Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future Read Free Page B

him.”
    “Nobody’s seen him,” replied Cain.
“Or at least, nobody who’s seen him knew it was him.”
    “That’s all you know about it,” said Gentry. “Man I used to run with spent a couple of weeks in
jail with him.”
    Cain looked bored. “Santiago’s
never been arrested. If he had been, we’d all know
what he looked like.”
    “They didn’t know it was him.”
    “Then how come your friend knew?”
    “‘Cause Santiago’s gang broke him
out, and one of ‘em called him by name.”
    “Bunk.”
    “Here I am, offerin’ to do you a
favor, and you turn your nose up at it,” said Gentry. “Damned good thing for
you I’m an old man who ain’t got the wherewithall to give you a thrashing for
insulting me like that.”
    “What favor?”
    “I thought maybe you might be
interested in knowing who my friend is and where you can find him.”
    “There are half a dozen bounty
hunters who frequent this place,” said Cain. “Why give it to me?”
    “Well, now, give ain’t exactly the term I had in mind,” answered Gentry with a grin. “Name like
that, name of a man who actually spent some time with Santiago, it ought to be
worth a little something now, shouldn’t it?”
    “Maybe.”
    There was a momentary silence.
    “I didn’t hear no cash offer yet.”
    “Let’s get back to my question,”
said Cain. “Why me ?”
    “Oh, it ain’t just you,” said
Gentry. “Sold it to Barnaby Wheeler a couple of months ago, but I heard on the
grapevine that he got killed chasing down some fugitive or other. And I offered
it to Peacemaker MacDougal just last week, but he didn’t want to come up with
no money. And I’ll see if I can’t tempt old Steelfist with it before he takes
advantage of one of my poor innocents tonight.” He smiled. “I got to be fair to all my customers.”
    “People have been after Santiago
for thirty years or more,” said Cain. “If you have any information worth
selling, why did you wait until now to put it on the market?”
    “I ain’t got anything against
Santiago,” said the old man. “He ain’t ever done me any harm. Besides, the
longer he stays free, the longer you guys’ll stay on the Frontier lookin’ for
him, and the longer you stay out here, the more money you’ll spend at Gentry’s
Emporium.”
    “Then what caused this change of
heart?”
    “Hear tell the Angel has moved in.
Wouldn’t want no outsider picking up the bounty fee.”
    “What makes you think he will?”
asked Cain.
    “You know what they say about
him,” replied Gentry. “He’s the best. I’ll bet you Black Orpheus gives him a
good twenty verses when he finally gets around to meetin’ him. So,” said the
old man, taking yet another swig, “I’m hedging my bets as best I can. The Angel
collects that money, he’ll be back on the Rim before he has a chance to spend
it. But if you get it, you’ll spend a goodly chunk
of it on Keepsake.”
    “If I don’t retire.”
    “Oh, you won’t retire,” said
Gentry with assurance. “Men like you and Sans Pitié and the Angel, you like
killing too damned much to quit. It’s in your blood, like wanderlust in a young
buck.”
    “I don’t like killing,” replied
Cain.
    “Gonna give me that bounty hunter
guff about how you only kill people for money?” said the old man with a
sarcastic laugh.
    “No.”
    “That makes you the first honest
one I’ve met. How many men did you kill for free before you found out there was
gold in it—two? Three?”
    “More than I hope you can
imagine,” replied Cain.
    “Soldier?”
    Cain paused before answering. “I
thought so once. I was wrong.”
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    “Never mind, old man.” Suddenly
Cain sat erect in his chair. “All right—how much do you want for the name?”
    “What kind of currency can you lay
your hands on?”
    “What kind do you want?”
    “Credits’ll do, I suppose,”
replied Gentry. “Though I’d be real interested in Bonaparte francs or Maria
Theresa