“What is it?” asked Ed. “What’s going on?”

“I’m going to take a few guys out and get us some money. It’s going to be quick and efficient in execution, but first we’ve got to pick out what we can hit.”

“What do you mean? Is this a robbery?”

“Sure is,” Lee Wolf said. “Ararat needs money. I want you to know that by not taking either of you, it’s not to say I don’t trust you, or you’re not the best men I could take. You are. But there are other considerations. One is that you and I have an extra problem hanging over our heads. A fingerprint of ours left in the bank would launch a manhunt, even if we did nothing. But also, these men I’ve picked are part of the community. They have loyalty not just to me, but to each other, and that is essential. Besides, if this place is to survive, I’ve got to get the key men dedicated to it in a deeper way. I need them committed. When you’ve broken a few laws and taken some real risks, it’s got a hold on you, and you don’t ask if it’s worth sacrificing for anymore. You already did some of the sacrificing, so it must be.”

He looked at them with regret. “This time it won’t be you, but this will pay off for all of us in the long run.”

Edison Leonard said, “It’s fine, Lee. I appreciate your coming to explain it. I won’t worry about it, just wish you luck.”

Lonny Mann sat for a moment with his brows knitted and his lips pursed. “I don’t care. After that visit to Weldonville, I’d just as soon stay here.”

Wolf stared at him for a second and then shrugged. “Well, I’ll see you guys around.”

When Wolf left, Mann said to Leonard, “What? You want to start robbing banks too? Be my guest.”

“No, not really. But I think I would like to spend the next year or so in a remote place like this surrounded by men who think of me as a close friend of theirs. It’ll throw off the police and FBI, and it will also give the people Weldonville hired to kill us time to give up and move on.”

Mann shrugged. “I have no desire to spend years dirt farming and working odd jobs in and out of these shitty little towns.”

“Not forever, no,” said Leonard. But for now it’s not so bad. People have been willing to share with us and accept us, even though we add to their risks.”