as the ground began to slope gradually, and Mitchell knew there'd be a creek close by. Unexpectedly, then, he saw the broad clearing and a wagon illuminated by firelight. The ribbed canvas covering of it formed a pale background for the two figures who stood watching him approach. A man, his legs slightly apart and his hand covering the butt of a holstered revolver. A woman was next to him and she watched Mitchell with open curiosity as he entered the clearing.
'Rady's brought us a guest,' the woman said. The man with the rifle was next to Mitchell now.
'Hyatt, he says he wants to camp.' The woman walked to the fire, but Hyatt, his hand still on the revolver, didn't move. Nor did he answer, and his eyes remained on Mitchell. 'He said he was ready to camp the night,' Rady added, 'so I thought--'
'Open your coat,' Hyatt said. 'Hold it open.'
Slowly Mitchell spread the coat open. 'I'm not armed.'
'He's got a carbine on the horse,' Rady said. Hyatt glanced at him. 'Go back where you were.'
Mitchell dropped the rein and walked toward the low-burning fire as the woman extended a porcelain cup toward him and said, 'Coffee?' Behind him he heard Rady's footsteps in the dry leaves, then fading to nothing, and he felt Hyatt watching him as he took the cup of coffee, his hand momentarily touching the woman's. 'You drink your coffee, then move off,' Hyatt said. He was in his early thirties, but a week-old beard stubble darkened his face, adding ten years to his appearance. His face was drawn into tight, sunken cheeks and he looked as if he'd never smiled in his life. To the woman he said, 'I'll tell you when we start giving coffee to everybody who goes by.'
Mitchell hesitated, letting the sudden tension inside him subside, and he thought, Don't let him rile you. Don't even tell him to go to hell. He said to Hyatt, 'I'll leave in a minute.'
'You'll leave sooner if I say so.'
Maybe you ought to tell him, at that, Mitchell thought. Just to see what he'd do. But he heard the woman say, 'Hy, don't talk like that,' and he turned to the fire again.
'You shut your mouth!' Hyatt told her.
Mitchell sipped his coffee, his eyes on the woman. Her face was lit by the firelight and it shone warmly and cleanly. He watched her glance at Hyatt but not answer him and he said to her, mildly, 'I don't want to start a family argument.'
'We'll ignore him, then,' the woman said. She smiled and the smile was faintly in her eyes. She'd impressed Mitchell as a woman who smiled little, and the soft radiance that came briefly into her eyes surprised him. Still, she fell into a type in Mitchell's mind: small, frail looking, a woman who picked at her food yet was strong and you wondered what kept her going. Light hair, thin, delicately formed features, and dark shadows beneath the eyes. A serious kind, a woman who loved strongly and simply. A woman who spoke little. This, Mitchell believed, was the most interesting type of all. The most feminine, even while sometimes reminding you of a little boy. At least the most appealing. Perhaps the kind to marry. She said, 'Could I ask where you're going?'
'Home,' Mitchell answered. No, she didn't exactly fit the type. She talked too freely.
'Where is that?'
'Banderas. I just left Whipple Barracks yesterday. Discharged.'
'I thought so,' the woman said. 'Just the way you stand.'
'I suppose some of it's bound to rub off, after twelve years.'
'You don't look that old.'
'Older'n you. I'm almost thirty-one.'
'Were you an officer?' 'No, ma'am. Sergeant.'
'You're going home to your folks?'
'Yes, ma'am. My dad has a place near Banderas.'
'They'll be glad to see you.'
Mitchell half turned as Hyatt said, 'How do we know you're from Whipple?'
'I just told you I was.'
'What proof you got?'
'I don't have to show you anything.'
Hyatt's hand hung close to his holster. 'You don't think so, huh?'
'Look,' Mitchell said. 'Why don't you quit standing on your nerves.'
'Let's see your proof,' Hyatt said.
Mitchell glanced at the woman. 'You ought to keep him locked up.'
The woman half smiled. 'Do you have discharge papers?'
Mitchell's hand slipped into his open coat and patted his shirt pocket. 'Right here.'
'Why don't you show him?' the woman said.
'So we'll have a little peace.'
Mitchell shook his head. 'It's a matter of princi ple now.' A matter of principle. And a matter of twelve years someone telling you what to do. You can take it when you're being paid to take it. But this one isn't paying, Mitchell thought. Take that handgun off him and bend it over his head? No, just get out. You don't have any business here. The woman said, 'Men are always talking about principle, or honor.'
'Well, I'm through talking about it tonight,'
Mitchell said. He handed the empty cup to her.
'Much obliged. I'm moving on now.' She looked at him, but said nothing.
He saw her eyes shift suddenly.
Behind you!
It snapped in his mind and he heard the movement and he wheeled, bringing up his arms, throwing himself low at Hyatt who was almost on top of him. His shoulder slammed into Hyatt's knees and he drove forward as the pistol barrel came down against his spine. His arms clamped Hyatt's legs and he came up suddenly, His boots digging into the sand, throwing Hyatt's legs over his shoulder. Hyatt landed on his back, rolling over almost as he struck the ground, frantically reaching for the revolver knocked from his hand, almost touching it as Mitchell dropped on top of him.
They rolled in the sand, Hyatt's fingers tearing through Mitchell's shirt, clawing at his throat.
Mitchell's hand found the revolver. He threw it spinning across the sand and his fist came back to slam against Hyatt's face. He pushed himself free, rolling, rising to his feet, and as Hyatt came up he swung hard against his jaw. Hyatt staggered. He started to go down and Mitchell hit him again, holding him momentarily with his left hand as his right clubbed into the upturned face. Hyatt's head snapped back and he went down. Mitchell turned to the woman. He was breathing heavily and his left hand was pressed to the small of his back. 'Are you married to him?' he asked. She shook her head. 'Not really.'
Mitchell hesitated. If he turned away he'd never see this woman again. Something made him ask, 'Do you love him?'
She looked at him, her face softly impassive in the firelight. 'You'd better move along,' she said quietly.
For a moment Mitchell's eyes remained on her, as if he were reluctant to leave. He turned to the sorrel, then hesitated again and walked over to Hyatt.
'Mister, you brought this on yourself. Your man out there thought I was somebody named Cliff and he brought me in because he was too scared to do anything else. I don't care who you are. . . . I don't care who Cliff is--' Mitchell broke off. 'If you want to know the truth, I think you're crazy.' He glanced momentarily at the woman before telling Hyatt, 'Maybe you got some good points, but if you do you keep them a secret.'
Hyatt's head came up slowly. He watched Mitchell go to his sorrel and mount. He watched him silently, his hand covering a folded piece of paper on the ground beneath him. A square of paper folded four times just to fit into a shirt pocket. Mitchell urged the sorrel into the trees, letting it have its head, but holding it enough to reach the road farther down from where Rady would be. The woman stayed in his mind: standing in the firelight, her eyes meeting his and not lowering even when he continued to stare at her.
Some woman.
His body came alive as the shot sounded behind him and his hand instinctively went to the booted carbine. He turned in the saddle drawing the Springfield, the sorrel sidestepping nervously, kicking the dry leaves, throwing
