William Johnstone - Dead Before Sundown

Duff laughed, and applauded. “That is very good,” he said.

“Yes, you could see it because you are here with me, in the same room and but a few feet away. On stage, however, the audience member in the farthest row from the stage must be able to see those same reactions, and in order to do that, we must use makeup.”

“I can see how that would be so,” Duff said.

There was a light knock on the door and a woman’s voice called through. “Andrew, are you decent?”

“Why, Sister, I am one of the most decent people I know,” Andrew replied.

“That had better be more than a joke, because I am coming in,” Rosanna said, pushing the door open and stepping into the room. Her makeup and costume had been removed, but she was still, Duff saw, a very attractive woman. She smiled at Duff. “Did Andrew tell you we want you to be our dinner guest tonight?”

“I told him, but he refused,” Andrew said.

“What?” Rosanna replied in surprise.

“It turns out that he wants us to be his guest.”

Rossana laughed. “I hope you accepted.”

“Of course I did,” Andrew said.

Chapter 3

After the show Duff took his two cousins out to dinner at the King’s Arms restaurant.

“It is Scot you are, so Scot ye shall eat,” Duff said.

“We defer to you, cousin,” Andrew said.

Duff ordered a rich, Scotch broth to start the meal, then a hearty pot of roasted chicken with potatoes as the main course, and he finished it up with clootie dumplings covered in a rich custard sauce.

During the meal Andrew explained how they were related.

“Our father, that is mine and Rosanna’s, was Jamie Ian MacCallister the Third. He was captured by the Shawnee Indians in 1817 on his seventh birthday and raised among them so that he was more Indian than white. He learned the warrior’s way and when he was only nine, he shot a deer with a bow and arrow he had made himself. And if that wasn’t enough, he fought off two wolves for the carcass. That earned him the name Man Who Is Not Afraid.”

“Father was at the Alamo,” Rosanna added. “He was the last courier Colonel Travis sent out before the final battle.”

“There is a statue of him in the town of MacCallister, Colorado. The statue was made by the noted sculptor Frederic Remington,” Andrew continued.

“My with a history like that, a statue and a town of the same name, your father must have been quite a successful man,” Duff said. “I’m sure you are very proud of him.”

“We are,” Rosanna said. “He was one of the true giants of the American West, and founder of the city that bears his name.”

“His father was Jamie Ian the Second,” Andrew said, continuing the narrative. “He was one of the early settlers and a successful farmer in Ohio. My great-grandfather was Jamie Ian the First, and he was truly a giant. He made the trek west with Lewis and Clark, and he became a mountain man, living and trapping on his own for many years before returning to civilization.

“My great-great-grandfather Seamus MacCallister, was a captain during our Revolutionary War. He was with Washington at Valley Forge, crossed the Delaware with him, and was at his side at the final Battle of Yorktown. In doing family research, I came across a letter written to him by George Washington in which he praises Seamus for his military skills and courage.

“My great-great-great-grandfather, Hugh MacCallister, was a captain in the service of Governor Joseph Dudley of Massachusetts during the Queen Anne War. Hugh MacCallister was the first of our family to emigrate from Scotland, and was the brother of Braden MacCallister, your great-great-great-grandfather. Both were sons of Falcon MacCallister, and that, my dear cousin, is where our family lines cross.”

“You said in the letter that you have a brother named Falcon,” Duff said.

“Indeed we do,” Andrew said. “And I hope you will forgive the familial pride, but Falcon is one of the most storied people in our American West. Have you heard of General Custer?”

“Of course, I have read much of him,” Duff said.

“Falcon was with Custer on his last scout.”

“But how can that be? I thought all who were with Custer were killed.”

“Custer divided his forces into three elements,” Andrew explained. “All who were with him were killed, that is true. But most of the other two elements survived.”

“I must confess that since Uncle Hugh took the MacCallister name to America it sounds as if he, and all who followed, have done the name proud,” Duff said.

“Do you know much of our mutual ancestor, Falcon?” Andrew asked.

“Aye,” Duff responded. “On February 7, 1676, Fingal Somerled and his clan set out to destroy the MacCallisters and steal all their cattle. But our mutual grandfather, Sir Falcon MacCallister, Earl of Argyllshire, learned of the threat and set a trap for the Somerleds. When Somerled and his men entered Glen Fruin, he encountered a large force of men led by Falcon MacCallister. Somerled tried to withdraw, but he found his exit blocked by a strong force that Falcon had put into position for just that purpose. The Somerleds were trapped with MacCallisters in front and at the rear, and the walls of the glen on either side. They were completely routed, many were killed, and Fingal barely managed to escape with his life. That was the start of a feud between our two families that continues to this day.”

“You mean you are still killing each other?” Rosanna asked.

“Oh, no, thankfully we have put that aside.” Duff thought of the recent fight he had with Donald, Roderick, and Alexander Somerled, and he chuckled. “But we do still have our moments,” he added.

“Do you know the history of any of your other ancestors?” Andrew asked.

“Oh, yes. We have kept an oral history as part of our lives, so much so that I feel I actually know ancestors whom I never met. Duncan MacCallister is an interesting ancestor, but I’m afraid my great-greatgrandfather, Duncan fought against your great-great-grandfather Seamus in your revolutionary war. He was with General Cornwallis at Yorktown. As a result, he was part of an ignoble surrender. I am proud to say, however, that he fared much better at Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated. Duncan was a sharpshooter with the 95th Rifles, part of the Duke of Wellington’s army.

“My grandfather, Alair MacCallister was a Brigadier with Sir Harry Smith in India when Ranjodh Singh was defeated. My father was a captain with General Simpson during the Crimean War, at the Battle of Sevastopol.”

“And you?” Andrew said.

“Ah, yes, my uniform. I am a captain in the reserves.”

“You may be in the reserves now, but I know for a fact that you are not wearing the uniform of the Black Watch merely for show,” Andrew said. “You took part in the battle of Tel el-Kebir in Egypt. That is where you received the Victoria Cross you are wearing.”

Duff smiled self-consciously. “You have done your homework, haven’t you, Andrew?”

“I wanted to find out as much as I could about our Scottish cousin,” Andrew said. “And while, admittedly, the blood lines that connect us have grown thin with succeeding generations, I believe that the spark of kinship can quite easily be fanned into a flame of genuine friendship.”

“For anyone else, the blood might be too thin at this point to claim kinship,” Duff said. “But not for the MacCallisters. Sure, and we are as kin as if ye were my brother.” He glanced over at Rosanna. “And a more beautiful and talented sister I could scarcely envision.”

Rosanna extended her hand across the table and, once more, Duff raised it to his lips for a kiss.

After they enjoyed their dinner, Duff took them to the White Horse Pub. Duff was greeted warmly by nearly every customer in the pub. Ian was behind the counter, and he smiled broadly as he saw Duff arrive with Andrew and Rosanna.