What do you think about Slocum now, kid?”

  “Why, hell, Dancer, I think I can take him.”

  “Now you’re talking.”

  The outlook was still on duty at the main gate when Dancer and Levi rode back onto the Talley spread. They hailed him as if nothing was wrong and rode on in. Dancer had told Levi to make out like everything was just fine. Put on the pretense that they were still with Talley. They would watch for their chance at Slocum, but likely it would not be there on the ranch. They would have to get him off by himself somewhere.