Notes 2

Missy Crews screamed in surprise and fright as the customer came up with a pistol already in his hand. “Matt, look out!” Billy Ray
cried as he and the others at the bar dived for the floor, just as the customer fired. The sudden move had caught Matt by surprise,
and even as he was bringing his pistol up from the holster, his assailant was pulling the trigger. The bullet from the gunman’s pistol
hit the mug of beer Matt had been drinking, sending shattered shards of glass and a little shower of beer all over. The cowboys
weren’t the only ones on the floor. Everyone else in the place had also dived for cover, leaving only Matt and the shooter still
standing. But the shooter didn’t stand for long. Matt fired before the other man could pull the trigger a second time. The heavy
slug from Matt’s gun sent the would-be gunman crashing through a nearby table. Glasses and bottles tumbled and whiskey and
beer spilled out onto the table and dripped down, making a little puddle on the floor. Gun smoke drifted slowly up to the ceiling,
then spread out in a wide, nostril-burning cloud. Matt looked around the room quickly to see if anyone else might represent
danger, but he saw only the faces of the customers, and they showed only fear, awe, and surprise. “Damn!” Billy Ray said into the
silence that followed the two gunshots. “I wonder what made that fool think he could do something like that?”
• Is he dead?” someone asked. “Yeah, he’s dead,” Matt said, even before anyone was
able to check on him. “How do you know he’s dead?” Cooter asked. “Because I didn’t
have time not to kill him. Do any of you know him?” “I’ve seen him before,” Cooter
said. “His name is Asa Carter.” “What do you know about him?” Matt asked. Cooter
shook his head. “About the only thing I really know about him is that he’s one of the
Regulators.” Chapter Thirty-two “Kennedy and O’Neil now own the Circle Dot,” Art
told Matt and Hugh. “Every acre of land, every building, and every head of stock.”
“What? How did they get all that?” Hugh asked. “I know for a fact that Jim didn’t have
a mortgage. He owned the property free and clear.” “Taxes,” Art said. “There was a
five-hundred-dollar tax assessment levied against the Circle Dot with forfeiture of the
property being the penalty for nonpayment. Kennedy and O’Neil paid it.” “That’s
strange. Jim never said anything to me about owing taxes.” “Not strange at all,” Art
said. “He couldn’t have told you, because the assessment wasn’t made until after he
and Mary Ella were both dead.” “Who levied the taxes?” Matt asked. “Wait, let me
guess. Judge Briggs?” “My, my, how did you guess that?” There was a clear sarcastic
tone to Art’s response.