"I kept you alive."
"What's the difference?"
"Sometimes there's a big one."
They rode again.
By midmorning, Medicine Bow appeared in the distance.
Abigail felt relief.
"We made it."
Silas didn't answer.
As they approached town, he noticed a horse tied outside the sheriff's office.
A distinctive brand marked its flank.
The same ranch brand he had seen on the bandits' saddles.
Silas stopped.
Abigail looked confused.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You stopped."
"I know."
They watched the sheriff emerge from his office.
Beside him stood a man wearing the colors of Gideon Strake's ranch.
The two men laughed.
Abigail's face went pale.
Silas said quietly:
"Don't go there."
"That's the sheriff."
"I know."
"He can help us."
"He won't."
Before Abigail could answer, Silas pointed toward a wooden post.
A fresh wanted poster hung there.
Abigail walked closer.
She read it.
Her expression changed.
Silas didn't need to see it.
He already knew.
The poster claimed that Silas Mercer had kidnapped Abigail Hartwell.
Abigail stared at him.
"They're blaming you."
Silas nodded.
"Looks that way."
"But why?"
"Because somebody wants the town looking in the wrong direction."
A sound came from behind them.
"You always did have a talent for noticing things."
Silas turned.
An older man stood near an abandoned stable.
Gray hair.
Weathered face.
U.S. Marshal's badge.
Silas stared at him.
"Jonah Bell."
The man smiled.
"Didn't think I'd ever see you again."
Abigail looked between them.
"You know him?"
Jonah answered.
"Know him?"
He laughed softly.
"Ma'am, I spent three years trying to catch him."
Silas looked at Jonah.
"And how did that go?"
"I never caught you."
"That's because you weren't very good."
Jonah smiled.
"Still arrogant."
"Still alive."
Jonah's expression became serious.
"Then you've heard."
"Enough."
"Strake?"
Silas nodded.
"The sheriff?"
"Bought."
"Your name?"
"Ruined."
Jonah looked toward Abigail.
"And the papers?"
Abigail held her coat tightly.
"Safe."
Jonah nodded.
"Then we have a chance."
Silas frowned.
"At what?"
"Justice."
Silas looked toward the town.
"That's an ambitious word for Medicine Bow."
Jonah smiled.
"Maybe."
Then his expression hardened.
"But I've got witnesses."
"And?"
"People who are tired of Strake."
Silas looked at him.
"How many?"
Jonah paused.
"Enough."
Silas wasn't convinced.
But Abigail was.
"We need to show them the evidence."
Jonah nodded.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because Gideon knows you're alive."
Silas looked toward the road.
Sure enough, a cloud of dust was rising in the distance.
Riders.
Many of them.
Jonah stepped toward the stable.
"Looks like the devil just heard the news."
Gideon Strake rode into Medicine Bow like a man who owned the entire territory.
Six armed ranch hands followed him.
He was in his early fifties, tall and broad, with silver at his temples and expensive clothing that looked ridiculous against the dusty frontier town.
He didn't carry himself like a rancher.
He carried himself like a king.
People moved aside when he passed.
The sheriff walked out to greet him.
"Gideon."
"Where is she?"
The sheriff looked toward the stable.
"Inside."
Gideon smiled.
"Good."
He looked at the crowd.
Then his eyes landed on Silas.
His smile disappeared.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Gideon finally said:
"Mercer."
Silas stared back.
"Strake."
The crowd became silent.
Something passed between the two men.
Recognition.
History.
Fear.
Gideon stepped closer.
"I heard you were dead."
Silas shrugged.
"People say that."
"They said the South Pass Ghost was dead, too."
Silas's eyes hardened.
"People say many things."
Several older ranchers exchanged nervous glances.
One whispered:
"That's him."
Another answered:
"Can't be."
"It is."
Gideon heard them.
He turned toward the crowd.
"Don't believe old stories."
Jonah Bell stepped forward.
"Then let's talk about new evidence."
Gideon looked at him.
"You've been gone a long time, Marshal."
"Not long enough."
The sheriff placed a hand on his revolver.
Jonah noticed.
"So we're doing this?"
Gideon shook his head.
"Nobody wants trouble."
Silas almost laughed.
"That's the first lie you've told today."
Gideon's eyes narrowed.
"You always were difficult."
"Only when somebody deserved it."
The tension became unbearable.
Then Abigail stepped forward.
She held the leather coat.
"You're afraid of these."
Gideon's face changed.
Only for a second.
But everyone saw it.
Abigail noticed.
Jonah noticed.
Silas noticed.