Free Death in the Desert by J. R. Roberts

said.
    They all finished their drinks, then left the bottle on the table and walked out of the saloon together. In front they split up.
•   •   •
    Clint went back to the stockyards to try to pick up the trail again, but none of the men were there. He looked around, keeping out of sight as much as possible, and finally decided to go back to the area where the boardinghouse was. He wanted to see if Ned was still tied up in the closet. If he wasn’t, that meant there were four men out there searching for him.
•   •   •
    Steve Harwick walked into the telegraph office and immediately noticed the condition of the key. Smashed. Well, that cinched it. Somebody was in town, and was hoping to isolate them. At least he got one message out, and before long, there’d be six more men joining them in the search. He just wished he knew how many men they were dealing with.
    Then he thought about the little girl. It might do them some good to have her in hand. If it came to it, they could use her as a hostage.
    He left the telegraph office and went in search of the little girl.
•   •   •
    Billy and Chris searched for Ned, and neither of them was very happy.
    â€œI don’t like this,” Chris said. “Somebody’s pickin’ us off one by one.”
    â€œThat’s why you and me are stayin’ together,” Billy said. “Ain’t nobody pickin’ us off.”
    â€œYou can say that again!” Chris agreed.
    Billy put his hand on his gun and said, “Ain’t nobody gettin’ close to us!”
    Chris touched his own gun and added, “Not without gettin’ their heads blown off!”

TWENTY-TWO
    Clint spotted the two men at the south end of town, where he himself had not spent much time—which was actually the reason he decided to look there. There were businesses up and down the street, but the buildings here were older, some of them in disrepair.
    He decided rather than bracing the two men, he’d tail them close enough to eavesdrop on them. Maybe he could collect some information that way.
•   •   •
    Clint heard the two men bitching about being picked off, and promising each other they’d stay together. Nothing very interesting, but then the subject changed to their boss.
    â€œWhat about Steve?” Chris asked.
    â€œSteve Harwick can take care of hisself, believe me,” Billy said. “Maybe he don’t got the big reputation, but I seen him handle a gun. He’s fast! I seen him outdraw three men one time.”
    â€œThree?”
    â€œKilled ’em all.”
    â€œDamn. That’s the kinda thing that does build a rep. Why ain’t he got one?”
    â€œâ€™Cause he don’t care about that stuff,” Billy said. “He cares about makin’ money, though, which is why he come up with this plan.”
    â€œThis part of town ain’t so good,” Chris said. “We ain’t gonna work this end, are we?”
    â€œThat’s up to Steve, but I doubt it,” Billy said. “It would take too much time, and it sure don’t look like it’d be worth it.”
    â€œThen what would Ned be doin’ here?” Chris argued. “Why we lookin’ here?”
    â€œBecause we gotta look everywhere, that’s why,” Billy said. “Ain’t no point in not findin’ him just ’cause we decided not to look here. Come on, it ain’t gonna take that long.”
    â€œYeah, okay . . .”
•   •   •
    Clint fell back, satisfied with what he had heard. Steve Harwick sounded like a smart man, and a smart man who was also good with a gun was dangerous. Maybe he ought to take these two out while he could, leaving Harwick alone—unless he had already called for help.
    Clint worked to catch up to the two men again, to see if