“No, sir, he’d probably kill me if he knew.”
“Isn’t he going to wonder where you are?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Don’t go back,” Garrison said.
“I have to.”
“Son, I’m going to ask you something. Do you love my daughter?”
“What?” Billy asked, surprised to hear this question from Garrison. “Yes, sir, I do. I reckon I love her more than anything in the world.”
“And you, Kathleen, how do you feel about this boy?”
“I love him, Papa. You know that I love him.”
Garrison sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. “I never thought I would hear myself say this. But I’m going to say it anyway. Billy, if you will take my daughter away from here, go someplace where neither your father nor your brothers can find you, I’ll give you one thousand dollars. That should be enough for you and Kathleen to get married and start a life together somewhere. Then, when all this is over, maybe you could come back.”
“Oh, Papa, thank you!” Kathleen said excitedly. “Billy, what do you think?”
When the three looked at Billy, Falcon thought he had never seen a more anguished face in his life.
“I can’t,” Billy said, barely able to say the words.
“What? Billy, didn’t you hear what Papa said? He’s given us his approval! We can go away somewhere and get married!”
Billy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “I can’t,” he said again. He started toward the door.
“Billy, no!” Kathleen screamed. She started after him, but Garrison reached out to stop her.
“No, darlin’, let him go,” he said.
With tears streaming down her face, Kathleen looked at Falcon. “You knew, didn’t you?” she said. “You told me about his honor. You knew.”
“I’m sorry,” Falcon said.
When the eastern sky was laced by the first streaks of dawn, the town of Higbee was prepared for a siege. A barricade of wagons and barrels blocked the east end of Front Street, behind which stood at least two dozen armed men. There were also men on the roofs of the leather goods store and Moore’s general store.
Every woman and child, plus the men who did not want to take part in the coming battle, had taken refuge in the church. The church was at the north end of town, set far enough off Front Street that it would be unlikely to catch any stray rounds.
General Garrison was in command of the men of the town, and he had strapped on his sword and put on his service hat.
“Where is Falcon?” Moore asked.
“Yes, where is MacCallister?” another wanted to know.
“Falcon should be here,” still another added.
“Don’t you folks be worrying about Falcon MacCallister,” Garrison said. “All you have to worry about is keeping your head down and making every shot count when Clinton and his men get here.”
In coordination with Garrison, Falcon was on a reconnoitering mission, having left town before dawn. He was actually on the Clinton ranch now, very close to the main house, and he lay flat on his stomach, looking through his binoculars at the activity below. Billy had said there might be as many as twenty riders come into town with them, but Falcon was surprised to see that there were at least twice as many.
From his position, he could not only watch them gather, he could hear them talking.
“Pa, we don’t have to do this,” he heard Billy say. “If we do this, a lot of innocent people could get killed.”
“Boy, you are either with us or ag’in us,” Ike said angrily. “Now I’ve put up with about as much pussyfooting from you as I can stomach. Make up your mind, and make it up now!”
“I’m coming with you,” Billy said.
“Good boy,” Ike said. “Lou?”
“Yeah, Boss.”
“You take half the men and go through Elbow Pass. Go all the way around town and come in from the west. I’ll take the rest with me and we’ll come in from the east. That way, we’ll have the town squeezed in between us.”
“Let me take the other group, Pa,” Ray said.
“No,” Ike said. “I want you three boys with me.”
As Ike and his men started saddling their horses, Falcon left.
Half an hour later, Falcon was sitting calmly on top of a large round rock watching as Lou and at least twenty riders approached Elbow Pass. The pass was so confined that they couldn’t go through without squeezing into a single file. It was a place that no one with any tactical sense would use. But these were not men with a sense of tactics. These were cowboys, fired up by the prospect of one hundred dollars for going after Falcon. Because of that, they were men who could be easily lured into a trap.
Falcon stood up so he could clearly be seen against the skyline.
“I’ll be damned! Look! There he is!” Lou shouted, pointing at Falcon.
