"This has nothing to do with either of those things," Melody said, refusing to be sidetracked. "It has to do with extending Christian charity to a man who's been hurt."

"If he has been hurt, you'll need a buckboard, not a buggy."

"Okay."

"And I'm coming with you."

"Fine. I'll probably need your help. I'll get my medicine kit and be right back."

She also stripped the bunkhouse of its extra blankets and threw them into the back of the buckboard.

Tom had a great deal to say about a lot of things, and the long drive gave him plenty of opportunity to say them. Though Melody didn't answer, she did listen. It kept her from thinking about Chet and imagining all the terrible things that could have happened to him.

It also kept her from asking herself why she was so worried about this man. She checked on Speers regularly, but she didn't worry about him. She worried about the men when there was danger, but that didn't keep her from her regular duties. Chet had not only kept her from doing anything useful, he'd occupied her mind to such an extent that she wondered if she'd had any thoughts at all that didn't include him.

She told herself it was guilt over Sydney's shooting him, appreciation for his support at dinner. This was her way of paying him back.

She knew it wasn't the truth, but it kept her from having to consider some truly disturbing alternatives.

After what seemed like an endless ride, she spied a horse in the distance. It wasn't moving. A little later, she was able to make out two men on the ground.

"Someone seems to have found him," Tom said. "We didn't have to come, after all."

"He can't move him on a horse."

She was kneeling next to Chet before Tom could get out of the buckboard. Chet's head was covered in a b.l.o.o.d.y bandage. She looked up at the man who had found Chet, but the sun was behind him. She couldn't see his face.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He was shot in the head," the stranger said. "I think he'll be all right, but he'll need careful nursing."

"I'll see that he gets it. Help my foreman put him in the buckboard." Melody spread the blankets to minimize the jolting from the rough trail as much as possible. "Careful!" she scolded when Tom dropped one of Chet's legs while trying to lift him into the buckboard.

"I'm trying, but he's not a light man."

She positioned his face so it would be in the shade and laid him out as straight as she could, but that didn't satisfy her. "I'll ride in the back," she told Tom. "I want to hold his head."

"I don't see why." "So his head won't bounce all the way back to the ranch." Once she settled herself on the blankets, Chet's head in her lap, she turned to the man who'd found Chet. The sun still came from behind. She wished he'd move so she could see his face.

"Thank you for taking care of him," she said.

"You know him?" The man's voice sounded strange, as though he was forcing it lower than usual.

"He stopped by our place yesterday to borrow a horse while his got over being used too hard. When it came back, I knew something was wrong."

"You should take him to town. He needs a doctor."

"The doctor will come to the ranch," Melody said.

"That'll cost money. If you need"

"Thank you, but the expense is not a problem."

"If you're sure, I'll be on my way."

"Thank you, Mr. . . . I didn't catch your name."

"It's not important. Just take good care of him."

"You sound mighty interested in him," Tom said.

"I don't like to see a man left to die. He came to a while ago."

"Did he say who shot him?" Melody asked.

"No. He just asked me to take him to Melody."

"I'm Melody."

The man looked relieved. "One more thing. He said he was shot because he was riding one of your horses. Do you know why?"

"No."

He didn't look pleased with her answer, but he mounted up. "Good day, ma'am," he said and started down the trail.

"What a strange man," Tom said.

"Get us home as quickly as you can," Melody said, the stranger forgotten. "Send Sydney for the doctor the moment we arrive."

Luke had no trouble finding Billy and Blade. They hadn't made any effort to hide their trail. Luke walked straight up to Blade and knocked him to the ground with a smashing punch to the jaw. Then he leaned over and jerked Blade's gun out of its holster.

"What the h.e.l.l!" Billy exclaimed, reaching for his own gun. Luke moved quickly. He clipped Billy behind the ear with the b.u.t.t of Blade's pistol. Billy dropped to the ground like a shot steer.

"What's the matter with you?" Blade asked as he wiped blood from his lips with the back of his hand. "Have you gone crazy?"

"When your daddy told me to look out for you," Luke said, his voice deliberate, his anger molten, "He didn't say you had a cowardly habit of shooting strangers in the back."

"Give me my gun and say that."

"What the h.e.l.l did you think you were doing?"

