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suspicion.  “Last I heard
he was over in Bisbee planning to marry some whore.”
    “Shows what you
know,” Kendall replied darkly.  “Reno King didn’t marry no whore. 
And he’s as greedy as you two bottom dwellers.  I happen to know he’ll be
in Dry Gulch tomorrow morning. When he finds out what that girl is holding,
he’ll be on her like a badger on a bunny.”
    “What if we don’t
want to share our portion with Reno King?”  Slim Jim boldly asked.
    The marshal had
obviously lost patience. He adjusted his seat in the saddle.  “You don’t
have a say in it, Garrett.  You can close your pie hole now and go along
with my plan, or I can dig a shallow grave right here and throw you in
it.  I’ve only got a pocket knife on me, but, by God, I’ll dig all night
long if that’s what it takes.”  Quick as a whip, Kendall leaned and shoved
the barrel of his .45 against Slim Jim’s temple.  “What say you?” he
asked, in an odd turn of phrase.
    “I...I’m with you,
marshal,” Garrett stammered.  “That…that’s a good plan.”
    “I thought you’d
see it my way.”  Kendall twirled the gun on his finger and then stuck it
back in his holster.  He rubbed his shoulder. “Now, let’s git.  My
arm’s sore.  I need a stiff whiskey, a loose woman, and a soft bed. 
In that order.”
    With Del leading
the horse carrying Harp, and Slim Jim riding double behind his back, the
marshal of Dry Gulch and his compadres trotted out of the forest. 
    Josie stayed
hidden for thirty minutes, in case they were pulling the wool over her
eyes.  When she was certain they’d left for good, she reined Traveler out
of the thicket and back onto the path.  There was a cave not far ahead
where she would camp for the night.   There was nothing left to go
home to.
    As she and the
mule walked toward their destination, her head began to ache. She was cold,
hungry, and weary.  It had been a long day full of shocking surprises.
Bobbing in the saddle, she contemplated her next move.  Marshal Kendall
had headed back to Dry Gulch to hire the best tracker in three territories. 
What kind of chance would she have once Reno King joined the manhunt?
    All this because
of an envelope her pa had left her.  She hadn’t even opened the envelope
yet.  She had no idea what was in it, so how could the preacher and the
marshal possibly know what was inside? As soon as she got to the cave, she
would start a fire.  She was frozen to the bone.  Then she’d open the
envelope and discover the contents. Whatever was inside had put her life at
risk. 
    Traveler was all
Josie had left.  She no longer had a home or family, and she barely had
two coins to rub together.  There was nowhere for her to go and no one to
turn to. More than ever before, she was completely alone in the world.
Sniffling, she felt salt burn her eyes.  But if she let the tears fall,
she was afraid they’d never stop.  Confiding in Traveler, as she’d done
many times before, she said,  “Even Del, who’s been sweet on me since we
were kids, is after me.  What am I going to do, old friend?”
      That
question, and more like it, haunted her as she entered the mouth of the cave
under the light of the full moon.  Josie tied the mule to a tree, and he
immediately started yanking weeds out of the ground for his supper. After
gathering an armful of sticks and pine needles from near the mouth of the cave,
she carried them inside and mounded the kindling up to form a teepee. 
Yawning, she checked on her mule one more time. 
    “You’d better get
a good night’s sleep, buddy.  We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow,
and we’re gonna start out early.”  She lifted the leather pouches off the
saddle horn, stepped back into the cave, and knelt on the hard ground. 
    Inside the
saddlebags was a small wooden box containing some phosphorous
matchsticks.  She struck one on the heel of her boot and held it to the
teepee of kindling until it caught. Cupping