Robert Parker - Resolution

“He’s just leavin’?” Redmond said. “Like that?”

Cato and Rose followed Virgil.

“Done what he came to do,” I said. “Hitch them mules up.”

“They’re all leavin’,” Redmond said.

“I rode out here with you,” I said. “I’ll ride back with you.”

“But they musta heard the shooting in Resolution,” Redmond said. “Won’t they be riding out here?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Take ’em a while to figure out it wasn’t them shootin’ you,” I said. “And when they do, they’ll stay where they are.”

“Stay in town?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Odds are shrinking,” I said. “They’ll stay in town, protect themselves and Wolfson.”

“They won’t be coming after us?”

“Nope.”

Redmond was harnessing the mules.

“Jesus Christ,” he said. “It’s like they ain’t chasin’ us. It’s like now we’re chasin’ them.”

“Sorta like that,” I said.

Frank Rose had liberated several bottles of whiskey from the Excelsior Saloon when he left. He and Cato and Virgil and I took one of them to our spot behind the rocks and passed it around.

“Redmond’s down there telling anybody he can get to hold still,” Rose said, “’bout the big battle out on his land.”

“His first time,” Virgil said.

“Think he actually fired that Winchester?” I said.

Nobody knew.

Above us the moon had waned into something a little more than half. There were a lot of stars, and we could see one another easily. I took some whiskey.

“So they’re down there hunkered behind their fucking barricades,” I said. “And we’re up here hunkerin’ behind ours.”

“And running low on food,” Rose said.

“Guess we got to go down and get them,” Virgil said.

Cato nodded and reached for the bottle.

“Think we should,” he said.

He drank, handed the bottle to Virgil, who drank.

“There’s still twelve of ’em by my count,” I said.

“Thirteen,” Rose said, “if Wolfson will fight.”

“Maybe we should keep sniping them off for a while longer, ” I said.

“Nope,” Virgil said. “They ain’t comin’ out. And I wanna go to Texas.”

“So we gotta go in,” I said.

“Yep.”

Nobody said anything. The bottle passed around some more. From the lumber camp we could hear an occasional domestic sound. Cook pot clattering. Children yelling.

“Think Redmond learned anything today?” I said.

“Nope,” Virgil said.

“Think he can ever learn anything?” I said.

“Nope,” Virgil said.

“Think he’ll beat his wife again?”

“Maybe not,” Virgil said.

The bottle came my way again. I took a drink.

“We can speak to him ’bout that ’fore we leave,” I said.

“Yep,” Virgil said.

He drank some whiskey and gave the bottle to Rose.

“There’ll be sentries posted in town,” I said.

“Sure there will,” Virgil said.

“So we can’t creep up on them so easy,” Rose said.

“Nope.”

We were quiet. The moon had moved west a little. The sounds from the lumber camp had died down. We heard an occasional night bird back in the woods, and somewhere below us and west a coyote was howling.

“They’ll come to us,” Virgil said.

Cato nodded.

“Why?” I said. “They sit tight and wait and after a while people will start drifting away. Not enough food, no way to earn a living, boredom, fear, they wait long enough we’ll have nobody to protect, and in time Wolfson will get what he wants without shooting anybody.”

“Two things,” Virgil said. “Wolfson’s stupid. He got no patience. Can’t stand not getting what he wants. And this looks bad for Lujack. He can’t drive off a bunch of sodbusters? ”

“And us,” I said.

“Four men,” Virgil said. “Who’s gonna hire him next time?”

“I wouldn’t,” I said.

“No,” Virgil said. “You wouldn’t. Also, he’s an arrogant sonovabitch.”

“He can’t believe he can beat us,” Rose said.

“Okay,” I said. “I see that. So what do you think they’ll do?”

“Don’t know,” Virgil said. “But they’ll do something. All we got to do is be ready.”

Rose leaned back against the rock. He looked up at the stars and took a pull at the whiskey bottle.

“Ain’t got all that much else to do,” he said.

Three of us were playing cards for not much money behind the rocks. Cato was among the rocks, watching.

"Somebody coming,” he said.

We all stood up and looked. A young woman was riding an old fat gray roan up the open slope toward us. She didn’t look comfortable on the horse.

“Billie,” I said.

“The little whore?” Virgil said.

“Yes.”

Virgil nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “It’s a start. You talk to her, Everett. She trusts you.”

I waited until she was closer, then I walked out around the stone outcropping and a little ways down the slope.

“Billie,” I yelled.

She looked over.

“It’s Everett,” I said. “Ride over here.”

She pulled the horse’s head left, using both hands, and banged her small heels on the horse’s ribs. I smiled. The horse lumbered slowly toward me.

“Nice to see you, Billie,” I said when she arrived. “Every-body treating you good?”

“I’m all right, Everett,” she said. “We miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” I said. “Where’d you get that horse?”

“Mr. Wolfson got it for me.”

“And sent you up to talk with us?” I said.

“He gimme a note,” Billie said.

She reached inside her dress and fumbled out a folded-up piece of paper and handed it to me.

“He says I should wait here for you to gimme an answer,” Billie said.

“Can you hold the horse there okay?” I said.

Billie’s skirts were hiked up to her thighs. Her legs were too short for the stirrups and stuck nearly straight out from the sides of the horse.

“I can ride a horse, Everett,” Billie said.

“I can see that,” I said. “You want to get off and sit, I’ll boost you back up when it’s time to go.”

“I’m just fine right here,” Billie said.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be back.”

I went around the rocks and sat down and opened the paper and read it aloud.

Virgil Cole,

I would like to meet with you and try to straighten out the trouble between us. Somewhere neutral, under a white flag. You can bring your men and I will bring mine. I’m sure we can work something out. Please tell Billie your answer.

Sincerely yours,

Amos Wolfson

“ Lemme see it,” Virgil said.

I handed it to him, and he frowned over it as he read. Rose looked over his shoulder. Cato was still up in the rocks, watching.

“How’s the girl doing out there,” I said to Cato.

“Horse is eatin’ grass,” Cato said.

“She still got the reins?” I said.

“Yep.”

Virgil handed the letter back to me.

“Whaddya think, Virgil?” Rose said.

Virgil shook his head and stood and walked around the rock and leaned on the downslope side of it and looked down at the town. He could see Billie, and Billie saw him. But he gave her no notice.

“What’s he doing?” Rose said.

“He’s thinking,” I said.

"Hell,” Rose said. “I never done enough of that to know it when I see it.”

From his side of the rocks, Virgil yelled to me.

"Come on out here,” he said. “We’ll talk to the girl.”

I went out, and we walked over to Billie.