For some time the line of riders was out of sight, low on the slope now and beyond the bank of willow trees. Janroe waited, watching, judging where they would cross the river and appear out of the tree shadows. They would be Kidston riders, Janroe was certain of that. He wondered if he should call Cable. No, wait, Janroe decided. Act natural and just let things happen.
There were six of them. Janroe recognized Duane Kidston at once: Duane sitting a tall bay horse with one hand on his thigh, a riding quirt hanging from his wrist and his elbow extended rigidly. Duane wearing the stiff-crowned Kossuth hat squarely on his head, the brim pinned up on one side with the regimental insignia. Duane playing soldier, Janroe thought contemptuously. Pretending that he’s a man.
Have your fun, Major, Janroe thought then, not taking his eyes from Duane. Have all the fun you can. Your time’s about run out.
Briefly he noted the five men with Duane: Bill Dancey, the solemn, bearded one close to Duane’s right; then the two Dodd brothers, Austin and Wynn. They had been here only once before but Janroe remembered them well, the brothers of one of the men Cable had killed. Austin and Wynn Dodd, one light, the other dark, but both with angular, expressionless faces. Janroe remembered their eyes; they watched you coldly, impersonally, as if you were a thing that couldn’t look back at them.
Janroe was not sure if he had ever seen the two other riders before. He watched these two veer off midway across the yard and circle to the back of the store.
Moments later the two Cable children, Clare and Davis, came running around from the back yard. Then, seeing the four riders approaching the platform, they stopped and stood watching, their eyes wide with curiosity.
“Where is he?” Duane asked.
“Inside.” Janroe moved nearer the edge of the platform.
“Get him out.”
“What for?”
“That’s my business.”
“You want to kill him?”
“Duane’s got things to say to him,” Dancey said then.
Janroe’s eyes moved to the bearded man. “I wouldn’t want to think I fetched him to be killed.”
“We’re not going to kill him,” Dancey said.
“That would be an awful thing to have on your conscience,” Janroe said. “Calling a man to be killed in front of his children.”
Dancey shook his head. “You’ve got my word.”
“And with his wife here too,” Janroe said. “I couldn’t ever face her again.”
“Mr. Janroe,” Duane said, “if you don’t get him out here, you can be assured we will.”
Janroe looked past the men to the Cable children. His eyes settled on Clare.
“Honey, go tell your daddy there’s some men here to see him.”
Clare hesitated, but Davis pushed her and she ran up the steps to the platform, holding close to the wall as she ran by Janroe and into the store.
“Fine youngsters,” Janroe said pleasantly. “He’s got three of them.” Duane wasn’t listening. He glanced at Dancey. Then Dancey and the Dodd brothers dismounted and came up the steps to the loading platform. Duane remained in his saddle.
“Where is he?” Dancey asked.
“Upstairs a few minutes ago.”
“He mention what happened last night?”
“Not a word.” Janroe’s tone indicated only mild interest. “What did?”
“About Lorraine-”
“No!” Janroe’s face showed surprise, then an eager curiosity. “What happened?”
But Dancey’s gaze moved beyond him. Janroe turned. He heard the steps on the plank floor then Cable, wearing his Walker Colt, was standing in the doorway. Janroe saw Martha and the little girl a few steps behind him.
“Take off that gun,” Dancey said.
Cable looked from Dancey to the Dodd brothers-to Austin, the dark one, who was a step nearer than Wynn-then back to Dancey.
“What’s this about?”
“Take it off,” Dancey said again. “You’re covered front and back.”
Cable heard the quick steps behind him. He seemed about to turn, but he hesitated. The two riders who had circled the adobe had entered by the back door and had waited for Cable behind the counter. Now one of them pulled the Walker from its holster. Feeling it, Cable glanced over his shoulder. He saw the second man standing close to Martha.
As Cable turned back to Dancey, Austin Dodd moved. He stepped in bringing his balled left hand up from his side. Before Cable saw it coming the fist slammed into his face. He fell against the door frame, went to his hands and knees with his head down and close to the platform boards. Austin Dodd followed through. His right hand came up with his Colt, his thumb already hooking back the hammer.
“Hold on!” Dancey stepped in front of him. “We didn’t come here for that.” He looked out at Duane Kidston angrily. “You’d have let him, wouldn’t you?”
“Austin has his own reason,” Duane said. “Stopping him wouldn’t be any of my business.”
“We didn’t come here to satisfy Austin,” Dancey grunted.
Duane stared at the bearded foreman. “I’m beginning to wonder why I brought you.”
“You wouldn’t’ve if Vern had been around. You said you wanted to talk to this man. That’s all.”
“I’m going to.”
“But you’d have let Austin kill him.”
