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Nix dropped the knife It struck point-first into the round like King Arthur’s sword Nix looked down at it with regret One of the h the shadows until he could see the big bonfire on the other side of the wagon Working quickly, he opened the satchel and reh to use, and then he tossed the bag with a slow underhand pitch, straight into the fire It struck the center of the blaze and kicked up a huge tower of sparks, but when the men in the crowd turned to see what had happened, Benny was already back into the darkest corner of shadows, totally invisible

"What the hell was that?" de, boss," said one of the bounty hunters "Log shifted in the fire"

Nix took that rabbed the handle of her knife She pivoted as fast as she could, and Benny saw a flash of steel and then the guard to her left suddenly bent double and let loose with a terrible cry of pain The other one had been looking at the bonfire and turned at the sound, but Nix spun toward hi, the knife buried in his chest

Charlie bellowed in surprise and fury, and swung the gun back toward Nix and pulled the trigger

His shot sounded like an entire barrage of artillery, because at the saer, all of the firecrackers in Joey Duk’s satchel exploded The sudden sound h Nix’s hair rather than her head

The night was filled with a thousand sharp cracks, and all of thethey were under ar the air with louder bangs as shotguns and heavy pistols spat fire and hot lead A dozen bullets ripped jagged holes in the sheet-on beside which Benny crouched, and he bent and rolled beneath the wagon, feeling the shudder as the barrage continued to tear at wood and metal

Nix tore her knife free, rushed at the pen rail, and tried to leap over it, blade high, to stab Charlie, but the big ht her on the shoulder, and it was so shockingly powerful that Nix went flying She hit the ground and slid five feet Her knife went spinning out of her hands

Benny saw this fro snap in his on and ran around behind it, circling the camp at a dead run to come up on Charlie fro, and soun pellets struck the flanks of a e draft horse screa all of its two thousand pounds ofline that snapped like cotton twine The Clydesdale’s flailing hooves struck another horse, and soon the whole pack of draft anied across the ca of the firecrackers, scattering bounty hunters who dove for sudden cover One ht and left half a dozen times before his last moround hirab for the into Joey Duk’s burning tent The Ha as he rolled out of the fire Theand dazed

The twelve-year-old was pushing the children over the rail She was the last one over, and they raced together into the darkened woods, but as they fled, Benny realized he was on the very path that Nix had told thee behind a tree, but the whole pack of kids saw hi that one of his ht into Benny I past him into the shadows

Charlie Pink-eye’s face darkened with a brutal rage, and he raised his pistol

And Benny Imura raised his own

53

"LIFE JUST KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE FUN," GROWLED CHARLIE Matthias

"BENNY!" Nix screamed, but the Hammer moved behind her and wrapped an iron ar that a bad night was suddenly about to beco shot is fun," Benny said, "then you’re going to die happy"

Charlie laughed "Boy, ht have pulled off that kind of banter, but it doesn’t carry the sa trash"

The gun was heavy, but Benny forced his hand to stay fir, and the last of the firecrackers banged and then went silent Benny licked his lips, tasting er, pup, do it while you still have so forward in what he hoped was an aggressive move Charliefirst"

Charlie grinned and looked around at the other bounty hunters Most of the to round up the horses, but a handful had stood to watch the fun Now they were pointing guns at Benny too "Kid wants to have a fireside chat, boys Ain’t that cute?"

"Maybe he wants to kno to grow a set!" yelled one

"Maybe he wants to cry about what happened to Tom," offered the Hammer, as scuffed and blackened, but did not look ave Benny a truly ot his hands on him, he’d make him pay very dearly for what had just happened