"Is he aware that the sheriff in this town is a complete imbecile? "

The question made Cole smile. "He's beginning to get that idea, ma'am." His honesty deflected some of their hostility. "Then neither you nor Marshal Ryan gave the order that we be locked up like common criminals? " "No, neither one of us gave that order."

"Sheriff Sloan is power hungry and ignorant. It's a dangerous combination, " she muttered. She glanced at the other two women, and then nodded. "Very well. We shall save our wrath for the sheriff.

Allow me to introduce myself, Marshal Clayborne. My name's Rebecca James, and I was rudely ordered out of my sickbed by the sheriff. He made quite a scene in the lobby, and I was horribly embarrassed and feeling quite ill at the time. The dear lady on my left is Grace Winthrop. She came here all the way from England because she heard all about our wonderful country.

And how does this town show their hospitality? They lock her in jail.

" She was getting all worked up again. "Miss James, if you would calm" She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "And last but certainly not least, I would like to introduce you to Jessica Summers and her son, Caleb. She was just about to feed her baby supper when she was ripped out of her home and dragged here."

"I'm sure she was neither ripped nor dragged, " he argued, though a part of him wouldn't have put it past Sloan to do such a stupid thing.

"As I said before, I'm real sorry about the inconvenience."

"Inconvenience? It's an atrocity, " Rebecca cried out.

Both Grace Winthrop and Jessica Summers nodded their agreement.

It was apparent to Cole that while they had been locked up together, Rebecca had taken on the role of speaker for all of them Grace and Jessica both seemed content to let her do their talking. It was also evident that the three of them were united in their outrage.

"Are you certain Marshal Ryan didn't give the order to lock us up? "

she asked once again.

"No, I didn't give that order." Ryan answered the question from the doorway. Cole noticed he was staring at the three women with a look of surprise on his face. He was obviously reacting to the sight the very same way Cole had.

"Ladies, if you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would stay inside the cell for a few more minutes." Rebecca took a step forward and answered for all of them. "We most certainly do mind. Come along, ladies. We're leaving this vile place." Cole had only just noticed the rifle in Ryan's hands when Rebecca tried to get past him. His arm shot out to block her.

"I think you'd better wait here a little longer, " Cole said.

"I cannot believe such rudeness, " she declared before she backed away.

Jessica tried to get past him then. He shifted so that he blocked her with his body.

They stood toe-to-toe. She didn't back away, and so he gave her a look that suggested she shouldn't tangle with him.

She gave him the identical look. Hell, she was better at it than he was. She didn't even blink. She could stare a rattlesnake down, he thought to himself, and, Lord, she smelled good. Like fresh air and flowers. He quit scowling at her. It wasn't working anyway, and it was his own fault because he wasn't concentrating. He couldn't seem to get past the fact that she had such pretty eyes.

"Cole, we've got a little situation developing out front. I could use your help, " Ryan said.

The baby was peeking up at him. Cole winked at him, then swung the door closed in his mother's face. He locked the door and went back to the front office, her outrage ringing in his ears.

he little situation turned out to be a mob. Ryan had left the front door open and stood on the boardwalk with the rifle at his side. He was in the process of trying to convince forty to fifty angry men to go back home.

"I'm ordering you to disperse, " Ryan shouted. "Go home and let us do our jobs." A man near the middle of the group shouted, "Give us the women. We'll get them to talk." Curious, Cole shouted, "How are you going to do that? " "We'll hang them, that's how, " he answered in a bellow.

"That makes a lot of sense, " he muttered to Ryan.

Ryan glanced over at him. "You can't reason with angry people. "

"They aren't angry. They're just a little riled up. That's all. You want angry, go back inside and let those women out. They're going to flay you alive." Ryan hid his smile. "All right. You take care of this crowd, and I'll take care of the women."

"Deal, " Cole agreed.

He stepped forward to address the men. "No one's going to hang anyone.

You've all been listening to idle gossip. We don't have a witness. "

, We read it in the paper that you do, " a man in front shouted.

"The paper's wrong."

"Then why did the sheriff lock those women up?

" someone yelled.

"You'll have to ask him, " Cole replied. "Now go back home."

"Why don't you and the other marshal go home and let our sheriff take care of the women? He'll get them to talk." Before Cole could answer, a man in front stepped forward and turned around to face his friends and neighbors. He put his hands in the air to hush them. "I know for a fact that the lady with the funny accent was in the bank before it got robbed. I stood in line with her, and I heard her talking to the teller."

"Then it's got to be one of them other two, " yet another man called out. "Did anyone see either one of them in the bank? " "I did, " a man in the back shouted. "I seen the yellow-haired woman when I was getting change for my bills from Malcolm. I remember her real good cause she was about the prettiest thing I ever laid my eyes on." A snicker rolled through the crowd. "What about the woman with the baby?

" "I seen her, " a man called out. "The boy made MacCorkle angry because he was swinging on his gate, and his mama had to get out of line to fetch him. She blistered old man MacCorkle good for raising his voice to her young'n."

"If all of them women were seen in the bank, then it don't appear we got a witness after all, " the placater, waving his hands in front of the crowd, concluded.

"Maybe one of them sneaked back inside to hide under the desk, "

someone else suggested.

"These people aren't real bright, are they? " Cole whispered to Ryan.

"Sloan has gotten them all worked up, " Ryan said.

"All right, " Cole shouted to the group. "Here's what's gonna happen.

All of you are going to go home. I want you to think about what you were doing on the day of the robbery. If any of you saw or heard anything unusual, then come back to the jail tomorrow morning and tell us about it."

"You don't have the right to tell us what to do, " a man near the edge of the crowd shouted. Cole recognized him. He was the reporter from the Rockford Falls Gazette who didn't want the bodies covered with sheets.

Cole had taken an instant dislike to the man.

The reporter took a step forward. His eyes darted back and forth from the crowd to the marshals. "This is a local matter, Marshal. Sheriff Sloan ought to handle it."

"Federal money was stolen, " Ryan shouted.

"And that makes it our business. Do as Marshal Clayborne ordered. Go home and let us do our job."

"I'm not going anywhere until I talk to those women, " the reporter shouted.