When he arrived back at his homestead, Roy exchanged mounts dropping off Molly and transferred everything to Sugar-Girl. Heat radiated out from the saddle as Roy picked it up. Molly ran to the water tough and sucked down gallons of water. Previously, Roy had saddled Sugar-Girl only two other times, but at this moment, he needed a quick ride. Jumping into the leather seat, Roy made several clicking sounds, dug his boots into the horse's sides, and slapped the reins on either side. Sugar-Girl took off like a racehorse from the starting gate.
Roy pushed Sugar-Girl so hard that when he arrived in town, she was sweaty and foaming a little at the mouth. Dismounting, he walked Sugar-Girl to the blacksmith shop and handed the reins to the first worker he found.
"I don't have time to explain, but please cool her down first before giving her any water. I just rode hard from my place. I need to find the sheriff and I'll explain everything when I get back."
The worker stood speechless as Roy hurried toward the sheriff's office. Sheriff Dinkins was asleep with his feet up on the desk, arms folded across his chest, and his hat pulled down to hide his eyes. When Roy burst through the door, Buddy Dinkins nearly fell on the floor from the intrusion.
"What the heck Roy, you scared the daylights out of me. You need to give a man some warning before bursting into a place like this." The sheriff pulled himself together.
Taking his time, Roy explained what he witnessed in the desert earlier. He provided the sheriff with as many details as possible, including where he hid the Wells Fargo strongbox containing the money.
"That would be the Dixon Gang. They robbed the Santa Fe a few days back just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. I heard the train was carrying a considerable cache from one of the Federal mints back east and on its way to San Francisco. They shot and killed twelve Federal Marshals, three train employees, and a few innocent folks riding the train. It was a blood bath."
"Well, it all caught up with them because there are twenty-five dead out in the desert. Not all of them were the robbers. Some looked like a posse, but I didn't see any badges."
"That's very strange; because I heard that the posse was led by the Albuquerque sheriff and included two Wells Fargo guards."
"Somebody must have picked them bodies clean because I didn't see any identification on any of the men. Plus, I wouldn't delay long. The vultures were already circling above the kill."