Bertie came out of the tack room, where she had taken cover when Grover told her to hide. After Grover pulled the two doors together and dropped the bar to lock them, he took a lantern that was hanging on a post and lit it. She walked over beside him to look at the body. “That’s one of ’em, all right.” She felt a shiver over her whole body as she gazed down at the mutilated corpse. “That shotgun made a real mess out of him.”

“At that range, buckshot usually does,” Grover commented. “Wonder how they knew Hawk was stayin’ here with his horse.” He thought about it for a moment, then said, “You didn’t hear Dewey say anything about it when he was talkin’ to ’em, did you?”

“No,” she answered. “Dewey didn’t tell ’em anything. They musta followed me when I ran over to warn Hawk. Where is Hawk? I thought he was sleeping in the stall with his horse.”

“He is,” Grover said. “He was here a little while ago, but he said he needed to go talk to Porter about somethin’. I reckon I need to talk to Porter now.” The words had no sooner left his mouth when they heard Hawk calling his name from the front of the barn. “Speak of the devil,” Grover quipped, then yelled in answer, “Back here in the stables.”

In a few seconds, Hawk hurried into the stables with Porter Willis right behind him. “You all right, Grover?” Hawk asked. “Bertie?” he questioned, surprised to find her there. “We heard the two shots and came runnin’ to see if somebody shot Grover.” Then he saw the body lying just inside the back door and went at once to see who it was, even though he already had a good idea who it might be. “It’s one of the two I’ve been followin’,” he said. “I wonder how they knew I was here.”

“I reckon you can thank me for that,” Bertie volunteered. “I ran down here to warn you that him and the other one was in the Last Chance askin’ Dewey all kinda questions about you. They were tryin’ to find out where you were.” She looked at him with a sheepish expression on her face. “I reckon I oughta learn to mind my own business.”

“Who is this feller, Hawk?” Porter asked, still looking at the mess Grover’s shotgun had made of Jesse’s face. “And why was he after you?”

“I don’t know who he is, for a fact,” Hawk said. “I just know what he’s done, him and the four outlaws that rode with him. And I expect he came after me because him and this Booth fellow finally got tired of runnin’. He’s definitely one of the two I was tellin’ you about when we heard Grover’s shotgun. I ain’t got no idea what his name is.”