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didn’t,” Nate said. “But two of my men did.”
    “When I hired you, I figured you to be an uncurious man,” Montgomery said. “I didn’t think you would care what the object was. I should have warned you, I suppose. My mistake.”
    “Yes, it is your mistake,” Nate said. “Fact is, you would have been right had I been the one to go to the bank and steal it, but I sent my men. Penrod is a hot zone for me. I can’t get near it.”
    “I was afraid that if I told you about the book, you wouldn’t have taken the job,” Montgomery said.
    Nate sighed. “Money is my incentive, Mr. Montgomery, not the item.”  
    “May I see the book so I can authenticate it?”
    “What, so you can disappear and not pay us?” Joe said, shaking his head.  
    “Show me the money first,” Nate said.
    Montgomery paused and swallowed. His neck seemed stiff as he stood straighter. He jumped at the loud clicking noise Joe’s gun made when he pulled the hammer back and pointed it at Montgomery’s head.  
    “You better not tell us there isn’t any money,” he said.
    “I don’t want you to think that I don’t have the payment,” Montgomery said.  
    “Do you?” Nate asked, his hands on his hips.
    “I do,” he said. “But not here.”
    Nate’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”
    “Somewhere else,” he said. “A place called Galamore.” He smiled when he said this.
    “Never heard of it,” Nate said.
    “Is that up north somewhere?” Joe asked.
    “No, no,” Montgomery answered. “It’s not here. Not in the United States.”  
    “Do you like having fingers?” Joe asked as he gritted his teeth.
    “I very much like having my fingers,” Montgomery said. “But you have to understand, I’ve given up everything to get this book. My life savings…my home…anything I have ever aspired for had been spent in my pursuit of this book.”
    “I don’t care about any of that,” Nate said. “Where’s our money?”
    “In Galamore,” he repeated.
    Nate was about to tell him that that was the wrong answer, but a bellowing voice from outside caught their attention. Montgomery cursed and blew out the lamp. Nate moved toward the window and this time it was his turn to swear.  
    “Nathaniel Cole!” the voice shouted. “This is Levi Thompson. I believe you might remember my name. How about you and your friends come out of there?”
    “Over my dead body,” Joe said under his breath.  
    Nate looked out the window and could see three men standing next to their horses. One he recognized as the sleazy sheriff of Penrod. The other made him snarl—Amos. The one between the two was the bounty hunter.  
    “There’s just three of them,” Nate said. “The sheriff and Amos don’t pose much of a threat, but Thompson might be a different story.”
    “He ain’t better than me,” Joe said.
    “Yeah, but we’re the ones cornered,” Nate said.
    “I say we try to kill them,” Joe said.
    “And add the murder of a sheriff and a bounty hunter to your list of crimes?” Montgomery said. “You will be hunted down no matter how far you run.”
    “What’s it to you?” Joe said.  
    “Come with me,” Montgomery said. “To Galamore.”
    “If you haven’t noticed,” Nate said, “we’re pretty well stuck in here for the time being.”
    “The book,” Montgomery said. “It is Galamore. The book is so much more than a cover and pages. It is an entire world.”
    Nate looked away from the window to watch Montgomery. Was the man crazy?
    “Just give it to me,” Montgomery said, taking a step closer. “I can show you how the magic works.”
    “You mean you’re just going to disappear,” Joe said. “Just like Stew and Ralph did.”
    “Exactly,” Montgomery said. “And you can too.” He nodded toward the window. “Maybe you can fight off the lawmen and survive tonight, but there will be other lawmen. There will be more bounty hunters. And when you’re finished with them, there will be an even larger price on both your