The Argo Goes West

44, The Great Bank Robbery

"Tsk tsk!" Butch Cassidy clicked his tongue. "Hey, News. You really are clumsy."

"Not me, Boss. It's Texan."

"What?" The Tall Texan pointed his gun at News Carver. He's the youngest, but he's as hot-blooded as Kid Curry.

"Calm down, Texan..."

"I'm cool. So who's clumsy?"

"Let's not play the blame game." Kid Curry said impatiently. "You guys get to work quickly. News in the right window. Texan in the left."

There were two kids in the Wild Bunch led by Butch Cassidy. Another kid, the Sundance Kid, had been glued to the roadside window, silently watching what was going on outside.

Butch ordered the hostages holding their hands up (a shopkeeper, an old lady, a young lady, a young farmer, and two bankers).

"Hit the floor!"

"Why?" protested the old lady, who thought she had been insulted.

"Don't you understand?"

"No. I don't. "

"When the shooting starts, stray bullets will fly. What will happen if these hit you? You will die. You don't want to die, do you? So do as I say."

The old lady turned pale and lay face down on the floor, holding her head under the hood. So did the other hostages. Everyone was trembling.

"Sundance, how's it going outside?"

The Sundance Kid swung his pistol instead of answering with his mouth. It means come here and see for yourself.

Butch left Kid Curry alone to look after the hostages and went to Sundance. He bent over and looked out the window.

A man walked towards the bank. His jacket had a star-shaped tin badge on his chest (just above his heart), but he didn't wear a gun belt. He was unarmed and had his hands up.

"Stop!"

When Butch shouted through the window, the man obediently stopped.

"I'm Nash," said the man. "I'm a sheriff in this town."

News and Texan swallowed their saliva and tightened their fingertips on the trigger.

"I can tell you're a sheriff by the badge on your chest. So what do you want?"

"Where are you guys from?"

"Where are you from?" Butch quipped. "That's a strange question. Why would you ask such a question?"

"This town has been isolated ever since the railroad stopped."

"Huh, is that so?"

"Didn't you know?"

"We've been hiding in the hideout for a while...Hey, you're not really trying to find out where we're hiding, are you?"

"I'm not interested in the location of your hideout, but I'm curious about its direction. West or East?"

"South," Butch lied.

"Did anything go wrong before you came here?"

"Nothing in particular. Well, it's a place where there's nothing to begin with."

He didn't mean to be funny, but News laughed savagely.

"Did you pass through town on the way?"

"No." This was true.

"Hmm..."

There was a look of anguish on Nash's face, but Butch judged that the question was innocent.

Nash thought that if he could learn from these outlaws about other towns, and if that town was in a similar situation to this one, he would ask the outlaws to contact them. But they knew nothing. He wondered what to do with these outlaws

He had his assistant Herman waiting with a gun in the shadow of a building behind him. However, Herman's gun prowess made it difficult to defeat even one of his enemies. Nash himself had some shooting experience, but he wasn't confident enough to take on many opponents alone. (And against Butch Cassidy, though Nash didn't know that yet.) As sheriff he should do justice, but now was an emergency. He had no idea what would happen next. A formidable enemy may attack. Food may run out and looting may occur. As a precaution, he didn't want to waste bullets. Townspeople and banks might call me a coward, but he shouldn't have fought it. The sheriff's job was to keep the peace in the town, not the bank's bouncer. Nash chose the best realistic option in the situation.

"You guys," Nash called out to the Butch group in the bank. "If you're leaving town, I won't bother you."

The answer did not come immediately. Perhaps they were unable to gauge the intention of Nash's remarks, and must have consulted with each other about what to do. After a while,

"What does that mean? Are you ordering us to leave town without stealing anything?"

"If you want money, take it."

Nash's thinking was this: Money is worthless in this situation. Money is useful for trading, but not for bartering. Money has lost its value. Life is more important than that.

"Promise me this much. You won't hurt or kill the hostages."

"Who do you think I am?"

"Who?"

"It's Butch Cassidy."

"Oh," Nash learned the identity of the bank robber.

"We are determined not to kill people. We have never killed anyone."

"Please do the same this time."

"I will release the hostages, but I will take only one. I will release that one when I leave town."

"Please let me be the person you take with you."

"I refuse. You look strong. Because you tried to fight us unarmed."

"Okay. Do whatever you want."

The bank door opened. Released hostages came out one after another. Then Butch Cassidy came out with a gun pointed at an old lady (Mrs. Clever, the mayor's wife). Kid Curley, News, Texan, and the Sundance Kid then appeared with bags of money and began to load the horses. When they had finished loading, they all mounted their horses. Butch was with an old lady, with a gun pointed at her temple.

Butch put his hand to the brim of his hat and said goodbye.

"Adios!"

But Sheriff Nash didn't return the greeting.