“One more drink around and then no more till this trouble is over,” Harlan said, passing the bottle. The drinks, in view of the coming drought and the thirsty work ahead, were long and deep, and new courage and vindictiveness crept through their veins.
“Now here's the way it looks to me,” Harlan continued, placing the bottle, untasted by himself, on the floor behind him. “We've got to work a surprise an' take Edwards an' his friends off their guard. That'll be easy if we're careful, because they think we ain't looking for fight. When we get them out of the way we can take Jackson's store an' use one of the other shacks and wait for the Bar-20 to ride in. They'll canter right in, like they allus do, an' when they get close enough we'll open the game with a volley an' make every shot tell. 'T won't last long, 'cause every one of us will have his man named before they get here. Then the few straddlers in town, seeing how easy we've gone an' handled it'll join us. We've got four men to come in yet, an' by the time the C-80 an' Double-Arrow hears about it we'll be fixed to drive 'em back home. We ought to be over a dozen strong by dark.”
“That sounds good, all right,” remarked Slivers, thoughtfully, “but can we do it that easy?”
“Course we can! We ain't fools, an' we all can shoot as well as them,” snapped Laramie Joe, the most courageous of the lot. Laramie had taken only one drink, and that a small one, for he was wise enough to realize that he needed his wits as keen as he could have them.
“We can do it easy, if Edwards goes under first,” hastily replied Harlan. “An' me an' Laramie will see to that part of it. If we don't get him, you all can hit the trail an' we won't be sore about it. That is, unless you are made of the stuff that stands up an' fights 'stead of running away. I reckon I ain't none mistaken in any of you. You'll all be there when things get hot.”
“You can bet the shack I won't do no trail-hitting,” growled Boston, glancing at Slivers, who squirmed a little under the hint.
“Well, I'm glued to the crowd; you can't lose me, fellers,” Slivers remarked, re-crossing his legs uneasily. “Are we going to begin it from here?”
“We ought to spread out cautions and surround Jackson's, or wherever Edwards is,” Laramie Joe suggested. “That's my—”
“Yo're right! Now you've hit it plumb on the head!” interrupted Harlan, slapping Laramie heartily across the back. “What did I tell you about our brains?” he cried, enthusiastically. He had been on the point of suggesting that plan of operations when Laramie took the words out of his mouth. “I'd never thought of that, Laramie,” he lied, his face beaming. “Why, we've got 'em licked to a finish right now!”
“This is a hummer of a game,” laughed Slivers. “But how about the Bar-20 crowd?”