“That’s right, Maggie. I think that’s where Sully’s been. I think Teal’s coming back.”
CHAPTER 41
Will told the night guard, Jake Stall, what was happening.
Jake pounded off to alert the men sleeping in the Dunnes’ bunkhouse, but they met him halfway. Farley had heard the gunshots, awakened Ted, and they’d come running.
Will woke Rufus and Candy.
By this time, Will’s family had come outside, too. The women looked worried, but each carried a firearm. Maggie had his Dragoon. Rose had the pepperbox. Mama toted her scattergun.
Will likewise had his cut-down ten-gauge slung over his shoulder. Across his chest, the bandolier held fifty rounds of double-ought buckshot. His Colt hung on one hip. The fourteen-inch Confederate Bowie hung on the other. He gripped his Spencer rifle. Slung over his other shoulder was the Blakeslee box with its heavy cargo of thirteen quick-load magazines, each carrying seven .56-.56 cartridges.
“I don’t know who’s coming,” Will told everyone. “If it’s the bluebellies, do not fight. I’ll try to talk my way out of it. But no matter what happens, do not fight. There are too many of them.”
The men grumbled.
Will didn’t let them build any steam. “But I don’t think it’s the bluebellies. I think it’s Teal. I think Sully Weatherspoon went down there and hired him to do his dirty work.”
The men nodded.
“They’re coming from the south,” Rufus said. “Could be Teal.”
“Whoever it is,” Jake said, “he’s gonna wish he’d stayed away.”
“If it’s Teal, he’ll bring a lot of men with him,” Will said. “He had eighteen riders, last I heard. I don’t expect you men to stand beside me. Not with these odds.”
“You think I’m gonna run, you got another thing coming,” Farley said. Farley was too young to have fought in the war, but Will could tell he had grit.
“I’ll stand,” Ted said.
“We’re partners,” Rufus said. “Free men facing the world together. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You know I’ll fight,” Jake said and spat on the ground for emphasis. “You and me made it through worse scrapes than this in the war, and by gum, we’re gonna make it through this one, too.”
Will was pretty sure they’d never faced odds this long, but now was not the time to debate, so he merely thanked the men for standing with him then said, “Whoever it is, they’ll be here soon. If it’s Teal, we’ll have to fight hard and smart. I’m gonna saddle Clyde and get behind the barn, close to the pasture.”
The men glanced in that direction. The cattle, sensing their tension, were up and moving around and getting louder with every second.
“You men spread out. Find cover and set up at different angles. Someone over yonder behind that big oak. Somebody over on the other side, down in the creek close to Braintree’s place. And somebody out closer to the gate. Stay behind thatbig rock where they won’t see you. They’ll ride right past you. Nobody shoot until they hear my shot. Then we’ll hit them from all sides. It isn’t much of a plan, but it’s our best chance. You all shoot straight, they might panic and ride out of here. They’re mercenaries, not freedom fighters.
The men nodded, spoke briefly among themselves, and moved off into the darkness to take up their various positions.
Will turned to the women. “I’d tell you to ride off, but Teal’s an old trooper and might have outriders scouting the flanks. I don’t want you getting shot or captured.”
“We’ll fight with you,” Maggie said.
“No,” Will said. “These men are killers. You ladies hole up until this is over.”
Maggie shook her head. “You’re my husband, Will. I’m going to fight at your side.”
“No,” he said, and this time, his voice was iron.
Maggie opened her mouth to say something but stayed silent.
“Hide in the bunkhouse,” he told them. “No one will expect you to be there. And if it’s Teal, well, he didn’t burn the Dunne’s bunkhouse. But if he wipes us out and does find you in there, fight with everything you’ve got. Teal isn’t known for mercy.”
Mama lifted her shotgun. “First one through the door gets both barrels.”
