Next time I woke, it was nearly noon. Getting upright this time was easier, and once cleaned up, I set out to get breakfast, hoping I’d run into the gang on my way.
I ate a fine meal, and coffee helped me regain my wits, but I didn’t run into the men. And after breakfast, I went around town and still saw none of them. I thought of wiring Whitlock, but what to say? Still in Contention? Deciding that would do and that I’d feel more a detective if I sent it, I did just that, only those three words.
I didn’t want to go into a saloon, but did, and I had just one beer. The men I sought were in none of the places I visited and I was starting to worry on something bad, maybe Merle finding out about me and Frank, when I all but ran into the three stepping from a gun shop.
Each carried a canvas b
