Firmly Rusty said, “Shanty, the Oldhams know who you are and where to find you. If they caught on to what you were up to they might damned well kill you. At least they’d see to it that you never got out of jail.”

Andy had stood back, listening, saying nothing. Now he spoke. “Shanty don’t need to go. I will.”

Rusty turned on him. “Why? Why you?”

“Anything to bedevil them Oldhams.” He rubbed the quirt mark on his face. It still burned at times. “They owe me.”

Rusty argued, “It’d be just as risky for you as for Shanty. They’d grab you by the collar as soon as you showed up.”

“But I wouldn’t show up, not to where they could see me. I sneaked into a Comanche tepee and got Billy out without wakin’ anybody. I ought to be able to slip into the Brackett house without stirrin’ up the police.”

Rusty disapproved, but he soon saw he was going to lose the argument. He said, “I’ll ride with you, then. I want to be close by in case you need help.”

“No. You stay here. All of you stay here. This is a job I’d best do by myself, the coyote way.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Andy could barely make out the house as a thin cloud stole most of the limited light from a quarter moon. Farley Brackett had told him three times, “Don’t forget, my old daddy’s bedroom is in the southwest corner. If you go into the wrong one my mother or my sister are liable to holler.”

Andy had become impatient with the advice. Farley seemed to consider him slow in the head. He suspected that Farley was not especially concerned about Andy’s safety. He wanted to get his money as quickly as possible and run.

Farley had said, “I just wisht I could shoot me one more state policeman before I leave. Clyde Oldham would be my pick. Or Buddy if I couldn’t get Clyde.”

Rusty asked, “What is it you like so much about shootin’ police?”

“I don’t rightly know. Maybe it’s the way they jump when they’re hit. Anyway, they’re all Yankees at heart. Texas could do with a lot less of them.”

Andy stopped a hundred yards out and tied the reins to a tree. He reasoned that the guards would have moved close to the house at dark. Before he put down his full weight he tested each step for twigs that might crack or gravel that might slip underfoot. Shortly he saw a flash of fire as someone lighted a cigarette. Good. He had that guard located.

The cloud drifted on, uncovering the moon, though the light remained dim. Andy moved sideways to put more distance between him and the guard he had spotted. He stopped abruptly as he caught a movement and heard a voice.