The Toll Gate

1 
The Raiders. Sought
vainly by man's law
 for three years.

2
Why trackers
failed - the
water trail.

3
Why the band
has known no
failure ----
Black Deering,
the leader.

4
  Jordan, a
lieutenant who
works on the
 "outside."

5
"We've been workin'
together a long
time, an' we've been
chased by sheriffs'
posses, vigilantes an'
even United States
    soldiers."

6
"Boys, there's three
counties that quit
work to rub us out."

7
"We're worth about five
thousand a head an'
they ain't particular 
how we're brought in."

8
"I don't figure to lead
you into nuthin' I can't
lead you out of. I say
------------ we've made
   our last haul."

9
"An' I say
different."

10
"Well, say
 it all."

11
"I've planted a
job for Monday,
on a mail train
that carries forty
thousand in gold."

12
"If we don't
quit now, we're
all apt to be 
standin' on nothin'
an' lookin' up a
     rope."

13
"Are we the gang they
call 'The Raiders' or a
bunch of Injun horse
thieves ---- afraid to
   take a chance?"

14
"You boys know
how things stand.
  Vote on it."

15
"Who all's
for one
more raid?"

16
"Agin it?"

17
"Of course, if
you're reformed
an' afraid --"

18
"Start makin'
 plans for
  Monday."

19
The Raiders'
last hold-up.

20
"Sergeant, isn't that
the same man that -"

21
"Apaches puttin'
on paint at
North Fork an'
aimin' to wipe
  you out!"

22
"Yes, he's the 
same man that
rode eighty miles
to give us a 
 warning."

23
"Well, you've
got 'em all,
 I guess."

24
"In my baby days
they told me about 
a man named Judas.
I reckon you're him!"

25
"Any more of
that an' I'll
turn him loose
   on you!"

26
"Deering, you saved
my post once,
and I'm sorry 
it had to be me
and my men that
   took you."

27
"I'm glad they 
didn't kill you.
You'll make a
pretty picture 'standin'
on nothin' an' lookin'
  up a rope.'"

28
"Jim, do you mind
the women an' the
kids at the Post
an' what might've
happened the night
the Apaches hit?"

29
"Shoot six bits!"

30
"Open one of
them doors. This
car's like an
    oven."

31
"Come on, two
treys, or be a
four deuce."

32
"Goin' up
 grade."

33
"We are goin'
awful slow. I'm
watchin' you dice.
Be good to me."

34
"Four deuce! There's
my point an' I
reckon he's made
his'n too. Shoot
the whole dollar
and four bits."

35
Rincon, where a man
can do a killin' an' get
either a decent hangin'
or a vote of thanks.

36
A business bought
with the blood of
  his own band.

37
Half-starved and hunted,
but working steadily
 toward the Border.

38
"Horse, you're 
'borrowed' an'
it's best we ain't
seen together
till night."

39
"I reckon we've got
to take a chance on 
this town tonight."

40
Night and
the "chance."

41
His last
two-bits.

42
"Any ranch
owners around
   here?"

43
"Need any hands?
I'm afoot but
I know cow work."

44
"Where did you 
  work last?"

45
"H Bar H over in
Thunder Basin."

46
"Ever meet up with
Hank Simmons over
    that way?"

47
"Pardner, I'm Hank
Simmons, an' if I ever
met you before I was
  sleep walkin'."

48
"My geogr'phy may be
bad, but I ain't
aimin' to be laughed 
    at none!"

49
"Was he lookin'
for anybody
---- special?"

50
"Lookin' for work
an' near picked
himself a gun 
    fight."

51
Realization that
the road of 
the outlaw closes 
  all others.

52
Black Deering,
   killer.

53
"Jordan, you're
goin' to pay
   now!"

54
"Get men, get
a bunch of them!
We're goin' after 
  that coyote."

55
"Who did it?"

56
"I know an'
I'll get him!"

57
"Jordan, I'm figurin'
the more killin's you
have among yourselves, 
the less trouble we'll
   have later on."

58
"Cantina's
 burnin'"

59
"That'll help
   us all."

60
"Unbuckle that
gun belt an'
let it fall."

61
"Walk ahead 
of me an'
walk easy."

62
"Walk past that 
hole an' drop
your guns in 
it ---- belts
  an' all."

63
"Pass me them 
bar lamps an'
that dish of 
   money."

64
"There's kerosene 
   down there!"

65
"Follow him!"

66
"Follow him, 
hell! I'm lookin'
to make sure
he's gone."

67
"Get outa here!
She'll blow up
in a minute!"

68
"Black Deering 
held up the 
Ace an' set
it afire!"

69
A horse-killing 
chase, two days
old and leading
always to the 
   Border.

70
"Horse, we gotta move
again. That sheriff's
sure an Indian for
     trailin'."

