Iron Eyes Must Die by Rory Black

scratched his whiskers.
    Layne did not reply. He turned away from the
rail-car and stared at the sand at their feet. He nodded and walked
silently towards the canyon walls.
    ‘ You
got the makings, Tray?’ he asked Donner.
    Tray Donner pulled out his tobacco pouch.
    ‘ Sure
have, Marshal. But why’d ya ask? You don’t smoke
cigarettes.’
    Layne glanced briefly at the deputy.
    ‘ Roll
me one and light it. I reckon the smoke might keep the stink out of
my nose and the flies out of my mouth.’
    Donner did as asked as he trailed the marshal
across the sand like a faithful hound trailing its master. He ran
his tongue along the gummed edge of the paper and then tucked the
cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He ignited a match with his
thumbnail, cupped its flame and lit the cigarette. He handed it to
Layne.
    Layne put it between his lips and endured the
smoke that covered his face. It did keep the swarm of flies away
from his mouth, but could not diminish the stomach-churning smell
of decaying flesh which filled the entire area.
    ‘ Six
of them left, Tray,’ the marshal said, pointing at the canyon.
‘They rode off that way. They took the horse belonging to that dead
outlaw with them. They weren’t carrying anything heavy.’
    ‘ How
far could they have gotten down that trail through the canyon,
Marshal?’ Walker wondered aloud. ‘Would they make camp down
there?’
    ‘ They
ain’t gonna stop until they get where they’re headed, Josh,’ Layne
answered through the cigarette smoke.
    ‘ You
sure?’
    ‘ I got
me a feeling that Snake must be headed to that Rio Concho the
conductor told us about, boys,’ the marshal said as he kicked at
the soft ground. ‘Whatever he took from this train-car must be
valuable.’
    ‘ I’m
kinda confused,’ Donner admitted.
    Layne moved to the pile of envelopes
discarded by the outlaw leader. His eyes studied the ground and the
boot-prints in the sand. To the lawman, it all told a story. A
story that a man who was an expert tracker could read.
    ‘ Snake
Adams stood by here.’ Layne pointed at the ground. ‘I recognize his
boot-prints. Look at the mail he threw away. I think he was after a
letter or a legal document. He stood here and read it before
headin’ for their horses.’
    Donner looked at the ground.
    ‘ Ya
can tell that you used to be a hunter, Marshal. I don’t see nothing
special.’
    ‘ I
reckon that those killings back at Waco are all linked to this
hold-up. I should have figured that out sooner. I was hired by real
important dudes to catch Snake and his gang.’
    ‘ What
ya mean, Marshal?’
    ‘ The
men Snake and his gang slaughtered in Waco were no ordinary folks.
They all worked for the government back East. They all had dealings
with the railroad owners and one handled very delicate documents
for the treasury. They were in Waco on some kinda official
business. I ain’t got no proof, but my innards are tellin’ me that
this is a lot bigger than any of us realize. I think old Snake got
himself some very important information and has acted on
it.’
    ‘ Ya
mean that all these killings and this train hold-up could be for a
darn document?’ Donner rubbed his neck. ‘A scrap of
paper?’
    ‘ Like
I said, those dead folks in Waco were officials from back East.
Government folks,’ the marshal repeated.
    ‘ Seems
hard to believe that a scrap of paper could be worth so much,
Marshal.’ Donner shook his head.
    ‘ Why’d
they kill them men in Waco?’ Walker asked.
    ‘ Maybe
after Snake milked the information out of them fellers, he knew
that if he didn’t kill them, they might try to stop that document
being put on the train,’ Layne guessed.
    ‘ I
don’t understand none of this,’ Donner admitted.
    ‘ That’s ’cause you’re an honest man, Tray.’ Layne patted the
deputy’s shoulder. ‘You ain’t got a devious bone in ya
body.’
    Marshal Layne turned and walked
back to his horse. He tugged at his reins and freed them before he
stepped