Dubois entered the restaurant and quickly wound a course among the tables of the several diners. He passed Ben, seated and eating breakfast, and halted at Redpath's table.
"I have news," Dubois said.
Redpath pointed at the chair across from him and Dubois sat down. "Talk," Redpath said curtly.
"I know who has her," Dubois said, pleased with his knowledge. "We can call off the men we have looking for her."
"Not so fast. Who has her?"
"His name's Payson. Evan Payson."
Ben was near enough to hear the man's words, and at the mentioning of Evan's name, focused closely on them. Who was this "her" they were talking about? Had to be a pretty woman to arouse such keen interest in Redpath and Dubois, whom he knew by sight, for they had been pointed out to him when he had gone by the hotel to see the construction. He cocked his ear to hear more.
"How do you know she's with this Payson?" Redpath said.
"Because he was just talking to me and said he wanted to speak with you about a woman. What other woman could it be?"
"Where can I find him?"
"He's at the hotel right now."
Ben glanced at Redpath to see how the man reacted to this information. Redpath showed no emotion except for a hard smile. "That's good news. Saves me from hunting him. Who is he?"
"I knew you would want to know that, so I asked our workers and one of them knew him and told me Payson was a local fellow. That his parents owned a ranch not far from town."
"What kind of a man is he?"
"He's young, kinda tall, and skinny. There's something else. He said for you to bring a gun with you."
"Well, now, that's downright interesting. Anybody else with him?"
"No, just him. And he acted mad."
Ben dropped money on the table to pay for his meal and hastened from the restaurant.
* * *
Ben spotted Evan sitting on a pile of lumber in front of the Hanford Hotel and went toward him. He had met Davis the evening before and knew Evan had arrived. Now it seemed Evan had gotten himself into trouble in the first few hours after coming home. Ben halted in front of Evan.
"Hello, Evan," he said.
"Hello, Ben," Evan said having watched Ben approach. "How are things with you?"
"Ugly as ever. I want to talk with you."
"I don't have much time," Evan replied looking past Ben and along the street.
"I just heard a man being told you wanted to see him and to come with a gun. That true?"
"I'm going to kill Karl Redpath."
"Why?"
"For what he did to a friend."
"A woman friend, I'm thinking.”
"I'm short of time, Ben, and can't talk with you right now."
"I've seen this fellow Redpath you're planning to kill, and I've heard about him. You don't want to fight this man. There's a damn good chance that he'll kill you instead of the other way round."
"So he's tough, and killed men. I've been told that. But he did the woman terribly wrong and he's got to pay."
"Is it a young, green-eyed woman?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I saw one with Redpath two nights ago. She's sure pretty enough to get a man to thinking. But not to get himself killed for."
"It's not certain that I'll be killed."
"No, it's not certain. But why not just warn him off? Won't that do?"
"What he did deserves more punishment than that. Haven't you ever felt you had to punish someone for being mean to a friend? Someone who can't fight for themselves?"
"Maybe so. But think hard about this man. Tell him what you have to say I'll sit here with you and he probably won't start anything."
"But I want him to start a fight so I can kill him."
"Does the woman mean that much to you?"
"Yes," Evan said. He looked directly at Ben for the first time, and Ben saw something in the man he had never expected to see, a huge hatred waiting to lash out at an enemy.
"How do you kill a man who is a better fighter than you are?" Evan asked.
"If you're dead set on doing it, then don't give him an even chance," Ben said. "Do you have a good gun?
“Do you want to borrow mine?" Ben pulled his pistol from its holster and offered it to Evan.
"I have one," Evan said. "Wait. On second thought, I could use another gun."
Ben handed the weapon to Evan. "It's got a light trigger, so be careful."
"Is it loaded and ready to fire?" Evan asked.
"It's always ready."
"Thanks. Now get away from me, Ben. Goddamn it, get away." Evan's voice trembled.
"All right, Evan." Ben turned and moved away.
Evan called after Ben. "If I fail and Redpath kills me, will you protect Rachel from him? She's at my parents' home. Davis knows where it's at."
"Yeah, I'll do that," Ben replied over his shoulder.
Ben went half the length of the hotel and leaned against the wall to watch the coming battle. He was sorry for Evan. From what had been said about the New Orleans man, Evan had little chance to win.
Evan's muscles were taut as bowstrings as he watched the street for the appearance of Redpath. Never had his senses been more open to the world around him. His eyesight seemed sharper and he saw a little whirlwind far down the street, spinning and spinning. His hearing was more acute and he heard a pigeon cooing on the rooftop of the hotel above him. He knew the impending danger, and most likely his death, had done this to him.
* * *
Redpath strode with long strides toward the man sitting on the pile of lumber in front of the hotel. He was looking forward to killing Payson, after Payson told him where Rachel was.
Dubois, by his side, hurried to keep up. The man had been brought along to serve as a witness for Redpath, to swear the killing had been in self-defense.
Redpath saw Payson remove his hat and wipe his forehead and face with a bandana. You'd better sweat, Redpath thought, for you've not long to live.
"Wait over there by the side of the hotel," Redpath instructed Dubois.
"Yes, sir," Dubois said, and veered aside to stand near the building.
Redpath walked swiftly on, and came to a stop a couple of body lengths from Payson. He glared down at the seated man.
