“Yeah, it shore is,” Pistol said. “Why, with just a little dab of that money, we could re-tire, boys.” There was a twinkle in his hard eyes.
“Now, wait just a minute,” Smoke said.
The old gunfighters ignored him. “You know what we could do,” Charlie said. “We could start us up a re- tirement place for old gunslingers and mountain men.”
“You guys are crazy!” Lujan blurted out the words. “You are becoming senile!”
“What’s that mean?” Hardrock asked.
“It means we ain’t responsible for our actions,” Charlie told him.
“That’s probably true,” Hardrock agreed. “If we had any sense, none of us would be here.” He looked at Lujan. “And that goes for you, too.”
Lujan couldn’t argue with that.
“Cat backed up from me a couple of times,” Charlie said. “This time, I think I’ll force his hand.”
Smoke and Beans had stepped back, letting the men talk it out.
“Peck and Nappy is gonna be with him, for sure,” Pistol said. “That damn Nappy got lead in a friend of mine one time. I been lookin’ for him for ten year. And that Peck is just a plain no-good.”
“No-Count George Victor’s got ten thousand on his head,” Silver Jim mused. And he don’t like me atall.”
“Insane old men!” Lujan muttered.
“Well, I damn shore ain’t gonna try to stop them,” Beans made that very clear. “I ain’t real sure I could take any of them ... even if I was a mind to,” he added.
Smoke stepped back in. “You boys ride for the Box T,” he reminded them. “You took the lady’s money to ride for the brand. Not to go off head-hunting. You all are needed here. Now when the shootin’ starts, speaking for myself, you can have all the reward money.”
“Same for me,” Beans and Lujan agreed.
“Aw, hell, Smoke,” Charlie said, a bit sheepishly. “We was just flappin’ our gums. You know we’re stickin’ right here. But Cat Jennings is mine.”
“And Peck and Nappy belong to me.” Pistol’s tone told them all to stand clear when grabbin’-iron time came.
“And No-Count George Victor is gonna be lookin’ straight at me when I fill his belly full of lead,” Silver Jim said.
Hardrock said, “Three-Fingers Kerman and Fulton kilt a pal of mine over to Deadwood some years back. Back- shot him. I didn’t take kindly to that. So them two belongs to me.”
“You men are incorrigible!” Parnell finally spoke.
“Damn right,” Pistol said.
“Whatever the hell that means,” Hardrock muttered.
Fae walked out to join them. “Rita’s up, having breakfast.”
“How’s she feeling?” Smoke asked.
“Aside from some sore feet—she’s not used to walking in men’s boots—she’s doing all right. I think she’s pretty well resigned that her father is around the bend. I told her what you said about Dooley saying he no longer had a daughter. It hurt her. But not as much as I thought it would. I think she’s more concerned about her mother.”
“She should be. There is no telling what that crazy bastard is liable to do,” Silver Jim summed it up.
Fifteen
He had looked into their bedroom and came stomping out. “Where is all your clothes, Liz?” Dooley demanded, his voice hard.
“I moved them out. I no longer feel I am married to you, Dooley.”
“You don’t ...
“I don’t love you anymore. I haven’t for a long time. Years. I cringe when you touch me. I ...”
He jumped at her and backhanded her, knocking her against a wall. She held back a yelp of pain. She didn’t want Gage to come storming in, because she knew that she had absolutely no rights as a married woman. She owned nothing. Could not vote. And in a court of law, her husband’s word was next to God’s. And if Gage were to kill Dooley during a domestic squabble, he would hang.
She leaned against the wall, staring at Dooley as the front door opened, her sons stomping in.
Conrad, the youngest of the boys, grinned at her. “You havin’ a good time while Pa’s usin’ you for a punchin’ bag?”
Sonny and Bud laughed.
Dooley grabbed Liz by the arm and flung her toward the kitchen. “Git in there and fix me some dinner. I don’t wanna hear no more mouth from you.”
Liz walked toward the kitchen, her back straight. I won’t put up with this any longer, she vowed. I’ll follow Rita, just as quickly as I can.
A plan jumped into her head and she smiled at the thought. It might work. It just might work.
She began putting together dinner and working out the plan. It all depended on what Gage said. And the other hands.
She had gone out to gather eggs in the henhouse. Dooley and her sons had left the
