"Well, now that the high and mighty are all gone," Nick began, "How do we go about this?"
Noah rolled his eyes in utter disbelief. "If you had been paying any attention, you would have noticed that every single one of those men were willing to stay behind so someone else could go."
"And yet they're all gone and the rest of us are still stuck here."
"Because it was best for the community," Eddie reminded.
"Well now that the "community" doesn't have an interest, I say it's about time we start looking after our own."
"Not so fast." Lucas sat forward in his chair as he pushed his hat back. "I think you're forgetting just how many families depend on Charlie and the Merrars for work."
"You've got to be kidding me…"
Philip nodded in agreement. "Lucas is right. The rest of us only have our own families to look after; between the two ranches… you support… what? Eight, nine families? Not to mention the extra hands you take on for drives."
"…Well?" Lucas asked.
"Tom and Charlie both have four full-time hands," Dave answered.
"Don't you pass this all off on me," Tom declared. "That ranch is as much yours as it is mine!"
"Maybe so, but you know what would happen if I tried to take over operations. I raise cattle, I'm no good at making business deals. You remember what happened when I sold that forty acre lot last year?"
"And what would I know about birthing calves?"
"That's what your hired help is for."
"…Look, you and I can argue about this later. One of us will get out of here, sooner or later. But if we're going to do this by the numbers, Charlie should be the next to leave. Two of our hands are a bachelor and a newlywed. All but one of Charlie's men are married."
"But just how many youngins do Cole and Ruth have?" Charlie asked.
Tom shook his head. "Brent and Sarah can't be too far behind."
"Both of you do the math," Lucas ordered. "Number of unmarried men, couples, and children. And I want an honest answer; this is about them, not you."
"What about me? I may not employ any men, but-"
"Nick, the time to show your cowardice will come," Paul snapped. "Shut your mouth before I do it for you."
"Why you…!"
"Nick!" There was warning in Lucas's voice, stopping the man from lunging forward. "Take a good look around this table. I don't think you want to be at the center of any fight that takes place here."
The man slowly sat down, a sour scowl crossing his face. A few minutes passed before Lucas turned to Charlie.
"What do you figure? Your family included."
"…We got Wyatt and four couples, and ten youngins between us."
"Tom?"
"This ain't exactly fair; Dave and I have quite a brood on our own, but as long as one of us gets out, they'll all be looked after. Even if something happened to both of us, Ralph and Andrew could keep things going with help from the hands and John Hamilton. Charlie needs to go."
"They have a right to hear the numbers."
"…We just hired on that new kid from Kansas and the newlyweds," Dave answered. "Two more married men, and counting all our children, there's fifteen. But I agree with Tom about Charlie… the way these numbers add up ain't exactly fair."
Charlie shook his head. "But if something goes wrong and the next man out is the last man out, those numbers will carry just as much weight as if there were only one of you."
"We'll put it to a vote, just like every other time," Eddie stated, grabbing his pencil. "No sense in changing things now."
Lucas waited until all the cards had been collected to look them over. As the rancher started calculating the totals, he realized their error in the way they had structured the vote.
Charlie
Charlie
Tom
Dave
Dave
Charlie
Tom
Dave
Charlie
The rancher hesitated, unsure if it would be fair to call for another vote after he had seen the cards. Several moments passed before he finally let out a heavy sigh. "…Charlie, you've been voted out."
The man's brow furrowed in confusion. "…Luke, are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Well how do the others-"
"Four, three, and two."
"…But if the other five were for the Merrars, it's not fair for them to have a split vote."
"He already called it," Tom said.
"Luke, I think we need to vote again with the Merrars as one. Then we can decide between them if necessary."
Lucas looked around the table, attempting to read the other men. "…I'm not saying one way or the other who had the remaining votes, but I suppose we should at least vote on whether or not we should do it again by ranch."
The men took back their cards, Charlie, Tom, and Dave quickly returning their votes while the others took several minutes to think the matter over. In time, Lucas was again looking the cards over before announcing the verdict.
"The initial vote has been upheld."
Charlie stood as he shook his head in frustration. He walked to the end of the table, lowering his voice so the others couldn't hear. "You make sure one of those boys is the next one out. Too many mouths are dependent on them."
Lucas continued to look straight ahead, nodding ever so slightly.
