Chapter 6 - The Night the Barn Burned
The boy's name was Eli Mercer.
His father owned the mercantile building Mrs. Ardell operated.
That explained why he had remained silent.
“If my pa knows I told you…”
Silas placed a hand on his shoulder.
“He won't hear it from me.”
Eli looked toward Mian and Atseli.
“People say they're dangerous.”
Mian lowered her eyes.
Silas asked, “Do they look dangerous?”
Eli studied the two mothers.
Kai grabbed Atseli's finger.
Luli yawned against Mian's shoulder.
“No.”
“Then maybe people are wrong.”
It was a small sentence.
But sometimes entire towns changed one small sentence at a time.
Silas hid Eli's identity from everyone except Boon.
They now had a witness.
They also had ledgers.
What they lacked was a safe court.
The nearest federal judge would arrive in Fort Mason in ten days.
They needed to survive until then.
Voss knew it too.
The following week became a siege.
Someone poisoned Ward Ranch's well, but Atseli noticed the strange smell before anyone drank.
Fence lines were cut.
Two cattle disappeared.
Then the rebuilt barn caught fire.
Again.
This time Silas was ready.
Neighbors who had quietly begun supporting him formed a bucket line.
The fire was extinguished.
And something remarkable happened.
Mrs. Ardell arrived carrying water.
Silas stared at her.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?”
“You hate me.”
“I disapprove of you.”
“Difference?”
“Apparently.”
She handed him a bucket.
By dawn, twenty townspeople stood in Silas's yard.
Voss had made a mistake.
Fear worked only while people believed obedience would protect them.
When his violence became indiscriminate, fear turned into anger.
Reverend Pike arrived late.
He stood before the smoking barn.
“This has gone too far.”
Silas looked at him.
“Yes.”
Their eyes met.
Pike understood.
Silas knew.
The minister left without another word.
That afternoon, Pike vanished.
At midnight, someone knocked on the cabin door.
Three taps.
Silas lifted his rifle.
He opened it.
Reverend Pike stood outside.
Blood covered his coat.
He collapsed at Silas's feet.
And before losing consciousness, he whispered:
May you like
“Voss knows about the judge.”
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