Once he had finished his camp to his satisfaction, he turned his mind back to the task of settling with the three outlaws. His aim was still to recover as much of the money as possible and return it to the survivors of the massacre. But he was not dumb enough to think he could walk into that saloon again without being shot at on sight—by Booth and his partners, and possibly Bodine as well. So, he finally accepted the fact that he had to play a waiting game, watching for any opportunity that came his way. With that in mind, he figured it time to go back to make sure they were still there.

Since his camp near the Helena trail was upstream from the trading post, he would approach it from behind the buildings, reaching the corral and barn first. Under cover of the trees that lined the river, he was able to ride close to the corral before thinking it necessary to dismount and leave his horse. So he dropped Rascal’s reins underneath the branches of a large bur oak tree and advanced the rest of the way on foot. Right away he was able to confirm the fact that Booth and the other two were still there, for all their horses were in the corral. That was actually all he could expect to find out. Then he got a glimpse of someone moving about in the barn, so he moved a little closer. He was handicapped by the fact that he had never seen the two men with Booth up close, and he didn’t know their names. But he had seen them when he had hidden behind the empty cabin next to the one they had occupied. It was in poor light, but he felt confident that he would recognize the man who had been jawing back and forth with Tater. He wore his pistol low in a fast-draw holster. In a few minutes, he recognized Tom Pointer coming back out, carrying a bucket. There was no sign of any of the three he sought, nor did he really expect to see them outside the saloon.