Longarm grinned and shook the man?s hand. ?You do get right down to things, I see.? He paused. ?If the invitation stands later on, sir, I would be proud to have supper with you and the lady. Although with apologies. I didn?t know it was your birthday, and of course if you would rather be alone
?
Fahnwell threw his head back and laughed. ?The private celebratin? will come later.? He winked at Longarm and put an arm affectionately over Eugenie?s shoulders.
?My name is Long, Mr. Fahnwell. Custis Long of Denver.?
?Of Denver, eh? It?s a long way to come on business unstated, sir.?
Damnit, Longarm did like this man?and Eugenie, too. Still, he was not much given to lying, and nothing would be gained by pretending to be something other than what he was.
?I?m a deputy United States marshal, Mr. Fahnwell, and I?ve been asked to sit down with you and discuss recent oversights.?
Longarm expected anger. Perhaps even rage from this proud and capable old man. Instead he got laughter.
Once again Morey Fahnwell threw his head back and roared with laughter. He laughed hard, then settled himself into his favorite armchair and raised his glass of rye in a silent salute to his guest. He drank off half the generous measure with pleasure, then smiled at Longarm. ?Oversights,? he said, mouthing the word as carefully as he had tasted the whiskey. ?An interestingly delicate phrasing, Mr. Long. For Eugenie?s benefit, sir??
?Uh
yes, as a matter of fact.?
Fahnwell chuckled and asked his wife to see to their supper. ?Set the table for three please, Eugenie. We?ll be in shortly.?
?Yes, Morey.? Longarm thought she looked a little worried when she left the room, but she did not question her husband?s wishes. Hell of a woman, Longarm thought. For that matter, hell of a couple. He was beginning to wish that his business here was social.
When Eugenie was gone, Fahnwell motioned Longarm into the second most comfortable chair in the room and took another drink, this time sipping the rye slowly and savoring it.
?Come t? take me in in chains, young man??
?Not if I can help it,? Longarm answered truthfully. ?Only if I have to.?
Fahnwell gave him a quiet smile. ?Might not be so easy, you know. If you decide you have to, that is.?
Longarm smiled back at him and tasted the rye he had been served. It was every bit as good as he expected. Certainly better than anything he could afford on a government salary. ?If a man asks for easy all his life, he won?t have much of a life to take easy. Will he??
Morey Fahnwell chuckled. ?Nicely put, Mr. Long.?
?Call me Longarm. All my friends do.?
?Ah, an? you?d like us t? be friends, Mr. Long??
?It isn?t necessary, Mr. Fahnwell. And it won?t change anything if it does become so. But, yes, I would like that.?
?All right,? Fahnwell said, grinning. ?Longarm.?
?You know what I?ve come about, Morey. I?d like to settle this in a friendly way.?
For the first time Fahnwell?s smile faded, and he looked serious. He also looked his age for the first time then, Longarm realized.
?Those red-tape bastards want to nickel an? dime a man to death, Longarm. You know that as well as I do. Who was it stood up to the Bannocks in the old days, Longarm? ?Twasn?t any paper-shuffling son of a bitch in Washington, I can tell you that. It was me and my boys. We smelt smoke from the peace pipe and we smelt smoke from our rifles and we cut arrows outa young heifers and we went to bed every night not knowin? if we?d be alive to see the dawn. We done that, Longarm?not some damned thief in a government office. Now them bastards want me to pay for what God an? a Spencer repeating carbine made mine. They want me to pay for what?s already mine, Longarm. I know you can understand that.?
Longarm took another swallow of the excellent rye. ?I won?t argue the point with you, Morey. On a personal level, if it came to that, I?d probably have to agree with you. The point is, though, that like it or not, the law is the law. We live with the law or we move out beyond it. We don?t have any other choices.?
Fahnwell laughed again, but this time the sound of it was short and bitter. ?I did that already. Problem is, the damned law caught up with me an? surrounded me. Worse damn ambush than any of the Injuns ever laid for me, I can tell you.?
?You can fight a Bannock,? Longarm agreed. ?There?s no way you can fight a bureaucrat.?
?A man can always fight, Longarm.?
?That kind of fight is for stupidity, not purpose,? Longarm said softly over the rim of his glass. ?A man doesn?t build what you have here out of stupidity.?
?But if I damn well choose to be stupid??
Longarm shrugged.
?You?d shoot me down to take me in if you had to??
?Over a couple dollars? Of course not, Morey.?
?You?re saying you wouldn?t shoot me down then, Longarm? No matter what??
