“But like Mama said,” Rose jumped in, “Mr. Culp’s warning was clear. We can’t fight the bluebellies, too.”
Will spread his hands. “I don’t want to fight Culp. But I won’t sit around waiting for Sully to set his next trap, either.”
Maggie reached out and took his hand. “Will, don’t feel the need to strike back on our account. We handled Sully and the others on our own. Well, with the help of our neighbors.”
“Culp didn’t say anything about others riding with Sully, but I’m not surprised. Sully wouldn’t have the guts to come out here on his own. Who was with him?”
“Gibbs,” Maggie said, “and some man named Chad.”
Will nodded. “Chad Butler. He’s the only one of the bunch who’s a real threat. Man-to-man with a gun, I mean. He’s not afraid, that’s for sure. He’s killed before, and folks say he’s fast with that six-shooter of his.”
Will had been thinking of Butler on the trip home, especially when, after making camp each night, he practiced Cullen Baker’s quickdraw techniques, adapting them and making them his own, growing faster and faster with each session.
He reckoned Cullen Baker was right about the whole thing.
Folks had never much faced each other with pistols before the war. But they were doing it now. You heard about it from time to time, generally when a bad man like Butler gunned down someone in a saloon or bordello or over a card game gone bad.
It had the feel of something that was going to keep happening, something that was going to grow. And it wouldn’t take folks long to figure out that getting a gun quickly into action was going to be a big part of whether they walked away from such a conflict or ended up with pennies on their eyes.
So Will was glad to be ahead of the curve and meant to make his draw as fast and smooth as he could before he had to use it.
Which could be any day now.
“I’m proud of how you ladies handled Sully and those others, and I’m thankful for our neighbors,” Will said. “And don’t worry.For as much as I want to punish Sully, I know I have to be smart.”
“What are you fixing to do?” Mama asked.
“Well, I have to do something. We all agree that Sully won’t just let things set, right?”
The women agreed.
“We need to set up defenses. Stay ready, keep a watch, talk to our neighbors. But if the cavalry taught me anything, it’s to stay on the offensive whenever you can. Choose your battle. The time, the terrain. Everything you can control, control it. Then hit first, hit fast, and hit hard, ready to retreat and adapt, but always with a mind toward victory.
“Will, this isn’t war,” Maggie said.
“I know that, Maggie. And I have to keep it from becoming war. I have to do everything right. And I have to act quickly. Because men like Sully Weatherspoon are like mold. They work in the dark. I need to draw him out in the light, make this a fight between him and me. I can’t stir folks up, go riding over to the Weatherspoon plantation, and burn it to the ground. Culp would call in the cavalry. I have to make this between Sully and me. Like a duel. Out in the open, out in the light, for all to see.”
“Sully will never fight you man-to-man,” Maggie said. “Not ever.”
“It wouldn’t seem that way,” Will said, “but I have a plan that might trick him into doing just that.”
CHAPTER 35
Whistling “Dixie,” Will pushed through the batwings of the Red River Saloon.
It was a little before two in the afternoon, so the place hadn’t cleared out yet.
Spotting the man he’d talked to after the fight with Gibbs, Will smiled and nodded.
The man lifted his beer in salute.
Will went to the bar.
Two dozen men stood there, most of them without drinks. With no money to spend, they probably came in just to talk.
One of them, Ted LaVoy, said, “Well, if it ain’t Will Bentley. Ain’t seen you since before the war.”
Will shook his hand. “Good to see you, Ted.”
