“If we set here, we’re gonna come up empty, that’s for sure,” Jesse said. “Let’s go in there and get him.”

“Take it easy,” Booth told him. “Remember how he got Trip.”

“Yeah, but I ain’t talkin’ ’bout chargin’ in there, out in the open, yellin’ my head off, like that dumb son of a bitch did,” Jesse said. “I say we can use these horses for cover and work our way all the way through ’em till we get right to the barn door. As dark as it is, it’d be pretty damn hard for anybody to see us. Then we can slip inside one of the back stalls till we find out where he’s hidin’ in there. If he’s hidin’ in there,” he added. “The longer we set here, the more I’m thinkin’ he ain’t in there at all.”

“I don’t know, Jesse.” Booth hesitated, thinking that might be pushing their luck.

“I’m goin’,” Jesse insisted. “I’m tired of that bastard on our tail everywhere we go. If he’s in there, he’s gonna have to shoot it out with me. Can I count on you to back me up, in case I have to come back out that door?”

“You know you can,” Booth assured him, “like I always do.”

“All right, let’s get the bastard,” Jesse said, and crawled through the rails of the corral, then started working his way slowly through the horses.

Booth followed a few yards behind him, trying to calm the horses as he went, afraid their milling about would alert anyone inside the barn. His six-gun in hand, he took cover behind a big buckskin gelding to watch Jesse crawl between the rails and quickly press his body against the wall of the stable. He signaled for Booth to come ahead. Still reluctant, Booth left the cover behind the buckskin and made his way to the corral rails and crawled through. When he moved up behind his brother, Jesse pointed to the back stall, which he could just see in the darkness through the open doors. “I’m gonna make a run for that stall,” he said. “When I get in there and make sure everything’s all right, I’ll signal you. Then we’ll work up to the front of the stable, stall by stall.”

“Watch yourself,” Booth cautioned. “He’s a tricky bastard.” He was not sure this was a good idea, and gradually, that nagging feeling that he and his brother had crossed paths with an avenging disciple of the Quaker religion returned to trouble him. More likely he’s just another outlaw who wants that money for himself, he thought, just like we figured all along. “I’ll be right behind you,” he said to Jesse as his brother inched closer to the edge of the barn door.