Mrs. Dalton’s Boys, part 7
It was not long after Bob gave the order to start, this early morning of October 5, 1892, in Coffeyville, Kansas that the Dalton Gang, in their attempt to rob two banks at once, ran into their first obstacle.
They entered Union Street, which was the main route to the center of town. Here, workmen were tearing up the street. Gone was the hitching post that was supposed to have been in front of the Opera House. It was this hitching post the Daltons had planned to tie their horses to. The instant new plan was to divert the horses to the alley and tie them to posts near a lumberyard. It was now 9:30 a.m.
Broadwell and Powers had not been in Coffeyville for many years and had no concern about being recognized. This was not the case for the three Dalton brothers. Emmett and Bob had donned false beard and Grattan had grown dark whiskers for the occasion. All ready, the men walked through the alley to the plaza, confident that none of them would be recognized. They were wrong.
Old Alec McKenna was a stable-keeper in Coffeyville and had been around town for many years. He happened to take a glance at the men and thought he recognized the three Dalton boys. Keeping his eye on them all, he watched as Grattan and two other men entered the Condon Bank and, at the same time, Bob and Emmett enter the First National.
Creeping closer, McKenna took a peek through the Condon Bank window. He saw Grattan pointing his Winchester at cashier Charley Ball and the bank's vice-president Charles T. Carpenter. Instantly, McKenna began to yell that the Daltons were holding up the bank.
Inside the Condon Bank the robbers heard the age-old claim that the safe would not open until a set time, in this case not for another three minutes which could seem like a mighty long stretch during a holdup. Grattan decided to wait.
The bank was probably filled with silence for those eon-long three minutes, except for the ticking of the clock. One minute passed, then two minutes were gone. There was one minute to go but before the time was up bullets came crashing into the bank. Walls were splintered and glass was shattered. Store shelves in town had been cleared of weapons and bullets and now armed men seemed to sprout from every portal.
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