Thirty twoMuffled by the snow, the noise of the flat bottomed wagon was barely audible as Shelby steered it out of the town, but curious onlookers still came out and watched him move by. He paid them little attention, knowing there would be no posse sent after him. Riverneck was a dead town, its death rattle echoing through the miserable streets and the broken, creaking buildings. Soon it would fall into abandonment, like so many old mining towns, and become just another footnote in the history of the American West.
The men had stood in a tight circle, their ancient, rusted firearms shaking in grips made weak with fear. There were five of them, all the worst part of sixty. He smiled and stood up, the guns in his hands coming up, and shot them, one by one, his laughter ringing out louder t
