Then he rode away.
Caleb watched until he disappeared.
“You shouldn't provoke him.”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
“He came here to intimidate us.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
Caleb looked at her.
“Because I know what he can do.”
“What can he do?”
“Buy a man's debt.”
Silence.
Mercer controlled the bank.
He controlled the feed supplier.
He controlled the cattle market.
He controlled the sheriff's brother.
And he controlled the newspaper.
Caleb explained it all.
Abigail listened.
Then she said,
“Then we don't fight him where he's strong.”
Caleb frowned.
“Where do we fight him?”
“Where he thinks nobody will look.”
The next week Abigail began visiting neighboring ranchers.
She asked questions.
Not accusations.
Questions.
How much were they paid?
What scale did Mercer use?
What interest did the bank charge?
How many had suddenly lost cattle?
The answers were unsettling.
Almost everyone had a story.
But everyone was afraid.
One rancher, Thomas Bell, finally told her the truth.
“Mercer wants the land.”
“Why?”
“Railroad survey.”
Abigail went still.
“What railroad?”
“The Northern extension.”
“When?”
“Next spring.”
“And the line crosses here?”
“Not exactly.”
Thomas pointed toward the mountains.
“It crosses the valley.”
Abigail returned home after dark.
Caleb was waiting.
“What did you find?”
She placed a map on the table.
“Mercer isn't trying to ruin us.”
Caleb looked at her.
“He's trying to buy us.”
“What?”
“The valley.”
She pointed.
“The railroad is coming.”
Caleb stared at the map.
His father had always said the land would never be worth much.
Now Abigail saw something else.
A railroad meant cattle prices.
A town.
Freight.
Land values.
Mercer knew.
And he wanted everything before anyone else understood.
Caleb sat slowly.
“How did you find this?”
“Thomas Bell.”
“Thomas has been scared of Mercer for ten years.”
“He still is.”
“Then why tell you?”
Abigail paused.
“Because I promised him I would tell the truth.”
Caleb looked at her.
“You made a promise?”
“Yes.”
“To him?”
“To myself.”
The following morning, Caleb rode into town.
He demanded an independent scale.
Mercer refused.
The bank called in Caleb's loan.
Then the sheriff arrived at Broken Antler with papers.
“Foreclosure.”
Caleb stared at the document.
“This isn't due until October.”
“It was accelerated.”
“On what grounds?”
“Violation of lending terms.”
Abigail took the paper.
She read it.
Then she smiled.
“What?”
Caleb asked.
“This isn't legal.”
The sheriff stiffened.
“You calling me a liar?”
“No.”
She pointed.
“I'm calling the document fraudulent.”
The sheriff reached for it.
Abigail pulled it back.
“Read the date.”
He did.
His face changed.
The document had been signed two weeks before Caleb had even received the loan.
The sheriff swallowed.
“I'll have to check.”
He left.
Caleb looked at Abigail.
“How did you see that?”
“Because I keep books.”
He laughed.
For the first time in years, Caleb laughed openly.
Then a gunshot echoed from the ridge.
Both turned.
The barn door exploded inward.
A bullet struck the post beside Caleb's head.
Abigail grabbed him.
“Down!”
Another shot.
Caleb reached for his rifle.
Abigail dragged him behind the water trough.
“Stay here.”
“Where are you going?”
She pulled a revolver from beneath her coat.
Caleb stared.
“You carry a gun?”
“I told you I don't faint.”
She moved toward the barn.
Three riders were fleeing.
Abigail raised her revolver.
She fired once.
One rider dropped his rifle.
The others vanished into the trees.
Caleb stared at her.
She lowered the weapon.
Then she looked at him.
“Still think I'm porcelain?”
Caleb shook his head.
“No.”
“What do you think?”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“I think I married the wrong woman.”
Her face fell.
Then he smiled.
“Because I should have married you years ago.”
Abigail stared.
“We're not married.”
“I know.”
“Then don't say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I might believe you.”
He stepped closer.
“I hope you do.”
Before either could say more, a horse came thundering from town.
It was Thomas Bell.
His face was pale.
“Caleb!”
“What?”
“Mercer knows.”
“Knows what?”
Thomas looked at Abigail.
“He knows you found the railroad survey.”
Then he whispered,
“And he's coming for the ranch tonight.”
FIRE IN THE NIGHT
The attack came after midnight.
Abigail woke to the smell of smoke.
For one second she thought it was the stove.
Then she heard Caleb shouting.
“ABIGAIL!”
She jumped from bed.
The cabin wall glowed orange.
Fire.
She grabbed her coat and ran outside.
The barn was burning.
Flames climbed the roof.
Horses screamed inside.
Caleb was trying to break the doors.
“Get away!” Abigail shouted.
“I can get them out!”
“The roof is going!”
He ignored her.
She grabbed an axe.
Together they broke the side panel.
One horse escaped.
Then another.
A third collapsed.
Caleb entered.
Abigail followed.
“Caleb!”
He dragged the horse toward the opening.
A beam crashed behind them.
They stumbled outside.
The barn roof collapsed.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then Caleb looked at the flames.
His face changed.
“Everything.”
“What?”
“The records.”
Abigail ran toward the cabin.
She returned with a metal box.
“Not everything.”
Caleb opened it.
His father's deed.
The bank papers.
The railroad map.
The account books.
Everything that mattered.
He looked at her.