Crossfire
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One characteristic of Matt Cordell in the book, Crossfire, by H Edward Hunsburger, is risky. Cordell risks his life by getting into gunfights to help recover the missing merchandise. He also risks the lives of his customers.
Matt Cordell has been noticed before for his outstanding recoveries. He had received a telegram from a woman, Elizabeth Talbert, who requested him to meet her at the Interocean Hotel. She had something important to ask him. When he got there, Mrs. Talbert told Cordell what was so important. She wanted Cordell to find her son, who had left a month ago to paint. She had money stored in a bank in Tucson, but it was never withdrawn. Cordell did not agree with it right away, but with Mrs. Talbert’s persuasive talking, he ended up taking the job. The catch was that Mrs. Talbert would go along, Cordell did not agree with this. The next day, they headed out.
While riding, they came upon a dead man. He had a bullet hole in his chest, and all of his pockets were turned inside out. The body had not been lying there long, and there were still tracks around the body and hoof prints from the horses. Cordell loaded the body onto the horse, and they rode to Benson.
When they got to Benson, they headed to the office of Sam Keaton, the sheriff. Sam was not a nice guy, and Cordell could tell from the beginning that there was something bad about him. Cordell talked to Sam about the killing and asked if Sam would arrange a proper burial.
When Mrs. Talbert and Cordell left, they went to the stable and met Jamie Kilcannon. Later, they went to the hotel and checked in. Cordell told Mrs. Talbert to meet him in an hour, and they would go get something to eat. But instead, Mrs. Talbert snuck out. When Cordell noticed that she was gone, it was already too late. She was in a bar with a bunch of rough men, and Cordell had to fight them to save her. They barely escaped and went back to the motel room.
Late that night when Cordell was sleeping, he heard the scraping of a key in the lock of his door. The person at the door was Meg Demsey, a saloon girl. She told Cordell that she had some information on Paul. She had a drawing of her signed by Paul. Meg told Cordell that they were in love, and he had drawn the picture the night before he disappeared. She said that he was going to the mountains to draw, but he never came back. When she was about to leave, someone watching down below frightened her. She told Cordell that she had to make this look like business so who ever was watching did not think anything of it. So she stood in front of the window, and took her clothes off; then, she crawled in bed with Cordell. In the morning, she was gone.
The next day when Cordell went down in the lobby, Mrs. Talbert and a big burly man were talking. The man she was talking to was Ben Fieldhouse, the brother of the guy they found dead. When talking, he told Cordell about the Danby Gang, Wes and Sam Danby. They were raiding their mineshaft and were trying to scare them off. They had done this before to other miners; then, when they were gone, a company out of Denver, Colorado, would buy the mines. After a while, Ben left.
Cordell went to the store to buy some food and other supplies. While he was there, a man came in and asked if his order came in yet. It was an order of paint supplies. Cordell walked up to the man and said that he did not look like a painter. Then, all of a sudden, Cordell was unconscious. When he woke up, his head hurt, and it was bleeding. The storeowner said he fainted, but Cordell did not believe him. When Cordell left, he went to the stable and asked Jamie if he knew who the guy was. Jamie said it was Wes Danby, and he had a camp somewhere up in the Dragoon Mountains.
Later that night when Mrs. Talbert and Cordell were eating, a messenger came up to them and asked Cordell to follow him to Ben’s mine. Cordell did so, and when they got there, Ben told Cordell that Wes and the others have planned an attack for tonight. Ben, Cordell, and the boy set up trip wires around camp. When the riders came, Ben and Cordell got the best of them and killed at least a half dozen, but Cordell took a bullet right in the leg. When they got Cordell fixed up, they went out to see if any of the other guys were still alive. One man was, and