Enthusiastically Allen poured out praises of his brother’s courage, his skill, and the wonderful things he had accomplished. But the more he praised his brother, the more the woman understood his grief. Jim-twin Allen was an outlaw, with a fortune on his head; his brother was an officer of the law—the gulf between the two was insurmountable.
When Pop Howes arrived at the hotel he found “Hard-rock” Hogan and Bill Tucker, the town marshal, waiting for him. Tucker was a powerfully built man with a round, red face, a large mouth, and small gray eyes.
“Howdy, Pop!” he cried jovially. “We sent for Baldy Kane, Steven Brandon, ‘Two-finger’ Smith, and some of the other boys. Bill Tucker sent up North and asked Jack-twin Allen—yuh’ve heard of him, yes?—well, Bill asked him to come on down here to help ketch these here quartz robbers. Well, he’s here now, feedin’ his face, an’ he’ll be in here pronto.”
Bill Tucker cultivated a hearty, jovial manner, and, as the different owners and managers of mines in the gulch arrived, he greeted each one like a long-lost brother. Steve Brandon, the manager of the El Dorado, was one of the last to arrive.
He was a short, heavy man with gray hair and a close-cropped mustache. When he spoke he snapped out his words like pistol shots. Shortly after Steve Brandon arrived, Baldy Kane slid into the room. He nodded to those present, and then his face became an expressionless, claylike mask. He silently drifted into a dark corner.
“I hears tell that this here Jack Allen is faster than his brother Jim,” Bill Tucker boomed.
“Not any,” Pop declared shortly but emphatically.
“Wonder if the two speak? It’s darn funny—Jack comes here to clean up this town, an’ here is Jim, his brother, the best of all the jailbirds.” The marshal chuckled as if he found the situation amusing.
Hard-rock Hogan was one of the men who had worked in and about mines since early childhood; he had lived all his life among rough, violent men, and his experience with human nature was vast. He had discovered that many men used words to hide their thoughts, while others cultivated a masklike face after the manner of Baldy Kane. He glanced curiously at Bill Tucker.