It was his wife. Yes, siree, it was the woman driving the man. She'd
located them rustlers by chance only the day before, while he was
around Ju's place sousin' rye. When he got home an told her of the
reward, she was nigh crazy to git her hands on the dollars. Seems to
me ther' must have been a mighty scrap-up. I guess she told him of his
ways, an' what he'd brought her to--in a way some women-folk can. I
didn't git it all clear. Y'see, he did his best to screen her.
Anyways, she made him promise to fix things so she touched those
dollars. An' that's why he come to me. Ther's jest one thing stuck in
my head so I can't lose it. It was his last words to me about it. He
says, says he, see here, Mr. McFarlane, I need one favor out o' you. I
want to go with you on this racket, an' if ther's any mercy in the God
of Heaven, he'll let me get my dose when the shootin' starts.
Effie--that's how he called his wife--wants them dollars, an' you'll
see she gets 'em. But for me I just couldn't ever live around a woman
who'd handled that blood money! He didn't use them words.
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