brown hair and brown eyes and was a ferocious saloon fighter. He was not particularly accurate with a gun, but in any activity requiring brute strength he was a good man to have. He glanced over at LeBeau and said, âYou might think about that fellow Waco Smith. Iâve heard lots of talk about him.â
âHe wouldnât be interested,â Callie said. âHeâs a loner. He takes what he wants, but heâs not a killer. Not like you fellas.â
The insult, if that was what it was, did not move the other men from the table. Frank James said, âWhy donât you look into it.â He glanced over and said, âJesse and me are going to be leaving pretty soon. Weâre going back to civilization.â
Jesse James smiled slightly. âYeah, this is hard living here, Trey.â
âPretty safe though. You go back to Missouri or somewhere, youâll have sheriffs and deputies and all kinds of lawdogs on your trail all the time. Here all we got is a few marshals.â
âI donât like it here,â Jesse James said. âYou better look into this fellow Smith. Whatâs he like?â
âWell, heâs evidently pretty tough. Iâve never met him. I donât think many have. He stays in the territory mostly with Indians. I hear Judge Parker has put a special price on his head.â
âIf he ainât a killer, I donât know how we can use him,â Al Munro said.
âThe man will do what he needs to do if thereâs enough money involved.â LeBeau nodded. âBut anyway itâs a good idea. I wonder where he is?â
Frank James said, âI heard some talk about him when I was over at Travisâs store. Heâs around there somewhere. He comes in for supplies.â
âThatâs not far from here,â Trey said. âWhat do you say we go look him over, Callie?â
âThat sounds good to me. Iâm bored with watching you men lose at cards.â
LeBeau laughed and said, âCome on. We can be there in two hours.â
As they were on their way, LeBeau said, âYou watch out for Waco Smith. Stay away from him.â
Callie laughed. âYou donât own me, Trey. Donât tell me what to do.â
They reached Travisâs store and were surprised at how easy it was to find the man called Waco Smith.
âHe comes in here pretty often, but heâs got a camp over by Red Canyon.â Travis, the barkeep, explained how to get there. âI wouldnât try to sneak up on him though. Heâs as quick as a snake with that. 44 of his.â
âOh, itâs just a friendly visit.â
The two mounted again, and two hours later, as Travis had said, they came upon a camp, but they did not get far before a voice said, âHold it right where you are.â
Immediately Trey LeBeau held up his hands. âNo trouble. We come friendly.â
Callie glanced around and saw a man emerge from behind some bushes. He was very tall with black hair and a tapered face. He had a coppery tan, and he held a. 44 loose in his hand. Not pointing it at them, just saying that it was there.
âIâm Trey LeBeau.â
âIâm Waco Smith.â
âSure,â Trey said. âWe come looking for you. This is Callie Montevado.â
âIâm glad to know you, Miss Callie. Why are you looking for me?â
âIs it all right if we get down and talk?â
âSure. Just be careful that you donât make any moves that would set me off. Iâm a nervous type.â
âI doubt that.â Trey smiled, and his eyes crinkled when he did. He stepped off his horse, as did Callie, and kept his hands carefully away from the gun. âThe thing is, Iâve got a pretty good bunch of boys. Weâve taken in quite a bit of coin. Somebody said you might be interested in joining up with us.â
âI donât think so. Iâm doing all right on my own.â
âWell,