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We move in quick up into the mountains.”
    â€œI know what’s coming,” Ty said dryly. “You want my line cabin and corrals in Copper Canyon.”
    â€œWhy, surely,” Orville said. “There’s room to handle them and grass to hold them. As soon as the brands are healed over we drive them down the other side of the mountain and sell them in Grant County and Jefferson and Moffitt.”
    Ty thought a minute and then said, “Yes, but it’s risky, Orv. Those Texans are mean and tough.”
    â€œI’m meaner and tougher than any Texan I ever seen,” Orv said placidly. He paused. “It ain’t as risky as you think, Ty, because we’re safe here.”
    â€œReese, you mean?”
    â€œHell, no, I don’t mean Reese. He ain’t one of us Hoads.”
    â€œThen how are we safe?”
    â€œCallie,” Orville said simply.
    It was too dark for Ty to see Orville’s face but he looked toward him anyway. “What’s she got to do with it?”
    â€œWe organize a cattle company with Callie as head. She signs all the bills of sale. She’s the buyer and the seller.”
    â€œBut why Callie? Why not you or me?”
    â€œYou don’t see it,” Orville said sadly. “Why, it’s as simple as this: Callie’s Reese’s wife. He’ll think a long time before arresting her, but even if he does she’s safe enough.”
    â€œHow d’you figure that?”
    â€œA woman can’t testify against her husband and a husband can’t testify against his wife. If he gets one of us, there’s that lady lawyer again. Besides, we’d be stealing from Texans and that ain’t really stealing to a Sutton County jury. See what we got working for us?”
    Ty reviewed Orville’s reasoning. “He can’t get at Callie, no jury will convict a man Jen Truro is prosecuting and we don’t like Texans.”
    It was Orville’s turn to take a drink now and he did. When he could talk again, he said, “Yep. Find any holes in it?”
    â€œReese could deputize other men to gather evidence against us.”
    â€œThey’ll be plumb hard to hire,” Orville said gently. “There’s plenty of us Hoads and we ain’t soft. Let Reese try to find the Hoad that shoots a deputy or a witness.”
    Ty thought carefully now. The time Buster Hoad had been dragged by a horse and killed, they had counted twenty-three Hoads by blood or marriage who attended Buster’s funeral. Yes, as Orville said, there were plenty of Hoads to take care of any trouble that came up. All in all, it was a good scheme. It would take nerve and endurance, two qualities the Hoads had a plenty. The only question was, would Callie throw in with them and agree to act as responsible owner? She and Reese, Ty knew, were not getting along. They had fallen out of love or whatever it was that kept a man and his woman together, but how far out of love had Callie fallen? he wondered. Then he said aloud, “All right, Orv. I’ll talk with Callie. You talked this over with the boys?”
    â€œNo. I was waiting on what you thought of it.”
    â€œWait a little longer till I see where Callie stands. Without her it’s no good.”
    â€œNo,” Orville agreed.
    It was fully dark but not late when Reese stepped out of the stable and tied his horse to the ring held by a cast iron Negro in livery that stood before the white-painted small house of Sebastian Truro. The house looked as if it had been moved from a New England town, trim, a little stark and handsome. Reese opened the gate in the wrought iron fence, and as he tramped up the brick walk he could see through the wide bay window that Sebastian Truro was still up and in his wheelchair. Jen was standing talking to him and Reese noted with relief that she had changed out of her drab court-room costume into a dress that was near red in color. It was, he supposed, her