and hollered their agreement, fists and bottles waving.
Duggan watched them carry on, his face calm. After they had quieted a little, he took two steps forward. The brim of his hat hid his face in shadow, but his beard glowed red in the sunlight. The marshal pulled twin peacemakers from his belt and pointed them at the crowd. In the following silence, Cora heard two distinct clicks as Duggan pulled the hammers back.
"You're welcome to try," Duggan said, his words clear in the morning air, "but I will shoot the first man that steps forward."
The miners exchanged nervous glances and shuffled their feet. The big one at the head of the group found something to stare at on his boots. Cora folded her arms across her chest and grinned. She hoped poor old Hines wasn't watching from a window somewhere, or he'd be mighty disappointed to see that none of his friends were willing to take a bullet for him.
After a tense minute, the miners began to disperse, breaking into smaller herds and ambling down the street. A few squinted at the morning sun with red eyes before deciding to go in search of a bed. The ringleader, now abandoned by his friends, stared at the barrels of Duggan's guns for a moment before turning away. He shuffled through the snowy street, unsure of where to look or where to go.
Duggan watched them all leave. Only when the street was empty did he thumb the hammers back to rest. Catching sight of Cora standing in the street, he holstered one revolver but kept the other in his hand.
"Morning, marshal," Cora called out as she approached, her buffalo coat swirling around her legs.
"Morning, Mrs Oglesby. Glad to see you've recovered." Duggan turned and walked through the station's door.
She followed him into the station. "Amazing, what a prairie oyster can do for you. Them things is truly the mercy of the good Lord for the drunkard."
"I wouldn't know," Duggan replied, annoyed that the woman was standing in his station again. At the deputy's desk, Jack Evans sat staring wide-eyed at his boss. Duggan turned his attention to him. "What's wrong with you, deputy?"
"I ain't never seen anything like that before, sir," the deputy said. "You faced down a entire lynch mob all on your own."
Duggan nodded. "Ain't like I had a deputy on duty to back me up."
Jack flushed bright red and lowered his head. "Sorry, sir. It just happened so fast."
"Lots of things do," the marshal said. "You got to act just as fast or you'll end up shot. Worse, somebody else may end up in a box that don't deserve it."
"Ain't met the man yet that didn't deserve it," Cora said.
The marshal didn't look at her. "I don't reckon you'll find him at a card table or a bar."
Cora ignored the remark. "Once met a cowpuncher not a day over eighteen years down in Santa Fe. Told me he ain't done a single sin his whole life on account of his being cooped up on his ma's farm for all of it. I says to him that we're all equal sinners in the eyes of the Lord, but he shook his head and proclaimed his innocence. Said he once saw angels flying about his farm, and how could he have seen them if he wasn't a good boy? The good Lord was watching out for him, he said."
Duggan rolled his eyes, but Jack was curious. "What happened to him?"
"Poor fool went and got himself ate by a werewolf, I think," she said, shrugging. "Ben could tell you better than me. He's got the memory for that sort of thing."
Duggan turned on his heels and started toward his office, intent on the bottle stashed in the top drawer. This woman's nonsense brought out his thirst like nobody else.
"Hold up a tick," Cora called after him. "I got something for you."
"What might that be?" Duggan turned and looked at her from his office doorway.
"My own personal sighting of your monster."
A spark of anger flashed in the marshal's blue eyes. "This another one of your 'glimpses'?"
"No, sir," Cora said, shaking her head. "Got all up close and friendly this time around."
"How close?"
Cora stepped up to the deputy's desk and looked at him. "About like this. To his head, anyway. Couldn't really tell how close the arms got, seeing as I was busy not getting eaten."
Duggan took a step toward her, the glimmer of anger replaced with curiosity. "What did it look like?"