Free The Bandit Princess by J. Roberts

man a story. He just started talking.
    “Belong to a couple of fellers who bought some supplies. They went over to the saloon for a drink before they pack their stuff.”
    “Really? I hope they paid you already.”
    “Oh yeah, I’ve dealt with them before,” he said.
    “Good, good,” she said. “Can’t be too careful these days, can you?”
    “I guess not,” he said. “I don’t really pry into people’s affairs, as long as they pay me.”
    She looked around for a few moments, then thought she should buy something, so she grabbed some hard candy and paid the man.
    “Thank you,” she said. “It’s been a while since I had some good candy.”
    “Hope ya like it,” he said. “Kids around here love it.”
    “I’m sure I will,” she said. “Thank you.”
    She left the store.
     
    Clint watched as Alice entered the store, then kept a sharp eye out in case Tate and Del came back. He started to get anxious when she was in there for a while, but she finally came out and crossed back to him.
    “What took you so long?”
    “I didn’t want to just leave when I found out what I wanted.”
    “What did you find out?”
    “He said the two men who own the horses bought some supplies, but went to the saloon for a drink before they pack it all up.”
    “Okay, good. Let’s find a good doorway to conceal ourselves in, and we’ll just wait.”
    “Okay,” she said, then held her hand out to him and asked, “Candy?”
     
    In the saloon Tate was talking Del out of going to another whorehouse.
    “We been gone long enough, Del,” he said.
    “All we gotta do is tell Pearl we run into the Gunsmith here in Whitfield.”
    “Naw, naw, we can’t mention Adams!”
    “Why not?”
    “Because word’s gonna get around that he was in Briartown, and not here,” Tate said. “Then she’ll know we stopped off there. And she told all of us nobody goes to Briartown. Remember?”
    “Yeah, yeah, I remember,” Del said sourly. “Okay, then let’s go get our supplies and get the hell back to camp. I sure hope Pearl comes up with another job pretty soon.”
    “If she’d listen to Hunter, we’d have lots of jobs,” Tate said as they headed for the door.
    “She’s just a kid, ya know?” Del said. “Hunter should take over the gang.”
    “She may be a kid,” Tate said, “but she’s Belle Starr’s kid.”
    Outside Del said, “Belle Starr ain’t around, Tate. Why are we worried about Belle Starr?”
    “Because this is her neck of the woods, that’s why,” Tate said. “If Hunter took over the gang, we could get out of this area, maybe go to Texas, or Colorado, and make some money.”
    They stepped down into the street and crossed over to the general store. When they got there, they stopped by their horses.
    “Hey, Tate, why don’t we just leave?” Del asked. “Just keep goin’ and start makin’ some money for ourselves.”
    “Two reasons, Del,” Tate said. “One, Pearl and Hunter wouldn’t take kindly to that. They’d probably come lookin’ for us.”
    “And what’s the second reason?”
    “That’s simple,” Tate said. “We ain’t smart enough to make it on our own. Now let’s get them supplies.”

TWENTY-FIVE
     
     
     
    “Those idiots should have been back last night,” Pearl said to Hunter.
    “What’d you expect?” Hunter asked. He was sitting at the table in the house, eating a plate of bacon and beans he’d prepared himself. Pearl didn’t cook. There was another plate across from him that was meant for Pearl. And if she didn’t sit down soon and eat it, he was going to grab it for himself. “You send those two out by themselves, they’re either gonna get in trouble, or spend their time in a whorehouse.”
    “I swear,” she said, “if they got in trouble, they can get themselves out.”
    “What about that bank job next week?” Hunter asked. “We need five men for it.”
    “I’ll find two more,” she sad.
    “Look, Pearl,” Hunter said, “Del and Tate ain’t the pick