“It wasn’t your brother Cable shot down,” Duane said flatly. “That’s the difference.”
“He took him in a fair fight.”
“We’re not even sure of that. All we know is Joe Bob and Royce came home facedown over their saddles,” Duane said. “And it wasn’t your daughter he-”
Duane stopped. His eyes went to Cable who was still on one knee, but watching Duane now.
“Get him up.”
Dancey moved aside. He said, “Go ahead,” and stepped back to the edge of the platform near Janroe. The Dodd brothers pulled Cable to his feet. They planted themselves close to him, each holding an arm with both hands. Cable stood quietly, making no attempt to free himself. Behind him, Dancey could see Martha and the little girl in the square of light formed by the doorway. Martha seemed calm, Dancey judged. But you couldn’t tell about women. The little girl was afraid. And the little boy-Dancey’s gaze moved to the steps where Davis was squatting now-he’s wondering what they’re doing to his pa and he wouldn’t believe it if somebody told him.
Duane called, “Jimmie!” and one of the men who’d covered Cable from behind came out to the platform. Duane raised his reins, then dropped them and the man came down; but not until he’d picked up the reins did Duane dismount. He stepped down stiffly, straightened his coat, then walked around to the steps and up to the platform, past Davis without even glancing at him though he touched him with his riding quirt, in a gesture of brushing the boy aside.
His full attention was on Cable now. Duane stepped squarely in front of him, close to him, and stood for some moments in silence, his legs apart and his hands fisted on his hips. But before he spoke his hands dropped to his sides.
“I should let Austin kill you,” Duane said. “But I can’t do it. God knows everyone here would be better off for it, but I can’t pass final judgment on a mortal man, not even after he’s done what you did.”
“What did I do?” Cable asked, not with surprise or indignation, but calmly, wondering what had suddenly brought Duane here.
“Offended innocence,” Duane said. “You’d better keep your mouth shut. I’ve taken all of you I can stomach.”
“I asked a civil question.”
Duane’s quirt came up and lashed across Cable’s face. “And I said shut up!” He stepped back as Cable twisted to free himself. Wynn Dodd stumbled to one knee and Cable almost broke away, but Austin forced Cable’s right arm behind his back and jerked up on it.
“I’ll break it!”
Cable stopped struggling. He let his breath out slowly and his body seemed to sag. His eyes went to Davis still watching him from the steps, then away from the boy quickly, back to Duane.
“Do you have to do this in front of my children?”
Duane stepped close to him again. “How much respect did you show my daughter?”
“What did Lorraine say I did?”
“She didn’t have to say anything. She was all night at your place.”
Janroe, near the edge of the platform, looked at Martha, but her eyes were on her husband. He noticed Duane’s gaze move to her then.
“You hear that Mrs. Cable? Your husband and my daughter.”
“He told me about it,” Martha said quietly.
“He told you, did he.” Duane’s mouth barely moved. “Did he tell you how he dragged Lorraine into that hut?” He turned on Cable and in the motion slashed the quirt across his face. “Did he tell you how he kept her there all night?” The quirt came back across Cable’s face. “How he threatened her and forced his will on her?” He swung on Cable again and again, hacking at Cable’s cheeks and forehead with the rawhide. Cable’s eyes were squeezed closed and he would turn his head with each stinging blow. But he was off balance, leaning forward awkwardly, and he was unable to turn his body with Austin holding his arm twisted behind him. Duane struck him eight times before his arm dropped heavily to his side.
“Did he tell you all that, Mrs. Cable?”
“He told me everything that happened.”
“His version.”
“If you’ve finished, Mr. Kidston, may I take my husband inside?”
Duane stared at Martha, his face tight as he held back the temper ready to flare out at her calm, quiet manner.
He said then, “If you want him, take him. Take him anywhere you like, but not back to your house. You’re finished here, and I believe you’re intelligent enough to realize it. If you think this is unjust, that’s too bad; your husband is lucky to be alive. I’ll tell you frankly, if it wasn’t for your children he would be dead now.”
Bill Dancey watched Martha, waiting for her to speak again; but Martha said nothing, her hand on the little girl close to her side. Dancey walked across the platform. Going down the steps he patted Davis’s shoulder, but the boy pulled away from him. Dancey mounted, then looked up at Duane.
“You’ve said it. What’re you waiting for?”
Duane still faced Martha. He ignored Dancey, and said, “This evening my men leave for the horse pastures. They’ll be gone one week. If you haven’t cleared out by the time they return, we will take your husband out and hang him. That’s my last warning, Mrs. Cable.”
Duane turned and marched stiffly down the steps to his horse. The Dodd brothers followed, almost reluctantly, both of them looking back at Cable as they mounted and rode out after Duane.
