"A friend! Well, listen here, you red-faced monkey. The Smarts are dead.

They were attacked by Comanche or " Apache?" Jon interrupted. She could

hear something cold and dangerous in his voice.

"Tell me, which Apache?

Which Apache do you think did it? Or don't you know? I'll tell you, I'm

damned sure it wasn't any Apache. Apache, any Apache, make war, or they

go raiding. They make war to 'take death from their enemies." They raid

to fill their bellies. I haven't met an Apache yet who would leave dead

cattle scattered with the corpses of men."

"Who the hell knows or cares what Apache!" von Heusen thundered.

"It doesn't matter. Maybe it was Comanche" -- "Running River denies it."

"There are more tribes of Comanche!" "Yes, there are," Jon said softly.

"But the Comanche know what doin too.

it to man.

"Of course, the whites have been scalping for a long time now. I read

somewhere that they started scalping way back in the east in the sixteen

hundreds. But still. White men in a hurry do a sloppy job. Neither a

Comanche nor an Apache would do a sloppy job. No matter what his hurry."

"Takes an Inj un to know I" someone muttered.

"Maybe we ought to string him up. Who knows? Maybe he's some renegade in

charge of the party that did it himself!" von Heusen said.

"Let's hang him!"

"Let's see you try!" Jon said very softly. "Hold it! Hold it!" von

Heusen said.

"Now listen, Joe Smart and his family are dead. And this property is'

going to go up for public auction. Now I have" -- Tess had taken his

statement as her cue. She threw open the door and stepped onto the porch

behind Jon.

"Correction, von Heusen. I am not dead."

Even in the dusky light that sifted down from the moon and the stars,

Tess could see the startled look that flashed briefly across yon

Heusen's features.

He was a lean man, tall, spare. His features were almost cadaverous, his

cheekbones sucked in, his chin very long and pointed. His eyes were coal

black, and they seemed to burn from his skull. He sat atop his horse

well, though. Jon had his repeating rifle aimed right at his heart, and

von Heusen still sat casually, his hands draped over the pommel.

Around him were four of his men. He had about twenty hired guns on his

place. Only four of them were with him.

Tess didn't like it. He usually paid his visits with an escort of at

least eight to ten.

It made her wonder where the rest of his men might be. Von Heusen found

his voice at last.

"Why, Miss. Smart.

I am delighted to see you alive and well."

" Like hell you are, von Heusen.

"That's uncalled for, ma'am."

"Be damned, you carpetbagging riffraff, but it is."

"Someone ought to wash your mouth out with a little soap, lady. I just

came by" -- "You just came by to rob Joe of everything he ever had, now

that you've murdered him!"

"You watch your accusation there, Miss. Stuart."

"It's the truth. You know it, and I know it. And somehow, I'm going to

prove it!"

Von Heusen was smiling.

"I don't think so, little lady. No, I don't think so. You want to know

what I do think?" He leaned toward her. It was just a fraction of an

inch and he was still far away, but the gesture made her tremble inside.

"I think that this ranch was meant to be mine, Miss. Stuart. Now I've

offered you good money for it. Real good money.

And you still don't want to sell. Miss. Stuart, I want you out of town."

"I'm not leaving."

"I wouldn't be so adamant, little lady. You may find that you leave in

one way or another."

"You threatening her, von Heusen?" Jori asked. "She seems to think that

I'm guilty of something," von Heusen said.

"The whole damned town can tell you that I was in the saloon playing

cards the day the Indians attacked the Stuart train. The whole damned

town can tell you that. But still, if the lady is so worried and so

certain, well then, maybe she ought to plan on riding out of town. What

do you think?"

"I think that you should give reasonable thought to the idea of riding

out of town yourself, yon Heusen," Jon warned quietly.

Von Heusen started to laugh.

"On the word of a half- breed Indian?"

He started to Urge his mount closer to the porch. Jori fired a shot that

must have sizzled a hairbreadth from the man's cheek. Von Heusen went as

pale as the clouds. boss"-- one of Von Heusen lifted a hand.

"Calm down now, boys. Just because Miss. Stuart's resorting to violence

is no reason that we should. We'll be riding off now. But you remember

what I said, Miss. Stuart. I'd hate to see you leaving town other than

all dressed up right pretty and in a comfortable stagecoach!" He smiled

at her.

"It is good to see you alive and well. Such a pretty, pretty woman. And

all that blond hair. Blond hair alone is worth a pretty penny in certain

places, did you know that?"

He stared at Tess. As he did so, she suddenly realized that she could

smell smoke.

Suddenly she knew where the rest of yon Heusen's men were. The smoke was

coming from the direction of the card age house. The printing press was

in the wagon still, and the wagon was next to the buckboard and the

chaise in the carriage house.

And so far, it had been a dry summer. If the carriage house went up in

flames, the blaze could quickly spread to the house, to the barn, even

to the stables. Von Heusen was smiling.

"You bastard!" she hissed at him. Jon hadn't moved; he didn't dare.

If he moved the rifle a hair yon Heusen just might decide to take

advantage and shoot them all down. They stood there, locked in the

moment, yon Heusen staring at Tess with a smile, Tess staring at him,

hating him so fiercely that she should have been able to have willed him

dead. It was lost now.

All lost. The house, Joe's house. The press.

