Free The big gundown by J.A. Johnstone Page A

Clyde Watkins in a bare-knuckles fight. In fact, I’m not sure anyone in these parts has ever done that before.”
    “That’d be that miner downstairs?”
    “That’s right.”
    The Kid shrugged. “There was a little bit of luck involved. If he hadn’t bitten off the end of his tongue, I’m not sure I would have been able to put him down.”
    “I’m not sure I believe in luck. Strange thing for a gambler to say, isn’t it?”
    The Kid lifted his glass in acknowledgment of that point and took another sip.
    “Over time, the man who’s the best at what he does always prevails,” Augustine continued. “That’s why I like to surround myself with talented people, whether those talents involve dealing cards…or dealing other things.”
    “Are you working your way around to offering me a job, Mr. Augustine?”
    “Would that bother you?”
    “No, but I’d turn it down, just like I turned down Mayor Carmichael when he wanted to pin a city marshal’s badge on me.”
    Augustine looked at The Kid for a moment, obviously surprised by what he’d just heard. Then the saloonkeeper threw back his head and laughed.
    “You’re the man who killed Rawley and Paxton over in front of Carmichael’s store!”
    “News travels fast,” The Kid said.
    “I heard about it almost as soon as it happened. I make it my business to hear about everything that goes on in Bisbee. I didn’t know until now that you were involved in that shooting, though. That makes me even happier that I asked you to come back here and have a drink with me.”
    “I told you, I’m not looking for a job—”
    “And I’m not offering you one,” Augustine said. “But I know someone who might, and you’d be wise to reserve judgment on whether or not you’ll accept, Mr. Morgan. Have you ever heard of a man named Edward Sheffield?”
    Now it was The Kid’s turn to be taken by surprise. He had expected Augustine to steer him to Colonel Gideon Black, since according to Mayor Carmichael, Black spent considerable time at this saloon whenever he was in Bisbee.
    Augustine hadn’t mentioned Black at all, though. Instead he had thrown out a name that was indeed familiar to Kid Morgan.
    Or at least, Edward Sheffield’s name was familiar to Conrad Browning.
    Before the tragedy that had forever changed Conrad’s life, the vast Browning business empire had included interests in both railroads and mining. It still did, of course, although The Kid no longer had anything to do with the day-to-day running of them.
    Edward Sheffield was a financier who also dabbled in railroads and mining, among other enterprises. He and Conrad had held seats on the boards of some of the same companies, but never at the same time. So while The Kid knew the name, he had never actually met Sheffield.
    Cautiously, he said, “Some sort of big business tycoon, isn’t he?”
    “You could say that. Between the railroads and the mines, he’s played a large part in developing this part of the territory. He has a very successful copper mine up in the Dragoons that also produces significant amounts of gold and silver. There’s a town up there—Titusville, named after Mr. Sheffield’s father—that he owns pretty much lock, stock, and barrel. And he’s built a spur line from the Southern Pacific here at Bisbee all the way to Titusville to carry in supplies and carry out the ore from the mine.”
    The Kid hadn’t heard about any of that. He supposed they were fairly recent developments in Sheffield’s career.
    “Sounds like he’s pretty successful. I don’t see what that has to do with me, though.”
    Augustine threw back the last of his brandy. “I happen to know that Mr. Sheffield is having some trouble. Outlaw trouble. And he’s looking for somebody to do something about it.”
    “You mean he’s looking for hired guns,” The Kid said.
    “Not just hired guns. He needs someone to take charge of the effort to wipe out those desperadoes.”
    “And you think I could be that