Luke was in the saloon, drinking boisterously and laughing uproariously at the timid expressions on the townsmen who sat far from him, when William Ford arrived. The man went up to the bar, had a quiet word with the bartender, then came over to Luke. "Earl Bantry, I presume?"
"Who wants to know?" Luke had adopted Bantry's low voice with its harsh grating quality and he leaned back in his chair, rifle at the ready.
Ford forced a smile. "I understand you're Ellie Palmer's brother?"
"So?" Luke suddenly came to his feet. "Say, you the one who took my nephew? My sister says some cowhand took her boy, Johnny. I ain't gonna stand for that."
"I'm hardly a cowhand, Mr Bantry," said Ford stiffly. "I own twenty thousand acres and a fine herd of cattle. I've adopted Johnny legally, and I plan to give him a good life."
"Legal!" Luke sneered, his hand snaking out to grab Ford by his lapel and drag him close to his face. "I got your legal. Ellie said she didn't give you my nephew, so you ain't keepin' him. And there ain't nothin' you can do about it, 'cause there ain't no law in this town." He laughed raucously. "Say, that's pretty funny! You can't go to the law 'cause you killed the marshal!" Luke abruptly stopped laughing. "You and me, we're goin' over to your fancy twenty thousand acres and get my nephew." He ground out menacingly, "And you ain't never goin' near him again. Got that? Johnny is as much mine as he is Ellie's. Don't you go crossin' me." He flung Ford from him and the man staggered.
The saloon was very quiet as Ford fixed his rumpled clothing. He was almost as tall as Luke, and muscular, but it seemed that he had no stomach for a fight and the men traded glances. It was an open secret in the town that Ford was too cowardly to hit anyone other than his own wife.
"Move!" Luke ordered, prodding Ford with his rifle. They went out into the street and Luke relieved Ford of his handgun, throwing it through a window of Ellie's store. She came running out and he yelled, "Sorry about that, Ellie! I'm gonna get your boy now!" He forced William Ford to mount his horse, swung himself up in the saddle, and rode out of town with his rifle pointing at his captive the whole way.
It took them an hour to reach Ford's house, a large low building of undressed stone surrounded by gardens and shade trees. There were a number of outbuildings in perfect repair, and rolling hills dotted with bunches of fat cows stretched as far as the eye could see. A verse from Psalm 37 ran through Luke's head and he murmured softly, "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree."
Ford turned his head. "What was that?"
"None of your business!" Luke snapped. He raised his voice. "Hello the house!"
Allison came to the door, the little boy clinging to her skirts. "Who are you? What do you want?"
Luke swung out of the saddle and gestured with the rifle for Ford to get down. "I come for my nephew." His heart smote him as Johnny stared at him fearfully. He had never seen such a look directed at him from a child before and more than anything he wanted to drop the act and be himself with Johnny, but he had to stay the course and he said gruffly, "Johnny, I'm your Uncle Earl and your ma sent me to fetch you home."
The child gulped and nodded. "All right, Uncle Earl." It was a measure of how much he had come to loathe William Ford that this dirty vagabond should seem preferable, but he wasn't willing to go without settling an important point. "Can we take Mrs Ford too?"
Allison's eyes widened and she held up her hands as Ford advanced on her. "William, I never...please, don't!"
Ford felled her with a hard punch and she lay writhing on the ground, whimpering with pain as he kicked her. Luke dropped his rifle and threw himself on the man and they rolled over and over, grappling with each other. Coward though he was, Ford was like a cornered rat and he clawed at Luke with a primal savagery.
Johnny ran to Allison and helped her sit up. "I'm sorry, Mrs Ford!"
"It's all right, child." She got painfully to her feet and went into the house, returning with a rifle, watching intently as Luke got on top of Ford and started to choke him. Her husband reached out frantically, clutched a rock, and hit Luke on the side of the head. He pushed the unconscious man off him and sat up, raising the rock to finish Luke off, and Allison aimed the rifle and shot him in the chest.