Blood Wedding

They made themselves as comfortable as they could and waited. The night was cool, and a breeze rippled the grass. There was no movement in the trees other than the horses and the leaves rustling on the trees. But Fargo waited awhile longer.

His caution paid off when a shadow finally separated itself from one of the trees and stood aside to urinate. Fargo could hear the splashing as the stream hit the tree trunk.

“He’ll move away from there,” Molly said.

“And when he does, I’ll get him,” Fargo said, slipping the knife out of his boot. “Wait here.”

He went silently down the hill and into the trees. The guard was just finishing his business, shaking off the last few drops, when Fargo came up behind him and put a forearm across his throat.

The man tried to cry out, but Fargo clamped down on him and then hit him in the temple with the hilt of the knife. The man went limp, and Fargo lowered him to the ground. He located the Ovaro and led it back up the hill.

“Can you ride bareback?” he asked Molly.

“What do you think?”

Fargo didn’t answer. He took hold of the Ovaro’s mane and swung himself up on its back. Then he reached a hand to Molly and pulled her up behind him.

“How long do you think it will take before Murray figures out we’ve gotten away?” she asked.

“He’ll know when his guard wakes up. That might be an hour or two. We’ll be long gone by then.”

“Well, by God, I’m glad to hear it,” Molly said.

16

Lem and Abby were happy and surprised to see Fargo and Molly again. Fargo told what had happened to them, leaving out the part about the bath.

Abby cooked some bacon and beans, and while Molly and Fargo ate, Lem filled them in on what had happened in their absence.

“We thought sure they’d killed the two of you,” Lem said. “They sure as hell killed Alf.”

“What about his house?” Fargo asked.

“It’s still standing. I figured they’d burn it, but you and Molly must’ve scared them off. When we found Molly’s horse, we went on over to Talley’s place, but it was still standing, too. Looks like Molly’s house and barn were the only places they burned. Murray must not like her a whole lot.”

“Could be that there’s another reason,” Fargo said.

“If there’s another reason, I’d like to know what it is,” Molly said.

Fargo chewed some beans and then said, “I haven’t quite got it all figured out yet. I had a lot of time to think while we were wandering around in the dark, and I have a few ideas. I talked to Angel, too, and she said something I didn’t quite understand.”

“When did you talk to her?” Abby asked, suspicion edging her voice. “She’s been gone a while now.”

Fargo didn’t think it would be wise to explain the circumstances under which he’d last talked to Angel, at least not to Abby. Judging by the grin on Molly’s face, Molly already had a pretty good idea.

“You’ll remember I spent some time watching Angel while she was staying here,” Fargo said. “She told me some things.”

“What things?” Lem said.

Fargo told them about the death of Murray’s wife and how Murray had come to blame the farmers instead of the people who’d actually done the killing.

“That’s just plain crazy,” Lem said. “But then we already knew Murray was crazy for revenge. You haven’t told us anything new, except one more of his reasons for going after us.”

“That’s not the whole story. Angel said that there was more to it.”

“Well?” Abby said. “Tell us what it was.”

“That’s just it. Angel wouldn’t tell me. She said she wasn’t even sure herself. Paul was the one their father trusted, probably because he wasn’t a woman.”

“A woman can keep a secret,” Molly said. “And a woman can be just as good in a fight as any man, especially the men around here. I didn’t see any of them coming to help Alf Wesley.”

“I wanted to,” Lem told her. “Fargo made me stay in case they came around here.”

“No offense,” Molly said. “I didn’t mean you, in particular. But the whole bunch of them is too scared to go after Murray.”

“Now that we know where he’s hiding out, we can change their minds,” Lem said. “First thing in the morning, I’ll ride around to all the neighbors and call a meeting. We can go after Murray in his hideout and finish him off.”

Fargo shoved back his plate. The beans and bacon had filled him, and Abby had boiled some coffee that was strong and hot, steaming in a thick mug. Fargo drank some of the coffee before he spoke.

“I wouldn’t count on him being there,” he said. “He’s not going to stay around, knowing that Molly and I got loose. He’ll have found himself another place by morning.”

“You’re right, I guess,” Lem said. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“You couldn’t have got that bunch of lollygaggers to go with you, anyway,” Molly said. “You and me and Fargo would have been about all.”

“I would have gone,” Abby said. “I can shoot as well as you can.”

Molly gave her a measuring look.

“I might not be as big as you, but I’m just as mean,” Abby told her.