It didn't even seem to bother yon Heusen that he would slaughter all the

horses.

Then suddenly, in the midst of yon Heusen's triumph and her own despair,

a commotion sounded from the direction of the carriage house. There was

still smoke issuing from it--no sign of fire yet.

But men suddenly spilled out of it. Four of them, their hands held high

above their heads. They nearly tripped as they walked, for someone had

apparently ordered them to lower their breeches, and their pants were

tight around their ankles.

Three of them wore long johns; the fourth must have been buck naked.

Tess only caught a glimpse of his bare legs, as he managed to stay

behind the other three.

"Tarnation!" yon Heusen swore.

"You fools! What in bloody hell is going on" -- He broke off and never

finished his question. From the smoke of the carriage house, another man

appeared.

Tess felt her heart catch.

It was Jamie. He had a single gun trained on the men and he followed

them out with the casual air yon Heusen had had.

The men kept walking forward. The half-naked one paused, and Jamie

nudged him forward.

"Ladies, do excuse me," Jamie apologized, "but they seemed to be a

little more docile and trustworthy in this fashion."

"I'll kill you yet!" one of them muttered. "Well, I don't doubt that you

intend to try," Jamie assured him. Then he stared at the men still

mounted upon their horses.

"Which one of you is yon Heusen?"

"I am Richard von Heusen. Who the hell are you?"

"Jamie Slater. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I own

part of this spread now. And I'll thank you kindly to keep yourself and

your half-sawed ruffians off my property, is that understood?"

"Your property" -- yon Heusen began.

"My property, yes. Now, take your arsonist friends here and move."

"You must be mistaken. Why would my men set fire to anything here?"

"Who knows why? But that was what they were doing. Ordinarily, of

course, I'd want to get to know my new neighbors. But since you and the

Stuarts don't seem to be very good friends, I really don't think you

should stay. I bet dinner is on. Tess, is dinner on?"

"yes!"

"Something good?"

His eyes touched hers across the dusky night. She nodded, fighting for

speech.

"Turkey. Dressing. Squash. All sorts of things."

"And getting cold. I do declare. Gentlemen, good night," Jamie said

firmly.

He prodded the men.

"Move 'em, now, von Heusen, or they'll start turning into corpses."

"We're nine to one, you fool" -- "Nine to two. See my friend there? He

could hit the hair in a man's nose at a thousand yards, and he's faster

than greased lightning. You're out manned and outnumbered, you just

don't know it yet." "We'll see about that," von Heusen said angrily.

"Get those half-naked idiots up on your horses!" he ordered his mounted

men.

He jerked his mount around to face Tess and pointed a long finger at

her.

"You'll pay for this, Miss. Stuart. You'll pay dearly. I promise you."

He swung around again, and his men followed. They raced off into the

darkness, the horses' hooves pounding on the dry earth.

Silence and stillness fell over the small group on the porch. Jon Red

Feather slowly lowered his rifle. He stared at Jamie.

"What the hell took you so long?"

"Well, there were four of them in the carriage house!"

Jamie announced indignantly. He strode up the stairs. Tess was still

staring at him blankly when he tweaked her cheek and walked past her.

She managed to turn and follow him. He walked over't the table and sat,

then pulled off a turkey leg and bit into it hungrily. Looking up, he

saw Tess staring at him, Dolly and Jane on either side of her, and Jon

and Hank on either side of the women. He paused in mid bite

"Do you all mind?"

Tess stood in front of him.

"Where did you go? How did you happen to come back right then?"

He chewed before answering her.

"I left the saloon as soon as I met a few friendly people--and a few not

so friendly people. I knew he was coming out here. I didn't know he

intended to burn you out." He paused, looking past Tess to Jon.

"Seems strange, doesn't it? The man wants this property, but he doesn't

seem to care if he destroys it.

Makes you think, doesn't it?"

"Sure does."

"Makes you think what?" Tess asked irritably. "Tess, think about it.

It needs a little paint, a little shoring up here and there--but this is

a darned nice house. Solid, sound, big.

Then you've got the outbuildings, the carriages--and the horses. I

haven't seen enough to really make an estimate on the value of the

stock, but I imagine that we're talking hundreds and hundreds of dollars

in horseflesh alone.

And von Heusen doesn't care. He wants the property, but he doesn't care

if he burns it to the ground."

" He's a vile son of a bitch, that's why!" Tess stated.

"Well, yes," Jamie acknowledged with a wry grin.

"But there's more to it than that, I think."

Dolly took a seat at the table again and spooned up a mouthful of

squash.

"Vile, certainly! Why, our dinner has gone quite cold!"

"That's the spirit, Dolly," Jamie told her.

"Jori, sit. The turkey may be cold, but it's delicious."

"That's it?" Tess demanded heatedly.

"What do you mean, that's it?"

"Where did you go? What were you doing? You were supposed to be here!"

"Jon was here," Jamie said evenly.

"But" -- Jamie was buttering a roll. Jane and Hank and Jon sat and

picked up their forks. Jamie's butter knife went still and his eyes were

slightly narrowed as he stared at her.

"Miss. Stuart, I don't like the tone of this conversation. I came back

in time to save your hide."

"You wouldn't have had to rush back if you'd been here--where you should

have been! You want to be paid so highly, and you can't even stick

around!" He stood suddenly. His knife clattered against a dish.