As he approached, several men reached for weapons.
He stopped twenty yards from the crowd and raised both hands.
"I'm not looking for trouble."
An elderly man stepped forward.
He wore a long gray coat despite the heat. His hair was braided down his back, and his face carried the kind of authority that did not need shouting.
"You should keep riding," the old man said.
Emtt looked at the women.
"I might."
The elder waited.
Emtt pointed toward the rope.
"After I understand what's happening."
"The decision has been made."
"That's not what I asked."
A murmur passed through the crowd.
The elder studied him.
"They broke the law of their households."
"Which law?"
"They failed their husbands."
Emtt's expression hardened.
"Failed them how?"
The elder did not answer immediately.
One of the men in the crowd shouted something.
Another laughed.
The meaning became clear enough.
The women had been blamed for not producing children.
Emtt stared at them.
Four women.
Four marriages.
Four accusations.
He looked back at the elder.
"And that's enough to kill them?"
"They are being removed from the community."
"With a rope?"
The elder's face remained expressionless.
"Do not interfere."
Emtt nodded slowly.
"All right."
He turned his horse.
The crowd relaxed.
One man smiled.
The woman who had looked at him lowered her eyes.
Emtt rode six steps.
Then stopped.
He looked over his shoulder.
"How much?"
The elder frowned.
"For what?"
"Their freedom."
Silence returned.
The elder studied him as though trying to determine whether he was drunk.
"You misunderstand."
"No."
Emtt dismounted.
He removed the rifle from its scabbard.
Then his revolver.
Then the saddlebag.
He placed each item carefully on the ground.
"I don't have much," he said. "But I'll give you all of it."
The crowd erupted.
The elder raised one hand.
Silence returned.
"You would trade your horse?"
"Yes."
"Your weapons?"
"Yes."
"Your food?"
"Yes."
"Your money?"
Emtt reached into his coat and removed a small leather pouch.
He tossed it onto the ground.
Coins scattered in the dust.
The elder looked at them.
"All of it?"
"Every cent."
"And what will you do afterward?"
Emtt glanced at the women.
"That's tomorrow's problem."
The elder's expression changed.
For the first time, something resembling curiosity appeared in his eyes.
"You do not even know their names."
"Then I'll learn them."
"You understand that if you take them, you take responsibility for them?"
Emtt looked at the four women.
"Nobody owns them."
The elder's gaze sharpened.
"You are not answering."
Emtt took a breath.
"I'll take responsibility for getting them somewhere safe."
A man stepped out from the crowd.
He was younger, perhaps thirty, and carried himself like someone accustomed to being obeyed.
He pointed at one of the women.
"She is my wife."
Emtt looked at him.
The woman flinched.
That was enough.
Emtt's voice became quiet.
"Then you should have protected her."
The man's face turned red.
He reached for his gun.
Three rifles rose around the circle.
Emtt did not move.
The elder spoke sharply.
The younger man stopped.
For a long moment, nobody breathed.
Then the elder turned to the four women.