'I reckon not, and she is a most luscious piece of goods. Pardon me for talking so familiarly about your intended bride.'
'That's all right, I don't mind you admiring her so long as you do it from afar.'
Carson was silent for a moment. 'Well, this does kind of mix up apples and oranges. Morton is coming here, and I don't reckon his intentions are peaceful. But now you're damn near going to be a member of the family and they don't allow feuding in the family. This could get right interesting. I can't imagine what old Asa is going to say or think or do.'
Longarm said, 'What do you think Morton is going to do? Seems to me he's the one to be concerned about.'
Carson shook his head slowly. 'I don't know. I do believe the old man will tell him he has to lay off of you, but whether he will or not is yet to be seen.'
'What difference is it going to make to the old man if I'm going to marry his daughter? I thought you told me they didn't care for Morton anyway, period, no matter who was involved. You told me that my best invitation down here was that I was on the outs with Morton.'
'That is true, but now you're coming down to the family name, and his last name is Colton and yours ain't. I don't know what's going to happen, I can't even make a prediction. If I's you, I'd forget all about it and get on that horse and get on out of here.'
'I'm not so sure about that, Mr. Carson. I'm not so sure that's what you'd do.'
Carson pulled a face. He said, 'Well, at least one of us ought to do, or both of us, if we were in that situation. That's what a smart man would do. Of course, I ain't very smart.'
Longarm sighed. This damned situation kept getting more snarled up. He said, 'I reckon I'm not, either.'
'Well, you ain't got much time to make up your mind.'
'Oh, my mind's already made up. I just want to see how it plays out.'
'You're going to wait, I take it?'
'Yeah, I was always one to have a great amount of curiosity. Besides that, I don't much care for Morton Colton. I doubt seriously that he'll stand up to me or anybody else. I read him for a coward.'
Frank Carson took a moment to pour them both out some more whiskey. He said, 'You might be making a mistake about that.'
They talked on, mostly about the shipment of whiskey and how it would be handled. Longarm was just about to pour them out another drink when he saw motion flash past the window. Frank Carson saw it at the same time, and he got up and peered out. He said, 'Well, there he is. He's dismounting and going into the house. You ain't going to have long to wonder what his intentions are or what the old man will let him do. Any instructions to me?'
Longarm gave him a half-smile. 'Well, you might let me know if you got my money. So far, you've managed to talk about everything else but my twenty-five hundred dollars.'
Carson gave him a surprised look. He said, 'Oh, was I supposed to get you some money?'
Longarm sighed. He said, 'Looks like it's going to be a double-killing day. I'm going to have to kill you for stealing money, and then I'm going to have to kill Morton Colton just for the hell of it.'
Frank Carson turned and walked over to his saddlebags. He said, 'Don't get in such a hurry. I'm not in the mood to get killed today.' He unbuckled one of the pouches and took out a fat envelope. He walked over and pitched it on the table in front of Longarm. He said, 'There, and if you count it, I'm going to take it as a personal insult.'
Longarm looked inside at the fat bundle of fifty- and one-hundred-dollar notes. He closed the big envelope and put it back on the table. He said, 'It looks close enough for government work. I guess I'll save your dignity for you.'
Carson sat back down and pointed at the envelope. He said, 'Would you make out a will now and put it in there that I'll get that money?'
Longarm said, 'I believe you're rushing my death a little, wouldn't you say?'
Carson craned his head to look out the window. 'Here comes John Colton. I reckon we're going to know something here in a little bit.'
They both sat there, staring expectantly at the door. In a moment, it opened, and John Colton stood there. He said to Longarm, 'Daddy wants you to come to the house. It looks like we've got trouble. Morton is here, and he's ranting and raving his head off.'
Longarm said, 'I don't want to come over and see Morton Colton in your daddy's house. You go tell Morton Colton that if he's got anything to say to me, he can say it out in the open where he can't bushwack me from a window or a door or from around the side of the building.'
John shook his head. 'He wouldn't dare do that. Daddy would string him up in a tree.'
'I don't want to give him a chance.'
John stood, holding the knob of the cabin door, worrying it with his hand. He had a perplexed look on his face. He said, 'What am I supposed to go back and tell Daddy?'
'My problem ain't with your daddy. My situation is with your cousin, or whatever he is-'
'He's our cousin.'
'All right, my trouble is with our cousin, and I think it ought to stay between him and me.'
John looked down at the floor. He said, 'That ain't the way it works around here, exactly.'
'You mean you ain't got no say in the matter?'
