“Yes.”
“Then, don’t it stand to reason that they would have guards with them this time?”
“I reckon that’s right. Turns out also that they had Falcon MacCallister riding with them.”
“Falcon MacCallister? Funny you should mention him, Sheriff. I’ve been thinking about swearing out a complaint against him.”
“A complaint? What kind of complaint?”
“Why, an assault-and-battery complaint,” Ike said. “You see the way Cletus looks here. That’s ’cause MacCallister hit him with a club the other night.”
“He would’a never got away with it if I had’a seen him,” Cletus said. “He hit me when I wasn’t lookin’.”
“Why would he have done that?”
“No reason, Sheriff. No reason a’tall. What happened was, me’n Deke Mathers and Lou Reeder was in the Golden Nugget the other night, when Deke started gettin’ a little rowdy, yellin’ at that woman piano player they got. Well, I was tryin’ to calm Deke down when this here fella MacCallister pulled a gun on me. So, me bein’ unarmed, I went out to my horse to get a gun, and when I come back in to the saloon, MacCallister was waitin’ just inside and he hit me with a club. I never seen it comin’.”
“That’s why I’m sayin’ I want you to arrest Falcon MacCallister,” Ike said.
Belmond shook his head. “I’m afraid you’ll have to take that up with Marshal Calhoun,” he said.
“Ha, a fat lot of good that’ll do,” Ike said. “Those town dogs have Calhoun in their hip pocket. He ain’t goin’ to take no cattleman’s word over anyone from town. Anyway, I thought you had jurisdiction over the whole county. You’re the sheriff. You tellin’ me you can’t arrest anyone in Higbee?”
“I can, yes, but as a matter of professional courtesy, I tend to let the city marshals control their own towns.”
“I see. So, what you are saying is, you’re just goin’ to let this MacCallister fella get away with it.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Belmond promised.
“Yeah, you do that,” Ike insisted. “Only, it’s too late for Deke and Seth now, ain’t it? They’re already dead.”
“You didn’t really fire Deke and Seth, did you, Pa?” Billy asked after the sheriff left.
“Doesn’t make any difference whether I fired them or not,” Ike replied. “They’re both dead.”
“They were worthless as tits on a boar hog anyway,” Ray said. “If they had listened to me instead of ridin’ out ahead like that, they would both be alive now, and those wagons would be nothn’ but burnt-out cinders.”
“Wait a minute,” Billy said. “Ray, you and Cletus were with them, weren’t you. You set out purposely to destroy those wagons. Deke and Lou were with you—they weren’t doing it on their own.”
“So what if we were with them?” Ray challenged.
“So that means you got them killed,” Billy said.
“Son, you might say we’re in a war with the railroad right now,” Ike said. “And in times of war, folks get killed. That’s what wars are all about.”
“But I don’t understand,” Billy said. “Pa, can’t you see the advantages of a railroad?”
“Of course I can see the advantage of a railroad if we own it,” Ike said.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Cletus chuckled. “I told you that boy wasn’t none too bright, Pa,” he said.
“Think about it, Billy,” Ike said. “Whoever owns that railroad will control everything hereabout for five hundred miles.”
“You—you want General Garrison to fail so you can take it over,” Billy said.
“Well, now, you were wrong about our little brother, Cletus,” Ray said. “It looks like he does understand.”
“That isn’t right, Pa,” Billy said. “That’s no way right.”
“I tell you what, Billy. You let me worry about what is right and what is wrong,” Ike said. “All you have to do is remember that you are a Clinton.”
“You’re wastin’ your time talkin’ to him, Pa,” Cletus said. “He ain’t got no more gumption than a milk-fed puppy.”
“Get on out of here, let me talk to Billy,” Ike said.
“Why do you want to do that?” Cletus asked. “I’m tellin’ you, you’re just wastin’ your time.”
“Get out,” Ike ordered.
“I reckon it’s your time to waste, Pa,” Cletus said. Turning, he and Ray left. Billy started to go, too.
“No, you stay,” Ike said to Billy.
“Cletus’s right, Pa,” Billy said. “I don’t have the stomach for this.”
“You stay and listen to me,” Ike said.
With a sigh, Billy came back inside.
“Have a seat,” Ike said, pointing to the sofa.