"So, Payson, you've got my wife Marcella?" Redpath said. The man's face was strained and beaded with sweat. The hand holding the bandana in his lap was trembling.
Evan looked at Redpath. "Her name's Rachel, and she's not your wife. You found her unconscious and lied to her. You're a bastard, Redpath."
Redpath was surprised at the man's harsh words. False courage, that's all it was. Payson's hand with the bandana was shaking strongly now. Redpath almost laughed out loud at the pitiful sight. He glanced to the side at Dubois.
A man horribly scarred was standing close beside Dubois and talking to him. Good, two witnesses were better than one. Now all Redpath had to do was make Payson act first.
"Is that a pistol I see there?" Redpath said, and gestured at the gun in the holster on Evan's side.
"Yes, and it's loaded. Is yours?"
Damn strange question, thought Redpath. "Yes, Payson, and one of the bullets is for you."
"I don't believe it's loaded, so how can a bullet be for me?" Evan said.
Again Redpath was surprised at the man's words. He saw Payson's hand, shaking badly, rise holding the red bandana. The man was going to wipe sweat again.
An explosion ripped the bandana from Payson's hand. A powerful blow slammed Redpath in the chest and a terrific pain erupted. He stumbled backward two steps before catching himself. Payson's actions were all a goddamned trick. Redpath reached for his pistol.
Evan jumped to his feet and pointed the weapon that he had kept concealed under the bandana. He fired again straight into the center of Redpath's chest. The man sank to his knees, held there for a moment with an unbelieving expression on his face, and then fell sideways to the street.
Evan sank down on the pile of lumber and stared at Redpath's corpse. He was shaking all over. He put his hands between his legs to quiet them. He did not know Ben had come until he spoke.
"Damn fine job, Evan," Ben said.
"It's hell to kill a man," Evan said, his voice quivering like his body.
"Not if he deserved killing. I guess you figured this one did."
"You were a lawman once," Evan said, looking at Ben, and all the hatred was gone from his eyes. "What will they do to me now?"
"Depends on what story the witnesses tell Sheriff Willis. For me, I saw Redpath reach for a gun and you shot him in self-defense."
"You couldn't have seen that, for he didn't. I tricked him to throw him off guard. Then shot him."
"Don't tell me what I saw," Ben said. "And don't tell Redpath's man, Dubois, standing over there either. He saw what I saw and that was you shot Redpath when he reached for his pistol."
"Knowing you, you probably said something else to Dubois."
"Well, there's a little thievery in every man, so I pointed out to him how, if he thought real hard, he could make money from Redpath's death. And the women they'd brought from New Orleans would be his now and they were very valuable. I think there's more than just a little thievery in Dubois, and he was way ahead of me in just how to take a big chunk of Redpath's wealth."
"You told him nothing else?"
"I did tell him that you were a tough son of a bitch and would kill him if he didn't tell the right story."
"Did he believe you?"
"He just saw what you did to Redpath. So, yeah, he believed."
* * *
Rachel whipped her horse at the top of its speed along the road leading to El Paso. She must reach Evan before he was killed by Karl Redpath.
She had slept soundly and awakened tardily. Mrs. Payson had invited her into the kitchen for breakfast and they had sat talking. When Rachel had asked about Evan, she was told he had gone to El Paso. Rachel instantly knew Evan's plan, to meet with Karl Redpath and order him to stay away from her. She had hastily saddled Davis's horse and ridden away.
The road dipped down into the tree-lined valley of the stream that came by the ranch house. Rachel sent the horse splashing across.
The steed took the far bank with long lunges. At the top it shied abruptly as two horsemen raced out of the trees and blocked its way. Rachel was flung to the side by the sudden movement. She grabbed for the pommel, managed to catch hold of it, and stopped her fall hanging half out of the saddle.
One of the riders spurred up close, caught her by the shoulder, and sat her upright in the saddle. Rachel recognized one of the young Mexican cowboys she had seen on the street in El Paso.
"You!" Rachel exclaimed, looking directly at Carlos. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, Rachel." Carlos was savoring his stroke of good fortune.
He and Leo had arrived at daylight and waited for an opportunity to capture the woman. They had seen a man come out of the house and ride off to the north with two cowboys from the bunkhouse. Shortly the man who had brought the woman from El Paso had left and come along the road toward El Paso. The two Mexicans had remained hidden and waiting in the trees to be certain there were no more men at the house. Then, to their surprise, the woman herself came racing past.
"How do you know my name?"
"I heard the man in El Paso say it."
"What do you want?" Rachel said. She wanted to be gone, but the two men blocked her way with their horses.
"I'm going to take you to Chihuahua with me."
"That's crazy. Get out of my way. I must go to El Paso."
"Not today," Carlos replied. "Not tomorrow. Not ever."
Rachel looked at Leo, holding the head of her horse by the bridle. His face was hard and determined. She looked back at Carlos, who was watching her with an expression of such intense desire that it frightened her.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Oh, yes, you are, pretty Rachel," Carlos said. "And you're going with us right now."
"No, I'm not," Rachel cried out. She jerked the reins of the horse to the side to break free of Leo's grip.
Leo easily held the animal. He took hold of the reins and wrenched them from Rachel's hands.
"You lead and I'll follow," Carlos said to Leo.
Leo nodded, spun his mount, and leading Rachel's horse, went south at a fast gallop.