Janroe came away from the edge of the platform and studied Cable’s face closely. “Duane laid it on you, didn’t he?”
Cable said nothing. He felt Martha standing next to him now, but he continued to watch the riders. When they had finally crossed the river and started up the slope, he looked at Janroe.
“That one Duane called Jimmie-what did he do with my gun? Did you see?”
Janroe stepped to the edge of the platform again and looked down. “He dropped it right there.”
“Get it for me.”
Janroe seemed to smile. “I’d be glad to.”
Cable felt Martha’s hand on his arm. He looked at her, at her soft, clear expression, at her eyes that seemed moist, though he wasn’t sure if she was crying.
She said, “Cabe, come inside now.”
He followed her through the store, through the main room to the kitchen, then sat down while Martha went to the sink. She dipped water from a bucket into a kettle, and put the kettle on the stove to heat.
Clare and Davis appeared in the doorway, staring at their father until Martha noticed them and told them to go outside and play.
Cable looked up. “No, let them stay,” he said. He motioned to the children. They came in hesitantly, as if this man with the red welts across his face was someone neither of them had ever seen before. But when he smiled and held out his arms, both of them ran to him and pressed against his chest. He kissed Clare on the cheek, then Davis. The boy’s arms went around his neck and clung to him and Cable felt the knot in his stomach slowly begin to relax.
Martha poured the warm water into a basin. She carried it to the table, then leaned close to her husband and began bathing the swollen red marks that crossed both of his cheeks, his nose and his forehead. A bruise colored his cheekbone where Austin Dodd had hit him.
Cable’s eyes raised. “Where’s Sandy?”
“Still taking his nap.”
“I’m glad he didn’t see it.”
Martha said nothing. She moved the two children aside to give herself more room, then pressed the wet cloth gently to Cable’s forehead.
“The second time they’ve seen me beaten,” Cable said. “Beaten up twice in front of my children-standing there turning the other cheek while a man rawhides my face.”
Martha raised his chin with her hand. “Cabe, you don’t have to prove yourself to them. You’re their father.”
“Something they don’t have anything to say about.”
“They’d love you under any circumstance, you know that.”
“Then it’s a question of proving myself to me.”
Martha shook her head. “It isn’t a matter of principle, a question of whether or not you’re a man. This is something that affects the whole family. We want to go home and live in peace. Clare and Davis and even Sandy, we want what is rightfully ours, but we don’t want it without you.”
“Then you want to leave here,” Cable said.
“I didn’t say that. If we run away, we lose. But if we have to bury you, we lose even more.”
“Martha, I don’t have a choice.”
She leaned close to him with her hands on the arms of the chair. “Cabe, don’t go after them just because of what Duane did.”
“You know it’s more than that.”
“You were beaten up in front of the children. Right now that’s all you can think about.”
“Sooner or later this will be settled with guns,” Cable said. “It might as well be now.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Martha said urgently. “If we wait, if we can put it off-Cabe, something could happen that would solve everything!”
“Like what?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure.”
“Martha, I’m awful tired of waiting.”
She looked at him intently. “You could go to Fort Buchanan. Put it up to the authorities.”
“You know who they’d side with.”
“But we’re not sure. Cabe, at least it’s worth trying.”
From the doorway Janroe said, “I’ve got the only way to solve your problem.” He extended Cable’s Walker Colt, holding it in the open palm of his hand. “Right here.”
Martha turned, looking at him coldly. “That would solve nothing.”
“All right,” Janroe said. “Go up to Buchanan. Tell the Yankees you’re a Rebel soldier come home to find a gang of Yankee horse-breakers using your land and threatening to hang you.” Janroe moved into the kitchen. “You know what they’d do? Supply the rope.”
Martha motioned the two children to the back door. She held it open for them, then, closing it behind them, looked at Janroe again.
“Mr. Janroe, I don’t think this concerns you.”
“Ask your husband whether it concerns me or not.” He stopped in front of Cable and handed him the revolver. “Right?”
Cable said nothing. He took the Walker and looked at it idly, holding it in both hands.
Janroe watched him. “You’re going back to your place?”
Cable nodded.
“That’s the right direction,” Janroe said mildly. His eyes remained on Cable’s lowered head. “Did you hear what Duane said about his men going off this evening? They’ll go over to some pastures Vern’s got way north and west of here and start working the herds home. Duane said they’d be gone a week.” Janroe shook his head. “They’ll be gone longer than that. And just Duane and maybe Vern will be home, just the two of them.”
Cable looked up. “You told me that once before.”
Janroe nodded. “And Duane confirmed it.” His voice lowered. “It would be easy for a man like you. Ride in there and take both of them.”