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 I always wanted to go back, Williams said.  I had a good time as a boy.
 You can always go back.
 You have much to learn, my friend. No one ever really goes back, for when
you return you are not the same as when you left, and everything is different,
and strange. You look about where everything ought to be familiar, but nothing
is right. I know, my friend. But still I did want to go back.
 What have Sarah and Paul to do with it?
Williams shrugged. Perhaps nothing. But I do not think there is much to go
back to if they have come so far to kill me. ... Yes, I know them. They are
the children of my cousin. With me, they are the last of our line. My father
always told me I should avoid them. ... They were no good, he said, and he
should know, for he came of the same family.
 What about your mother and father?
 Dead.My mother died when I was very small my father only a few years ago.
My mother was lovely ... she came of an old, old line. My father was a common
soldier who rose from the ranks to become an officer. That is not an easy
thing to do in the French Army. As a boy he dreamed of going off toIndia , of
becoming a general.
 Actually he served inAfrica , and lost an arm there. He came home then,
married my mother, and bought a farm ... call it an estate if you will. His
own family he did notlike, and he avoided my mother s family as well.
 They had refused to sanction the marriage until it became obvious that my
mother would refuse to obey, and then they sanctioned it, but unwillingly.
Later, after my father was visited by some ofFrance  s foremost military men,
their attitude changed, but he was a proud man and would have none of it.
 He had the devil s own temper, and my own was like it. When I was not yet
sixteen the arrogant nephew of an important man demanded that I hold his
horse, and I refused. He attempted to horse-whip me, and although he was three
years older and larger, I pulled him from his horse and gave him a beating. I
thought I d killed him, so I went home and put a few things together to run
away.
 My father came to stand in the door. He asked me about it, and I told him.
He said that if I wished to stay he would face them beside me, but I refused.
Then he offered me a dozen gold coins, but I knew they were all he had, and I
refused that too. Finally we split them, and I shook his hand and left. I
never saw him again.
 That was inFrance ?
 Yes.
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 But the name Williams?It doesn t fit.
 It was a name I took when I needed a name in a hurry, that s all.
 What do you think our chances are now with theKiowas ?
 You can never tell about Indians. They might attack, and they might not.
They might try to stampede the herd, and then get us one by one as we try to
round them up. This is a war party, hunting trouble. The other tribes who
pulled out knew that, and did not want to be involved. If we put on a bold
face we might ride right through them.
 I m going into their camp, Chantry said.
French stared at him.  You re crazy.
 I ve heard that an Indian would never kill a man who came willingly into his
camp.Maybe before or after, but never in camp unless he is brought in as a
prisoner.
 Yes, but you just might find an Indian who didn t think that way.
 In the meantime, you boys can drive the cattle right on ... by going east.
 I know where Dodge is. Williams threw his cigar into the flames.  If you ve
got nerve enough you might bring it off, but I wouldn t want to bet on it.
Chantry got to his feet.  I m turning in. He paused for a moment, and then
asked casually,  How much do you trustRugger ?
 Rugger?He works for me, but I don t trust anybody.Including you.
 You don t have to trust me. You know what I m doing, and what I m after.
 What aboutRugger ? Why do you ask about him?
 You figure it out. He s your man.
When Tom Chantry stretched out in his bed he looked up at the sky and started
to think about what he would do next, but somehow he fell asleep.
The fire crackled,then hissed as a few drops fell. It began to rain quietly
and, without waking up, Chantry burrowed deeper into his bedroll.
Chapter Fifteen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]