"I'm the sheriff in Rockford Falls, so this is my jurisdiction, not yours. Like I said before, I ought to be in charge and you two should be taking orders from me."

"You think you could do a better job? " "I maybe could."

"You can't even look at the stains on the floor, " Ryan said. "What makes you think you can" "It's my jurisdiction, " Sloan stubbornly insisted.

Ryan's patience was all used up. "Marshal Clayborne and I are here by special appointment, and I don't particularly care if you've got a problem with that or not. Stay out of our way, " he ordered harshly.

"Now, go get your posse together." Cole listened to the exchange without saying a word. He waited until the sheriff left, then crossed the lobby to the windows and opened one.

A clean, sweet breeze, tinged with the scent of pines, brushed over his arms and neck. He took several deep breaths to rid himself of the metallic smell of blood inside the bank, and then turned around and leaned against the ledge.

He stared at Ryan's back. "It rained hard last night and most of this morning, " he remarked.

"Yeah, I know. I got soaked."

"There isn't going to be a trail this afternoon. It's been washed away." Ryan glanced over his shoulder.

"I know that too. I just wanted to get rid of Sloan." Cole folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. "The men who did this are long gone." Ryan nodded. "Wires were sent to every lawman in the territory yesterday. By now all the main roads are being watched.

There are also men at the train stations and the river. The bastards will still get through the net, though. They're slick, real slick. "

He let the paper he'd been reading drop down to the desk and turned around to face Cole.

"You know what I used to be worried about? " "What's that? " Ryan's voice lowered. "That they'd stop and I wouldn't be able to catch them.

" Cole shook his head. "They aren't going to stop." Nodding toward the bloodstains, he added in a whisper, "They're having too much fun.

" "Yeah, I think you're right. They've developed a real taste for killing."

"How many banks have they robbed? " "This makes almost a dozen."

"They've gotten away twelve times? " "They're either very lucky or very smart."

"Where and when was the first robbery? " "It happened late spring two years ago. They robbed a bank in TexasBlackwater, Texas, to be exact.

That's how they got their name.

" "The Blackwater gang, " Cole said.

"Yes, " Ryan said. "Anyway, they went in during the night with kerosene and burned the building to the ground when they left. No one saw anything."

"Was anyone killed? " "No, " Ryan answered. "Then, two weeks later, they hit another bank in Hollister, Oklahoma. Once again, they went in during the night, but they didn't use kerosene."

"Did they tear up the place? " Ryan shook his head. "They were nice and tidy. They didn't touch anything but the money, and they didn't leave any evidence behind."

"How do you know the two robberies were related? " "Gut feeling mostly, " Ryan said. "There were a couple of similarities.

As I said before, they went in during the night, and in both cases, government money had just been deposited for the army salaries at the nearby forts."

"Where was the third bank? " "Pelton, Kansas, " Ryan answered. "They changed the way they did things with that robbery.

They went in at closing time, just like they did here. There were seven people inside. Two were killed. The shooting started when one of the employees went for his gun. He died gripping it in his hand, but he didn't get a shot off."

"So you did have witnesses? " "Yes, but they weren't helpful. They said the men wore masks and that only one did all the talking. They said he had a southern drawl."

"How many men did they say came into the bank? " "Seven."

"And they were after army payroll again? " "Yes." Cole filed the information away.

Then he asked, "Where did they strike next? " "They went back to Texas, " Ryan answered, "and robbed a bank in Dillon."

"That's your hometown, isn't it? " Ryan looked startled. Cole quickly explained.

"I did a halfhearted search for you when you took the compass from my mother."

"What else did you find out? " Cole shrugged. "Nothing much. Was anyone killed in the robbery in Dillon? " he asked, switching the topic back to the more pressing matter.

"Yes." His voice turned harsh, angry. "Too damned many." Cole waited, but Ryan didn't give him any particulars. When Cole prodded him for details, he became agitated.

"Look, it's all in the files. I've gone through them at least a hundred times, but maybe when you read the reports, you'll find something I missed. The bank in Dillon was the last one they hit that year. They lay low in the fall and winter months, then start in again in the spring and summer months. It's sporadic, yet consistent, " he added. "Last year they moved north and became even more violent, and this year, all three banks they've robbed have been in Montana Territory."

"Probably because there are so many places to hide."

"Yes. I think so too. They've stayed away from the big cities."

"Sheriff Norton told me about the witness you had in Middleton." Ryan nodded. "Luke MacFarland was his name. He happened to be walking past the bank during the robbery. He told me he heard gunshots, but that he was already looking in through the space between the window and the shades because of something else he heard."

"What was that? " "Laughter." Cole wasn't shocked. "I told you they enjoy their work.

It's going to get much worse unless you stop them."

"Unless we stop them, " Ryan corrected. "You're in this now."

"Yeah, I guess I am.

Did Luke tell you how the people inside died? Did they make them kneel down? " "No, they were taken into the back room and killed there. The kneeling . . . that's new. So is the knife." Ryan reached up and began to rub the knot in the back of his neck.

"Damn, I'm tired." Cole could see how exhausted Ryan was. "You shouldn't have slept outside in the rain. You're too old for it. "

Ryan smiled. "I'm only a year older than you are."

"How do you know my age? " "I know everything there is to know about you." If Cole was surprised by the comment, he didn't let it show.

"Why didn't you protect your witness in Middleton? " "I sure as hell tried to protect him. Honest to God I did, but another robbery was reported over in Hartfield, and I left to check it out.

Marshal Davidson was put in charge of Luke MacFarland and his family.

" "Besides telling you that he heard laughter, what else did Luke say?

" "He could only see two men through the seam. One of them took his mask off, and Luke got a glimpse at his profile. He didn't think he could point him out in a crowd, though. He did say he was tall, lean.