"What do you care about it? He was just a Spring Water cowhand."

"No, he's not."

"Then why was he riding a Spring Water horse?"

"His was worn down. I imagine he told you that."

"Why should I believe him?"

"Why should you shoot him?"

"He said I was wet behind the ears." "So you shot him in the back. I guess you're not only a kid, but a yellow-bellied coward as well."

Blade jumped to his feet. "I'll kill you for that."

"Come on," Luke said when Blade just glared at him. "Are you helpless without your gun, or are you afraid to face me alone? Maybe I ought to turn my back." He started to turn. "Will that buck up your courage?"

Blade came in cursing and swinging. He was no match for a man ten years older and several inches taller. The end was inevitable.

Blade lay on the ground, unable to get up again. "As soon as I tell Pa what you've done, you're a dead man," he managed to say between bruised and b.l.o.o.d.y lips.

"You won't tell your father anything about it. If you do, I'll inform the sheriff you shot that man in the back. Billy will back me up. If he doesn't, he'll hang with you."

He bent over and hauled Blade up by the front of his shirt. "If either you or Billy comes within a mile of that man before he gets well, I'll kill you. If he dies, I'll kill you anyway."

"What's he to you?" Blade asked, defiant to the end.

"Shooting a man in the back is trouble, and I don't like trouble. Besides, you just might decide to tell people I did it." A slight widening of the eyes told Luke that was exactly what Blade had intended to do. "I do a clean job. n.o.body's going to push the work of a coward off on me. If that happened, people would start to think I was an easy mark. I'd have reputation-hunting fools following me."

He tightened his hold on Blade's shirt. Blade tried to break the grip, but Luke was too strong. "Your father's a proud man. I'd hate to have to tell him what a cowardly worm he has for a son."

Luke pushed Blade away from him.

"Now you think up some real good tale to explain why your face looks like raw meat."

Luke turned and walked off. He didn't worry that Blade might try to shoot him in the back. He couldn't. His eyes were already swollen shut.

Chapter Six.

"You can't bring him in here," Belle Jordan said.

Melody ignored her stepmother. "Be careful," she warned Tom and her brothers. "Don't drop him." Tom had Chet's shoulders; each boy had a leg.

"Where are you going to put him?" Belle asked. "We don't have any spare bedrooms."

"In my room," Melody said.

"You can't. Where will you sleep?"

"With Bernice. Watch the railing, Sydney! You're going to trip and fall."

There had been a spare bedroom on the main floor, but that had been turned into a sitting room for Belle. Now there were only four bedrooms in the house. Belle had one, Melody another; the boys shared one, and Bernice had the fourth.

"You shouldn't have brought him here," Belle said. "He belongs in the bunkhouse." "He's got to be where I can watch him until he's better," Melody said. She held the door open for the men to carry Chet into her room, then ran to pull back the spread and the sheet.

"He'll ruin your bed," Belle said.

"I can wash the sheets," Melody said.

"I don't see why we have to be the ones to look after him."

"He got shot because he was riding one of our horses. That means our trouble got him hurt. We're responsible for him."

"I don't see how."

"Who shot him?" Sydney asked once they had Chet on the bed.

"I don't know," Melody told her brother. "The man didn't tell us. Tom, take off his boots."

"What man?" Sydney asked.

"The man who found him. I didn't ask his name."

"You'll have to undress him, too."

"I'm not his servant," Tom complained.

"Then I'll have to do it."

Tom gave in to the inevitable and began to remove Chet's clothes.

"Have the boys take everything downstairs," Melody said. "They'll have to be washed before he can wear them again."

"It's not proper for a single woman to take care of a single man," Belle said once they were outside in the hall.

"Do you want to do it?" Melody asked.

"No. I wouldn't have minded if he hadn't upset Lantz. I like himhow could I not like such a handsome man?but Lantz will be upset if he finds him here again."

"Then he'll just have to be upset." "There's no point in making him angry."

"Maybe there is. Maybe it's time he learns not everybody jumps when the great Lantz Royal snaps his fingers."

"That's no way to talk about a man who's asked you to marry him."

"Maybe it's the best way to tell a future husband you won't be bullied by him."

"Melody! A wife should never do that."

"You and I are very different, Belle. You like men to think for you, tell you what to do."