In an America that might have been, two war orphans from a divided nation, one in the north and one in the south, meet across a vast battlefield, striking out to forge a future together in the west. It's 1892, the fourth and bloodiest year of the Ci...
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The train was pulling in to the Denver station when Van Cise pulled out half a bottle of whiskey. He had poured half out in the street just after he bought it, to the horror of the bartender he bought it from just to make it look used. He took a sip and passed the bottle to Jennings. Jennings looked at it like it had just been passed to him in church.
"For your breath. Take a sip." Jennings took the sip then passed it back. Van Cise then slouched down in his seat with the bottle in his hand as if asleep. "Get down, fool," he whispered to Jennings. Then they waited.
Sure enough, two toughs came walking down the aisle with rifles over their arms, hammers cocked. They were questioning passengers.
Poking Van Cise with a rifle butt, one asked, "You two. Where'd you get on?"
Van Cise looked up slowly with what he hoped were blurry eyes. "What's it to you?"
"Deputies. We're looking for a fugitive."
"No fugitives in here. We got on in Kansas City."
"Let's see your ticket."
Now Van Cise looked up at him with anger, but he fished their tickets from his pocket and showed them to the men.
"Sorry," the deputy said without any attempt at sincerity, and moved on down the aisle.
After they passed on to the next car, Jennings said, "Well I'll be damned."
"You'll be dead if they catch us. Now here, have a pull on this whiskey, just for show."
***
"They got away!" Blonger yelled, his evening spoiled. He pounded the desk with his fist, "They got away!"
"Eight dead deputies," the new sheriff, Corrigan, said. Duffy had packed up his family and headed for the hills. "The posse is forming up outside. We're leaving as soon as I report. I've sent scouts on ahead to pick up the start of their trail."
Lou was disappointed. He wanted to hurt someone, but he couldn't fault Corrigan.
"No sign of Van Cise yet either?"
"No, sir."
Lou sat back in his chair and thought for a minute. "Leave some of your people, and you stay too. We're going to start swearing in deputies. Dodds knows the plan."
"How many?"
"Six hundred."
Corrigan took a step back and then rallied. "May I ask why?"
"We're going to need them. Most are already hired and all they need is swearing in. The hills around here are full of men down on their luck, looking for a stake to get them to the next gold strike. Hell, we've been turning men away. To be frank Sheriff, I'm expecting an attack." Then Lou looked up at Corrigan and smiled. "It's the whole pot now or nothing, all cards down on the table."
