comment about how Chamberlain’s wife had died several years earlier. Chamberlain’s hair and mustache were iron gray. Deep-set eyes looked out from a face that tended toward gauntness. The collar of his shirt was a little too big for his turkey neck.
Despite his appearance, there was nothing the least bit frail about his voice. It was deep and commanding. “You’re Morgan?” he asked as he came into the library.
“That’s right.”
“I’m told that you’re a…gunfighter. What’s your business with me, sir?”
Right to the point. That was fine with Frank. “It’s about the bounty on the Terror.”
Chamberlain gave an impatient wave of his hand. “You’re free to go after it just like anyone else. You don’t have to make any special arrangements in advance.”
“I don’t want the bounty,” Frank said. “I think you should call it off.”
“Call it off?” A snort of disbelief came from the timber baron. “That creature has killed almost half a dozen men. If the bounty helps rid the forest of it, the money will be well worth it, sir.”
“It’s killed more than half a dozen men now. Eight more died this afternoon.”
Chamberlain’s eyes widened in a look of shock. “Eight men?” he repeated, his voice going hoarse. “But who… how…”
Quickly, Frank explained about the deaths of the loggers and the two bounty hunters. As he spoke, the hollows in Rutherford Chamberlain’s cheeks became even more pronounced. “Dear Lord,” he whispered when Frank was finished. “Dear Lord.” Chamberlain’s back stiffened. “Perhaps I should invoke the Devil’s name instead, since that creature must come from the foulest, deepest pits of Hell!”
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Frank said. “All I know is that you’re going to have more men dying in those woods if you leave that bounty in force. They’ll be killing each other by accident, rather than running into the Terror. It almost happened this afternoon.”
He told Chamberlain what had happened when the two groups of bounty hunters opened fire on each other. Chamberlain’s impatience grew visibly as he listened.
“It’s not my fault if those men are careless,” he snapped. “I fail to see where it’s my responsibility.”
“Your bounty is the reason they’re out there in the first place, running around the woods and shooting at everything that moves,” Frank argued. “You can put a stop to it by spreading the word that there’s not going to be any bounty.”
Chamberlain shook his head stubbornly. “I won’t do it. I want that thing dead, no matter what it takes.”
“What about when your own loggers start getting shot by men who are hunting the Terror? That won’t be very good for morale among your crews. They’re liable to walk off the job.”
Chamberlain frowned for a moment as if that possibility hadn’t occurred to him, but then a sneer replaced the frown. “There are always more men looking for jobs,” he declared. “If anyone is afraid to work in the woods, let him quit and I’ll simply hire someone to replace him. Anyway,” Chamberlain went on, “don’t you think I’ve already had men quit because they’re afraid of the Terror?”
Frank supposed Chamberlain had a point there. “All I’m saying is that the woods aren’t going to be safe for anybody as long as a bunch of trigger-happy fools are roaming around with visions of ten thousand dollars in their heads.”
Chamberlain looked at him intently for a moment, then said, “Ah, now I see where this is going. You want me to rescind the bounty and then hire
The accusation took Frank by surprise. He shook his head and said, “You’ve got it all wrong, Chamberlain. I didn’t come here to get the job for myself.”
“Why not?” Chamberlain hooked his thumbs in his vest and glared at Frank. “You’re a gunfighter. You admitted as much. That means you sell your skills as a killer to the highest bidder, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not a hired gun,” Frank snapped. “Never have been. Any time I’ve fought, it was to save my life or the life of someone else, or because I believed in a cause.”
“If you kill the Terror, you’ll be saving the lives of all the men who might die because of it in the future.” Chamberlain nodded emphatically. “Now that I think about it, this is an excellent idea. Set one cold-blooded killer to catch another. I like it.”
Anger welled up inside Frank. “I reckon we’re done here,” he said as he picked up his hat and took a step toward the library doors.
“Wait a moment, Mr. Morgan,” Chamberlain said. “I’ll do what you want. I’ll rescind the bounty on the Terror… but only if you agree to hunt down and kill the creature yourself.”
Frank shook his head. “Forget it.”
“Of course, since you’ve seen what the monster can do, I can understand if you’re afraid to go after it by yourself.”
Frank had to laugh, a reaction that startled Chamberlain. “I’ve had plenty of damned fools try to prod me into gunfights by calling me a coward,” he said. “It didn’t work then, and it’s not going to work now. You can say whatever you want. I’m not taking the job.”
“Then I suppose we
Frank clapped his hat on his head, gave the timber baron a curt nod, and started toward the door.
“But you realize, of course,” Chamberlain added to his back, “this means the ten-thousand-dollar bounty is still in effect.”
“Folks do foolish things all the time,” Frank said without turning around. “I can’t talk sense into all of
