“Do you think he’ll come out?” Stiller asked.
“What choice does he have?” Heath said. “He’d rather go out standing on his feet than crouching down in that shack.”
“If we gun him down out in the open,” Stiller said, “it’s gonna be a big deal.”
“A very big deal, my friend,” Heath said. “Very big.”
“Heath!” Clint yelled.
“Five seconds to spare, Adams.”
“I have a condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to kill five of you,” Clint called, “and keep one of you alive.”
Heath chuckled. “And why’s that?”
“Because that last man is going to tell me who you’re all working for,” Clint said. “If he does that, I’ll let him live and walk away.”
“That’s up to you, Adams,” Heath said. “If you live, you can do whatever you want.”
“I just want your other men to know that.”
“They know it!”
“Then I’m coming out.”
The other two men with Heath and Stiller, Haywood and Cassidy, looked at each other, and then at Heath.
“Is he serious?” Haywood asked.
“He’s managed to stay alive this long,” Heath said. “I’d say he’s always serious.”
The door to the house opened.
Clint opened the door and stepped out.
Four men were standing in front of him, and from either side of the house came the fifth and sixth man. They were all within his sight, which he found odd. If he was on the other side he would have stretched them out so that he’d have to turn his head to see them all. He could make out the fifth and sixth man from the corners of his eyes.
Of the men standing ahead of him, he was able to pick out the man called Heath.
“You’re Heath,” he said, looking directly at the man.
“That’s right,” Heath said. “How could you tell?”
“You look like you’re in charge.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Don’t,” Clint said. “I’m going to kill you first.”
The other men shifted their feet nervously. Clint knew he was seeming way too confident to suit them. That was his goal. Nerve would make them rush their shots. That was his only chance to survive.
“I suppose you’ll want—” Heath started to say, but Clint didn’t give him time to finish. Talking too much was another way to get killed. When it came to this kind of a situation, the only thing that helped was getting it done.
He drew both guns, the modified Colt from his holster, and the New Line from his belt.
Terry watched in awe from the window, her rifle ready if Clint needed her. She could see Clint and all six men he was facing.
As promised, he killed the man called Heath first, shooting him right in the center of the chest. The other men were all clawing for their guns as he turned both guns on them. He extended both hands out from his sides and shot the fifth and sixth men, who had come around from behind the house.
The other three men seemed to be pulling their triggers even before they brought their guns up. Two of them actually fired their guns into the ground.
Clint stood stock still, brought both guns to bear on the remaining three men. He shot two of them, one with each gun, even as the sixth man managed to fire a shot at him that missed cleanly.
With five men on the ground, Clint pointed both guns at the last man standing …
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Finn,” the man said. He had his gun in his hand, but firing it again seemed to be the last thing on his mind.
“You’re the last man.”
“Yessir.”
“You heard what I said to Heath about the last man?” Clint asked.
“Yessir, I did.”
“Then drop your gun.”
Finn obeyed. His gun hit the ground.
“Now I need to know who you and your friends were working for.”
“N-no problem, Mr. Adams,” Finn said. “Vance Restin.”
“Restin sent you to kill me?”
“Yessir.”
“And his daughter?”
Clint heard the door to the house open and Terry stepped out, holding the rifle down. She wanted to hear the answer to this.
“He s-said – he promised if we killed you both, there’d be a big bonus.”
“Okay, Finn,” Clint said, “I’m going to need you to tell that to the sheriff, and then you can go.”
“The s-sheriff?” Finn repeated. “He ain’t gonna let me go.”
“I guarantee he will,” Clint said. “All you have to do is ride back to town with me.”
“O-okay.”
“But first we have to tie your partners to their saddles,” Clint added. “We’ll be taking them in, too.”
“S-sure.” Finn still seemed unsure as to whether or not Clint was going to kill him.
“Relax,” Clint said. He slid the New Line into his belt, then replaced the spent rounds in his Colt with live ones before holstering it. “I need you alive.”
“Y-yessir.”
“Start dragging your partners over.”
“Y-yessir.”
While Finn did that, Terry turned to Clint and asked, “You really think the sheriff is going to arrest my father?”
“Does a Circuit Judge really come to town?” Clint asked her.
“Yes, he does.”
“The sheriff may work for your father, but not the Circuit Judge,” Clint said. “The sheriff’s not going to have much of a choice. He’ll bring your father in, but it’s the Judge who will file the charges.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am right,” Clint said, “and you’re going to be a very rich girl.”