too weak to walk that far.
'What are we going to say to the Governor, now that this has happened?' Augustus asked.
'He's the Governor, I guess he can do the talking.' Call said, as they rode up the street.
When informed of the tragedy, Governor Pease shook his head and stared out the window for several minutes. A military man was with him when the two captains came in, a Major Nettleson of the U.S. Cavalry.
'That's three suicides since the raid,' Governor Pease said. 'Raids on that scale have a very poor effect on the nerves of the populace. Happens even in the army, don't it, Major?' 'Why, yes, we sometimes have a suicide or two, after a violent scrap,' the Major said.
He looked at the rangers impatiently, either because they were late or because they were interrupting his own interview with the Governor.
'Bill Coleman had been with us through it all, Governor,' Call said. 'We never expected to lose him that way.' Governor Pease turned from the window and sighed. Call noticed that the Governor's old brown coat was stained; since the raid he had often been seen in an untidy state. He had grown careless with his tobacco juice, too.
Judging from the carpet, he missed his spittoon about as often as he hit it.
'It's one more murder we can charge to Buffalo Hump,' the Governor said. 'A people can only tolerate so much scalping and raping. They get nervous and start losing sleep. The lack of sound sleep soon breaks them down. The next thing you know they start killing themselves rather than worry about when the Comanches will show up again.' Just then Inez Scull came striding into the room. Major Nettleson, who had been sitting, hefted himself up-- he was a beefy man.
Madame Scull merely glanced at him, but her glance caused the Major to flush. Augustus, who was merely waiting dully for the interview to be over, noted the flush.
'Why, there you are, Johnny Nettleson,' Inez said. 'Why'd you leave so early? I rather prefer for my house guests to stay around for breakfast, though I suppose that's asking too much of a military man.' 'It's my fault, Inez,' the Governor said quickly. 'I wanted a ^w with the Major--since he's leaving, I thought we'd best meet early.' 'No, Johnny ain't leaving, not today,' Madame Scull said. 'I've planned a picnic and I won't allow anything to spoil it.
It's rare that I get a major to picnic with.' Then she looked at Governor Pease defiantly. The Governor, surprised, stared back at her, while Major Nettleson, far too embarrassed to speak, stared solemnly at his own two feet.
Augustus suspected that it was stout Major Nettleson that Madame Scull was trotting with now; the picnic she was anxious not to have spoiled might not be of the conventional kind. But this suspicion only registered with him dully. His mind was on the night before, most of which, as usual, he had spent drinking with Long Bill Coleman. It was a close night, and the saloon an immoderately smelly place. During the raid a bartender had been stabbed and scalped in a rear corner of the barroom; the bartender had been murdered, and so had the janitor, which meant that the bloody corner had been only perfunctorily cleaned. On close nights the smells made pleasant drinking difficult, so difficult that Gus had left a little early, feeling that he needed a breath of river air.
'Come along, Billy, it's late,' he said to Long Bill.
'Nope, I prefer to drink indoors, Gus,' Long Bill replied. 'I'm less tempted to seek whores when I drink inside.' Augustus took the comment for a joke and went on out into the clean air, to nestle comfortably by the riverbank all night. But now the remark about whores, the last ^ws he would ever hear from Long Bill Coleman, came back to mind. Had Bill, so deeply attached to Pearl, really been seeking whores; or was it, as he had supposed, a joke?
He didn't know, but he did know that he hated being in the Governor's office, listening to Inez Scull banter with her new conquest, Major Nettleson. Long Bill's death was as much a shock as Clara's marriage. It left him indifferent to everything. Why was he there? What did he care about rangering now? He'd never stroll the streets of Austin again, either with the woman or the friend; at the thought, such a hopeless sadness took him that he turned and walked out the door, passing directly in front of the Governor, the Major, and Madame Scull as he went.
'I'll say, now where's McCrae going?' the Governor said in surprise. 'The two of you have just got here. I haven't even had a moment to bring up the business at hand.' 'I expect he's sad about our pard--he'd ridden with the man for many years,' Call said.
'Well, but he was your friend too, and you ain't walked out,' Governor Pease said.
'No,' Call said, though he wished the Governor would get down to business. He thought he knew how Gus felt, when he walked out.
The Governor seemed momentarily thrown off by Gus's departure--he bent right over the spittoon but still managed to miss it with a stream of tobacco juice. Madame Scull had relaxed, but Major Nettleson hadn't.
'Was there something in particular, Governor?' Call asked finally. 'Long Bill will be needing a funeral and a burial soon. I'd like to arrange it nice, since he was our friend.' 'Of course, excuse me,' Governor Pease said, coming back to himself. 'Arrange it nice and arrange it soon. There's work waiting, for you and McCrae and whatever troop you can round up.' 'What's the work?' Call asked.
'Ahumado has Captain Scull,' the Governor said. 'He's offered to exchange him for a thousand cattle, delivered in Mexico.
I've consulted the legislature and they think we better comply, though we know it's a gamble.' 'The U.S. Army cannot be involved--not involved!' Major Nettleson said, suddenly and loudly. 'I've made that plain to Governor Pease and I'll make it plain to you. I'm trying to train three regiments of cavalry to move against the Comanche and finish them. I've no men to spare for Mexico and even if I did have men, I wouldn't send them below the border-- now that there is a border, more or less. Not a man of mine will set foot across the Rio Grande--not a man. I must firmly decline to be involved, though of course I'd be happy to see Captain Scull again if he's alive.' Both the Governor and Call were nonplussed by this stream of talk. Madame Scull, however, was merely amused.
'Oh, shut up, Johnny, and stop telling lies,' she said, with a flirtatious toss of her head.
'What lies? I'm merely pointing out that the U.S. Army can't put itself out every time a bandit demands a ransom.' 'No, the lie was that you'd be happy to see Inish again,' Madame Scull said. 'You weren't happy to see him when he was your commanding officer, I seem to recall.' 'Not happy ... I fail to understand .
really, Madame,' Major Nettleson protested, turning cherry red from embarrassment.
'Inish always thought you were a fat-gutted fool,' Mrs. Scull said. 'He said as much many times.
