Free Heart of the Mountain Man by William W. Johnstone

something to calm his nerves.”
    Whitey took a step toward Swede, his eyes glittering hate, but Slaughter stopped him with a look. “Whitey, why don’t you go on over to the telegraph office and see if there’s any messages for me? I’ll order us some food while you’re gone.”
    â€œYes, sir,” Whitey said, glaring at Swede as if he could kill him.
    By the time Whitey returned, Slaughter and Swede were digging into steaks that looked as if they’d been burned to a crisp. “Damn,” Slaughter said as he tried to chew the tough meat, “this is making me appreciate Mrs. Carson’s cooking more and more.”
    Swede nodded. “Yeah, maybe we shouldn’t kill her after we get Carson’s money. We can keep her around for the winter to keep us warm on cold nights.”
    Slaughter gave him a flat look. “Swede, Mrs. Carson is a lady and I don’t want to hear any more talk like that. It’s not her fault she married the wrong man.”
    â€œYou’re not gettin’ soft on us, are you, Boss?” he asked, a funny look in his eyes.
    Slaughter glared at him. “Anytime you think that, Swede, just give me a try and you’ll find out how soft I’m gettin’.”
    Whitey sat at the table, glancing at the two men as if wondering what he’d interrupted. “Here’s a telegram for you, Boss. It’s from Max.”
    Slaughter took the paper and opened it up. As he read, his brow furrowed. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
    â€œWhat’s it say, Jim?” Swede asked, evidently willing to forget their words of a few moments before.
    â€œMax says a man name of Smoke Jensen braced him in Big Rock. Said to tell me if anything happened to Mary Carson he was going to cut me to pieces.”
    â€œSmoke Jensen?” Whitey asked. “The old gunfighter? I thought he was dead.”
    Slaughter looked at him. “So did I. Haven’t heard anything ’bout him in years. Evidently he’s joined forces with Monte Carson and wants to deal himself into this little fracas.”
    â€œWhat’s he say about Blackie and Boots?” Swede asked.
    â€œAccording to this, they won’t be coming back. Jensen says they send their regards from Hell.”
    Swede leaned back in his chair, pushing his half-eaten steak away. “This is gettin’ complicated, Boss. I thought you said Monte would bring us the money once he knew we had his wife.”
    Slaughter nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “I must’ve figured him wrong. Now it looks like we may have a little more trouble getting our hands on our money than I thought.”
    â€œIs Max on his way back here?” Whitey asked.
    Slaughter glanced at the telegram. “I don’t think so. His last line says he wishes us luck, but he didn’t figure on having to face Smoke Jensen for his share and he doesn’t think it’s worth it.”
    â€œThat yellow-bellied bastard!” Swede said. “I told you he was the wrong man to send to Big Rock.”
    Slaughter looked over at him. “Like I said, Swede, any time you think you’re good enough to take over leadership of this gang, you’re welcome to give it a try.”
    Swede’s eyes dropped. “It’s not that. You’re still the boss, Jim, but I don’t like the idea of some gun-slick friend of Carson’s joinin’ up with him. It complicates matters.”
    â€œDon’t worry. There ain’t no way they can get into the hole-in-the-wall without us knowing about it first, and we’ve still got Mary Carson as our ace in the hole. Monte’s got to come through with the money. He doesn’t have any other choice in the matter, whether he’s got some old geezer ex-gunman to ride with him or not.”
    Whitey caressed the butt of the Greener ten-gauge in his cut-down holster on his hip. “I wouldn’t mind mixin’ it up with this