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On horseback, they ets for theall around hi to answer the fire froered as he peeled from the saddle A bullet sla hi’s front He scra limp

His pulse was striking hard in his neck, his breath co short and fast as Benteen scanned the opposite side of the street and tried to locate his ownblindly Riderless horses cantered down the street to escape the noisy fracas His left arm was useless, so he tucked his hand inside the waistband of his pants

Jessie was sprawled flat on the ground between a horse trough and the raised board sidewalk There was the scrape of a boot behind higing a leg as he tried to sit up in a recessed doorway He couldn’t see Woolie or Bob Vernon, but there weren’t any bodies in the street

If Woolie hadn’t warned theht flat-footed Chances are they’d all be lying in the street now Benteen’s gaze returned to the buildings on the opposite side of the street, searching for shapes in the night He noticed a strange thing All the s in the second story of the saloon had lights in them—all but one It was dark, and the as open Benteen could see the curtain blowing out He fired three rounds into it and saw afrom his hand

But he’d also given away his own position Bullets whacked into the barrel and sprayed the building just above his head, pinning hi for those bursts of flame across the street BenteenThere’d been athere to a to be met The coas slu the back of his bare head as he groaned and made an uncoordinated attempt to rise

“My head …” he round, unconscious

There was the rattle of a buggy coainst the alley wall Confusion traveled through hinized the y Judd Boston

From across the street, Loot Calder pinned down!”

Boston stopped the buggy in theon the reins to hold his nervous horse “You fool! You iy and faced the other side of the street “Calder! This is notto do with this—or anything else!” He proclaimed his innocence for all to hear

“You yellow bastard!” Janes growled from the shadows

Two shots were fired, one on top of the other, and Boston fell back onto the buggy seat, the horse bolting Benteen took advantage of the runaway vehicle’s distraction to make a dash across the street He reached the other side and ducked down behind a rain barrel

His shoulder was throbbing, wetness trickling down his ar to pinpoint the location of his adversaries by sound

Boston was either dead or out of it, but it wasn’t over As ree of respect for the man He had his standards and he’d stick by theht to Benteen, and it wouldn’t be over until one of them was dead

A wave of dizziness washed over him and he shook it off There was a scurry ofaway from the barrel, squared toward the sound, and fired He quicklyHis shots had missed, but they had driven a man away frounhand Reynolds He fired froet One sliced a hot iron along his thigh His leg started to buckle as Benteen fired at the man’s shape, briefly outlined The ha

A cold s with Judd Boston had bolted down the street The bastard had been putting all the blaot what he deserved