Love on the Line - Deeanne Gist [122]
“He can ride with me and Blesinger.” Duane turned to Luke. “We’re leavin’ first thing in the morning.”
“No, he rides with me.” Necker gave Luke an admiring look. “That was some fine shootin’. I’ll see ya tomorry. You boys better turn in now. We got a big day ahead of us.”
Necker jogged north, eventually disappearing from sight.
Duane punched the air again. “I can’t believe it. Ya know how hard it is to get in?”
Luke smiled. “I’m not going to be able to sleep at all.”
They headed in the direction of Luke’s boardinghouse. It was just up the road from the lumberyard.
“So how will it work?” Luke asked.
“I’ve only been on two, but they did exactly the same thing both times.”
Only two. Maybe Luke could talk to the judge. “Tell me.”
“Everybody’s given a different location. Even me and Necker don’t go to the same place. That way, if the lawmen get wind o’ somethin’, the townsfolk can honestly tell ’em we all went in different directions.”
“That’s mighty smart.”
“Comer don’t use up all his kindling gettin’ his fire started, that’s fer sure.”
“So what happens when you reach your destination?”
“I wait around until Finkel gets there, then we go to a different spot and pick up the next feller who’s been a waitin’ fer us.”
“Finkel?”
“Yep, though I didn’t recognize him ’til he started talking.”
He drew his brows together. “Why didn’t you recognize him?”
“Ever’body, including me, is supposed to show up with their neckerchief strapped on. Shoot, I ain’t never even seen Comer without a mask.”
He pulled up short. “Never?”
“Nope.”
“Has Necker?”
Duane gave a quick shrug. “I’m not real sure, but I can tell ya Comer don’t show up until the very end.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Finkel takes us to the spot we’re going to rob the train at. Then, when the train is barreling down on us, Comer rides in so fast his horse is throwing dirt in the eyes of jackrabbits.” A tone of awe coated the boy’s voice.
“You’ve never seen him?”
He straightened. “No, but I spoke to him once while we was waitin’ fer the train.”
Luke tugged his hat lower on his head. “What about afterwards? Do you see Comer then?”
“Nope. We all have different routes fer goin’ home. One route if ever’thing’s fine. Another route if the lawmen show up. And no two are the same.”
“Then how do you get paid?”
“I get mine from Necker. I don’t know how ever’body else gets theirs.”
What a convoluted mess.
“Who else is in besides you, me, and Necker?” he asked.
“Only ones I know about are the ones at our poker games—Ragston, Finkel, Blesinger, and us three. Prysborski was with us fer a while, but he, uh, had that huntin’ accident.”
“What about that Hurless Swanning guy from the shooting tournament? Who was he?”
“I dunno. That was the first time I’d ever seen him. But Necker tol’ me later he was tryin’ to horn in on Comer’s territory, so they got rid of him.”
A light inside the window of Mrs. Sealsfield’s boardinghouse burned low. Luke paused outside the gate. “You ever have second thoughts, Duane?”
“No, why? You havin’ second thoughts?”
“I’ve just been reading a lot in the papers. The Rangers seem determined to catch Comer.”
“They caught us unawares this last time. Like to scare me to death.”
“So why not quit?”
“What else would I do?”
“I don’t know. Take over the store for your pa. Find you a woman. Have a few kids. Go to church. Just be normal, I guess.”
Duane looked off in the distance. “I’ve thought about it before. But after Prysborski, well, there ain’t no gettin’ out less’n it’s in a coffin.”
“Prysborski wasn’t an accident?”
Duane pulled in his chin. “You need ta decide if yer in or not, Luke. ’Cause if yer not in all the way, it puts the rest of us at risk.”
He wanted to tell Duane he was already at risk, but he couldn’t chance the boy going straight to Necker. “I’m just thinking out loud. Trying to think beyond today and consider tomorrow.”
“Then what ya oughta do is think about goin’ ta bed, ’cause ya won’t get much sleep tomorry.” He grinned. “But you can earn in a day what