Despite his appearance, there was nothing the least bit frail about his voice. It was deep and commanding. “You’re Morgan?” he asked as he came into the library.
“That’s right.”
“I’m told that you’re a…gunfighter. What’s your business with me, sir?”
Right to the point. That was fine with Frank. “It’s about the bounty on the Terror.”
Chamberlain gave an impatient wave of his hand. “You’re free to go after it just like anyone else. You don’t have to make any special arrangements in advance.”
“I don’t want the bounty,” Frank said. “I think you should call it off.”
“Call it off?” A snort of disbelief came from the timber baron. “That creature has killed almost half a dozen men. If the bounty helps rid the forest of it, the money will be well worth it, sir.”
“It’s killed more than half a dozen men now. Eight more died this afternoon.”
Chamberlain’s eyes widened in a look of shock. “Eight men?” he repeated, his voice going hoarse. “But who…how…”
Quickly, Frank explained about the deaths of the loggers and the two bounty hunters. As he spoke, the hollows in Rutherford Chamberlain’s cheeks became even more pronounced. “Dear Lord,” he whispered when Frank was finished. “Dear Lord.” Chamberlain’s back stiffened. “Perhaps I should invoke the Devil’s name instead, since that creature must come from the foulest, deepest pits of Hell!”
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Frank said. “All I know is that you’re going to have more men dying in those woods if you leave that bounty in force. They’ll be killing each other by accident, rather than running into the Terror. It almost happened this afternoon.”
He told Chamberlain what had happened when the two groups of bounty hunters opened fire on each other. Chamberlain’s impatience grew visibly as he listened.
“It’s not my fault if those men are careless,” he snapped. “I fail to see where it’s my responsibility.”
“Your bounty is the reason they’re out there in the first place, running around the woods and shooting at everything that moves,” Frank argued. “You can put a stop to it by spreading the word that there’s not going to be any bounty.”
Chamberlain shook his head stubbornly. “I won’t do it. I want that thing dead, no matter what it takes.”
“What about when your own loggers start getting shot by men who are hunting the Terror? That won’t be very good for morale among your crews. They’re liable to walk off the job.”
Chamberlain frowned for a moment as if that possibility hadn’t occurred to him, but then a sneer replaced the frown. “There are always more men looking for jobs,” he declared. “If anyone is afraid to work in the woods, let him quit and I’ll simply hire someone to replace him. Anyway,” Chamberlain went on, “don’t you think I’ve already had men quit because they’re afraid of the Terror?”
Frank supposed Chamberlain had a point there. “All I’m saying is that the woods aren’t going to be safe for anybody as long as a bunch of trigger-happy fools are roaming around with visions of ten thousand dollars in their heads.”
Chamberlain looked at him intently for a moment, then said, “Ah, now I see where this is going. You want me to rescind the bounty and then hire you to hunt down and kill the monster. And I suppose the fee you’ll suggest will be the same amount as the bounty, only you won’t have to deal with any competition.”
The accusation took Frank by surprise. He shook his head and said, “You’ve got it all wrong, Chamberlain. I didn’t come here to get the job for myself.”
“Why not?” Chamberlain hooked his thumbs in his vest and glared at Frank. “You’re a gunfighter. You admitted as much. That means you sell your skills as a killer to the highest bidder, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not a hired gun,” Frank snapped. “Never have been. Any time I’ve fought, it was to save my life or the life of someone else, or because I believed in a cause.”
“If you kill the Terror, you’ll be saving the lives of all the men who might die because of it in the future.” Chamberlain nodded emphatically. “Now that I think about it, this is an excellent idea. Set one cold-blooded killer to catch another. I like it.”
Anger welled up inside Frank. “I reckon we’re done here,” he said as he picked up his hat and took a step toward the library doors.
“Wait a moment, Mr. Morgan,” Chamberlain said. “I’ll do what you want. I’ll rescind the bounty on the Terror…but only if you agree to hunt down and kill the creature yourself.”
Frank shook his head. “Forget it.”
“Of course, since you’ve seen what the monster can do, I can understand if you’re afraid to go after it by yourself.”
Frank had to laugh, a reaction that startled Chamberlain. “I’ve had plenty of damned fools try to prod me into gunfights by calling me a coward,” he said. “It didn’t work then, and it’s not going to work now. You can say whatever you want. I’m not taking the job.”
“Then I suppose we are done, just as you say,” Chamberlain responded coldly.
Frank clapped his hat on his head, gave the timber baron a curt nod, and started toward the door.
“But you realize, of course,” Chamberlain added to his back, “this means the ten-thousand-dollar bounty is still in effect.”
“Folks do foolish things all the time,” Frank said without turning around. “I can’t talk sense into all of them.”
He stalked out of the library and headed toward the front of the house. The butler, Dennis, wasn’t around, but Frank didn’t need any help finding his way out.
Just before he reached the front door, though, a voice spoke from a door to the side of the foyer. “Mr. Morgan, please wait.”
Frank stopped and frowned. He turned and saw Chamberlain’s daughter standing there just inside the open doorway, which led into what appeared to be a small sitting room.
“I need to talk to you,” she went on.
“I don’t want to be rude, Miss Chamberlain,” he said, “but your father and I have finished our business.”
“I know. I hope you’ll forgive me, but…I was listening just outside the library door. I knew you were talking about…the Terror…and I wanted to hear what you said.”
Frank remembered her earlier reaction. He might be wrong, but he thought the idea that the Terror had been killed had frightened her. He didn’t have any idea why that would be true, but the possibility intrigued him enough that he wanted to find out if his hunch was right.
“Your father’s liable to try to have me thrown out if he realizes I’m still here, but I reckon I can spare you a minute or two.”
“Thank you,” she said, obviously relieved. “Please, come in here, where we won’t be disturbed.”
She moved back. Frank stepped into the sitting room, which was furnished with a pair of armchairs and a small table with a lamp on it. The blonde eased the door closed, then turned to face Frank, whose natural courtesy where womenfolks was concerned had prompted him to remove his hat again. Holding the Stetson in front of him, he asked, “What can I do for you?”
“We haven’t been formally introduced,” she said. “My name is Nancy Chamberlain.”
Frank nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss. Wish it had been under better circumstances.”
“So do I. I heard my father offer you the job of tracking down and killing the Terror.”
“Yes, ma’am. I turned him down, though.”
“He said he’d take back that damned bounty if you did.”
The vehemence in her voice surprised him. So did the way she clasped her hands together in front of her, so tightly that she squeezed the blood out of her fingers and made them turn pale.