Free Hard Luck Money by J.A. Johnstone Page B

that’s how it’s going to turn out. I think we’re right about the gang.”
    The Kid thought there was a good chance the Rangers were right, too. And from the sound of it, they had devoted quite a bit of planning to the idea and would try to protect their inside man as much as they could.
    In the end, as Captain Hughes had said, it would be up to the man masquerading as Waco Keene to stay alive while he was behind bars.
    “What do you think, Kid?” Culhane asked.
    The Kid smiled. “I think I’m a damned fool to even be here.”
    “Does that mean you’re going to do it?” Hughes said.
    Surviving inside the prison would take razor-sharp instincts and complete concentration, The Kid thought, and so would capturing the gang after they broke him out.
    If something like that didn’t take his mind off Lace leaving him like she had, then nothing would.
    He looked at Culhane and Hughes. “Say howdy to Waco Keene.”
     
     
    The Kid spent the rest of the afternoon in Hughes’s office going over the plan with the two Rangers. It would take several days to get everything ready. Hughes asked The Kid to stay in San Antonio during that time and not draw attention to himself.
    “That won’t be hard,” The Kid assured him. “I’ll lie low at the hotel.”
    “When we’re ready, Sergeant Culhane will come and get you. There’s nothing unusual about the Rangers delivering prisoners to the penitentiary, so he’ll take you there with several men as an escort.”
    “You want whoever’s keeping an eye out for new targets to believe that Waco Keene is a dangerous man, is that it?”
    “Exactly,” Hughes said with a nod. “You’ll have a reputation to live up to, Mr. Morgan.”
    That wouldn’t be anything new, The Kid reflected. For years he had walked in the shadow of Frank Morgan, the famous gunfighter known as The Drifter, and he had his own reputation as a fast gun, a reputation he had largely invented in the beginning to help him track down his wife’s murderers. As it turned out, real life had more than lived up to those dime novel exploits.
    By the time he left Ranger headquarters and returned to the Menger Hotel, his stomach was reminding him he had skipped the midday meal. He stopped at the desk and asked the clerk to have some supper sent up to him.
    “Of course, Mr. Morgan,” the man said.
    “Any messages?” The Kid asked. “Anybody been around looking for me?” It was too much to hope Lace might have changed her mind and come back, but that didn’t stop the thought from crossing his mind.
    The clerk shook his head. “No, sir.”
    The Kid nodded and went up the stairs. Just as well, he told himself. If Lace had returned, it would have ruined the plan hatched by the Rangers. He wouldn’t have been willing to go through with it then.
    He needed to focus all his attention on the dangerous job facing him.
    When he reached the room, he turned on the gas lights, since dusk was stealing over the city. The Menger was known for its luxuries, which were the equal of some of the fancier hotels back east, including hot and cold running water. The Kid started the hot water in the claw-footed bathtub, intending to soak in it after he ate supper.
    He hung his hat and his gunbelt on the chair next to the bed, took off his coat and hung it in the wardrobe, then stripped off his shirt and string tie, leaving him bare to the waist. When a knock sounded on the door, he left the water running in the tub and went to answer the summons, assuming he’d find a waiter with his supper standing in the corridor.
    When he swung the door open he found himself looking into the beautiful, but rather startled face of Katherine Lupo.

Chapter 11
    “Mr. Morgan. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude on you.”
    “It’s all right. What can I do for you, Miss Lupo?”
    “I can come back later,” she offered.
    The Kid shook his head. “That’s not necessary.”
    He supposed she had talked to Hughes and knew he was going to help