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“How many what?”
“Why did you think I made so much noise? I wanted them all to come see what the ruckus was. There were four inside, five on the roofs and two came around from back. I think there may be a couple more south of town. I give them two hours before they realize it was me wearing this thing. So we got two hours to get me all new duds and to get rid of this.” He looked at the pink-eyed horse in disbelief. “It’ll be like trying to hide a mountain in a dollhouse. I wish we could get somebody else to wear this. Then Dysan’s men could follow him and give us some time.”
Asher snorted. “Oh yeah, and where are we going to find such a fool? I don’t know anybody who could be paid enough money to wear that and if you try to give it to somebody he’ll ask why. They’re sure to be suspicious. The best thing is to burn it. We’ve no hope of finding somebody stupid enough to wear it.”
“I don’t know,” Ty said as he mounted, cursing as he had to pull fringe out from under him, “the world is full of all sorts of people.”
Chapter Eighteen
Tynan stood plastered up against the white wall of the building as if he hoped he could disappear. Asher was certainly taking his time in finding clothes to replace the white suit. There’d been a few minutes when Ty thought he was going to have to do something about Asher’s mouth—maybe shove it down his throat—but Ty had been able to persuade him that it was in his own best interests to help find new clothes.
Slowly, Ty put his head around the building and looked to see if anyone was near. When he was sure the street was empty, he walked the two feet to the horse trough and put his head under. Asher’d had several comments to make on the smell of the French Lilac talcum powder Red had used to turn his hair white.
Just as he was lifting his head from the water, he felt the unmistakable coldness of a gun barrel on his neck.
“Say your prayers,” the man said, “cause this is your last minute alive.”
“Lester Chanry,” Tynan said, drawing back and looking at him. He was a tall bean pole of a man with red hair that reached his scrawny shoulders. His face was covered with freckles, those being the only color on his face since his eyebrows and lashes were so light as to appear nonexistent. He was wearing a bright red shirt with a four-inch-wide row of Indian beading across the shoulders and in his hair were three silver conchos. “Lester, it’s good to see you again. In fact, I was just talking about you.”
“I’ll bet you were. Were you talking about how you killed my brother?”
“That was an accident.”
Lester pushed Tynan against the wall. “You killed him and now you’re gonna pay for it.”
“It wasn’t me and you know it.”
“That sheriff was chasin’ you and you might as well have killed him. You’re the one that’s gonna pay for it. Are you ready to die?”
“Just so long as you promise to bury me in my new suit.”
For the first time, Lester looked down at the gaudy garment Ty was wearing, and Tynan watched his face. “You’ll promise me that you’ll bury me in it, won’t you, Lester? It’s my dying wish and a man should have his last wish honored.”
“Where’d you get duds like them?” Lester asked with awe in his voice.
“A man had to give up his life before I could have these,” Tynan said. “You’ll promise me, won’t you?”
“Well…. Maybe you’d sell ’em to me. I sure like those things.”
“Sell them! What would I do with the money if I’m dead? What if I make you a deal? I’llgivethem to you if you let me go free.”
Lester pushed Ty back against the wall. “I’ll just shoot you and take ’em.”
“I bleed real bad. If I cut myself shaving I get blood all over everything. It’d stain the suit so bad it wouldn’t be fit to wear and, besides, you’d miss out on the matching horse.”
“Horse?” Lester asked. “Are you lyin’ to me, Tynan? If you are, I’ll—”
“Lester, I’m fighting for my life. You don’t kill me and I’ll give you this white suit and a white horse with a white saddle.”
“White saddle?” Lester gasped. “I ain’t never seen no white saddle. Tynan, if you’re havin’ me on I’ll—”
“Just ease up on that pistol and I’ll take you to where the horse is hidden and I’ll give it to you, with a bill of sale. It’ll all be legal. But if you shoot me you’ll get a bloody suit—and you know how blood makes leather so stiff—and you’ll never find that horse. Some farmer’s kid’ll find it and have the one and only white saddle in existence. Did I tell you that it has little silver roundels on the bridle?”
Lester took several minutes to consider what Tynan was saying while Ty lifted one arm to show off the dangling fringe.
“All right, I’ll do it, but if you try to trick me I’ll—”
“Try to trick one of the Chanrys? Lester, I didn’t get this old by being a fool. Come on, let’s go. It’ll be easier to part with my suit if we don’t take too long at this,” Ty said with a sigh.
