Free Payback at Big Silver by Ralph Cotton Page B

and looked at Testa. “Am I right, Jake?”
    â€œOh
yes
,” Testa agreed, “
obstinate
to a fault, I have always said.” They looked at the dead man lying with his mouth wide-open, the fountain of blood having fallen to a trickle on his chest.
    â€œSeems cured enough,” Knapp said in an unreadable tone. He kept the revolver pointed, smoke curling up from the tip of the barrel.
    â€œShoot the son of a bitch again!” Iggy said, he and his brother staggering to their feet. He picked his Colt up, cocked it and sauntered unsteadily over the body in the dirt. His face was raw, red and swelling on either cheek. Blood seeped from his nose down his upper lip. Lyle and the other two watched as he fired two shots into Gore’s head. The dead man’s head bounced with each shot. Lyle stepped in and laid his hand down atop Iggy’s Colt, stopping him from firing again.
    â€œLet it go, brother,” he said. “He’s as dead now as he’ll ever be.”
    Bour and Testa stood easier as Iggy uncocked his Colt and shoved it down into his holster, easier still as Knapp lowered his revolver and kept it in hand.
    â€œAll right, then,” said Bour, turning from the Cadys back to Knapp, “all this being settled, maybe we ought to get down to the job at hand.”
    â€œAre we square on when you get paid?” Knapp asked, eying the two closely.
    â€œWe’re square as a knot,” said Bour. “Right, Jake?” He looked at Testa for support.
    â€œWe are for sure,” Testa said. “Point us at that prison rig and watch what we do. Edsel Centrila wants his boy out of jail, we’ll get him out.”
    Knapp uncocked the gun hanging at his side.
    â€œGlad we could work it all out,” he said. He looked at the Cadys and gestured down at Gore’s body in the bloody dirt. “Drag him off somewhere. We’re making camp here. I don’t want critters toting his guts back and forth all night.”
    The Cadys looked at each other, not liking the idea of them having to drag the dead man away. But they resolved to keep their mouths shut.
    â€œLet’s go, then,” Lyle said. “You get one arm, I’ll get the other.”
    â€œThis son of a bitch,” Iggy said under his breath. He looked at the wide-open mouth as he bent and grabbed Gore’s limp wrist.
    As the two dragged the dead man off into a nearby stand of rock and sand, Bour and Testa turned to Knapp.
    â€œNo offense,” Bour said, “but are these two the best you could come up with on short notice? I could have brought along a couple of my
nieces
had I known.”
    â€œYou know the Cadys?” Knapp said.
    â€œI expect everybody knows the Cadys,” Testa said. He shook his head in disgust.
    â€œWhen I saw them,” said Bour, “I started to turn my horse around and head to Abilene, truth be told.”
    â€œMr. Centrila said bring them, so I brought them,” Knapp said. He eased his revolver inside his duster lapel and pulled out the tin whiskey flask. “I figured the more guns the better if we get into a scrap.” He took a sip of rye and passed the flask to Coco Bour. “Although I don’t look for that to happen. I’m looking for an easy go of it. Kill a couple of guards, shoot the lock off the wagon door—ride out of here.”
    â€œThat’s our thinking too,” Bour said. He took a sip of rye and passed the flask to Testa. “When does all this happen?”
    â€œFirst thing come morning,” Knapp said. He reached for the flask as Testa lowered it from his lips. “So this is all of the drinking until it’s over. I’m keeping one of you watching this trail the rest of the day and all through the night, in case the wagon comes by sooner.”
    â€œYou got it, Charlie Knapp,” Bour said. He wiped his hand across his lips and looked all around at the brush and the rock cover they stood in