71
"That'll be Jordan 
an' his Mex outfit."

72
A broken leg and
the humane course.

73
"We know he ain't 
far ahead an' if
your outfit's all in,
we'll go ahead an'
get him for you."

74
"We'll do all the 
huntin' that's done
on this side of 
the Border."

75
"It was our 
friends he 
 killed."

76
"Jordan, keep your dirty
bunch out of this, or
I'll let the boys do 
this country a real favor."

77
Mary Brown, living 
alone with her baby,
since the disappearance
  of her husband.

78
"Is this
 daddy?"

79
A woman who has 
known no good man.

80
And a man who has 
known no good woman.

81
"Horse got in
quicksand an'
I lost him,
outfit an' all."

82
"I haven't a
horse, but there's
some clothes of
my husband's in
the bedroom. You
could put them
on and dry yours."

83
"He disappeared more 
than a year ago and 
 never came back."

84
"He must have
been killed."

85
"He must 
have been."

86
"I'm an outlaw an'
them men comin'
are after me. I
figure to use your
husband's clothes
 an' his name."

87
"When you talk to 
them, I'm your
husband. Get that
straight an' tell
  it straight!"

88
"I'll help you."

89
"Little son, are
all the men in 
the world outlaws 
and murderers?"

90
"You live here?"

91
"Does me an' my
wife look dressed 
  for a visit?"

92
"See anythin' of a
man about your size 
an' build travelin' this
way ------- in a hurry?"

93
"Feller swum
the river up 
above 'bout
half hour ago."

94
"What kind 
of a horse?"

95
"Swum it
 afoot."

96
"Remember, I'm
watchin' every
move you make."

97
"You can
trust me."

98
"I ain't trustin'
-------- nobody."

99
"If you go 
huntin', can
   I go?"

100
"There's some trails 
from the ford,
but they're older 
than a half hour."

101
"Take some of the boys
an' follow them. I ain't
just sure that everythin's
  straight right here."

102
"I need some 
wood an' it 
would probably
look better if
you ---------"

103
"My horses an' men is
all in. We'll camp here
till sun-up if you
ain't objectin'."

104
"We left kinda hurried
an' ain't packin' blankets.
Do you mind the boys
beddin' in the cabin?"

105
"You must call 
him daddy and
you must tell
those men he is
 your daddy."

106
"I reckon I was wrong
when I said ------- I
wasn't trustin' nobody."

107
"You risked being captured
to save my boy --------
   and I trust you."

108
"You may 
have to."

109
"Daddy, can
 you make 
  a bow?"

110
The test of a 
man's truthfulness
and of his soul.

111
When a man's
heart goes black
with the poison
of revenge.

112
"I'm still
trusting you."

113
"Roll out, boys,
I ain't Jim Brown
I'm a liar -----
I'm Black Deering."

114
"They may call 
you Black Deering,
but, by God,
you're white."

115
"Jordan's gang's got
the boys cornered.
If you don't get
there before them
Mexes can see to
shoot, they ain't 
 got a chance."

116
"You two boys
stay here, take
care of Slim
an' guard Deering."

117
"Sheriff, I'm goin'
to the rope. Give
me a chance to
die like a white
     man."

118
"I've never been 
any good an' I
don't know anythin'
only how to handle
a pair of guns but,
Sheriff I can sure 
     do that."

119
"I'm askin' for
a chance to
die - fightin'!"

120
"I'm hopin' you'll
try to think
that I ain't
 all bad."

121
Waiting for the 
rush that means 
   the end.

122
"Ride around the 
hill. I'm takin' 
 a short cut."

123
 "Deering's 
gettin' away!"

124
"He'll come back."

125
"I'm goin' to kill
you, Jordan, for two
     reasons."

126
"One of 'em you know,
an' the other you
never will know."

127
The North Trail.

128
"We're all goin'
the same way.
Kin I carry 
the little feller?"

129
"Deering, we ain't
all goin' the same
way. We're below
the Mexican Border
line an' I can't
  take you."

130
"As long as you stay
south of that line,
you're safe, but don't
    cross it."

131
"I've been two gunnin'
my way aroun' too
long. Mebbe you could 
  use one of 'em."

132
"This horse an' outfit
belonged to a pal who
stayed back yonder. I
know he'd want you 
    to have it."

133
"The little fellow 
wants to go with 
you, and -------"

134
"-- and -- and
--- so do I."

135
"The Sheriff's 
goin' to see
that you get
back to your
own people, that's
     best."

136
"Best for you
an' best for
the little feller."

137
"Provin' you can't tell
how white a man is by
the color of his coat."

138
Through the Toll Gate
that bars the Portal of
Tomorrow and inexorably
claims tribute for the
Sins of Yesterday.

139
"By their fruits ye
shall know them -"