“I was new to Hash Bryant and his gang.” Holt put a shaking hand over his bloody nose. “I never came to Guthrie before what happened out at Dune Hollow. I didn’t figure anybody here would know who I was, ’cause I ain’t never been here before.”
“Well, you figured wrong!” Red stormed, inching closer again.
Holt scooted away. “I have no intention of hanging my hat here, as your sheriff puts it. Like I said, I was just on my way through.”
“It makes no sense you’d stop here, of all places,” Red answered, “unless you were trying to find out about Jake. You can bet we’ll wire him that we’ve seen you, so he’ll be on the lookout. If you have the tiniest thought of looking that man up—or anybody in his family—you’d better think twice. That’s Jake and Lloyd Harkner you’re fixin’ to make trouble for, and there ain’t a man still livin’ who ever went up against either one of them!”
“I’m living!”
“Only because Jake promised his daughter he’d not murder you in cold blood! He was a lawman then, but not anymore. If he gets you alone, you’ll never live to tell about it. Now get out of Guthrie! Go back east, or north or south or wherever you choose. Just get out of Oklahoma and stay away from the Harkners! They’ve finally found some peace, and they deserve it!”
Holt got to his knees, then staggered to his feet. “You’ve got no right telling me where I can and can’t go,” he grumbled, looking around at all of them. He ran a hand through his hair, then found his hat and shoved it back on his head. He pushed his way through the crowd and walked up to his horse, untying it and heading up the street.
“Sparky, make note of that bay he’s riding. Make sure it’s not tied anywhere in town come morning,” Red told the sheriff.
“I intend to do just that.”
Red looked down at a couple of swollen knuckles. “By God, I’m getting too old for this,” he told Fenton. “But I just couldn’t help it. Soon as I realized who he was—”
“I know.” Fenton put a hand on his arm. “Come on back inside and have another drink. We can wire Denver in the morning and warn Jake we’ve seen Mike Holt snooping around Guthrie.”
Red nodded, glancing in the direction Holt had gone. He couldn’t see him. “I wish there wasn’t so much law and order these days,” he complained. “There was a time when the town could have hung that sonofabitch, and nobody would have cared.”
* * *
Brad Buckley watched from the shadows. He’d walked out of a saloon across the street from the Okie when he heard the commotion outside—heard everything that was said. He stayed out of sight as he walked up the street, following Mike Holt. He waited until he was sure no one was watching, then hurried to catch up with Holt.
“Mike! Mike Holt!” he called in a rough whisper.
Holt stopped and turned, quickly pulling a rifle from its boot on his horse. “Who is it?” he asked.
“Name’s Brad Buckley. I don’t mean any harm.” Brad stepped closer. “Is it really you—one of them that was at Dune Hollow?”
Holt kept the rifle ready as he studied the big, strapping, barrel-chested young man. “What’s it to you?”
Brad put out his hand. “I want to shake the hand of a man who was in on fucking Jake Harkner’s daughter.”
Holt cautiously shook his hand. “And why would that be?”
Brad shook his hand vigorously. “Mister, Jake Harkner killed my pa and two brothers four years back when he was a U.S. Marshal. And he just about killed me once—slammed his rifle butt into my chest and nearly broke my breastbone in two. I was months recovering. I hate the sonofabitch, and, well, I heard what was said back there. Are you thinking of looking up Harkner?”
“It’s his son I’m after. Me and my brother joined up with the Bryants on that thing in Dune Hollow. My brother gave himself up, but Lloyd Harkner shot him in the back after he had his hands in the air and had put down his guns. He started to run off, and Lloyd shot him down like a damn jackrabbit. After it was all over, I told that kid I’d get him for what he done to my brother, and I intend to do just that.”
“Can I ride with you? I have my own score to settle. I’m sick of Guthrie. My ma died last year, and I’ve got nothing left here. All I do is think about how I can get back at Jake Harkner for killing my father and causing me ungodly pain for months. I know for a fact he headed for Colorado. A man as notorious as Jake Harkner shouldn’t be hard to find just by asking around, and where Jake is, you’ll find Lloyd, too. They’re inseparable.”