Apart from Percy Phlegm, the banker, and Miss Penny Fancy, daughter of Clarence and Emma Fancy of Fancy’s Emporium, there were two other people on the coach. The grey-haired Doctor Herbert Haslip, medical practisioner, surgeon, dentist and coroner was on his way to visit relatives in Montana, and the mustached and dapper Slick Bonanza, card sharp and gambler, was on his way to a new fleecing ground after being sent packing by the sheriff of the town of Boulder Ridge.

Percy was on his way to attend a bank security conference in Montana, and Miss Penny, a mature eighteen, was on her way to attend The Julienne Finishing School for Young Ladies. Doctor Haslip had told the Fancys that he would chaperone their daughter on the trip.

Miss Penny had had several cups of coffee laced with whisky and now was wide awake from the caffein, a little tipsy from the whiskey, and was shivering from the cold night air blowing through the open-windowed coach. On top of that she had to pee after all that coffee.

She left the coach wrapped in her heavy blanket and found a nearby bush in the moonlight. As she relieved herself in the snow, a cold wind blew snowflakes up her skirt. Her teeth chattered. She arranged her clothing, and was on her way back to the coach when she decided to warm herself by the embers of the fire first.

Her chattering teeth were enough to rouse Cole from his light sleep. "Evening, ma’am, you sure do look chilled tonight", he remarked sleepily. "Mebe you oughta bunk down next o the fire with me", he offered.

"I’ll have you know, Cole Brautigan, that I am a lady and do not do such improper things." She replied.

"Well, freeze then, Miss Fancy", said Brautigan, and rolled over in his blanket to warm his backside at the fire.

The booze and the cold finally got the better of her. She had been dwelling all day on the image of Cole’s reaction to her femininity, and now she snuggled up spoon style in her blanket between Cole and the fire. She was warm at last, front and back. She wanted to see Cole's reaction to their proximity in the morning.

During the night Whiplash came to get Cole to do his watch, and took Cole’s place in the blankets. In the morning Miss Fancy was mortified at being found curled up with Whiplash Jones by Cole.

The passengers were not aware that a strongbox with the El Hoyo mine payroll was under the rear seat of the passenger compartment. Slick Bonanza would have been very interested in that information. Apart from the shotgun all the men carried their own personal weapons, and miss Penny had a Derringer in her cloth, drawstring purse. She had put Percy’s change in that purse last night since the coins had been chilling her bosom. She transferred the small gun to her right stocking top, to the delight of all the men. Slick, being the most able-bodied male there, had possession of the shotgun. The others would look for signs of outside intervention.

Jose and Pedro Durango had dug a four foot deep by ten foot long trench in the middle of the road and and had filled it up with snow. Their plan was that the stagecoach and team would founder in the camouflaged hole and would be accessible to sniper fire from the crest of the Crown. Once at their mercy, Whiplash and the other men would be stripped and staked naked in the snow to perish, while the brothers enjoyed the begrudged favours of the female passenger. They would then dispose of her, hijack the stage and drive it back to the hideout where they would open the mine strongbox that their contact in Sagebrush had tipped them off about.

Unbeknown to them, Cole and Whiplash had crept up the eastern flank of the Crown and could see the brothers hiding behind some pillars. Not sure of who they were, they did not feel obliged to shoot them immediately. Cole coverd them with his Winchester while Whiplash ordered, "Raise them hands, pardners, and show us some identimafercashun."

Pedro dove for his rifle and Cole drilled him throught the right ear hole. Brains and earwax went ‘plop�?as they hit the cold, cold ground. Jose thought better of it and raised his hands high.

When they got back to the hidden stage they got the men to gather rocks and build a barricade on both ends of the trench. That should alert anyone using the road to the dangers of the camouflaged hole.

Whiplash suggested everyone have a bathroom break and a mid-morning coffee break. Over coffee and hardtack, Cole and Whiplash told the passengers of the events at the Devil’s Crown.

Miss Penny got extremely infatuated with Cole at that instant, knowing that he has shot and killed the two bandits. Miss penny, it seems, had a psychological quirk that had lain dormant until now. She took Cole aside and whispered, "Cole, Brautigan, you are soooo brave, and handsome too. Big, strong you would kill anyone who tried to hurt little old me, wouldn’t you, hmmmm?"

