His story of the near twenty years earlier now shared, Sheriff Reynold looked across the table at the only two men now who had ever heard it told in full. From the looks on Sam and Flat's faces, he could tell they did not know what to make of it.

"So...then...what happened when you finally made it back to Fox Den?" inquired Flat, the more receptive of the pair.

"Well," the sheriff sighed, "folks could see I'd lost my arm and was worked up, but none of them could recall me being with a strange woman the night before. I got some looks similar to the ones you're giving me so I quickly gave up mentioning Meriem all together."

"And what happened to Ghortfash? Did he manage to get free of the prairie witch?"

Reynold glumly shook his head. "I never saw Ghortfash again. Meriem must have done something to him after his stunt to save me, but I found no trace of him- or really anyone- when I finally convinced a group to check out the Cheyenne Crossing Caves with me. She must have pack up camp and left."

Sam had remained quiet, but he shook his head with a chuckle. "Okay, sheriff, is this another game?"

"What game?" the sheriff answered.

"You don't want to tell us what really is going on with this robber and your history together so you've concocted some crazy tale to avoid the real story?"

Reynold huffed with a hint of indignation. "You think I'd waste time making up a story for the likes of you? If I didn't want to tell you I'd just not tell you. My sharing this with you- and keep in mind I've told no one else but you two- is so that you know what I didn't going in and can be better prepared for Meriem's trickery."

Sam stared back at the lawman. "So, you believe this woman- witch or not- is still alive?"

"Yes, she has to be."

"You sound mighty adamant, sheriff. You seen her recently?"

"No, but you're right, I am adamant."

"So, sheriff," said Flat, "what do you think is going on? Why are you adamant she's alive and this robber is connected to her?"

"Well, boys..." Reynold paused a moment. He reached for Flat's second whisky glass, having finished Sam's. "You said yourself you heard the rumors. How the man in gray had a weird look to him and that he was intent on showing off his muscular arm. What you didn't hear was the full witness reports. Those who saw him say it wasn't merely a muscular arm- it was a tattooed muscular arm. With the tattoo of the name Norma in a heart."

"Like your right arm!"

"Yes, because it is my right arm."

Sam crossed his arms. "And what exactly do you think of all this, sheriff?"

Reynold took a sip. "What I think, Sam, is that Meriem has returned to the Fox Den area. What I think is she kept my arm when she fled years ago and has succeeded in building a new body for her brother with it as a part of that project. What I think is she intentionally sent her brother- or whatever you want to call that monstrosity- to rob the bank with his arm exposed knowing it'd get my attention."

"And...now what? She seems to have finished re-building her brother without your other arm, so what business could she want with you?"

"That I don't know," confessed the sheriff, "but I have no intention of going to the caves to find her. That's what you two are for."

"Wait, you're sending us to find that prairie witch?" Flat's faces turned white.

"She knows me. I can't trick her into coming here. And she's no fool, she knows I'd be ready for her this time. But you two? She doesn't know you, more over she doesn't know you know what she is. You could probably convince her you're two outlaws on the run looking to work with her to get back at the sheriff of Fox Den, win her trust- after all, with Marshal De La Cruz due to arrive here any day, you are wanted men who need to disappear."

"And what exactly is your end game, sheriff?" pressed Sam.

"Well, you two are going to do a couple of things for me once you win Meriem's trust. First and foremost, you're going to figure out how to get my arm back from that Frankensteined brother of hers."

"What are you going to do with your arm?"

"Who cares? It's my arm. I want it back."

"And the other things you want from us?"

"I want you to destroy that spell book of hers. Well, first review it and tear out the pages for spells that seem to be for re-attaching limbs. But then burn the rest. She needs that spell book to do most of her powerful magic and without it she'll be at a disadvantage."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, I want you to bring Meriem here to me- but only once you've destroyed her spell book and know she's not much of a threat."

"How...how do you know she hasn't memorized spells by now?" asked Flat.

"I don't. But you two will be in her company, maybe you can scout that out and let me know. So long as I get my arm back and I get to get justice for what she did to me and Ghortfash, order will be restored."

"And you'll let us off," added Sam, "both with you and with the marshal."

"If you do a good job," Reynold retorted.

"I...I don't know if I feel safe tricking a witch," confessed Flat with some of his nervousness returning, "I don't want to think what she'll do to us when she finds out we're trying to trick her..."

"Then don't think about it. And don't have her figure it out. Easy."

Through the front door Simpson returned. It seemed he had finished refilling the water trough.

"Boys," Reynold said with a serious look to him, "I believe we're clear. You know what you have to do if you want to keep your freedom. If I were you I'd be making my way to the Cheyenne Crossing Caves before sunrise, lest you want to make things easy for Marshal De La Cruz."

Sam and Flat both downed the last of their whiskey, one wondering how much of the sheriff's story about prairie witches could possibly be the truth and the other wondering how quickly their ruse would be seen through by a woman with claimed powerful magic abilities.