“Winnie!” Jennie screamed in joy, running from the porch with her arms outstretched. “Winnie, oh, thank God you are safe!”
“And thank Mr. Jensen,” Winnie said.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Jennie was in the kitchen with Clara and the cook, supervising a very special welcome-home dinner for Winnie: his favorite roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. Winnie was sitting on the front porch with Frewen and Matt. Matt had been invited for the welcome-home dinner.
“I don’t know what happened to Tudor Monarch,” Matt said. “I didn’t see him when we left.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry about him,” Frewen said. “Horses are pretty smart. He hasn’t turned up here, but I expect he has gone back to Thistledown. I’m surprised though, that William hasn’t said anything about it.”
“Uncle, that reminds me,” Winnie said. “I overheard a strange thing while I was being held captive.”
“What is that?”
“One of the outlaws, Mr. Poindexter, made a strange comment. He said, ‘You’ve heard Teasdale talking haven’t you? Always so prim and proper.’ And he said it in a way that led me to believe that it wasn’t just something that had overheard, but something that occurred in an actual conversation with Sir William. And then, after he said that, Mr. Logan struck him in the face. When Mr. Poindexter asked him why he hit him, Mr. Logan said, ‘Because you’ve got a big mouth, Poindexter.’
“Later, Mr. Logan asked me if I had overheard them, and though I had, I pretended as I had not because it seemed important to him that I not have heard. I found that very strange.”
“Winnie, what are you suggesting?” Frewen asked. “Are you suggesting that Sir William was in league with Sam Logan? That is impossible. He is my closest friend. He is a fellow Englishman.”
“So was Guy Fawkes,” Matt said.
“You know of Guy Fawkes?” Frewen said. “I am impressed. But it isn’t the same thing.”
“I think it is,” Matt said. “I wasn’t going to say anything yet, but since Winnie brought it up, I’ll mention it now. When Greer, Bragg, and Poole arrived to meet me, they were talking about the five thousand dollar reward that was put out on me.”
“Yes, well it has been no secret that there was a reward posted for you,” Frewen said. “Everyone knows about that.”
“Yes, and everyone, including me, assumed that the reward had been posted by Sam Logan. But that isn’t true. It was posted by William Teasdale.”
“Oh, my God,” Frewen said. Putting his elbow on his knee, he bent his head forward and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I should have seen this,” he said. “William and his repeated offers to buy me out—at much less than the ranch is worth—is all part of the pattern, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. And I’m glad you understand,” Matt said. “I was afraid I might not be able to convince you.”
“No, I’m convinced,” Frewen said, shaking his head. “And what Winnie said makes sense now, as well. Logan would not have wanted him to overhear something that would implicate William.”
“What are you going to do now, Uncle Moreton?” Winnie asked.
“I must confront him,” Frewen said. “He must not be allowed to think that he can get away with it.”
“There is no need for you to do that,” Matt said.
“I don’t agree. He must be confronted,” Frewen said.
“Oh, I’m not saying he doesn’t need to be confronted. I’m just saying you don’t need to do it. I’m going to.”
Frewen held up his hand. “That isn’t necessary, Matt. You stopped the Yellow Kerchief gang, you stopped the rustling. You have fully lived up to your bargain, and earned every cent I paid you.”
“This one is for me,” Matt said. “William Teasdale put a five thousand dollar reward out for me. I take something like that very personal, so I will be calling on him, personally.”
At the side of the house, but back behind the porch where he couldn’t be seen, Myron Morrison stood in the shadows, listening to the conversation. When he had heard all he needed to hear, he went to the stable, saddled his horse, and started to ride away.
“Hey, Mr. Morrison, where you going?” Ian called out to him. “If you’re going into town, wait a minute and me ’n Johnny will ride in with you.”
“I’m not going to town,” Morrison said. “I’ve got something to take care of.”
Johnny came out of the bunkhouse then, still wiping away the residue of shaving cream. “Where’s Morrison goin’?” he asked.
“I don’t know, he just said that he had somethin’ to take care of.”
“Ah, he ain’t no fun anyway,” Johnny said. “Ain’t it good that Jensen found the boy and brought him back safe?”
“Yeah, but that ain’t all he did. He took out the whole Yellow Kerchief gang, all by hisself.”
“Damn, you remember when me ’n you tried to stand him up when he was first comin’ in?” Johnny asked.
“Yeah,” Ian answered. “I’m sure glad we didn’t try nothin’.”
