Chapter 6 #2
“No,” the farmer said at last, shaking his head.
“My wife is right. If it wasn’t them, it would have been others.
No one governs this area. San Antonio is too far away to have any reach here, and your town is too new and small.
We always knew that farming this far out would be dangerous.
” He sighed and hunched over the table, looking a lot older than his probably fifty years.
“So, what happened today?” Hunter asked.
Just then Mrs. Emmerson and Grace came into the kitchen. Grace looked a lot better. She had some color in her cheeks and was smiling. She took a seat beside Hunter. He reached out, took her hand under the table, and gave it a squeeze. She squeezed back and he knew all was well.
“They came riding down the drive, looking like customers,” Mr. Emmerson said, shaking his head. “It was my daughter, Lily, here who recognized one of the men as a bandit.”
Lily nodded as she poured the tea and handed out mugs. “He’s been here before. The one with the bushy mustache. He came with a fancy gentleman in a suit and had a meeting with Papa not long ago.”
“I didn’t realize it was him,” Mr. Emmerson said. “I spent so much time glaring at that suit-wearing fellow that I didn’t really pay attention to his helpers.”
“What did they want?” Robert asked, sipping his tea.
“To make me an offer,” Mr. Emmerson said.
“They wanted me to join with a group of farmers in the area and refuse to sell to you folks. Now, I told them that customers were customers as far as I was concerned, and I didn’t work for them.
They didn’t like that much. They said they would give me some time to think it over and then send someone by to find out my decision. ”
“They said their offer was generous,” Mrs. Emmerson said and shook her head.
“What was the offer exactly?” Hunter asked. “If you don’t mind us asking.”
“It boiled down to us being beholden to these ruffians, and we would never agree to that,” Mr. Emmerson said. “That’s the whole reason we moved out here, to be free to farm and live the way we see fit.”
“This was them coming to hear your decision, I take it. They were well armed,” Robert said. “Two pistols a piece and a shotgun each. We’re just lucky they seemed to have mislaid their shotgun shells.”
“The shotguns are mine,” Mr. Emmerson said. “They must have found them in the house and thought they were loaded. I never keep them loaded, and the ammunition is in the pantry. Guess they didn’t think to look there.”
“Lucky for us,” Robert said.
“Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “I would have had my head blown off if they had been loaded.”
Hunter thought of the wall he had been hiding behind and knew it would never have stood up to a shotgun blast. He and Grace would have been mincemeat. Thank you, Lord.
“Do you mind my asking where you hid?” Jeff asked.
“The storm cellar,” Mrs. Emmerson said. “That way they wouldn’t find anyone to torture or threaten. It’s under the house, and there is a tunnel to the shed outside.”
They nodded.
“We got everyone, the staff included, into the cellar just in time,” Mr. Emmerson said.
“So, will you still be willing to sell to us?” Grace asked, speaking for the first time.
Mr. Emmerson nodded. “How could I refuse? You saved us.”
“We might not have,” Robert said. “When El Aguila realizes these men are missing, he will come looking for them.”
“Not if we send one of them back to his camp with a message,” Hunter said. He’d been thinking about that very problem while everyone was talking. The thought of leaving this farmer and his family alone to take their chances with a ruthless criminal was unthinkable.
“What?” Jeff asked. “And just what message would he take to his boss?”
“That we stopped them,” Hunter said. “We ruined everything just as we usually do, or something to that effect. The point is that he will be shaken and nervous, and that should make him easy to follow to their camp.”
“Oh, you are a sneaky man,” Jeff said. “That’s a good idea.”
“We can’t let you folks take all the blame though,” Mrs. Emmerson said. “El Aguila will retaliate. He’ll hurt your people.”
“He’ll try, but we’ll be waiting for him,” Hunter said. “And when whoever follows him comes back with the location of his camp, then El Aguila will finally know what it’s like to be truly afraid.”
“I think you missed your calling,” Robert said. “That gave me the shivers.”
“Yeah,” Jeff said. “So, I guess I’m the lucky one who gets to follow our messenger?”
“Why you?” Hunter asked. He was quite willing to volunteer.
“Because you have Grace, and they’ll need Robert in town if we’re going to pull this off without a lot of casualties,” Jeff said. “Anyway, I think it will be fun.”
“Your definition of fun must be different from mine,” Grace said with a tired chuckle. Hunter pressed her hand, which was still firmly laced with his. He had to make up for the last terrible days she’d had in what, for her, had to be a totally strange, frightening new world.
They finished their tea, and then, as Grace and Mr. Emmerson negotiated flour prices, Hunter went outside with Robert and Jeff.
“Are you sure you’re all right to do this?” Robert asked.
Jeff nodded. “I’ll have to give him a head start, but I’ll wait in the bushes just outside the gate and then follow.”
“If you’re not back in two days, we’re sending the cavalry to come and find you,” Robert said.
“As though we have cavalry,” Jeff scoffed. He nodded to them both, and then, taking his horse by the reins, he went to find somewhere to hide.
Hunter and Robert went into the barn. They forced the bandits onto their knees in a row, and Robert set to work scaring the men half to death. There was one, the one with the bushy mustache, who didn’t even flinch. However, the other two were younger, less experienced, and they were scared stiff.
After that, all that remained was to let one of them go. One of the younger two was given the message for El Aguila.
“Run!” Robert said, pointing his gun at the young man’s head. “And don’t you ever come back!”
The man fled.