"Mah job is to protect the passengers, ma’am, and that includes your own self", responded Brautigan trying to be professional as Miss Penny latched onto his arm as if laying claim to him as her personal bodyguard.

Miss Penny turned to face Cole with her back to the others. She quickly pulled at her bodice and exposed some Fancy female flesh for Cole’s viewing pleasure. He blushed and Penny observed the same reaction taking place with Cole’s anatomy as previously. "Now, ma’am, you aughtn’t be doing that there kind of thing to menfolk. You might regret it if some man lost his self control and layed his hands on your person."

"If you like Cole, honey, you can lay your manly hands, or anything else, on me anywhere and any time your little ole heart desires", simpered Miss Penny presenting her charms to Cole with both hands.

"Excuse me ma’am, I gotta go somewheres", spluttered Brautigan and took off at a lope to a distant large boulder which he hid begind. He emerged five minutes later in a less tense state of mind just as Whiplash called everyone to get in the coach so they could resume their journey.

Miss Penny had the goods restored to their confinement by then, and everyone packed up, put out the fire and climbed aboard.

Dozens of buzzards were congregating at Devil’s Crown as if attending a carrion consumer convention. Brautigan released the brakes, geed the team and skirted the hole in the road. "Thirty miles to the next pit stop", declared Jones.

The average speed of a coach was four miles per hour on the bumpy road, and the fare was five cents a mile. It took an uneventful seven and a half hours to reach the next stop, Badgerton, a small town with a saloon and more importantly public baths.

Passengers and crew would spend the night at Badgerton Arms Hotel. Slick Bonanza found The Silver Dollar Saloon much to his liking, and decided to stay over in Badgerton till his welcome wore out, which would be in about two weeks.

Jones and Brautigan took the team to the coach depot where the horses were fed and rubbed down. They would pick up a replacement team in the morning and allow the used horses their day of rest.

After booking their rooms and cleaning up, Brautigan went with Whiplash to the saloon to wet their whistles. Slick was already there playing poker.

Sitting at the bar together, Cole finally told Whiplash about the Penny Fancy shenanigans. Whiplash was impressed. "Waal, son, it looks like you’re a real female magnet alright. But mark my words, be very careful. Them fillys’ll use every dirty trick in the book and hogtie a man in no time if’n he ain’t too smart about it. If’n you want a good time with no ties, check out Dolly over there trying to find a john. She’s choosey about who she goes with so there’s less chance of your pecker droppin�?off a week later if you go with her."

"I guess yer right, Whiplash, but I ain’t takin no chances of ketchin' the clap from no saloon gal", replied Cole. They finished their drinks and decided to hit the hay. On the way out they saw Slick still playing, but now he had a big stack of the other players�?money in front of him.

Brautigan dreamed all night of chasing an elusive, nubile and unclad Penny Fancy around in a large room full of beds. Finally she let him catch her, but before any futher activity could transpire she put a heavy leg iron on him. Cole awoke in a heavy sweat hollering for Whiplash to save him ....

After giving directions to the doctor’s office, the deputy hurried back to the sheriff’s office to browse through some confiscated porn books.

Doctor Willie Hackemoff had done his best to make Slick comfortable and had given him a hefty dose of laudanum for the pain. Laudanum is a narcotic consisting of an alcohol solution of opium, so Slick was a bit dopey when Whiplash and Cole got there.

"Hey youse guys, I got no family and Im gonna croak soon, ha ha ha-haaa, ain’t that a corker!",Slick blurbled. "Ya look like ya could find the loot if anyone can, Jonesy, ha ha ha-haaa. Ya look jes�?like a prospector with a whip, y’old fart ha ha ha-haaa. I want ya to have this map I won in a card game and give half the treasure to Card Sharps Anonymous in my name. Keep the other ha ha ha-haaalf fer yaself. OOOhhhh, what’s that bright red light, ain’t it purty, its so warm lookin�? so ......"

Whiplash took the map from the dead man’s hand, and mentally rebated himself four dollars unused fare on behalf of Slick.

They left the corpse in the care of Doc Hackemoff, and hurried back to Whiplash’s room to study the map.