Cloud's Rider

“Yeah,” Carlo said. “You couldn’t.”

Mackey might have spread the news around to the neighbors about Tarmin’s going. He wished he hadn’t had to tell the man anything; and it might be why they’d been left out of the information Da

Mackey for an ally wasn’t an attractive prospect.

Meanwhile Randy was darting glances at him—mindful of his strict order to shut up and notto talk back to the Mackeys ever, and not to talk to the Mackeys most especially if hewas talking to them. Randy was doing all right so far, and held his silence on a mouthful of crackers while the wife said,

“We’d still be pleased if you boys would move inside while we fix up the place.”

And he said,

“Oh, no. We’re just real comfortable out there, a lot of room, all of that.”

“You boys have got to have some more blankets,” sweet wife Mary insisted, while Rick burned and Randy stuffed his mouth and his pockets with crackers. “Would you like the rest of the crackers, son?”

“Sure,” Randy said.

And on that, it seeming they’d gone about far enough, Carlo set his glass down and pocketed a fistful of crackers himself.

“Join us for Sunday di

“No, no,” Carlo said. “We don’t want to disturb you. You have your lives. We’re not here to intrude on your house. We’re grateful enough for a place to stay.” Then he decided to push it, about the time they stood up, taking their leave. “Could use a little extra cash for meals at the tavern, though. Growing kid there. —If we’re worth it. Sure be nice to have the seconds.”

“Hell,” Rick said from the doorway.

But Van Mackey said, “You just put meals on our tab over at the tavern. We’ll work it out.”

“That’s real kind. That’s real kind, sir.” He meant to make it fair-sized tabs and hide away things like crackers and other stuff that did all right on the trail—supplies were mobility, and mobility for him and Randy might be real necessary on short notice. Feed up real well on Sundays, when they had a real good table—

And maybe take the actual cash he got and put it with Da

Rick would turn his bunk inside out looking for it. He’d lay odds on it. And if Rick was a real fool—might try outright strong-arm robbery. Rick was bigger than any guy he’d seen in Evergreen, including the loggers. Rick was used to having his way—he’d seen Rick elbow his way in the tavern. And he saw the look Rick had now.

“You sure you won’t come to di

“No,” Carlo said, thinking he’d as soon snuggle up to a nest of lorrie-lies. “We’re fine. Our papa always said, Don’t get personal on a business deal.”

If he was right it was only going to make them twice as determined, and sure enough, they took no offense at all. He could have tossed his glass onto the floor and they’d have smiled. Except Rick.

“Well, we understand,” the wife said. “We appreciate your attitude. But you boys won’t mind if I bring out some roast tomorrow.”

“That’d be real kind,” Carlo said, and with Van and Mary in close attendance all the way down the sooty, worn rug of the hall, got Randy out the door before he exploded.

“What’s that for?” Randy asked when they were in the forge and far enough from the shut door of the house.

“Hush,” he said, and got himself and Randy across the forge to collect their coats and go out to supper.

“Why in hell’d you turn them down?” Randy said, getting his coat on. “You crazy?”

“Tell you later,” he said. “Let’s go to supper, all right?” He buttoned his own coat and took his brother out into the snow, by the outside door, not by the passages.

There he could be relatively sure nobody was eavesdropping. And then he told Randy—while they were walking toward the tavern, in the trampled snow of a lot of traffic headed the same direction—as much as he was sure Randy was apt to hear, meaning the whole thing.

“People are going down to Tarmin come spring,” he said, “and redo the whole village. We own the forge down there, and the house, and grandma’s house and maybe aunt Libby’s shop and herhouse, do you get it? They just figured out who we are. People from Evergreen are going to claim the houses and everything there’s nobody to speak for. And we’re all that’s left. We’re rich, kid, and we can kick ’em in the ankles and they’ll grit their teeth and smile at us.”

“That’s why they’re being nice.”

“First prize. The only way they’re going to get anything is if we make a deal with ’em, and I’m not ready. So you watch it. You keep your mouth shut and let me handle it.” He wished he hadn’t said that about kicking them in the ankles. “First thing, kid, we could end up dead. This is real serious.”

Randy got a strange look. “You think they’d poison us?”

He hadn’t thought of that. And wished he had. But it was one more reason not to take Sunday di

Randy’s eyes were big as saucers as he stopped at the tavern steps and looked up at him. “Yeah,” Randy said.

“I think we’re going to hear some deal out of them about the property down in Tarmin. Real soon.”

“Da

“Yeah. He heard it in a meeting. He came over to tell us.”

“You know what I think? The Mackeys are scum.”

“I’d say so. But youdon’t. Just don’t say anything. Especially anywhere the Mackeys can hear you.”

“You should gethim. Rick can’t beat you.”

He didn’t think. He grabbed Randy’s arm and then knew he’d grabbed too hard and hurt the kid. He let go.

“You don’t talk like that. —Kid, I’m sorry. But you be careful what you say.”

Randy looked scared. And rubbed his arm.

“This is a public place,” Carlo said. “And you behave. You behave, brother. Or I’ll knock you in the head when I get you home. I mean it.”

“ Thisisn’t our home!”

“Yeah, well, that’s fine. This is what we’ve got, kid. Quiet. Quiet! Hear me?”

“Yeah.”

He clapped Randy on the shoulder then and they went the rest of the way up the steps, opened the door—there was a glass pane with The Evergreenpainted on it and a white tree below it, with light coming from inside, lamps and a couple of fires.

You weren’t ever cold in The Evergreen. Overheated, maybe. The food was good.

Real good, if you’d gone hungry.

They walked in with not near the silence and the stares there’d been the first night they’d come. But the ducked heads and hushed comments from the gathering there did notice them—again and in a different way. Newshad gotten around; and now people were re-interested, in a way that warned there was something in the undercurrents, and that there were people here who’d really like a chance at exactly what the Mackeys would.

But hell if he’d spook, or let Randy spook. The kid was picking it up, not knowing what to do with it and on the verge of showing out like a fool.

“They’re looking at us,” Randy said, being at that age: but the fact was, everybody waslooking at them.

“Yeah,” Carlo said. “You wanted to be famous, right?”

“Shut up! They’re staring.”

“Fine.”

By now they knew where things were and how they were. There was a set-fee buffet. What they’d been spending gave you one serving. But if you laid down double it was all you could eat up to three bowls, which was more than fair: the bowls were large. He and Randy went to the line, which was none by this time, found a table and sat down to stew and, at the bar help’s order, a short beer for him, a cup of tea for Randy.