Instead of saying those things to Woodrow she fed him some apple tarts she had saved up to buy from the bakery. They were such delicious apple tarts that he ate four of them, and, after a time, went to sleep. Maggie held him in her arms a long time. She knew there was much she could say to him, and perhaps should say to him, about the ways of women; but she only had one night and decided she had just rather hold him in her arms.
The troop did not make an auspicious appearance when they gathered in the lots at dawn and began to saddle their horses and tie on their gear.
Call had decided to take the two boys, Pea Eye and Jake Spoon, plus Deets to do the cooking, Long Bill in case there was a desperate fight, andof course himself and Augustus --the latter had not appeared.
Long Bill was there, at least, dark circles under his eyes and a haggard look on his face.
'Didn't you sleep, Bill?' Call asked.
'No, Pearl cried all night--she ain't up to being consoled,' Long Bill said.
'Women will just cry when the menfolk leave,' Call said. His own shirt was wet from Maggie's tears.
'Did you hear about Clara? It's got me upset,' Long Bill said. 'I was looking forward to eating her cooking, once Gus married her, but I guess that prospect's gone.' 'Have you seen him?' Call asked.
'No, but I heard he fought two Germans in a whorehouse last,' Long Bill said.
'I don't know what the fight was about.' The two youngsters, Pea Eye and Jake, were nervous, Call saw. They kept walking around and around their horses, checking and rechecking their gear.
'Gus is late,' Call observed.
'Maybe he didn't win the fight.' 'I imagine he won it,' Long Bill said.
'I suppose Gus could handle two Germans, even if he was heartbroken.' Call kept expecting to see Augustus ride up at any minute, but he didn't. They were all saddled up and ready. It was vexing to wait.
'His horse ain't here, Captain,' Long Bill said. 'Maybe he left without us.' 'I can't get used to you calling me 'Captainea'' Bill,' Call said. It was as an honest dilemma. He and Long Bill had been equal as rangers for years, and, in not a few instances, Long Bill, who was five years older than Call, had shown himself to be more than equal in judgment and skill. He was better with skittish horses than Call was, to name only one skill at which he excelled. Yet, through the whim of Captain Scull, he and Gus had been elevated, while Long Bill was still a common ranger. It was a troubling consideration that wouldn't leave his mind.
Long Bill, though he appreciated the comment, had no trouble with the shift in status. He was a humble man and considered himself happy in the love of his wife and the friendship of his comrades in arms.
'No, that's the way it ought to be,' he said.
'You're in this for the long haul, Woodrow, andwith me it's just temporary.' 'Temporary? You've been at it as long as I have, Bill,' Call said.
'Yes, but Pearl and me are having a baby,' Long Bill confided. 'I expect that's one reason she was so upset. She made me promise this would be my last trip with you and the boys --t's a promise I have to keep. Rangering is mostly for bachelors. Married fellows oughtn't to be taking these risks.' 'Bill, I didn't know,' Call said, startled by the similarity of their circumstances.
Long Bill had fathered a child and now Maggie was claiming he had done the same.
'You're welcome to stay if you feel you need to,' he told Long Bill. 'You've done your share of rangering. You did it long ago.' 'Why, no, Captain. I'm here and I'll go,' Long Bill said. 'I mean to have one last jaunt before I settle down.' Just then they saw Augustus McCrae come around the corner by the saloon. Gus was walking slowly, leading his horse. Call saw that he was heading across the street toward the Forsythe store, which was not yet open, it being barely dawn. Call wondered if the matter of Clara's marriage was really as settled a thing as everyone seemed to think.
'There he is, headed for Clara's,' Long Bill said. 'Shall we wait for him?' Call saw Gus turn his face toward where they sat, already mounted. Gus didn't wave, but he did see them. Though anxious to get started, Call hated to ride out without his friend.
'I guess he'll catch up with us--he knows which way we're headed,' Jake Spoon said.
He was anxious to get started before he grew any more apprehensive.
'If he lives he might,' Long Bill said, looking at the man walking slowly across the street, leading his horse.
'Well, why wouldn't he live?' Jake asked.
Long Bill did not reply. What he knew was that Gus McCrae was mighty fond of Clara Forsythe, and now she was gone for good. He was not stepping high or jaunty, and Gus was usually a high-stepper, in the mornings. Of course Bill didn't feel like explaining it to a green boy such as Jake.
Call too saw the dejection in Gus's walk.
'I expect he's just going to say goodbye,' Call said. 'We better wait. He might appreciate the company.'
Augustus felt queasy in his stomach and achy in his head from a long night of drinking, but he wanted one last ^w with Clara, even though he didn't expect it to improve his spirits much. But, since the day he had met her, every time he rode out of Austin on patrol he had stopped by to say goodbye to Clara. She wasn't quite a married woman yet--one more goodbye wouldn't be improper.
Clara was expecting him. When she saw him come round to the back of the store she went out barefoot to meet him. A wind whistled through the street, ruffling the feathers of some chickens that were pecking away on the little slope behind the store.
'It's cold, you'll get goose bumps,' Gus said, when he saw that she was barefoot.
Clara shrugged. She saw that one of his eyes was puffyou.
'Who'd you fight?' she asked.
