Rusty stepped from the bedroom. Andy watched the Oldham brothers’ faces change, eyes widening in surprise, then narrowing. Clyde exclaimed, “Ranger Shannon!” He stared in disbelief. “I hoped somebody had killed you long before now.”

“Been some wanted to. Your brother Buddy-Boy tried as hard as anybody.”

Clyde’s voice was gritty. “And look what you done to him. He’s only got one arm.”

“What else could I do? He was fixin’ to kill me.”

The younger brother’s face filled with hatred. “Looks like I’ll still have to.” He extended his hand toward Purdy. “Give me back my gun, old man.”

Purdy stepped away, maintaining a tight grip on the pistol. “I reckon not.”

Clemmie Monahan quickly sized up the situation. She said firmly, “There’ll be no sheddin’ of blood in this house. The war is over.”

Andy looked from one face to another in confusion. The tension was tight as a bowstring. He could only guess at the root of it.

James stared fiercely at Clyde Oldham. “I was there at the brush camp when it happened, remember? Your mutton-headed brother took it on himself to declare Rusty a Confederate Army spy and try to shoot him. Damned lucky Buddy-Boy didn’t lose more than an arm.”

Rusty said, “I don’t want any trouble here on my account. It’s better if me and Andy go.”

Josie protested, “Go? But why? A couple more weeks and I’ll have Andy talkin’ and readin’ pretty good.”

Rusty said, “It can’t be helped.”

Josie argued, “It was wartime when all that happened. We’re at peace now.”

Rusty said, “Not everybody.” He looked at Clemmie. “The war brought too much grief to this place. I don’t want to be the cause of any more. We’ll leave soon as we can throw our stuff together.”

Josie said, “You’re not the one in the wrong here. Let the?n leave.”

Rusty shook his head. “If they go first, they’ll just stop out yonder and lay in wait for us.”

Buddy-Boy’s eyes reminded Andy of a wolf closing in on a crippled buffalo. “We just might, for a fact.”

Rusty shrugged. “You see how it is. So me and Andy will leave. I don’t think the Oldhams are Indian enough to trail us.”

James said, “We’ll take them cow-huntin’ with us tomorrow. They can work for their keep.”

Clyde protested, “We ain’t your slaves.”

James lifted the muzzle of the rifle a couple of inches, just enough to get the Oldhams’ attention. “You’re our guests. We wouldn’t think of youall leavin’ before you’ve wore out your welcome.”

Tears glistened in Josie’s eyes. “Don’t go, Rusty. Please.”

Rusty started to reach out to her, then dropped his hands. “We’d figured to leave in a day or two anyhow. This is just a little quicker than we thought.”